Name Dropping! - March 12th, 2012

Tomorrow is a very big day!

About the time everyone in Oklahoma City is going to bed tonight, tomorrow will have arrived here in Uganda. And tomorrow is when I head back to Soroti from Kampala. Not just me, but this trip will include Maurice Kirya, The Godfather of Ugandan Soul Music, and his Manager, Onyait Odeke. Yes...... I just name dropped!

This is a big deal for many reasons. But I'll start with one of the things that I feel passionate about. One is that I have come to realize that most Ugandans don't realize what is going on here in their own back yard. Having Maurice and Onyait stop what they are doing while simultaneously try to get his latest album released is a huge sacrifice of their time and lets face it, their money. They haven't told me this,and they wouldn't, but I know. But they are both going to a part of Uganda that they have never been to. They have both visited villages, but from where I have traveled, the villages that we support are in the worst condition.

Joseph Kony has been in the social media spotlight for the past week. That is great, no matter where you fall in the controversy, Joseph Kony is a bad man. In 2006, the Ugandan Army was able to push Joseph Kony and the LRA out of Uganda. They have chased him into the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have chased him into Sudan and wherever else that he has been known to have fled. But for over twenty years he wreaked havoc on Uganda. The LRA combined with the cattle rustlers of the Karamojong have torn the lives of these people apart.They have been living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps for years. This happens when people flee their homes to seek shelter in numbers.

These IDP camps bred their own problems. Fathers were dying in war or while protecting their cattle left widows and fatherless children who were left to fend for themselves without the father figure there to help teach and discipline the curious children. Promiscuity led to STD's of which, HIV claimed many more lives. At one point, I believe the average life span in Uganda was 42 to 45 years. It is now up to 55, but lets face it, that's not much better.

Well meaning NGO's (Non Government Organizations) have sprung up all over here in Uganda, but many times, in its simplest terms, its a truck pulling up with boxes that are unloaded and left behind for the people to use, but it left no responsibility or drive what what men have remained. This is where I plug the book, "When Helping Hurts". That book was an eye-opener for me. Sometimes what we do in the best of intentions does more harm than good.

Maurice taking his time to come and encourage these men and women for the work that they have done on this project is a big deal. He's not coming with a box of goods, but rather with a word of encouragement from a fellow Ugandan. Hearing someone say "good Job!" goes a long, long way. Having someone with the respect and ears of his fellow Ugandans tell you "good job!" is an even bigger deal.

So tonight when you go to bed, say a prayer for our journey. Join me in asking God to open our eyes to what he wants us to see, to open our ears to what He wants us to hear, and even more importantly, to open our mouths to speak what he would have us speak.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Tom Cox

Monday, February 27, 2012

Good Morning from Soroti, Uganda! It rained yesterday and lat night here in Soroti. It has been so long since it rained that the ground soaked it uo faster than it could go anywhere. I always sleep so well when it rains.

Patience is a trait that you learn here in Uganda. I haven't blogged in a while, because quite frankly, there just hasn't been anything to blog about.

First, I'm currently without transportation. Last September I made arrangements to get a vehicle here in Uganda. The process of getting it here started in November. It was to be shipped from Japan. Unfortunately, it has been stuck in Mombasa, Kenya at the port. I read this morning that there are about 200 containers that are about to be auctioned off, 150 of which belong to Ugandans. The port is so clogged that is backing up the timeline for getting others out. The man I bought the car from is so frustrated that he went to Mombasa 4 weeks ago to try to get things moved along. I think it is finally on its way to Uganda, possibly at the border as I type this blog. I'm not saying when I should get the car, because frankly, I have no idea. TIA, this is Africa!

Second, we need to be drilling more bore holes. Whichever method we use to deliver the water for the irrigation project, we need to know how deep the boreholes are, so that we can get a firm quote. Without knowing the depth, you either over buy or under buy. Its just better to know. Unfortunately, the square tubing that we used was not made of thick enough steel. The tubing just twisted like a cork screw. We have ordered the correct tubing, but are still waiting for it to get here.

In the mean time, the people of Water4.org are gathering information from a wind-mill company back in the USA to see if we can use it with our bore holes here. Its so nice to have experts working on that problem.

