Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Hello to all....here in Uganda we are an itchy bunch. We are covered in mosquito bites. So far none of us has malaria. The mosquitos are bad this season because the rainy season is lasting longer than usual. Yesterday was kind of a frustrating day. We set out in the morning prepared to buy 28 pairs of shoes for sponsored kids. This is no easy task in Uganda. So we had a few other items to get first...more mattresses, bedsheets, underwear, 2 dictionaries, Nomi laundry soap, more beans, a flashlight (which they call a torch), and medicines and vitamins. Then we went to the shoe store and the fun began. Sarah M. and I were very prepared for the task. We had measured the feet of the 28 students. So everyone got a piece of paper with the size of the foot. Once they found the one shoe that was the correct size they folded the slip of paper inside the shoe. Then the shoe sales person found the matching shoe. All the shoes were black, which is required at school. This process took roughly an hour, which was awesome! Then we found out the price. Half of the shoes were going to cost $55,000 shillings (roughly $25 dollars american) and the other half was going to cost $35,000 which is about $15 american. We were not okay with this....these shoes are not new. They are all used shoes and we could have gotten them cheaper in the States. We let the gal know this and said we would not pay that price. She brought it down to $50,000 and $30,000 and would not budge anymore. Shoes are expensive in Uganda! We told her we would not pay that price. So, we ended up taking all the slips of paper out of the shoes and walking away. We were so disappointed and also surprised that they would prefer to have no sale. It still would have been a big sale had they dropped the prices. Then we went to another shoe store. The first store was a store front that had all the shoes on racks...easy to see and pick what you want. This second store was not really a store, there were 5 or 6 piles of shoes on the sidewalk. We decided to take a break from looking for shoes. My dad and mom did get out because they had wanted to get Napoleon a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of sandles. They found them and we headed back to the house. Sarah M. and I started to organize all the gifts for sponsored kids. While we did that Mo and Marilyn sewed on fish. My dad was preparing for a sermon he is giving today in Wabiyinja and I think my mom was resting. Sarah and I again tried to be very organized about the process of sorting the kids gifts. We wrote the name on a piece of paper and taped it to the wall. Below the name we would place the gifts being given. We just went down the list...who gets shoe polish and a brush....who gets knives and so on. Marilyn placed all the things in plastic bags as we were separating everything. It went very well and the gifts are ready to be given out. When we were done it was time for dinner. We had mashed potatoes, coleslaw, peas, pineapple, and fried chicken. We gifted Napoleon with his shoes, a torch, a backpack, socks and writing books and pens. He has nothing and was so greatful for receiving them. Then we all fell into bed. Love to all.

Beth