So...I'm sitting here...procrastinating...I should be packing my bags and getting ready to go...because (break out in song....clear throat..aahhum...do re me...) I'M LEAVING...ON A JET PLANE, don't know when I'll be back again!
Africa has been (a)...
Thunderstorm
Challenge
Dream
Sunrise
Beauty
Wonder
Delight
Heartache
Smile
Hymn of praise
Brokenness
Plate of matooke
Mirror
It's been the best of times and the worst of times
Dance
New birth
Questions
Bare toes in the red mud
New Rhythm
A cow chase
Gift
Personal Conflict
Forced Academia
Pineapple on a hot day
Good conversation over milk tea
Window
Surprise
Green house
Goat wheelie
Desert
Spring
A colorful woven mat upon which a daughter kneels
I came to Africa wanting Uganda to somehow “permeate my soul,” without really knowing what that would mean or look like in my life. And now I prophesy that my time here will never escape me. In one form or another I will carry this semester, and these experiences with me in all that I do for the rest of my life. Though that sounds rather grandiose, this semester has shaped my heart and shifted my global perspective, so that I will never again the Erin that came off the plane one dark and humid Ugandan night in January. Rewind...I have great ambitions of being this new changed somebody who experienced a piece or two of Africa..and though I hope to live in greater gratitude, to practice deeper hospitality, to implement simplicity everyday, to be intentional about interceding for the world (and to be better informed), to dance more, to make relationships amongst life's most brilliant priorities, et cetera, I am much still me and life is still life. People are still people and we are all caught in this cosmic realm of humanity, pain, suffering, atrocity, redemption, beauty and wonder.This time has been incredible...it has been a rush and a fun ride (boda boda style)...thank you my dears ones for riding with me. As I go now to pack my bags...as I think of actually leaving, really leaving those I said good-bye to today...I want to curl up in a ball and as I have wanted to do much of this semester....I want to cry into the earth as I dig my hands into the earth. I haven't actually done this..but oh how I want to weep and literally pour my heart into this land. Pray for me as I go, as I leave a piece of my heart here (okay...I know it is cliche, but anyway). Oh my Uganda, oh my heart.
*Flying for a little entourage in Europe for a few weeks and then I'll be home (May 26th) and I'm eager to catch up with you all and hear your stories of these past few months! I love you and miss you...and as hard as it is to comprehend leaving...I am excited to see your beautiful, shining faces! Weraba!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
school is finished
wow. classes are already over...okay all except one, which will continue through out our time Rwanda. We are headed across the border on Saturday...leaving here at a blissful five am. Short semester really. I can't believe it is coming to an end. Will say good-bye to my family on friday morning. Big farewell party on thursday night. Will try and post after rwanda (but I'll be out of contact for our time there) with hopes of debriefing some of my time here with you! And the tears fall.....
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
BWINDI
drove twelve hours on friday to the border of uganda and the congo to a place called bwindi. this place is so beautiful it looks fake: like cheesy forest wallpaper....only they were real trees...one of those misty jungle wonder scenes! i had missed the informative meeting and had no idea what we were doing there, except that we were probably going to meet with some missionaries. as we bumped along the road I asked about our schedule for the weekend: we are going to meet with a doctor they told me....jeepers! from this bit of info, the weekend unfolded into a beautiful blessing! Dr. Scott works with the Batwa pygmy people who were displaced as the government designated the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for the silver back gorillas. They are among the most underprivileged people in the world...out in the middle of "no-where," often struck by malaria and malnutrition, many times young girls having babies too big for their small frames, with a life span of only about 30, with a HIV prevalence rate possibly as high as 14%. Dr. Scott is living out the dream my friends...he and his wife started this health center where they have a newly opened children's ward, a waiting mothers' ward, and surgery (for emergency cesarean sections)..they are doing HIV/AIDS education, have started a school, are exporting baskets that the women are weaving, they are involved in the construction of homes out in the village...health care meets development in intertwined beauty. We helped with these houses on Saturday: we threw mud at the wall....it is by far my favorite construction technique.... therapeutic too. They make a frame out of reeds and build the walls out of mud that they have mashed up with their feet...before we started building/mudding we hit the drum and danced...these people can dance!!!!! On Sunday we visited a small church on a bluff just over the hill from the Congo: it was rather distracting to look out the window and see glorious countryside speckled with banana trees! There were probably two hundred people there, half of which were probably children....we were seated in the front as special guests....we sang...we danced...we rejoiced with our black brethren! Reverend Eric danced like Moses' father-in-law Jethro from the Prince of Egypt! A couple of girls in bright pink and blue gowns danced with bells on their ankles like gypsies. The offering was taken...in the form of money and goods....some people giving beans and avocados, matoke, tomatoes....these were auctioned off in exchange for a monetary offering :D It was a long service: we arrived at about 10 and were there until about 4...the day had been set apart, a day of worship. Rev. Eric gave us a chicken too. We danced our way back to our vehicles after sharing lunch with the Rev and his family: I danced barefoot with the young "gypsy" girls--we kicked up so much dust we couldn't see each other anymore.
we drove 12 hours yesterday...oh butt cramps....yet beautiful...last night the moon was out and their was a bit of a cloudy patch that was occasionally lit by lightening...fun times in the IMME van!
