January 8, 2016
It was a wonderful, yet very hot, sometimes exasperating, sometimes humorous, and always a wonderful day with people of deep friendship, respect, and appreciation for my very presence; as if my being here somehow affirmed their life in Padibe, a mostly very poor area of Northern Uganda.
 Christine, wife of Oyet Tommy, after morning mass. See very closely this photo of Christine, the wife of our dear friend Tommy who has been to Milwaukee twice and worked with Three Holy Women for many years. Christine is a full time school teacher, spends many hours in the fields hoeing, planting, harvesting grains; is ready to give birth at any time of her fourth or fifth child, in addition to having three adopted children from relatives killed during he war. Look at her wonderful smile through which you can see a person of deep integrity, joy, and and incredible faith in God. Gazing on her photo should cause conversion!
Everyday I walk the two small streets in the village, stopping into the shops, greeting people, making jokes they do not expect from a mzungu (white person) and shaking hands with as many children that will dare to come near me. After all the mzungu is a scary and very unusual beast for them.
 Otema Peter now works full time at the sunflower press in addition to being a major farmer in the parish. Otema Peter and his wife Mary had my wife Mary and I to their home for dinner a couple of years ago. He is now full time at the sunflower press and his wife continues to teach full time.
 The refuse from pressing the sunflower seeds is a high protein cake which is sold for animal feed. Here are two of the men at the sunflower press crunching down the cake refuse left over from pressing the sunflower seeds. It is a high protein animal feed and is in high demand. The press sells all the cake to help make income so more can go to the farmer.
This afternoon’s rehearsal was to begin at 2 pm. At 2 pm there were four people there including me. I think we actually began rehearsing around 3:15 when an actor arrived who is in nearly every scene and has to be there. TIA!
Did you ever see the movie “Blood Diamond”? Leonardo De Caprio’s character coined that acronym to apply to every frustration with he African way of time and life: TIA = This is Africa!
We stayed an hour and a half past the stopping time since we started so late and accomplished much.
See you tomorrow.
January 7, 2016
There are only 12 days until the eve of the Acoli Cultural Gala. With 320 participants and an expected audience over 2,000 people, there is much mobilization going on all over Lamwo District (Padibe parish is the same geographical area as the political district). Although the Collaborative Drama I have been working on with them for four years is only one small part, Augustine and I worked on the script and props from 9-4.
Then is it was time for my daily walk around the town center. This young man greeted me with very such good english I had to engage him in a conversation. I am sure he has done very good in his studies, but do not know what his financial situation is as all education costs.
As I was continued on my walk I passed the catechist’s meeting and a stop to greet them was necessary. Padibe is geographically quite large compared to any parish in the US. It is nearly the size of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and has one priest. There is a second young priest but he is away for the year studying in Kampala. As you can imagine, with only one priest or even two, it takes many trained catechists to attend to the many spiritual needs of all the people who are spread over 26 chapels in the six zones that make up the parish.
 Geographically Padibe parish is very large. With one priest it requires many catechists from the 26 chapels in the six zones. This is was the day of their monthly meeting. As I passed the local soccer field near Padibe Boys School, a herd of bulls was actively trimming the grass to the correct length for the match coming up in an hour or so.
One of the catechists caught up with me and we strolled through the two small streets chatting with the people and he was a very helpful translator! He helped me make a large transaction that could make for some interesting material in tomorrow’s blog. It is now a wait and see game.
Coming home I went over to the hut that the locals taught Professor DeAnna Leitzke and her three students, Caleb, Josh and Matthew to build. First of all I wanted to see if it was still standing and secondly was it being used. The picture answered everything.
 The small hut built by Professor DeAnna Leitzke and her MSOE students 2014 June. Then I passes a beautiful looking palm tree all by itself in the field.
 A good looking palm tree and a tired OLDER gentleman after a long and wonderful productive and warm day. Arriving home, Hellen demonstrates the local traditional way to wash ones foot by rubbing it on a large stone along with soap and water.
After a long hot day, the bath was particularly refreshing. Almost as refreshing as my drink from the source of the Nile.
Following mass and breakfast Augustine spent about two hours working with me on the script for the Collaborative Drama.
Onencan Simon Peter, a young student we support to go to Lacor Minor Seminary, stopped in for a visit. We chatted for about an hour about school, which he has now finished Senior Six. That is the last grade in Ugandan High School. He now anxiously awaits his grades because if he passes he will then go on to the Major Seminary for 8 or 9 years to be ordained a priest. I will have lunch with him and his mother on Saturday.
The St. Francis Sunflower Press is having a very busy time of the year right now. Many people line up every day to purchase the precious oil, while others drop of large sacks filled with sunflower seeds. You can see the people lined up to buy the oil.
 A Very Busy Day at the Sunflower Press Here is the very busy, but excellent accountant.
 Very Busy Accountant at Sunflower Press The storage building is bursting at the seams with the large sacks of seeds waiting to be ground.
 The Very Full Storage Room at the Press Full of Sacks of Sunflower Seeds Onekalit Michael is a very hard working man. He works full time at the press in the welding department, has his own carpentry shop, and also does concrete work based on methods learned from the MSOE professor and students on their last visit in June 2014.
