YOUR BROKEN HEART MENDED MINE

Your eyes locked in a loving gaze
Words were not necessary - You had been chosen
Papa’s heart was breaking but you knew It had to be done.
A decision soaked in Love and Mercy,
Grace and Compassion,
Sorrow and Pain,
And Passion – a mission!

Wrapped in swaddling cloth and held in the delicate but firm hands of a maiden.
Though she was naïve and inexperienced you saw obedience, desire and wisdom.
How did you feel dressed in human flesh? - A “made-in-your-likeness” baby?
You! Perfectly God yet perfectly man.

32 years on, your purpose unfolded
12 simple men by your side, questioning, always questioning,
Crowds following, some smiling, some sneering
Ladies reaching for your cloak, emptying perfume jars on your feet,
Eager to hear you, feed you and wash your feet with their tears.

The donkey and the Palms
The 12 simple men at the dinner
The garden – bleeding with sorrow
The betrayal
The interrogation
The denial
The crown of thorns
The flogging
The wood plunks, heavy on your back
The excruciating journey up the hill
The nails in your hands and feet
The gush in your side
Aaaah!

Papa turned away
Deserted you to bear it all
You became sin, but you hadn’t sinned
Alone, wounded, mocked, despised
The last breath and you were gone.

What happened down under?
What did you there?
What did you see?

Three days later
You came forth
The stone was rolled away
The BATTLE won
You took the keys of death and hell

Now I immerse myself in your blood,
I use your Name – the password to Life
Your obedience paid my ransom - bought my freedom

You are coming again, do not tarry I pray
But that I would be ready when you return.

Copyright © Mary 2010

HAPPY EASTER!

24 weeks with a stitch and what to expect

When I first became pregnant in 2004, there was one book that moms swore by. It was expensive, those with copies guarded them jealously. I was told the book had everything an expecting mom needed to know about pregnancy and the title – “What To Expect When You're Expecting” said it all. Although I was never able to get my hands on a copy, I visited the website regularly and I still do. What I appreciate about WTE, (apart from the detailed information on various topics) is the humor. It was easy to get a slight smile on my face on days when I was bloated, when the world has a sick smell or when I couldn't lift my head off the pillow.
There is a wealth of information on this website for ladies trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, have just given birth, have a toddler - the whole nine yards. I just love it.

I’m 24 weeks today!

I enjoy feeling baby’s movements, I love the tap tap tap, the pokes and twirls, smooth and reassuring. Some of the kicks have been alarmingly painful though, the scan showed my cervix is already dilating but thanks to the stitch everything is still intact. It might have to be reinforced but I will only know after my doctor's appointment tomorrow. I’ve got to be extra careful. It's not easy, especially now that I feel energetic and want to do so much. It’s exciting to come this far in my pregnancy - Nziiza and Kwizera didn’t get to this point. I also read that babies have a good chance of surviving from now on.

Baby has an interesting sleep/wake pattern; -he is gyming away at 9:00pm when I'm ready to sleep. 5:30 am, when my alarm goes off, he wakes up. At 20 weeks, the alarm would startle him but now, he is used ; he either wakes just before it goes off or just on time. On weekends, he is my alarm, he wakes up at the same time. Who knew sleep patterns could be noted so early?! Can I reinforce this out of utero?! I wonder.

Poof!

My word! Something is going down up in Uganda.

The Bududa landslides that hit eastern Uganda early this month, were a shocker. The destruction and death unfathomable;- whole families suffocated under the mud, children left orphans, fresh widows and widowers. It all happened in the blink of an eye. When King Solomon said life is fleeting, he was spot on, these hard working groups of people woke up to death. No one saw it coming, literally.

Last night, the Royal Kasubi tombs caught fire and burnt down - something like rain in the desert. My jaw dropped in shock. What is going on?

Acts of God, and now acts of man, what next?