Story from this morning: I went to the health center to visit a few patients...and I truly was asked to marry the brother of a few women. How to explain that I'm not interested in an arranged marriage.... and I was asked to name their baby. I suggested Joshua as a good name...I think they are going to keep it. What an honor to name a child. Wow.
we drove 12 hours yesterday...oh butt cramps....yet beautiful...last night the moon was out and their was a bit of a cloudy patch that was occasionally lit by lightening...fun times in the IMME van!
Story from this morning: I went to the health center to visit a few patients...and I truly was asked to marry the brother of a few women. How to explain that I'm not interested in an arranged marriage.... and I was asked to name their baby. I suggested Joshua as a good name...I think they are going to keep it. What an honor to name a child. Wow.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
get your he-goat on...shake that booty.
You know you have spent quality time in Africa when:
*You understand the importance of sweeping the dirt
*(You always know about three people who have malaria at any given time
*You answer yes by raising your eyebrows, or you resort to "eh" (when before it was only a mockery of the Canadian accent)
*You are somehow embarrassed when visiting speaker Rick Warren mentions some cheesy analogy about using a knife and a fork...for you realize that such is completely cultural...most people here use their hands
*Your skin matches that of a wee little African newborn
Okay....cutting to the chance...I figure this is the easiest way to announce it to the general public. Two days ago I was proposed to. Offered twelve cows, and TWENTY GOATS!!! And get this, I accepted. Amina!!! Oh this lad's name is Gilbert (always wanted my Gilbert Blithe)...a handsome one....I'm staying here!!!!!!! I'm going to be a muganda girl for real! Wicked sweet.
On Monday I danced the traditional Kiganda dance for our community our fellowship (all the USP students led the service)...it was smashing...we wore goat hides on our rears and wiggled our hips to a song all about thanking yesu...the audience was in an uproar...one lady even came up on stage and put a coin in each of our hands...funny enough, the room with our clothes was locked when we finished...so we went to the dining hall all done up still (yes, the goats came with us)....we danced for the kitchen staff after they finished serving....dancing really warms people up, they appreciate it so very much! I was grateful to be able to show my love for Uganda (particularly the Baganda) by shaking my rump.
Spent yesterday with the UCU nursing students as they did clinical rounds...spent the day with three beautiful ladies who had had complications after birth...the day was so refreshing, nursing students are just lovely, and it was nice to be in and with the patients. I visited the health center in town the day before and found it difficult to really "be" with patients as I had imagined...it must be odd to be in the hospital and have a white stranger approach you. I was also able to go into the nursery where the premature babies are cared for...all bundled up in their incubators. One baby died while I was there, and God, the mother had just arrived. Pray for this woman...I know she is faceless to you...but pray for the nameless, faceless African woman who lost her small son. I am learning much about prayer. I visited the health center wanting to offer prayer as a ministry...but I realized that such a mission was somehow foolish...for to go and pray is good...but it shouldn't be contained to a set time and place...praying for those who are sick...inside and outside the walls of the clinic should be constant...and I don't know...I think it can be silent....but I think we should be in fervent practice of praying for those too weak to pray for themselves. I often fail and don't know how...may we be sincere in discipleship and learn to pray.
For those who have stuck with me through my ramblings so far....bless you....and for those who maybe believed that I was engaged...:D April fools! Happy April everyone! May the beauty of spring kiss you softly on the cheek this day!
*You understand the importance of sweeping the dirt
*(You always know about three people who have malaria at any given time
*You answer yes by raising your eyebrows, or you resort to "eh" (when before it was only a mockery of the Canadian accent)
*You are somehow embarrassed when visiting speaker Rick Warren mentions some cheesy analogy about using a knife and a fork...for you realize that such is completely cultural...most people here use their hands
*Your skin matches that of a wee little African newborn
Okay....cutting to the chance...I figure this is the easiest way to announce it to the general public. Two days ago I was proposed to. Offered twelve cows, and TWENTY GOATS!!! And get this, I accepted. Amina!!! Oh this lad's name is Gilbert (always wanted my Gilbert Blithe)...a handsome one....I'm staying here!!!!!!! I'm going to be a muganda girl for real! Wicked sweet.
On Monday I danced the traditional Kiganda dance for our community our fellowship (all the USP students led the service)...it was smashing...we wore goat hides on our rears and wiggled our hips to a song all about thanking yesu...the audience was in an uproar...one lady even came up on stage and put a coin in each of our hands...funny enough, the room with our clothes was locked when we finished...so we went to the dining hall all done up still (yes, the goats came with us)....we danced for the kitchen staff after they finished serving....dancing really warms people up, they appreciate it so very much! I was grateful to be able to show my love for Uganda (particularly the Baganda) by shaking my rump.
Spent yesterday with the UCU nursing students as they did clinical rounds...spent the day with three beautiful ladies who had had complications after birth...the day was so refreshing, nursing students are just lovely, and it was nice to be in and with the patients. I visited the health center in town the day before and found it difficult to really "be" with patients as I had imagined...it must be odd to be in the hospital and have a white stranger approach you. I was also able to go into the nursery where the premature babies are cared for...all bundled up in their incubators. One baby died while I was there, and God, the mother had just arrived. Pray for this woman...I know she is faceless to you...but pray for the nameless, faceless African woman who lost her small son. I am learning much about prayer. I visited the health center wanting to offer prayer as a ministry...but I realized that such a mission was somehow foolish...for to go and pray is good...but it shouldn't be contained to a set time and place...praying for those who are sick...inside and outside the walls of the clinic should be constant...and I don't know...I think it can be silent....but I think we should be in fervent practice of praying for those too weak to pray for themselves. I often fail and don't know how...may we be sincere in discipleship and learn to pray.
