Theres something there not telling us...Zanzibar

The team came and went so fast. We had such a great time with them and they truly blessed us in so many ways. When we dropped off the team at the air port we picked up NANCY BAMS! It was so great for Stef to see her Mom after so many months. We had a quick day in Kampala and then went right back to the air port. It took a boda, a taxi a boda, a plane and a taxi and we were finally in Zanzibar, Tanzania. 

I don’t think I have ever been on a real vacation before so I wasn’t sure what I was getting in to. The first two days were spent in Stone Town. Stone Town is a small historic  town on the coast of Zanzibar. The town was so amazing. When we first arrived it was dark so we did our best to navigate through the many many alleys to get to our restaurant. We celebrated Stef’s birthday on the roof of a restaurant called the House of Spice. Zanzibar is known for their spices and let me tell you, the food was amazing, such rich flavors. 

We stayed at this cute little bed and breakfast where I am pretty sure only one other person was staying. The staff was welcoming and our beds were decorated with fresh flowers. It was no resort but having a shower that didn’t feel like a chore with hot water definitely made it feel like one. 

We spent the our first full day exploring the town. It is so different than Gulu, the city is built up and has a european feel. Beautiful doors were the entrances to many shops and homes, and the architecture was amazing. It was Ramadan while we were there so we had to be careful not to eat or drink in public. We had lunch high above the town at another rooftop cafe. The view was gorgeous, the sky was blue and you could see the ocean. That night for dinner we went to the night market. Because Zanzibar is an island and on the water their trade is fishing. Every night all the fishermen set up camp right by the water and sell their fresh catch. It felt like a convention, everyone was trying to get us to check our their product and get your business. I ended up eating octopus, lobster with spices and Mahi Mahi. It was such a fun experience, and some how risky; to be honest I was nervous I was going to go bridesmaids after eating it. For desert we had sugar cane juice, which was delicious, and mango nutella crapes. 

The next morning we took a taxi to the north beach to spend 4 days right on the water. Our room was basically a tree house, bugs and mice included, but our front yard was a little taste of home mixed with a tropical feel. I never realized how much I missed the beach until I saw it. The water was clear, turquoise and so warm. The rest of our days at Kwenda Rocks was spent lying in the sun, swimming, reading and I even got a few runs in. The first night there was a barbecue dinner, a variety show and a beach party. Stef and I had so much fun and constantly found our selves in the middle of a dance circle with our fan club of new Swedish friends surrounding us. 

Unfortunately Stef got really sick. Doctors made a “tree house” visit and treated her everything under the sun, including an iv. She was still able to enjoy us by the water and by our last day she even joined us on a boat ride on the Indian Ocean. The boat took us to another island where we did a little snorkeling. We didn’t see very many fish but we did make alot of friends with some jelly fish. They weren’t like jelly fish you first think off but they were like transparent cubes that you couldn’t see just poking you like a prick of a needle. I didn’t realize what was stinging me at first but when I did my first reaction was to laugh and my second was “ well lets get our of here”. Sure I can handle some few pricks but once they start getting fresh with me I had to say no. We spent one last night back in stone town and then headed to the airport bright and early. 

My first vacation was great. I never thought I would be vacationing in Africa of all places, but it really was amazing. I love exploring new places, trying new food and doing things that you normally wouldn’t do. I had to take advantage of this trip, who knows when the next time I will be able to travel to new African countries (except for when my sister and I hike kilamanjaro). It was also really nice to get some sort of a break, it was a great time of relaxing. I got a little home sick while I was there, and at first I wasn’t sure which home I was missing. When I got back into Uganda I felt right at home and realized I missed it. I missed knowing where was, familiar faces, knowing some of the language and just being home. 

We watched the Olymics on a huge outdoor screen at Mish Mash, slept in a bed bug infested room, took 2 big suitcases, 2 little suitcase, and 3 carry ons in the rain to a bus and finally were in route to Gulu. Vacation ended fast with a work filled weekend and an exciting week ahead of us. 

Its been a couple weeks since Zanzibar and so much has be going on, be patient with me! Sorry for the over load on pictures, there was so much to see and there is so much to share. The world is a beautiful place, I just couldn't help myself!


 Love always,
                 Mary Joy

A little taste of home...

