Young Single Adult Dance

Susan and I were asked by Elder and Sister Story to help them at the YSA Dance last week.  It was really comical as the Stake only gave them $100 US dollars for lunch, decorations and music.  The decorations turned out to be toilet paper, the food was water and little sandwiches and the music was a combination of Ugandan and American music. Most of these kids are approaching 30 and not married as the boys can't afford the bride price they have to pay the girl's parents. It was like attending a junior high dance with the girls on one side and the boys on the other. Storys tried a few mixers to get things going, but nothing worked.  They finally started a line dance and everyone got involved.  It was lights out after that, we couldn't get them to quit.  This is the first of these dances to happen for a long time and the kids were loving it.  It was scheduled from 2:30 to 5:00PM so the kids could be home by dark. All functions are held in the afternoon as people here like to be home before dark and some live 2 hours from the Stake Center.   I don't know when they locked up the building but it was well after we left.     

 

Line dance that got it going

 

Prossey, who works for the Storys, was the most active dancer.  She is quiet as a mouse but man can she dance.

You can do a lot of things with toilet paper but I am not sure it works too good for decorations.

Mary is a cute girl from Ntinda Branch and she is really good dancer I enjoyed watching her .

Elder Story getting the kids to dance.

 

 

This was a fun activity and there were about 80 YSA attending.  Stake President Okot couldn't believe the turn out. This will be a fond memory for Sue and I.  We love the energy of the kids.

 

Church Registration in Rwanda

 

Last week Sue and I flew to Kigali, Rwanda to coordinate the Church Registration Celebration held Friday and Saturday.  We had a great committee that had sent out invitations and a promise of 75 people to attend the Friday dinner at the Serena  Hotel, a beautiful hotel in the city.  We decorated tables and set up banners and displays.  It looked sharp as the attendees arrived.  Coming were leaders of government: governors, mayors, and a Supreme Court Justice (who is a member of the Church in Kigali); attorneys who helped  with the registration, several NGO leaders who work the Church Humanitarians, Area Church Leaders, Pres. Chatfield, his wife, Branch Presidents, along with several missionaries and couples. 72 guests attended so it was a big success.  The food was very good and people enjoyed the food and displays.  We had a short program were we showed the new DVD called "Mormons at a Glance," the President spoke, as well as a representative from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.  She has worked with our Humanitarian couple and she spoke so highly about the Church.  It was wonderful!

Saturday, was a celebration for the members and about 150 members and friends attended this function held at one of the branch buildings. .  These peoples enjoy eating so there was a lot of good food, as well as a program, face painting, and games. 

 

 

 

Humanitarian displays

 

Helping Hands table

Youth and Women table

Missionary banner

President Chatfield chatting with attorney who worked on registration

Buffet

UNHCR representative Neimah Warsame addressed the audience and praised the church 

1. President Chatfield being interpreted as he spoke to members on Saturday

Members at the Saturday celebration

Our Evening at Ndere Cultural Center

We had a free evening after returning from Chobe and Gulu so decided to take Megan to an evening of African dancing and music at the Ndere Cultural Center.  It was one of the best things we have done here... fantastic entertainment, equal to a BYU dance performance.  The costumes were great and the Master of Ceremony was very funny.  The women were beautiful and could really "shake their booty;" the men were fantastic entertainers as well. The dances and music were from different areas of Eastern Africa.

All the dances were to music created by drums and a musical instruments they called guitars, but they looked more like harps.  The dancers moved fast and the dances were very energetic. 

The women dance in a way that resembles the hula but their hips move much faster and the whole dance is fast and energetic.  They have a feather type girdle around their hips that accents the fast hip movement.

Can you see how beautiful the Ugandan women are?  Their smiles are beautiful.  

 

The men beat the drums as they entered the stage while balancing the drum on top of their heads.  They hit the top of the drum as well as the sides. 

These drums are hollowed out tree trunks and looked heavy.  

In this dance the girls shake their hips while balancing a clay pot on their head.  They start with one pot and dance a few minutes...then dance to the sideline and another pot is placed on their head.

Some of the dancers were able to get up to 8 pots balanced on their head while dancing.