For those who have stuck with me through my ramblings so far....bless you....and for those who maybe believed that I was engaged...:D April fools! Happy April everyone! May the beauty of spring kiss you softly on the cheek this day!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
easter
You know you have spent good quality time in Africa when...
*you can't walk down the street without being overly conscious about the cleanliness of your shoes
*you think using a squatty potty is easier than a regular toilet
*when you actually crave rice and beans (or my especial favorite, the purple gnut sauce) for every meal...and are somewhat disappointed at the prospect of variety.
anyway...i wanted to tell you about easter....so
Visited the Luwero District for Good Friday and Saturday. Friday morning we met at the Catholic church with hundreds of others...and after a short mass and introduction to the stations of the cross we walked together--a conglomeration of Catholics, Evangelicals, Anglicans, Orthodox....even a few Finns and Germs--through the town, following Jesus. We tripped over each other as we dodged puddles from the night before. I walked hand in hand with Carol and another sweet child whose name was pronounced entirely too softly for my American ears to discern. Elderly folk made their way slowly. Mothers and sisters carried babes on their back. The black Jesus carried his cross. This was an incredible experience to say the least...imagining in a whole new way what it must have been like that day long ago in jerusalem (correct me if i'm wrong...but i think it was jerusalem)...when people followed in herds alongside the mysterious criminal who claimed to be a King. Most likely many could not see what was going on. Most likely people were somehow more concerned about keeping track of their children than on what the suffering of the Man God meant for them. Oh beautiful Jesus.
Spent Saturday at a home called Jesus Cares…a place where Uncle Sam and his family open their arms to families broken by HIV and AIDS. We played for hours…we sang…we fellowshipped for a brief moment in time. My new favorite game: you circle up and everyone chants “dance, baby dance” and then someone is chosen to bust a move :D Most of my time was spent with Nabanulaba and Christine. Christine was a little angel. She was “born without shoulder bones,” and so does everything with her feet…and yet she can embrace you--and I was graced by her embrace. Nabanulaba and I played soccer and smiled and laughed conversing in a love language that expressed itself outside of words….
In an attempt to be poetic (and to work on a response to our time at Jesus Cares) I sketched these words:
Children are children
You are Beautiful
A Child of Wonder
A wide, Bright Smile
A contagious giggle
We kick a ball between us: back and forth
Friendship, sister-ship is natural
We play, we draw, we mold matooke
We drink Fanta and dance to the joy between us
You make my heart light
A shadow hovers as I remember how it is that we are together in this time
I recall a small human invader
I picture the greedy Virus of last year’s textbook
Coursing through your small veins
I can visualize the slow death of the very cells
That should make you strong
That should serve to preserve your Smile
I ache as I conceive of this silent killer
Gripping, mercilessly your Precious life
Stealing your life’s defense
I want to hunch over, to cry out
As you plead, hand in hand, that I stay
Then I’m brought back to the moment of now
You are still you
A sweet, innocent Child
A “normal” child that yet thrives on fun
And sings in laughter
Oh Child of Wonder
You are Beautiful
*you can't walk down the street without being overly conscious about the cleanliness of your shoes
*you think using a squatty potty is easier than a regular toilet
*when you actually crave rice and beans (or my especial favorite, the purple gnut sauce) for every meal...and are somewhat disappointed at the prospect of variety.
anyway...i wanted to tell you about easter....so
Visited the Luwero District for Good Friday and Saturday. Friday morning we met at the Catholic church with hundreds of others...and after a short mass and introduction to the stations of the cross we walked together--a conglomeration of Catholics, Evangelicals, Anglicans, Orthodox....even a few Finns and Germs--through the town, following Jesus. We tripped over each other as we dodged puddles from the night before. I walked hand in hand with Carol and another sweet child whose name was pronounced entirely too softly for my American ears to discern. Elderly folk made their way slowly. Mothers and sisters carried babes on their back. The black Jesus carried his cross. This was an incredible experience to say the least...imagining in a whole new way what it must have been like that day long ago in jerusalem (correct me if i'm wrong...but i think it was jerusalem)...when people followed in herds alongside the mysterious criminal who claimed to be a King. Most likely many could not see what was going on. Most likely people were somehow more concerned about keeping track of their children than on what the suffering of the Man God meant for them. Oh beautiful Jesus.
Spent Saturday at a home called Jesus Cares…a place where Uncle Sam and his family open their arms to families broken by HIV and AIDS. We played for hours…we sang…we fellowshipped for a brief moment in time. My new favorite game: you circle up and everyone chants “dance, baby dance” and then someone is chosen to bust a move :D Most of my time was spent with Nabanulaba and Christine. Christine was a little angel. She was “born without shoulder bones,” and so does everything with her feet…and yet she can embrace you--and I was graced by her embrace. Nabanulaba and I played soccer and smiled and laughed conversing in a love language that expressed itself outside of words….
