Freda Omaswa - A Life Well Lived

I visited a funeral home for the first time to celebrate the life of a pretty girl called Freda. 

She was a doctor, a wife and a daughter but to me she was just Freda - a friend I got acquainted with in September of 2014.

I arrived early to a friend’s birthday lunch and she walked in shortly thereafter. We introduced ourselves and spent close to 45 minutes talking about life since relocating to America, about intermarriage among people of different ethnicities. We discovered we were both from Teso land. Sitting in that restaurant and waiting for the birthday girl we had a lot to talk about.

I was struck by her grace; her sweet smile and I loved the way she raised her eyebrows when she talked. There was an excitement in her spirit. She expressed her ideas with clarity and precision. Talking fondly about her husband and her parents back in Uganda.

She didn't mention she was undergoing chemotherapy. That some days were dark, that she had stage 4 colon cancer.
I didn't mention that I knew. That the birthday girl and I prayed for her often.

She was careful about her dash, you know? The little flat line that sits between the years of life: 1982 - 2016. She was careful without effort. I soon forgot that she was unwell and enjoyed good laughs with her and her humorous husband at yet another party.

I got news of her death on Monday and on Monday I found out she was a sister to a good friend. A daughter to a well-known Professor in Uganda. It seems to have slipped through the cracks. I wished I had known but I'm glad I didn't because she was large all by herself, she left a mark all by herself.
Tonight as Dr. Omaswa talked about her daughter I couldn't agree more. She was kind, selfless, graceful, elegant and confident. Large!

I met her at the end of her dash. She finished it straight.

Tonight I think of Paschal her husband of 2 years, Professor and Dr. Omaswa her parents, Mark her brother and Gloria her sister and my dear friend.

May Freda's life be celebrated always.
#WeloveFredabecause: Beauty shone from her soul and her bright smile. Her quiet spirit resounded with wisdom. Our friendship brief and sweet.

Freda's body will be laid to rest on the 10th of February 2016 in Ngora district.

Freda shares her diagnosis and battle with Colorectal Cancer

Auction - Okisoni: Market Day in Serere

Teso on my Mind: The local market -  You've got to visit the Wednesday local market in Serere. We call it "okisoni" probably from the word auction ☺️. There is nothing like it. This was my favorite market growing up. You can get almost anything here:- cups, plates, basins, food, clothes, saucepans, shoes, cows, sugarcane, bicycles, bricks, solar systems, sugar, bread, cooking oil - see? The list is endless.

Groundnuts a Source of Livelihood in Teso

Teso on my mind: Peanuts, g-nuts, ground nuts - however you choose to call them. As a little girl whenever my name was called followed by "obia aipac emaido" (come and shell the nuts) I would want to hide. Depending on the amount, it meant sitting on the veranda and shelling nuts for close to an hour. My fingers ached but as I grew I learned the right pressure points to open the shell. My aunt grabbed handfuls at a time and I watched the nuts popped out in a hurry. It was an art. Nut shelling was a communal activity, a time for team work and story telling.
Today, we have machines that crash the shells, sort the nuts and grind them to a paste. We have developed. We have saved time. We are more productive for the most part.

Here the nuts are spread on the "alaro" (veranda) to dry. Once dry they are easier to shell plus they don't rot as easily as they would if left damp.
We make groundnut sauce, peanut paste, roasted nuts, boiled nuts, oil, we even eat them raw although I was told raw nuts were not good for ladies, just the men :-). With good weather and fertile soils we should not go hungry.

Teso Huts for Teso Brothers

Teso on my Mind: 

Every son must have his own hut. 

These are my brothers huts, built in my fathers compound. When they come to visit, their families spend nights in their own space. It's a modern hut with a small bathroom and space enough to section off the kids. Mud huts require more maintenance with the walls being patched up with mud every 3 months. 

Ordered Steps

Zion Springs

Too busy, too loud, too hustled. Life was too much like we say back home. I sunk, drowned in the pit of chaos and noise all around. In my home, on the street, in my head. There was a deep seated desire to press the mute button, more like the pause button, better yet just switch off.

Could this be a sign of aging? The need to slow down, to turn down the lights for a while? Grandma smeared mud on her window panes, she sealed off one square at a time. She said there was too much light coming into her room. Here I was making a similar complaint. Electronics, screens, car engines, people … aah!!

“I need to go away for a while” I told my husband. Without asking many questions he helped me find a hide out somewhere in the woods of Lees burg.
I packed my bags and was on the road the next morning.

I branched off onto the graveled road, the trees were taller and closer together, the farm land spread out for miles, horses munched on hay outside barns. Sheep looked like little clouds moving in the distance. I knew I had picked the right place. The house felt cozy, like a rich uncle’s home. I was shown up to my room. As I walked up the stairs I hoped not to come down for a year until it was absolutely necessary. If only we humans could hibernate too perhaps we would be less grouchy.

Theme song that night:

“The voice of God, Almighty Warrior, declaring war. 
Hear His command, you are a chosen generation, 
A mighty force in the land.

All of creation now is waiting 
to see the righteous take their stand; 
moving out in His anointing, 
fulfilling God's eternal plan.”

God is getting ready to do something special but we’ve got to be ready - dressed in the holy armor.
I met the host the next morning at 9:00 am. She’d set the table; scrambled egg, sausage and apple pie. As I sipped on my cup of tea, I asked about her courage to open her home to strangers.
“The seed was planted over 20 years ago by this couple we met at church. They opened their home to us as newlyweds. We stayed there for 3 weeks while they traveled. “
Her husband said “God has called us to community, to breaking bread and sharing life. It’s not about hierarchical leadership in the church but communion and living just like the disciples did in acts”

Acts 2:46 – 47 “…They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”

Not only did they feed my body, they fed my spirit as well. The chances that I would end up in a home of a believer were so slim, it had to be a divine appointment.
I was blessed, refreshed and renewed.

Always remember, your steps are ordered by God. Take that into 2016

Mrs O Tags Along for Outdoor Education Camp

Fire to keep us warm inside. 

Never dreamed of the day I would be the parent who attends her son's events hoping not to totally embarrass him. But you see, the school organized a 3 day outdoor education camp and parents were invited to volunteer I thought it was a brilliant idea until I told my son.

A Bedtime Conversation

March 29th, 2015

Miss: Mummy please buy for me a new leap pad like yours
Me: The leap pad you have is still good. When you grow up you will be able to buy one like mine.
Miss: But I'll just be a police
Me: Even police can buy nice things
Miss: I will just decide who stays and who goes
Me: (Cracking up). But I thought you wanted to be a builder and a cooker
Miss: Yes, but I have to learn all those things... and I don't even have a drivers license. (tears in her eyes)
Me: Don't worry when you grow up you will learn all you need to know
Miss: But it takes a long time. I want to learn to drive now.
Me: You need to be at least sixteen to drive.
Miss: But can't I learn at six?
Me: Well you won't be able to hold the steering wheel and step on the peddles because your body is still growing.
Miss: Is Mich old enough to drive?
Me: No, he is not yet sixteen either

Her face brightens up, we say our good nights and she lays down her head to sleep.
Aha! The troubles of a little heart :)