Patience. I'm learning it! Please keep praying for me and this project.

Goodbye from Soroti!

Tom Cox

Saturday February 18th, 2012

Its already Saturday night here in Uganda. I returned from Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday morning. So, I've been thinking the last two days on how I would describe my trip to Kenya. Don't get me wrong, Kenya was nice. The trip went very smoothly. We were met at the airport by a man named Charles Munene. He picked us up, drove us to several hotels so that we could decide between saving money or personal safety. Kenya is under a travelers advisory from the USA, but I didn't have a budget for $300.00 a night. We found a nice place called the Boulevard Hotel for about $120.00 a night for both Joseph and I. As it turned out, Charles used to work there several years ago and still knew many of the people that worked there. He was able to negotiate for us a very good rate. It seems that in Kenya, like many other countries, has a local rate and a Westerner Rate. It was good that we had Charles for the rest of the week to pick us up every morning and drive us anywhere we wanted to go for only $70.00 a day. That's less than the cost of renting the car and driving yourself back home in Oklahoma. If anyone is ever planning a trip to Nairobi, I would be happy to share his information!

So, back to why we were there in the first place. Thika, Kenya is home to Kijito Windpumps. A place where they manufacture windmills. As it turns out, they are the only place in Eastern Africa that does. We wanted to know if we could place a windmill on one of our hand bored water wells. Was our well deep enough? Would the low cost pump that we were using from water4.org work with their windmill? You see, I want to make the money that was given so generously by my church, Westmoore Community Church, be enough to provide irrigation in all three of our Villages. I believe we can, but it is taking some planning and research to make it happen. More than that, God is crossing my path with many people that I believe will make it happen.

As it turns out, windmills are a viable option for what we are doing. The low priced pumps will not work, but that's because they are designed to pump in an entirely different way. The bad news, however, is that the price of the windmills are considerably higher priced than I had ever imagined. I had already contacted some manufacturers in the US and had been given some rough estimates as to cost. The prices I was quoted in Kenya were no where near those cost. And the shipping cost they were giving me wasn't a whole lot less than what I think it would cost to ship an entire container from the US. Fortunately, Johnny Jones, who works for Swift Transportation and also attends WCC, is checking on some shipping cost. Thank You Johnny!

All in all, it was a good trip. We were able to get some questions answered that I don't think we could have done had we not went. It doesn't mean that I liked all the answers I received, but they were answers none the less. The great people at Oklahoma Pump and Water4.org are helping me with questions and answers and more questions. They have assured me, that when and if we install windmills, that they would like to be here to help make it happen.

One thing I do know now is that regardless of which way we go, the wells need to be dug to determine how deep they are. We wont be able to get accurate pricing without knowing the depth of the water. In fact, with us getting water at only twenty-one feet for the first one, it may make using a solar pump a more viable option as well.

Now you know why I have struggled to write about the trip. I feel like I have just rambled on just asking a lot of questions. Well the truth is, that is what I am doing.

On another note, I did take the time to go and visit the Nairobi National Park. What an amazing place! I was able to see giraffes, white rhinos, black rhinos, a lion, zebras, buffalo, many types of gazelles, pigs, monkeys, and many more animals in their natural habitat. They are amazingly beautiful creatures. God's work is so magnificent and beautiful!

Please keep me and this irrigation project in your prayers. Keep Uganda in your prayers!

Tom Cox

Friday February10th, 2012

Hello everyone! This morning I have mixed emotions on writing this blog. There are some days that I am just moved to the point that I just want to write. Other days, when I know I need to, but just don't know how to say what I need to say. This is one of those days.

The last two weeks have been long weeks. There was the planning involved of receiving guest. Not just any guest, but those that were coming to change everything. In Uganda, planning doesn't come easy. Just ask anyone that has been here. There is a saying here: "Americans May Have Watches, But Ugandans Have Time!" This is so true, yet so frustrating.

In late November of 2011, Jimmy Sullivan and I went to meet with the people of Water4.org located in our home city of Oklahoma City. We had a great conversation and left there very excited about the possibilities. Those possibilities came to some fruition over these last two weeks. I am very happy to say that we have successfully installed our first bore hole in Abuleajet, Uganda.