In an attempt to be poetic (and to work on a response to our time at Jesus Cares) I sketched these words:
Children are children
You are Beautiful
A Child of Wonder
A wide, Bright Smile
A contagious giggle
We kick a ball between us: back and forth
Friendship, sister-ship is natural
We play, we draw, we mold matooke
We drink Fanta and dance to the joy between us
You make my heart light
A shadow hovers as I remember how it is that we are together in this time
I recall a small human invader
I picture the greedy Virus of last year’s textbook
Coursing through your small veins
I can visualize the slow death of the very cells
That should make you strong
That should serve to preserve your Smile
I ache as I conceive of this silent killer
Gripping, mercilessly your Precious life
Stealing your life’s defense
I want to hunch over, to cry out
As you plead, hand in hand, that I stay
Then I’m brought back to the moment of now
You are still you
A sweet, innocent Child
A “normal” child that yet thrives on fun
And sings in laughter
Oh Child of Wonder
You are Beautiful
Thursday, March 20, 2008
i like africa
i like evening conversations with my mama. i am overjoyed when she overflows with joy. a few nights ago i asked her about her strong faith. after thinking on it some time she settled on an answer: she pulled out her Bible and her big owl spectacles and we read together pslams that reassure her of God's goodness and faithfulness: psalm 139 and 121. two of my most treasured passages of scripture!
i like it when the children say my name. i wish that my idealistic plan to share the noise makers i received from biola land with them would have been less chaotic...after much squawking, joy and anguish amongst the kiddies that came out of the woodwork like cockroaches...i had to take them away...and how i love them...and ache for them...wishing i could communicate...wishing that Christ may somehow be evident in this white package of me.
i like visiting organizations that are doing great things! I am encouraged by action. We visited the only HIV/AIDS specific hospital in all of africa. we visited the invisible children bracelet campaign. i was able to help with some low-key bandaging at CHERUB this morning (what joy it is to wear gloves...what heart wrenching sound when a child cries in pain).
i like beautiful friends. i enjoy big white smiles and soft chocolate-y eyes. i like shaking by booty kiganda style.
i like how cats are overrated...how if there is a mouse in the cupboard...one must simply spook it out and smack it down...poor mickey...what laughter resonated throughout the house!
i like unexpected answers to prayer....guess what...i'm going to be an RA upon venturing back to california (adventure #52458)...sweet!! Mukama Yebazibwe!
i like field trips...even if homework is deferred. headed to luwero this weekend...stay tuned....
i like it when the children say my name. i wish that my idealistic plan to share the noise makers i received from biola land with them would have been less chaotic...after much squawking, joy and anguish amongst the kiddies that came out of the woodwork like cockroaches...i had to take them away...and how i love them...and ache for them...wishing i could communicate...wishing that Christ may somehow be evident in this white package of me.
i like visiting organizations that are doing great things! I am encouraged by action. We visited the only HIV/AIDS specific hospital in all of africa. we visited the invisible children bracelet campaign. i was able to help with some low-key bandaging at CHERUB this morning (what joy it is to wear gloves...what heart wrenching sound when a child cries in pain).
i like beautiful friends. i enjoy big white smiles and soft chocolate-y eyes. i like shaking by booty kiganda style.
i like how cats are overrated...how if there is a mouse in the cupboard...one must simply spook it out and smack it down...poor mickey...what laughter resonated throughout the house!
i like unexpected answers to prayer....guess what...i'm going to be an RA upon venturing back to california (adventure #52458)...sweet!! Mukama Yebazibwe!
i like field trips...even if homework is deferred. headed to luwero this weekend...stay tuned....
Sunday, March 16, 2008
wonders never cease.
After a rough week last week, somehow discombobulated and even wretchedly sick for a day (probably the chicken on a stick), I trek forward into this new week...one day at a time!
Headed out on a safari this weekend. Fun to drive through more of the country and to get another "snapshot of Africa."
On attempting to enter Queen Elizabeth National Park we ran into an elephant road block and had to back up and turn around on account of "if you mess with them when they have their young, they'll kill you all..." ha.. They are really magnificent (and somehow awkward) creatures! Rather sweet that we met them first, with a good dose of shrieking in delight, in the dark. We finally pulled into camp (after dodging a few hippos and waterbuck) after our seven hour ride mystically became eleven hours...hmm... While looking for a place to pitch our tents our driver pulled up by these huge UN tents, full of foreign men smoking cigarettes. Blood sugar low, behinds achy and daunted by these intimidating men, we persuaded our driver that we should relocate a bit. All finally worked out well...everything just takes a healthy dosage patience with the chaos. Soo...we headed out the next morning like the Wild Thornberries...mongeese scampering away as we left the gate...beautiful savanna with elephants, kob and water buffalo! We spent some time on the channel between Lake George and Lake Edward and saw a bounty of hippos...cute lil' critters :D We left early Palm Sunday for a second safari (since the first one got off to a late start)...picture this...remembering Christ's triumphal entry and trekking along the misty savanna while a huge red sun bursts gloriously from the clouds...oh beauty. Then...symbolically eh...bear with me...we SAW A LION! A wounded lion no less. Perfect to fit palm Sunday's celebration of a King (that would bear our wounds)...okay that was profound, I know. And we saw monkeys on top of these cactus trees...and adorable wart hogs (tie with hippos for the favorite)...a lil' crocodile...and even the mountains of Congo! And the best part of it all...I was able to use a friend's fancy camera and totally played the photographer...oh magnificence! Felt like I was out with National Geographic...kinda.
Let me tell a lil' story about some birdies...pretty lil' yellow ones.