 

The entire show was performed outside and a buffet was available for an additional price if you wanted to dine while watching the show.  We passed as it is all Ugandan food -- steamed bananas, rice, beans, fruit, and goat meat.  We have not yet acquired a taste for Ugandan food...but we still have time. 

Sipi Falls and the Source of the White Nile with Megan

 

 

 

 

 

This week we traveled to eastern Uganda to cover a story that we have been wanting to write.  The Bartons are a senior couple that serve in Mbale.  They have been telling us about their Branch President and how interesting his conversion story is as well as what he does for a living.  So, we took Megan and headed east, almost to the Kenya border.  It was about a 4-5 hour drive through some beautiful country to the mountainous part of Uganda.  The Bartons (from Murray, Utah) also wanted us to see Sipi Falls ( 3 waterfalls).  So, Elder Barton drove us up to a very beautiful mountain resort. 

Our first stop was at a resort called Lancom.  This sat right above the lower falls and consisted of thatched roof cabins you could rent for the night.   

  

 

 

These are the huts at Lancom Resort near Sipi Falls.  They are beautiful inside.

Look just like any other motel inside...beds with beautiful, clean white linens, and wicker chairs and tables. 

The three of us at Sipi Falls

Lower Sipi Falls--this is the dry season so not as much water going over right now.

At the Lancom Resort overlooking the valley.  It was beautiful... like going to Park City for the day.
This is a picture of Elder and Sister Barton with Megan and me in the background.

The third and lowest of the three falls 

Middle Sipi Falls

Megan  at the Resort

On the trail up the second falls...reminded us of what the Garden of Eden would have looked like.

Sipi Falls
We are standing on a ledge behind the falls.

Behind Sipi Falls..with vines and roots hanging down in front of our lens.

In the cave behind Sipi Falls-- our African guide gave us all walking sticks to use on the trail which made it easier.

Behind Sipi Falls

The bridge over Sipi River with the falls in the background

The valley near Mbale and Sipi Falls.  The sky was very hazy as they were burning off many of the fields and getting ready to plant again.
 

 

The Bartons shared this photo with us.  It was on the door of a latrine in a village near them.  We often see writing on walls and fences stating "no urinating here" or there will be a fine.

This was a little different.  In Uganda when someone has to urinate they say "I'm going to take a short call."   

If they are going to do more than urinate they say "I'm going to take a long call."

The toilet is a porcelain bowl in the floor or a pit that you stand over.  There is no toilet paper or towels so you are expected to use your hand.  It is important you never shake someone's left hand.  The days can get mighty long.  I carry an extra roll in the pick-up for emergencies and always 2 hankies so I can dry my hands.  We carry hand sanitizer as well as we shake a lot of hands.

The Branch President in Mbale-- Alfred Owidi-- who is an Orthopedic Technologist and makes artificial limbs and prostheses.

 

On our way home from Mbale, we spent an afternoon in Jinja, Uganda where Lake Victoria narrows and becomes the source of the Nile River.  We rented a boat, called an African Long Boat,  and a guide to show us the beauty of the area.  He was full of interesting facts and information about this area.

You are actually seeing the "source of the Nile" in the center of the picture where you see the ripples and churning water.  Before they built a dam 2 kilometers downstream, there was a waterfall right here that dropped 40 feet.  That is where the water left Lake Victoria and flowed into the beginning of the Nile River. 

The ripples designate where Lake Victoria becomes the Nile

Island huts that sell souvenirs

A rock in the middle of the river whitewashed from all the birds that land there.

Local fisherman returning from a day of fishing for tilapia.

Our guide Joseph standing in the Nile at the exact point where the waterfall used to be.
In 1952 the Owen Dam was built for hydro-electrical power and the 40 foot waterfall was lost.



A pair of Cormorants 

 

Woodland kingfisher
 

African Openbill Stork
 

 Egret
 

 Pied Kingfisher
 

 Pygmy Kingfisher
 

 Vervet Monkey
 

Huts at the Gandhi Shrine on the Nile

Information about the Nile River and Gandhi Park located on the Nile River.  This River is the longest river in the world and travels over 4000 miles from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean sea. 



View of the Owen Dam at the source of the Nile in Jinja, Uganda