This was a successful test drill to see if we could hand drill for water in this area. I had been told previously that we would have to go to deep to hit water in this area. We found sustainable water during this dry season at only 20' deep. Prior to this bore hole, the man you see pumping the first bit a water from this water well was making three trips a day to the nearest working water well to get enough water to cook the meals for our kids. Each about three miles round trip. That's nine miles a day, six days a week! You should have seen the smile on his face and the spring in his step as this bore hole came to fruition.

A big thanks go out to the people at water4.org and the people they work with here in Uganda, Sue, from the UK, and Sunday, from here in Uganda, both from Mission 4Water.

There is a lot more work to do here, but this is a big step in what I believe will change the lives of many. Please keep praying for this irrigation project! Please keep praying for me!

With Love!

Tom Cox

Friday January 20th, 2012 - Life Lessons

One of the most common things said to me from my friends and family back home is how proud they are of me for sacrificing so much to go to Uganda. I never know just how to take that because I really don't feel like I have given anything up. There is the obvious, my Family, my Church, the People I work with, and I could go on and on about these things that I miss, but they are relationships that I really just bring right along with me. They are a phone call, an email, or on occasion, I can even Skype them and be able to see them. Regardless, those relationships are always with me. I do miss them, but I know that when I see them again, it will be that much more special. I think most of the time, I, and maybe we all, take those for granted.

For me, the hard part about being here, now don't laugh, is the way I am catered to. I said don't laugh, because that is something that I really have a hard time dealing with. It's like the last time I moved, Robert & Margot Genzer surprised me by showing up at my new home with a dresser, and some muscle to help me get moved in. Ask Margot....... she will tell you just how hard that was for me to let them help. Then there is Jackie Taylor, she has a key to my house now that she has used to go and organize my home while I have been gone. That one is not as hard to deal with simply because I am not there to witness her doing it, but when I arrived home, the last time...... It was hard, because I could tell how much work she had done. Then there are the people that I work with. They work so hard in a Company that I really don't have a lot to do with anymore, so that I can come over here and do "missionary work".

God is working on me.

Life in Soroti is not that difficult at all. You see here at home, I have both John and Joseph. These are two young men that were abducted as teenagers by Joseph Kony and the LRA to fight in a war. On one occasion, John was almost killed instantly, by the same men he was fighting with, because he knew the direction to the home he was from. John has multiple gunshot wounds that he suffered as a child. Joseph has multiple gun shot wounds as well. One of which, sits so close to his spine that when you put your finger on it, you feel his back bone. These are two young men, that literally had their youth stolen from them. They stay here and protect me from whatever trouble may come. Whenever there is a need, they run to the store as quickly as you can say "will you" and they are off. They keep the dogs that are released every night to roam the fenced compound, fed and bathed. They make sure that I am locked in at night and okay in the morning. They are truly a blessing. How do they respond to being abducted as kids? They praise God for seeing them through it safely.

Immaculate comes every morning to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for me. She arrives at about 8:00 am and leaves around 7:00 pm. When I say cook, I mean cook. It is not as simple as going to the store and picking up a box of mix and spices or a couple of chicken breast and ground chuck. Each meal is prepared from scratch. The garlic is sliced and ground, the onions are cut and diced. Everything is done only to start preparing the next meal. Special attention is paid to what I like and what I don't. In between working on the meals...... she finds time to do my laundry and clean the house. In case you are wondering, the laundry is washed by hand and hung up to dry. When my laundry is done, it is brought back to my room neatly folded or ironed, maybe both.

Right now, I have Penninah, a twelve year old girl, and Joahan, a twenty five year old, also here to help take care of me. Penninah will be off to boarding school on the 22nd and Joahan will be leaving around the 29th to go back to the University in Kampala. Both of them work very hard to make my life easier. The entire house is swept with a small, locally made hand broom, that requires them to bend at the waist to sweep, and then mopped with a towel and a bucket of water. This is done in the morning and in the afternoon.