The male birdie makes the nest...and then the female comes back to the tree to inspect his manner of construction...if he fails to measure up...oh no, she turns her lil' tail around and flies away in disdain. The male...distraught, has no choice but to try again. When he does well...she will accept and they do a happy lil' frolic dance. Oh the glory of the animal kingdom.
p.s. guess what...my purple braids are gone now and i'm a blondie again. and i lost like half my hair in the process. fun times.
p.p.s.s. i am celebrating my birthday again today!!!!! when i arrived at campus i had received a package from "those that doth love me"....THANK YOU SO MUCH FRIENDS! I can't stop smiling and am just exuding giddiness all over! And by the way...I had been dreaming of skittles yesterday...impeccable taste my dear ones. I am so incredible grateful for your kindness and wish I could tackle you all with a big hug!
Headed out on a safari this weekend. Fun to drive through more of the country and to get another "snapshot of Africa."
On attempting to enter Queen Elizabeth National Park we ran into an elephant road block and had to back up and turn around on account of "if you mess with them when they have their young, they'll kill you all..." ha.. They are really magnificent (and somehow awkward) creatures! Rather sweet that we met them first, with a good dose of shrieking in delight, in the dark. We finally pulled into camp (after dodging a few hippos and waterbuck) after our seven hour ride mystically became eleven hours...hmm... While looking for a place to pitch our tents our driver pulled up by these huge UN tents, full of foreign men smoking cigarettes. Blood sugar low, behinds achy and daunted by these intimidating men, we persuaded our driver that we should relocate a bit. All finally worked out well...everything just takes a healthy dosage patience with the chaos. Soo...we headed out the next morning like the Wild Thornberries...mongeese scampering away as we left the gate...beautiful savanna with elephants, kob and water buffalo! We spent some time on the channel between Lake George and Lake Edward and saw a bounty of hippos...cute lil' critters :D We left early Palm Sunday for a second safari (since the first one got off to a late start)...picture this...remembering Christ's triumphal entry and trekking along the misty savanna while a huge red sun bursts gloriously from the clouds...oh beauty. Then...symbolically eh...bear with me...we SAW A LION! A wounded lion no less. Perfect to fit palm Sunday's celebration of a King (that would bear our wounds)...okay that was profound, I know. And we saw monkeys on top of these cactus trees...and adorable wart hogs (tie with hippos for the favorite)...a lil' crocodile...and even the mountains of Congo! And the best part of it all...I was able to use a friend's fancy camera and totally played the photographer...oh magnificence! Felt like I was out with National Geographic...kinda.
Let me tell a lil' story about some birdies...pretty lil' yellow ones.
The male birdie makes the nest...and then the female comes back to the tree to inspect his manner of construction...if he fails to measure up...oh no, she turns her lil' tail around and flies away in disdain. The male...distraught, has no choice but to try again. When he does well...she will accept and they do a happy lil' frolic dance. Oh the glory of the animal kingdom.
p.s. guess what...my purple braids are gone now and i'm a blondie again. and i lost like half my hair in the process. fun times.
p.p.s.s. i am celebrating my birthday again today!!!!! when i arrived at campus i had received a package from "those that doth love me"....THANK YOU SO MUCH FRIENDS! I can't stop smiling and am just exuding giddiness all over! And by the way...I had been dreaming of skittles yesterday...impeccable taste my dear ones. I am so incredible grateful for your kindness and wish I could tackle you all with a big hug!
Friday, March 7, 2008
A Midnight Miracle
Let me share with you an incredible account....
Last night while I was busy washing a few panties I received a phone call from the clinic of my host mother's friend that a woman was in labor and if I could come straight away...I'd be able to observe.....straight away I went, my lovely host sisters escorting me through the dark mukono town....my panties left forgotten and soaking...
I saw a baby be born!!!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!! To be a woman is a curse (as the mother in labor said this morning), but oh....such a blessing, to bring forth life from oneself....jeepers!
This clinic had minimal equipment, a unfortunate reality when upon delivery the baby was blue and lifeless....oh my fearful heart. With much prayer, many cries of "God help us" in between breaths of mouth to mouth resuscitation, a few shots, and much warming by the lantern, the blue babe began to gain color, his small heart began palpitating (oh to feel it!), and finally his small nostrils began to flare with glorious respiration. I was frightened as the mother looked into my eyes in a numb fatigue, asking me if the child was dead; all I could do was encourage her to keep praying! Oh and the Lord is so good. I asked Him..."Lord if you've given me even one miracle, may this small babe live and thrive for your glory!" As I walked home rejoicing last night, I was solemn to think of how easy it is to take each breath for granted. Each breath in itself is truly miraculous! To ponder that so many intricate things must go precisely right in order for a child to form, to come forth, and then to breathe! Life is so fragile, and truly a gift.
I visited the young mother and her wee son this morning. They were doing well...weary, but "somehow okay." The son whimpered, but oh what joy to see him breathing, eyes open, his itty bitty fingers wiggling and responsive to touch! Pray for Elizabeth and her yet unnamed boy...that they would grow stronger, recovery quickly, treasuring life and praising the One who brought them together!
May you thank the Lord for your life today, for the lives of your loved ones...dance before Him and sing with precious breathe!!
Last night while I was busy washing a few panties I received a phone call from the clinic of my host mother's friend that a woman was in labor and if I could come straight away...I'd be able to observe.....straight away I went, my lovely host sisters escorting me through the dark mukono town....my panties left forgotten and soaking...
