Seriously, I was ask myself this question a lot. Sometimes I feel like I must have gone back in time.
This week I read a book that was set in the 1830s. The mom, a Quaker, was teaching the adopted daughter how to make bread. As I read, I actually got excited and had to make a note of the advice that she was giving the girl. After all, we haven't bought bread in over a month, maybe two, because I make our's from scratch now.
Later this week, I was reading a book about the battle at Gettysburg, so also set in the 1800s. In this book, I could relate with the main character as she was trying to get fresh water, finding old sheets and other fabric to use for cleaning up blood, apologizing for the biscuits that were accidentally burned during the confusion of the morning, folks showing up at the door because they needed help and her house was the only place nearby, and other random things.
On Sunday morning, we gathered on the porch for church. We had a visitor from Fort Portal in western Uganda, the aunt of Madame Merabu (aka Madame Cook). It was my day to share the message. Just as I was wrapping up, two ladies came walking up to the house. They were nurses sent by the government to immunize the children. When we went to Kapeeka last week, I actually heard from Auntie Betty that because of the refugees that have been coming to Uganda, there is an outbreak of Polio, so the government is sending nurses to immunize all the children. Now, I know that we get our kids immunized in the U.S., but imagine two nurses walking up to your house to immunize all the young children because of an outbreak of Polio in 2016. Once they immunized all the young ones, we gave them directions to follow the path to the village beyond us. Of course, they had to put a chalk marking on the house and a special mark on the kids' pinky fingernail to show that they had been here to immunize.
On Sunday evening as I prepared supper, I found myself laughing as I pondered what century I was in. I was enjoying the breeze coming through the windows as a storm built up outside, but I was hoping to get the flat bread made before the sun set too low or the dark clouds blocked out what was left. As I realized that the rain was coming, I sent Tyler to take the scrap bowl to Madame Merabu (our closest neighbor) for the pigs. We throw all of our scraps in the bowl and take it to her because pigs will eat anything. Figuring out what to do with your scraps and food wastes is a big challenge because they don't usually burn well. Then, I was pouring a liter of cooking oil from the plastic sacket it comes in into a small jerry can. As I tried to maneuver the plastic, I almost spilled some and my immediate thought was, "I only bought one liter and I'm not going back to town until next month, don't spill a drop!" The flatbread turned out fine, and the rice was nearly done, so I was cooking the beef. I couldn't tell if it was getting done because the lantern light wasn't strong enough and the sun had set.
Sometimes it just all seems so odd to me. None of these things fit into my previous reality. :)
Of course, you can add in the multiple times this week I've answered the door and felt like I had gone back in time. One young girl says, "Auntie, mom has sent this," as she hands me a small bag. In the bag is a bundle of irish potatoes from her garden. Another time, a different young girl says, "Auntie, these are for you," as she hands me a small bag with a bunch of small bananas inside. Of course, there are the few times this week that I had to send over some food to our neighbors because I had extra and you can't really save it and reheat it. :) Or that every night my door is knocked on by our neighbor that is bringing me a mason jar full of fresh milk from her cow. I take the milk inside and boil it to kill any possible bacteria. Of course, I pay her once a month for the milk.
Before cooking supper last night, Floyd, Troy, and I were out in the front yard playing frisbee while several little ones were running around playing other games. A few men caught our attention, They had placed two shoes on the ground at the distance of a full body length. They took turns trying to jump across. If they both made it, they moved one shoe further back and did it again. They kept going until someone didn't make it. Floyd and Troy gave it a try once. How interesting and refreshing to entertain yourself with shoes and pass the time with your neighbors.
I often times find myself thinking of my grandparents. Especially my Grandma Ann. She was a country lady and she always took care of my Grandpa and the kids and the grandkids. I remember her getting onto me once about Floyd doing the dishes. She said that he shouldn't be doing that, I should. My grandpa said that it was good for Floyd and she should just let it be. I laughed because he said that, yet he never did any dishes. :) I am sure she's be proud of me for making bread, hamburger buns, chicken and noodles, and all sorts of other things from scratch. I've even ground beef manually.
Anyway, as I sit here enjoying the electricity that can never be taken for granted, I just laugh at my current reality and odd since of being back in time.
This week I read a book that was set in the 1830s. The mom, a Quaker, was teaching the adopted daughter how to make bread. As I read, I actually got excited and had to make a note of the advice that she was giving the girl. After all, we haven't bought bread in over a month, maybe two, because I make our's from scratch now.Later this week, I was reading a book about the battle at Gettysburg, so also set in the 1800s. In this book, I could relate with the main character as she was trying to get fresh water, finding old sheets and other fabric to use for cleaning up blood, apologizing for the biscuits that were accidentally burned during the confusion of the morning, folks showing up at the door because they needed help and her house was the only place nearby, and other random things.
On Sunday morning, we gathered on the porch for church. We had a visitor from Fort Portal in western Uganda, the aunt of Madame Merabu (aka Madame Cook). It was my day to share the message. Just as I was wrapping up, two ladies came walking up to the house. They were nurses sent by the government to immunize the children. When we went to Kapeeka last week, I actually heard from Auntie Betty that because of the refugees that have been coming to Uganda, there is an outbreak of Polio, so the government is sending nurses to immunize all the children. Now, I know that we get our kids immunized in the U.S., but imagine two nurses walking up to your house to immunize all the young children because of an outbreak of Polio in 2016. Once they immunized all the young ones, we gave them directions to follow the path to the village beyond us. Of course, they had to put a chalk marking on the house and a special mark on the kids' pinky fingernail to show that they had been here to immunize.
Sometimes it just all seems so odd to me. None of these things fit into my previous reality. :)
Of course, you can add in the multiple times this week I've answered the door and felt like I had gone back in time. One young girl says, "Auntie, mom has sent this," as she hands me a small bag. In the bag is a bundle of irish potatoes from her garden. Another time, a different young girl says, "Auntie, these are for you," as she hands me a small bag with a bunch of small bananas inside. Of course, there are the few times this week that I had to send over some food to our neighbors because I had extra and you can't really save it and reheat it. :) Or that every night my door is knocked on by our neighbor that is bringing me a mason jar full of fresh milk from her cow. I take the milk inside and boil it to kill any possible bacteria. Of course, I pay her once a month for the milk.
Before cooking supper last night, Floyd, Troy, and I were out in the front yard playing frisbee while several little ones were running around playing other games. A few men caught our attention, They had placed two shoes on the ground at the distance of a full body length. They took turns trying to jump across. If they both made it, they moved one shoe further back and did it again. They kept going until someone didn't make it. Floyd and Troy gave it a try once. How interesting and refreshing to entertain yourself with shoes and pass the time with your neighbors.
I often times find myself thinking of my grandparents. Especially my Grandma Ann. She was a country lady and she always took care of my Grandpa and the kids and the grandkids. I remember her getting onto me once about Floyd doing the dishes. She said that he shouldn't be doing that, I should. My grandpa said that it was good for Floyd and she should just let it be. I laughed because he said that, yet he never did any dishes. :) I am sure she's be proud of me for making bread, hamburger buns, chicken and noodles, and all sorts of other things from scratch. I've even ground beef manually.
Anyway, as I sit here enjoying the electricity that can never be taken for granted, I just laugh at my current reality and odd since of being back in time.
Prayers are always with you!
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