Day 11: Blog Post by Ben

Day 11 - Friday, July 17th, 2009 (Posted by Ben)

This morning, Pete provided the morning devotion. As of the night before, he was waiting for a “bolt of lightning” to provide his inspiration. It never struck, although he did tell us about some unusual dreams he has had while here in Uganda. Maybe that anti-malaria medication has some side-effects. Pete shared a memory of a movie starring Gary Cooper, playing a Sgt. York, who was tasked as a soldier with shooting the enemy. However, killing others was against his principles, so he struggled to do his job. Sgt. York then recalled reading that “God works in mysterious ways.” Pete felt that for him, this mission trip has been working in mysterious ways for him. Initially, he just wanted to “walk the walk” by going abroad to build the YCVM school building. However, Pete shared that this experience has been eye-opening, and he sees how big the situation is, even if our part is just a small step of the way. Praise God for “working mysteriously” in Pete!

Aeri was not feeling well, so she remained at the resort with a stomach ache and headache. It does not seem serious, although she definitely needed to take the day off. The rest of the team departed for the construction site, where we found significant progress since Wednesday. Concrete has been poured along several walls, and the rebar tying was almost complete. We quickly helped to finish the rebar, and moved the concrete forms to the next spot for pouring. Dustin helped to move bricks from one place to another by being part of a throw-and-catch line of people starting at the brick pile and ending in the mortar mixing area. He would make a good 2nd basemen, since he didn’t drop any bricks during that exercise! The workers then drew water from the well and mixed the concrete.



On the back wall, where the concrete was dry from the previous day, we applied a moisture blocking sheet and began to lay bricks upon it. Each member of the team got to lay a brick of their own. The workers then took over, laying bricks at a much faster pace than our team. By the time we departed, they were already on the 4th layer on the back wall.




A woman who owned the land next to the YCVM site brought some mushrooms that she had grown. They might be prepared for us in a future dinner. The woman had also sold YCVM the land that the school is being built upon, and she is like a mother to Silver.



This being our last day at the construction site, we took some group photos with the workers. Some of the YCVM team will still be with us during Saturday’s VBS and Sunday’s prison ministry.



We returned to the resort, and enjoyed some chapatti, chicken, and rice, before taking the afternoon to rest and recuperate from our hectic schedule. After 1 camp visit, 1 VBS, 2 school visits, 3 Sunday worships, and 4 construction days, we needed some rest! The rest was short-lived, however, since our YCVM hosts arranged a special birthday surprise party for Valene, who turned 27 today. There were smiles and laughs all around as she was given well-wishes, cards, a cake, and a Ugandan outfit. The YCVM hosts really went all-out to arrange the party. Happy birthday, Valene!



After the surprise celebration, one of the YCVM hosts, Patrick Okore, gave us a tour of Kumi town. We also walked through an outdoor market that sold everything from handbags to fresh fish.



Upon returning to the resort, we found Aeri up and about. Praise God for restoring her health!

Questions for today:
1. Who was referred to as the “babysitter” today?
2. Who laid the first brick of the day?
3. What were the workers roasting for a snack?
4. What English phrase do all children seem to know here?

Answers for Day 10 Blogpost:
1. Out of all the men, which man did not help push the bus out of the mud and sand today? Ben didn’t push, because he recorded video for all 4 incidents.
2. Whose pants and shoes are these? They’re Dustin’s. There was mud all over his pants.



3. Who offers everyone coffee candy as a pick-me-up during the day? Becky.