I saw a baby be born!!!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!! To be a woman is a curse (as the mother in labor said this morning), but oh....such a blessing, to bring forth life from oneself....jeepers!
This clinic had minimal equipment, a unfortunate reality when upon delivery the baby was blue and lifeless....oh my fearful heart. With much prayer, many cries of "God help us" in between breaths of mouth to mouth resuscitation, a few shots, and much warming by the lantern, the blue babe began to gain color, his small heart began palpitating (oh to feel it!), and finally his small nostrils began to flare with glorious respiration. I was frightened as the mother looked into my eyes in a numb fatigue, asking me if the child was dead; all I could do was encourage her to keep praying! Oh and the Lord is so good. I asked Him..."Lord if you've given me even one miracle, may this small babe live and thrive for your glory!" As I walked home rejoicing last night, I was solemn to think of how easy it is to take each breath for granted. Each breath in itself is truly miraculous! To ponder that so many intricate things must go precisely right in order for a child to form, to come forth, and then to breathe! Life is so fragile, and truly a gift.
I visited the young mother and her wee son this morning. They were doing well...weary, but "somehow okay." The son whimpered, but oh what joy to see him breathing, eyes open, his itty bitty fingers wiggling and responsive to touch! Pray for Elizabeth and her yet unnamed boy...that they would grow stronger, recovery quickly, treasuring life and praising the One who brought them together!
May you thank the Lord for your life today, for the lives of your loved ones...dance before Him and sing with precious breathe!!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Chikaste Yesu! (Praise the Lord)
Chikaste koromiin (Praise Him greatly!)
I've just returned home to Mukono from Kapchoraw, one of Uganda's most beautiful districts. It borders Kenya and is home to the Sabine tribe, it is rather mountainous and wonderfully green even in its dry season. I spent the early part of this week with my host mom Dorothy chasing her cows through the harvested maize plots, watering her vegetable garden from the stream (using basins to splash water up on the shore...it was quite the spectacle!), milking cows (I almost had the hang of it by the third day), and drinking an abundance of milk tea (fresh from the cow)! The people in "those ends" were beyond hospitable in their sincere generosity and kindness. How I loved moving around and meeting the neighbors; the hills were home to many families but the community seemed as one. Snapshot: playing with my two sisters, Bonita ("beautiful" in Spanish--her mother did not know, for it was chosen as a Christian name!) and Angelina at night under a canopy of stars, chasing them around as they threw their glow-in-the-dark bracelets in the air!
We then journeyed to Seroti...down on the plains from Kapchoraw...we visited Teso, a broken part of the country that had been devastated by the LRA in 2003. Hundreds were killed at that time, people fled for their lives and children were abducted. These people are also victimized by the Karamojung warriors who use the weapons they obtained during the time of Amin to raid and steal the cattle of Teso. To further describe their plight, it was here that the flooding of last year fell (though now they await the end of a several month drought). We visited here with a group of Peace Promoters to discuss Conflict. I assumed we would debrief some of the quite tragic events with which these people have been afflicted...but through the sharing of dramas we focused our afternoon on the conflicts of everyday...on adultery, domestic violence and "bad relationships." Humanity remains consistent...sinful, and ever conflicted, starting with oneself and spreading throughout communities and nations. The afternoon raised questions and frustrations (including difficulty in translating). As our bus pulled away, it began to rain slightly, as Simon mentioned happily, the Peace Promoter I was honored to sit next to, such was surely God's good blessing on our time together. Pray diligently for peace. I pray that peace may start within you and that in somehow knowing the peace for which Christ paid, that we all would become active agents in promoting it throughout our worlds. Might forgiveness reign!
Spoiled to enjoy the Sipi waterfalls this weekend...and a night upon a mountain top under a brillant display of stars....
Long journey back..and March catches me off guard with lectures commencing once again in the morning time...jeepers
Oh, and wishing you all a happy mothers' day (from the Ugandan calendar)!!!
Thinking of you all and wondering how this new month finds you,
My love to you precious ones,
I've just returned home to Mukono from Kapchoraw, one of Uganda's most beautiful districts. It borders Kenya and is home to the Sabine tribe, it is rather mountainous and wonderfully green even in its dry season. I spent the early part of this week with my host mom Dorothy chasing her cows through the harvested maize plots, watering her vegetable garden from the stream (using basins to splash water up on the shore...it was quite the spectacle!), milking cows (I almost had the hang of it by the third day), and drinking an abundance of milk tea (fresh from the cow)! The people in "those ends" were beyond hospitable in their sincere generosity and kindness. How I loved moving around and meeting the neighbors; the hills were home to many families but the community seemed as one. Snapshot: playing with my two sisters, Bonita ("beautiful" in Spanish--her mother did not know, for it was chosen as a Christian name!) and Angelina at night under a canopy of stars, chasing them around as they threw their glow-in-the-dark bracelets in the air!