Yesterday two young girls arrived from one of the villages. They too have pitched in to help around the house and or compound. Their names are Harriet (age 14) and Scolla (age 17). Penninah was excited to see them, so I know they have been here before. I have met both of them before. Harriet, because she is just one of the many kids that Joseph and Anne (the owners of the home I rent) pay for their school fees. I've met Scolla before because I have visited the Village she lives at. They have both arrived because Joseph and Anne will be here later today and school will start soon. Regardless, they have both found their way into the work detail.

They sing while they work. What do they sing? They sing praises to God. When I tell them thank you, they say "no.......... thank you". "For what?"... I ask. For paying for a roof over their head and food for them to eat. For providing a job for Immaculate who supports five boys and also takes care of her father.

It sounds so rough doing mission work! The truth is, it is very hard to watch them do this much work. When I try to do my own laundry, it makes them uneasy. Its like they have done something wrong. I have tried explaining to them how uncomfortable it makes me for them to do everything and they have asked me to please let them.

I am so humbled right now to be surrounded by so good of people. They work hard because they glorify God with their work. They bless me so much. I came to serve, and yet I am served. Faith in God and Trust in Him is taught to me every day here in Uganda. I pray that I can do the things that God has sent me to do. That my eyes are open to what he wants me to see, and that I can tell some story in a way that touches you that are reading this post.

Thank you for your prayers!

Saturday Jan 14, 2012

Its early Saturday morning here in Soroti, so, I just want to follow up on what has been going on this week.

First, Peninah was accepted into the boarding school, no problem. They looked at the report we had brought from her previous school, test her, and said she would have no problems. I think the only problem Peninah had that day was my driving. She usually sits in the back and is usually asleep as soon as she gets in the car. This time she was in the front........ and had to actually see these roads, not my driving!

Thursday was payday for the workers in the village. They work Monday through Thursday, they are off on Friday to be able to go to the market, and than they come back to work on Saturday and take Sunday off as well. So on Thursday, I went with Robert to deliver the payroll. When we arrived at Acanga, they were expecting a meeting. They showed me the goats they had arrested since I had last been there. They are arranging to have a community wide meeting to further address their concerns about the animals being in the gardens and the few people who continue to allow their animals roam the gardens. I like the direction they going in, but I asked them why it was that we had to keep having meetings in Acanga? Again, I told them that these were their kids and that this was their project. They really need to get behind the workers and stand up for them when they arrest the goats and whatever else that gets into the garden. Before I left, I was treated to a potato that had been baked in the dirt. Don't know how they did it, I just know that it was good.

Above everything else that has happened this week...... I am excited about the prospect of hand-digging water wells in our gardens. From everyone I have talked to in the villages, it is very likely that we will be able to hit water within the 75 feet range. This is great news. Also, it seems that we have more wind than I remembered having here. Maybe having a windmill to pump the water is a viable option.

Sorry if I am rambling on, but I'm trying on this blog thing..... wish I was better at it. Thanks for the feedback that I have been getting. But most of all, thank you for your support and prayers!

Tom Cox

Just A Side Note .... Jan 11, 2012

So I take every opportunity I get to meet people here in Uganda. Whether here in Soroti or in Kampala. You know those little boxes that pop up on the right side of facebook that say people you should or might know? Everytime I see someone from Uganda, I send a friend request. I have begun to meet a lot of people this way.

One of the people I have met is studying business at one of the Universities in Kampala. Hers is an interesting story. Her family lives here in Soroti. After talking to her I have learned what a struggle it is for her to go to school. And what some parents will do to send their child to school.

You see, there is a rock quarry here in Soroti. I have never been there, but others from Children's Hopechest have. You see these women sit there and pound rocks into gravel all day long. They do this by hand. They get paid about $30.00 for every truck load of gravel they produce. Thats $30.00 for every TRUCK LOAD they produce. Did I mention that this is by hand?

Thats what this girls mother has done to send her sister, and now her and her brother to college. The cost of college here in Uganda is about $800.00 per semester.

To me, that is an amazing display of love and sacrifice to show a child. I don't think I could do it. I was told that as soon as her brother and her are finished with college, the mother will quit that job.

Just a side note of a mothers love!