Back in Aru

Hi Everybody!

I hope you all are enjoying the end of the summer. It was truly refreshing to my spirit to visit with many of you during my time in the U.S. Thank you for your hospitality and for making time to see me.

I departed Denver the morning of July 28 and arrived in Kampala at 4 a.m. on July 30 after a five-hour layover in NY, an eleven-hour layover in Cairo and a seven-hour time change. Fausto was waiting for me at the airport, and we flew together from Kampala to Arua where Luca awaited us. It's good to be together again.

Back in Aru we prepared for the arrival of the short-term volunteer group that was to arrive from Italy. On Sunday, August 3, Luca, Fausto and I caught the bus from Arua to travel back to Kampala to meet the seven volunteers. The trip took about six hours and we saw some beautiful scenery along with two elephants, two hippos, two gazelle, and some interesting bird life. We were able to spend and hour or two in downtown Kampala before taking a taxi to the convent where we met the volunteers and briefly slept before catching a bus back to Arua at 5 a.m.

The group is working on several projects that I will have to tell you about later. I think we've gotten off to a good start. I'm glad to be back in Congo, but I do miss you!

Love,

Tricia

Photos from D.R. Congo

Now that I have access to high-speed internet, I will post some photos to accompany the text I've written in past months to help you see what I've been talking about.

Hopes for the Future

This is a picture of Maman Feni and her two children. It is the first picture of our "library" in use. They are reading books that I collected, bought and shipped to Aru with your help. For now, those books are stored in a room in the former noviate building.

Maman Feni's husband, a teacher and university administrator, recently died. One of his dreams was to start a library in Aru. Maman Feni has agreed to work together with me to begin a library with our books. For now we only have about 400, but I'm busy looking for more books and further support while I'm here in the States. Little by little we can create a place for children and adults to read, study and learn.

Home Scenes

Cooking in the old kitchen

Our almost finished volunteer house

Luca and Fausto assembling solar panels

Making fufu (the staple of the people in our area of Congo, made from manioc flour)

Beauty

Our Work

Visiting Home

Hello!

Sorry about the infrequent blog updates! I will work on updating soon! For the moment, I just wanted to let you know that I'm back in Colorado for about a month to visit family and friends, and to prepare for my next year in mission in Congo.

I would like to have a gathering of my Denver area friends on the afternoon of Saturday, July 26, from 1:00 to 4:00. We can meet in Highland Park (where Woodbury library is located) at the intersection of 32nd and Federal. I will have my laptop with pictures and some snacks and stories. Please come if you can!

Tricia
pjpipkin@mac.com