We then journeyed to Seroti...down on the plains from Kapchoraw...we visited Teso, a broken part of the country that had been devastated by the LRA in 2003. Hundreds were killed at that time, people fled for their lives and children were abducted. These people are also victimized by the Karamojung warriors who use the weapons they obtained during the time of Amin to raid and steal the cattle of Teso. To further describe their plight, it was here that the flooding of last year fell (though now they await the end of a several month drought). We visited here with a group of Peace Promoters to discuss Conflict. I assumed we would debrief some of the quite tragic events with which these people have been afflicted...but through the sharing of dramas we focused our afternoon on the conflicts of everyday...on adultery, domestic violence and "bad relationships." Humanity remains consistent...sinful, and ever conflicted, starting with oneself and spreading throughout communities and nations. The afternoon raised questions and frustrations (including difficulty in translating). As our bus pulled away, it began to rain slightly, as Simon mentioned happily, the Peace Promoter I was honored to sit next to, such was surely God's good blessing on our time together. Pray diligently for peace. I pray that peace may start within you and that in somehow knowing the peace for which Christ paid, that we all would become active agents in promoting it throughout our worlds. Might forgiveness reign!
Spoiled to enjoy the Sipi waterfalls this weekend...and a night upon a mountain top under a brillant display of stars....
Long journey back..and March catches me off guard with lectures commencing once again in the morning time...jeepers
Oh, and wishing you all a happy mothers' day (from the Ugandan calendar)!!!
Thinking of you all and wondering how this new month finds you,
My love to you precious ones,
Thursday, February 21, 2008
snapshots
through my eyes, partial and culturally framed,
I see a wonder land, I see a broken land, I see a glimpse of a specific piece of Africa, I see Mukono town
bicycles with long poles of sugar cane hanging off the back
balancing at least a half a dozen full geri-cans
tall with a tall man waving an evening greeting
large trucks full of long horned cattle or squealing swine (men riding on top)
full of women and children singing as they roll down the road
with hundreds of bundles of bright green matooke
men carrying bed sheets on top of their head
opening the morning butcher shop, displaying fresh intestines,
chopping Lake Victoria's latest tilapia
carrying heavy loads of concrete from the truck to the shop, dragging long cables
working
shouting and making kissing faces
sitting astride their boda boda, waiting on the street corner for a passenger
women sweeping the dirt
nursing their babies or carrying them on their back
selling fruit outside the house from dawn until dark
always greeting me and betsy with the few luganda words we have come to
know so well: “kulikyo”—welcome back…”nvudeyo”…thank you, I’m back!
peeling matooke, chasing the chickens, chopping wood, stirring the katogo
children in their florescent school uniforms
those in purple climb the hill to school with me
wheeling their wire cars down the road
running to greet me with a bonja (hitting of the fists)
waving mzungo and shouting "good-bye"
working dutifully to avoid a beating
gnawing on sugar cane
playing in an abandoned taxi
barefoot and beautiful
chickens that never cease to strut their business
that may become the street vendor's chicken on a stick
crouching upon one another in their wired cage
goats tied here and there
a cow that stands upon a garbage heap (that still smokes from when it was last burned)
sitting outside with mama discussing politics (whether obama or clinton will win their latest campaign effort) while we gaze at the full moon (which did you know, bears not the "man on the moon" but rather “the lady with firewood on her head and a baby on her back”)
sitting for some three hours (the second day) while my hair is braided by the neighbor…as she braids, her daughter and two other friends “assist”. I watch through a curtain of braids as little Brenda continues her mother’s braid down to the very tip. She smiles proudly. The mama of Brenda (known as mama Brenda) continues even past nightfall, the power is out and yet the moon shines brightly. She finishes, after pausing only to nurse her baby, her shadow is cast before me as she wraps the mass of braids into a bun. While I awaited my transformation into a true African lady, I observed the tenant community as they observed me. the children work tirelessly, washing clothes and dishes, mopping the concrete porch…one girl bathes with her mother’s help, the food for the evening steaming beside her. Boys crash their toy cars along the obstacle course they have set up. Children climb the tree beside me. They stare. They smile.
Slipping in the mud, dirty shoes are appalling.
Walking to school I greet those I pass…an elderly woman beams, her beauty radiating in the wrinkles that crease her worn cheeks. How warmly some receive the stranger that I am…and yet others are embarrassed to associate with me, those that do may face harassment from their peers.
I turn up the road toward home and a dozen children come running…shouting some version of “herin, Helen, or perhaps an uncommon erin” We can’t very well communicate beyond “how was your day” to which the response is always “fine”, but how we have fun playing follow the leader, running relays or just holding hands and mimicking each other…
Students preparing for the culture gala…singing and dancing out a story in their native tongue...moving in sweet rhthym to the beat of the drum while the students at the primary school where they practice look on….many of whom are deaf students…one girl in particular is entranced…seeing a beauty I can not, hearing a rhthym in the movements while I am consumed by the drum, caught in the movements myself as I sway next to Lilian, my friend, my translator
**I will be gone for a week and half…gone for my rural home-stay in Kapchorwa will also be visiting Seroti and Sipi Falls; I will touch base soon with much anticipated adventures to share!**
I see a wonder land, I see a broken land, I see a glimpse of a specific piece of Africa, I see Mukono town
bicycles with long poles of sugar cane hanging off the back
balancing at least a half a dozen full geri-cans
tall with a tall man waving an evening greeting
large trucks full of long horned cattle or squealing swine (men riding on top)
full of women and children singing as they roll down the road
with hundreds of bundles of bright green matooke
men carrying bed sheets on top of their head
opening the morning butcher shop, displaying fresh intestines,
chopping Lake Victoria's latest tilapia
carrying heavy loads of concrete from the truck to the shop, dragging long cables
working
shouting and making kissing faces
sitting astride their boda boda, waiting on the street corner for a passenger
women sweeping the dirt
nursing their babies or carrying them on their back
selling fruit outside the house from dawn until dark
always greeting me and betsy with the few luganda words we have come to
know so well: “kulikyo”—welcome back…”nvudeyo”…thank you, I’m back!