               7am bus ride, on a 5 hour long bumpy road is the way we got to Kampala. Kampala is an interesting city, it reminds me of LA, but an LA where the smog and exhaust is on crack and the traffic is 10X worse. It has its moments though; we stayed at a lovely place which is perfectly tucked away from the craziness of the city. Stef and I ran some errands and then had a relaxing girls night. Dinner at a swanky club where you get a free cocktail as you walk in, and a movie in a theater where you get a free drink with your ticket. On Saturday we picked up the RH girls from the airport and then took Cara on a tour of where Remnant gets their shirts. The tour was amazing, seeing how it was run and how everything was done. Thanks Herbert! Dennis our Kampala Boda, he calls us “boss”, took us all around and gave Cara a true Kampala Boda experience...which is fast and in and out through traffic.Stef took us all to a great restaurant downtown where I had some AMAZING steak and grilled vegetables. The team let Stef and I sleep over so we had a huge girly slumber party and then we all went to church the next day. 

Sunday was a day of pure bliss. We went to church, which was amazing and really nice to have a little taste of church back home, and then said goodbye to the team heading up to Gulu. Cara, Stef and I had meetings the next day so we just hung out all day at this place called Mish Mash. You could totally find Mish Mash somewhere in the OC or LA, its this great place that has tons of outdoor seating,lounge beds, picnic tables, art, and good food. We spent the majority of our day their taking advantage of the free wifi, and napping on the outdoor beds in the cool breeze. On Sundays at Mish Mash they have live music; as we were just relaxing a group of African drummers came to our area and began playing. The band moved to the front the the restaurant where they was a full set up, cultural dancing and outfits included. We left Mish Mash and headed to dinner where we ate Indian food on a roof top. It was just a nice way to end the weekend, finally getting time to really unwind and enjoy good food and good company. 

 We had more meetings on Monday and then headed back to Gulu. We got to the bus park around 2 and the bus wasn’t leaving until 4, and we didn’t arrive back in Gulu until 10pm. That was an interesting experience, but it wasn’t terrible and actually highly enjoyable. 

The week following was another amazing week. Having the team here was so fun. It was a small and speciallized trip, each girl using her gifts and expertise to learn how to better empower the people of Northern Uganda.  It was fun for Stef and I to have familiar faces from home and the christmas-morning-excitement sized care packages (costco/target/Trader Joes) they brought will keep us fueled for the rest of our stay...or as long as they will last us (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!). 

The days were spent all doing our own things, Cindy and Christina would have meetings with doctors or at clinics or hospitals,Tammi would meet with school directors, teachers or headmasters while Cara was helping Remnant with business, ,marketing, design and screen printing. Having Cara in Gulu was amazing, she is a US board member for Remnant International and she truly came at the most amazing time. I don’t know why it still surprises me that Gods timing is always right on time. Screen printing troubleshooting in Africa is not easy. Not only do we not have proper and up to date equipment but we also have to factor in all the obstacles and weather issues that come along with working in Africa. Within 30 mins of Cara being within the walls of Remnant compound she already made screen printing that much easier with a tiny trick of a loosening a few screws. She continued to blow our minds with more new tricks and a beautiful new screen printing  technique. We had several  meetings just digging into Remnant. We talked about everything from seasonal colors, designing, learning how to better create and display product, marketing and how to best communicate changes and new process to our ladies. It was a really really refreshing time. We had the chance to really work on the business side of the org while simultaneously working on how to best walk alongside our ladies. Brenda our livelihoods manager was amazing as usually, educating us on all that would be helpful to know. We had such a fun time with Cara, sharing our lunch of posho and beans. Read more about cara in Remnant Uganda’s blog. 

Our nights with the team were so much fun as we shared meals and  got  caught up with the rest of the team.  We made pad thai we went out for pizza, ethiopian and indian, we shared stories about our days and stories of how God was working in each aspect of our lives. I loved having all the girls here they were such a blessing! Thank you Cindy, Christina, Cara & Tammi, you took care of us, you loved us and you blessed us in so many ways. Thank you for all the laughs, the dance parties, and just being amazing!

If you want to help support my work with Remnant Uganda and my life in Gulu, you can send money through Pay Pal using my email address Maryjsick@gmail.com ! My birthday is August 16th so if you need a good reason...there it is! Thank you