I think about the tombs with nostalgia and pride because I ‘m glad I visited this historic site early last year. I saw it in all its glory; the smell of dried banana fibers, dust, coffee beans, backcloth and old wood, now replaced by the choking smell of smoke and ash -all this, turned to ash and emptiness. The relics; the spears, the king’s stuffed leopard, Buganda's history, our heritage ...

David Hoffman has some insights to share about losing everything. His house burnt down and this is what he had to say

My special before picture;

So, hopefully we can take this bad and make something good out of it.

A FUNK

Spinning in circles - circles - circles
My stomach churns, my head expands
This place I know, this place I've been
Trapped in its miry, musty ways
I gasp for air and freshness.

This routine makes my skin crawl
To escape its grip - my one desire
But how?
Please tell me now
I’m drowning, suffocating, writhing
Humiliated and exposed.

Copyright © Mary Ongwen 2010

Beware the Ides of March

Caesar was warned by a seer to be on his guard against a great peril on the Ides of March. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey (where he would be assassinated) Caesar saw the seer and joked "Well, the Ides of March have come," to which the seer replied "Ay, they have come, but they are not gone."

Precious memories of Julius Caesar.

Scam??

It was a Thursday afternoon, around 2:30pm. The sun had his eyes glaring down on us; faces glistened with sweat and wet shirts clang tightly to men’s backs. I was in the cool of my office, enjoying the brilliant invention of air conditioning when a boy walked in. He was a little over 4 feet, he had big round eyes - the kind that grip your heart. His faded grey shorts and what used to be a white shirt hang off his tiny frame, saved from sliping right off by a belt that was tightly locked around his waist.

I promptly discontinued my duties to embrace the reason this little soul was in my office; he should have been in school. Our eyes met in a brief locking gaze before he quickly looked down and fell to his knees. I had never seen such pleading marble sized eyes before - eyes drained of all childhood eagerness and play. In the most desperate and dejected of ways, he kept his eyes fixated on the carpet and in a monotone he whispered “Sibyo tyano nyabo” I responded and asked him to speak in English.
Like a tape recorder had been switched on he began again

“Goodafternoonmadam mynameis…Iamgoingtoschoolbutwaschaseawayforschoolfees. IamcomeheretoaskforyoukindassistancetogivemeanymoneysoIpayandgobacktoschool. IwaswalkingontheroadandseethisbuildingthenIdecidetocomeandaskassistance".

Wow! He had spoken dozens of words in seconds - stop, rewind, and start again.

A colleague, curious to know who the little boy was came by,the boy introduced himself again and explained the purpose of his visit. Because my colleague is Dutch, I asked the boy to take it slow, one sentence at a time.
This sincerely desperate child knelt down again, opened his tattered bag and presented his term report. He had been promoted to p6, had impressive marks in every subject - a clear demonstration that he studied hard.
Money or the lack of it stood in the way of him and first term as a semi candidate.
My Dutch colleague was most intrigued.

“Where do you live?”

“Kawempe”

“Who do you live with?”

“My grandmother and 2 younger brothers”

“What happened to your parents?”

“TheydieofAids”

Was he telling the truth or just tagging at our hearts for all the wrong reasons?

“How much are your school fees?”

“50,000 shillings sir”

“Have you collected any money so far?”

“Yes, sir”

He kneels down again and carefully withdraws an old dented tin Oxford math set from his bag. The Oxford set no longer had its utensils but there were broken pencils and used up pens. He lifted the paper on which the pencils rolled around and beneath was a starsh of Uganda shilling notes and coins.

“Do you promise me that you will not go and spend this money?”

“No sir, I gostraight to schoolandpayfees. I comeback and give you receipt. When termend I bringmy reportyousee”

He was given 50,000 shillings. I never saw a boy more grateful.

He was back on his knees;
“Thankyousir, thankyoumadam, Godblessyou, Godwatchoveryou, Godblessyou, thankyouverymuch. I’m goingbringschoolreceipt.

It’s been two weeks now and we haven’t seen him again.