Road to Mercy: More Fun Times in Arua

Life in Arua.

Arua is located in the Northwest corner of Uganda on the border with Sudan and Congo. In the past few years many refugees have come there. The primary tribe or people groups is the Lugbara. One of Doug and Kathryn’s primary goals for this first year is learning the language, which is very difficult. It’s a tonal language, which means the slightest difference in intonation can greatly change the meaning of a word. The language does not follow a strict set of grammar rules and also there are various dialects of Lugbara spoken in the area. But I saw that many of the people are very grateful and amazed that these American missionaries are taking the time and effort to learn the language.

Typical sight on the streets of Arua

Most of my time in Uganda has been spent in Kampala, which is a bustling city of millions of people. Arua is not. It is much smaller and more rural. The roads are primarily used by motorcycles, called “pikis” not “bodas”, and bicycles. There were not very many cars on the roads. Most all of the roads are made of dirt and are lined with people walking. Most of the women are carrying something on their heads and have a baby tied to their backs. It is also very hot in Arua, as this is beginning their dry, summer season. Shopping is limited primarily to a couple of very small grocery stores, there are a handful of small restaurants, and an outdoor market. Another interesting fact, the electricity is turned off each night at 11 and does not turn back on until 7am. This means no fan at night, which means it is hot! All of the city’s electricity is provided by a generator so they turn it off at night to conserve. They also frequently turn it off on weekends for maintenance. It is also still not culturally appropriate for a woman to wear trousers/pants. So skirts are highly encouraged. In Kampala, you can often find women in pants, however in any formal meetings or business affairs a skirt/dress is preferred. So I wore skirts the whole time, which really was not a big deal, except for when riding a piki. This was my first time to ride a motorcycle side saddle with Mercy. Let me just tell you, I much prefer to straddle and that is what I do all of the time in Kampala… even in a skirt.

I think this makes me a real Ugandan woman now!

Another thing I noticed about Arua was that I stuck out even more than I do in Kampala. A white woman with an African baby is a new concept here and it is very difficult for people to even understand the idea of adoption. It is a totally foreign idea that you would willingly and lovingly take in another person’s child. Here most orphans are cared for by extended family, usually grandmothers or aunts. So I got many stares and a few comments, but that’s ok. I’m glad I can help to educate them about adoption and help people see that it can be a beautiful thing.

Friday was another day of firsts. We went swimming. Most every Friday, the Taylors go to a local hotel with a pool for an afternoon of swimming. I was so curious to see Mercy’s reaction. She had to swim in just a diaper because I do not have a suit for her. It was hilarious to see just how big that diaper could get in the water. We started out in the baby splash pool. She was standing in it and walking around a bit. Then she slipped and fell and went under. After that, the water was not fun. I thought maybe she’d like it if I got in the big pool with her. Negative! All she did was keep reaching for the side. So we only lasted about 5 minutes in the big pool. Then she spent the rest of the afternoon playing around in the grass near the pool, and she had a great time. Oh well, we’ll get her some swim lessons and I’m sure she’ll enjoy it more next summer.