Decker’s Diary on the Mission Field Dear Friends and Family, I got back to the States just in time for the cold winter to dump several inches of sn ow on tw o/thirds of the coun try. It brought back childhoo d memories of walking home from school with snow banks higher than my head and not wanting to walk on the path cut into the snow that led to my house. As I look back, I wonder if th e Israelites had the same hesi tancy starting out the trek through the high walls of water as the sea was opened to them. It’s a good thing that I like to shovel snow. This place, in Missouri, got 5 inches on Christmas Eve an d 17 inches on the first of Februa ry. Unlike be- fore when the indicator to “quit” were cold feet, now my knees tell me when they’ve had enough cold. It must have something to do with the metal post of the replacements that is anch ored into my bones. When that gets cold, i t seems to radiate that cold up into my thighs and all the way to my feet. The flight from Uganda went well and I went from sweating at the Equa- tor, to freezing in Missouri in one day’s time. On my last day at ABBA House, as they were preparing the food for their supper, they told me that every time they fixed greens, they w ould think of me. That was good to hear. I had learned enough of the national language, Luganda, to successfully give a proper goodbye as I was leaving the property— not a final goodbye but an “open-ended” goodbye. Those were two high points of that day; what a nice memory. Starting Over — In some ways, I feel like I’m starting over in this children’s home. Though now, due to efforts of House of Friends through me, the kids have a pit latrine and bathing stalls inside the security fence and between Abba House One, for girls, and Abba House Two, for boys. Now they don’t have to go way down the path at night, nor on vacation days to use the school’s latr ine. But mostly, I found the home to be without rules and the kids without chores. The property is in need of a multi- purpose dining area. It just needs to be a concrete floor and a roof, with some tables -- somewhere that all can sit to eat, or do their homework, or have dev otions. When they are served food, they sit where they can— on the front stoop, or on the ridge of the old sandbox, or inside their respective houses. I did a few random room checks and found: 1) Dirty plates — the girls are better about them; they wash them immediately and store them in their closets until th e next meal. The boys fling them into the bushes, like Frisbees, or slide them und er the beds, or hide them away in cabinet s. I even found a dirty plate hidd en in the stack of new mattress es. 2) Leftover food— predominantly “posho”— gets thrown out on the ground for the dogs, chick- ens, pig, or ants to eventually eat; but I found a neat (continued on back) February, 2011 Thank you so very much for your sup- port that made the existing water harvest- ing gutter sy stem a reality at Abba House. Some of these children have come from villages where they have retrieved water from distances of a mile away. It’s a new and wonderful thing to have a spigot right outside the door. The system still needs a down-spout addition that will allow the first water to be filtered out, as they tend to drink it. We don’t want them to be drinking the roof dirt. Thank you also for your confidence in me for the garden project that enhances Abba House meals with vitamins and min- erals from home-grown vegetables. When I return, the other project I would like to see happen would be an irrigation system that would make available longer growing seasons and a b etter garden. Oh, such pos- sibilities are exciting. Will you help me do these things? Barb Decker I will support Barbara Decker’s work on the mission field with House of Friends in the following way. Barbara Decker Mission Support (Monthly) $_________(One Time Gift) $________