One of the employees built himself some new clothing from the seed sacks that he wears during cleaning the filters and other very dirty and oily parts of the plant. Then they just get thrown away and he doesn’t ruin his uniform.
I walked down to the market area and met my friend Richard who is an excellent tailor. His shop has two machines with two helpers inside, but is only about 7 ft by 5 ft, very small! He helped me fix my sunglasses when a lens fell out and we needed a very small screwdriver.
 Richard the Tailor Helped Repair My Sunglasses What Next! A small establishment has a pool table! If you win three games, you get a free bottle of soda. Needless to say, being the visitor, I let the young man beat me
There are at least four grinding mills in the local area for guiding millet and other grains. Most people do not have access to a grinding mill and the women and girls do all the grinding using a special stone on another special kind of stone. This has been the tradition for centuries.
Grinding Mill (CLICK HERE)
At night trying to sleep it is very hot and stuffy in a closed room, under a mosquito net so I bring a Coleman camp fan that takes four D-cell batteries. It has been a life saver on my other trips. But, ALAS, it finally quit and nothing I do can make it go again. So if anyone is passing this way and could drop one off for me, it would be greatly appreciated.
 A dead fan with 8 new batteries.
The day was a busy one with mass at 7 am followed by a breakfast of scrambled eggs with minced veggies and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on brown bread. The 10 am meeting was only a bit TIA and began at 10:30, but it did not end until 1:45. The first rehearsal for the Collaborative Drama began at 2!
 First Rehearsal of the Collaborative Drama We rehearsed with script in hand for about 4 hours. I am learning a lot about the Acoli way of “storytelling” and they are learning a lot about the western way of creating a drama.
Here are two photos of the same older woman. I first met her in 2013 and she was quite spry, but now has aged considerably.
 An Older Lady I met in 2013  Same Older Lady in 2016 One of the lens popped out of my sunglasses and I went to a tailor hoping he would have a very small screwdriver so I could loosen the frame and pop it back in. We finally did it, but I think the frame is so bent tape will be necessary to keep the lens in. Where is the duct tape when you need it!
Sr. Aida stopped by the shop while Richard and I were in the throes of sunglass repair and stayed until we finished so we could take a stroll down “main street” together and then back to the convent. Sr. Aida is a fabulous and wonderful person. She has such a spirit of joy and is so much fun to converse with. Here are some photos of the children we passed by on our walk.
 Young lady who showed up at rehearsal with her mom  A young lady in the neighborhood  Neighborhood Children On My Walk In the Town Center  Young Ladies with Gerry Cans I Met on the Walk Home  It was so hot she covered her head to stay out of the sun  An Older Sister Carrying Her Younger Sibling  A Young Lady Using a Branch as a Sunshade Yes, there has been a lot of “progress” in Padibe since we first began coming here  9 years ago, but it must be put in perspective. Poverty, disease, and wartime trauma are still the order of the day.
See you tomorrow.
Deacon Rob
Monday, January 4, 2016
There was a little more sleep for me last night which is very good since I really am still recovering from all the travel and now have to be up and ready for 7 am mass every morning.
It was a beautiful morning. The bell rings every morning at 6:30 am, I slowly rise, make a cup of tea, get dressed as quickly as possible and go outside. It is much cooler outside than in the room since we have to lock up the rectory windows and doors very securely every night. Doris and Hellen are up and beginning the daily chores, the chickens are squawking like crazy all over the yard, and the goats are everywhere. A few people walk outside the gate on their way to work or town. A group of women and girls are gathered around the well filling gerry cans with water for the day It is a beautiful morning, but the sky says just wait, it will be at least 100 today.
After mass, Fr. and I enjoy breakfast and conversation then I am off the ACRO (Acoli Cultural Revival Organization) office to give George a box of 1,600 flyers printed in the US and carried in one of my checked bags. Later we make our way to the town center going to the main “shops” dropping off flyers for them to post on their wall. Of course, we greet many people along the way for short conversations finally arriving at Churchill’s restaurant/soccer bar/and boarding house where George simply must have lunch. Churchill pays a big bill to have satellite TV so he can broadcast the soccer matches which packs the house often. Today there is only a 70’s American movie on starring a young Debra Winger.
We moved out of the town center and made our way up some small roads and trails to the outside gate in the wall surrounding Padibe Girls Primary School. ACRO decided this will be the venue for the Acoli Cultural Revival Gala on Jan 20 and 21. He showed me around describing where everything was going to happen, and we began moving back. On the way, the small trail took us through the yard of several homes (huts) where everyone offered me food, but we came unannounced and just visited for a bit and then moved on.
The afternoon was spent visiting with Augustine and his brother, Ojara John Bosco. John Bosco always takes our order for necklaces, bracelets, and anklets for a group of ladies in Padibe who make the beautiful jewelry. We always carry them home in our baggage because shipping from Padibe is very expensive.
Here are some photos of Augustine’s wife Fiona and daughter, Gabreilla.
 Theona, Augustine, and the ever smiling, Gabriella  Deacon Rob and Gabriella After this visit between old friends I went back to the rectory for my late afternoon bath and poured lots of cold water over me! On the way I came across Daniel having choir practice with a few members. The sat in the shade on a log outside the church and Fr. Charles joined them.
 Daniel directing a few choir members. After dinner and a really wonderful conversation with Fr. Charles it was off to bed for me.
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