peeling matooke, chasing the chickens, chopping wood, stirring the katogo
children in their florescent school uniforms
those in purple climb the hill to school with me
wheeling their wire cars down the road
running to greet me with a bonja (hitting of the fists)
waving mzungo and shouting "good-bye"
working dutifully to avoid a beating
gnawing on sugar cane
playing in an abandoned taxi
barefoot and beautiful
chickens that never cease to strut their business
that may become the street vendor's chicken on a stick
crouching upon one another in their wired cage
goats tied here and there
a cow that stands upon a garbage heap (that still smokes from when it was last burned)
sitting outside with mama discussing politics (whether obama or clinton will win their latest campaign effort) while we gaze at the full moon (which did you know, bears not the "man on the moon" but rather “the lady with firewood on her head and a baby on her back”)
sitting for some three hours (the second day) while my hair is braided by the neighbor…as she braids, her daughter and two other friends “assist”. I watch through a curtain of braids as little Brenda continues her mother’s braid down to the very tip. She smiles proudly. The mama of Brenda (known as mama Brenda) continues even past nightfall, the power is out and yet the moon shines brightly. She finishes, after pausing only to nurse her baby, her shadow is cast before me as she wraps the mass of braids into a bun. While I awaited my transformation into a true African lady, I observed the tenant community as they observed me. the children work tirelessly, washing clothes and dishes, mopping the concrete porch…one girl bathes with her mother’s help, the food for the evening steaming beside her. Boys crash their toy cars along the obstacle course they have set up. Children climb the tree beside me. They stare. They smile.
Slipping in the mud, dirty shoes are appalling.
Walking to school I greet those I pass…an elderly woman beams, her beauty radiating in the wrinkles that crease her worn cheeks. How warmly some receive the stranger that I am…and yet others are embarrassed to associate with me, those that do may face harassment from their peers.
I turn up the road toward home and a dozen children come running…shouting some version of “herin, Helen, or perhaps an uncommon erin” We can’t very well communicate beyond “how was your day” to which the response is always “fine”, but how we have fun playing follow the leader, running relays or just holding hands and mimicking each other…
Students preparing for the culture gala…singing and dancing out a story in their native tongue...moving in sweet rhthym to the beat of the drum while the students at the primary school where they practice look on….many of whom are deaf students…one girl in particular is entranced…seeing a beauty I can not, hearing a rhthym in the movements while I am consumed by the drum, caught in the movements myself as I sway next to Lilian, my friend, my translator
**I will be gone for a week and half…gone for my rural home-stay in Kapchorwa will also be visiting Seroti and Sipi Falls; I will touch base soon with much anticipated adventures to share!**
Thursday, February 14, 2008
bummer
the circumcision ceremony has been canceled. i was supposed to go with my religion class today near the kenyan border, to the mbali region to see a boy become a man. unfortunately, with much grieving and bereaved disappointment, there were circumstances that prevented us from going...there are only certain times of the year that the circumcision ceremony is legally allowed to take place (some government schedule)...there was inadequate communication with our contact..etc, etc. supposed to go rafting on the Nile tomorrow instead...that should be wildly fun (much adrenaline secretion).
last weekend i ventured out to entebbe with a few muzungos and a few host fam' siblings. walked through a marvelous garden (where the first Tarzan movie was filmed) and splashed a bit in the grand Lake Victoria. Fed monkeys too..oh and there were these wee lil' twin monkeys born the day before...clinging to their mommies in dear love!
What a glamorized picture! Truly, truly much of life is routine here, yet I still find myself thrilled with the chance to walk down the main street and buy chipatti from a street vendor, or an avocado from the market! Much of my time this week was focused on school work, what an unfortunate obligation; yet in making more friends on campus life is made more cheery.
Valentine's Day was another normal day...spent the evening with my host family (after the daily run around with the neighbor children who come and play nearly everyday now) sitting outside the compound laughing about our missing valentines. My host brother said he was going to walk through the streets and ask the first lady, opening his arms to her, "will you be my valentine..." It was a comical scene truly...especially after which they all mentioned how Ugandan men aren't very forward..I chuckle to myself to think that earlier that day a gent came up to me in the library and asked for my number, convinced that he always wanted to have a "friend like me"...
Met some missionaries in one of my classes, one of whom is a nurse, that are working in northern Uganda. It somehow "encouraging" to hear how the need I had presumed Africa to have does exist, with significant challenges alongside when it comes to the question of "betterment" or change. Imagine...a community where the English Bible is more practically used than the one they have in their own language (largely a spoken language), where there are some 1,000 children in a single church with little childcare help, where a hospital run only by one nurse, who has to ride 5 hours one way to pick up medicine stock (cutting two days out of caring for patients)....pray for allan and annie in arua.
I have friends at the supermarket. Kristy and Flavia. I love going in and chatting with them. They work from 7:30 to 10:00 everyday...they are fixed there. They are wonderful sisters, they make me smile...they would make you smile too :D
Okie dokie folkie....peace like a river to you (oh and you guys...two other usp students here use the same phrase...imagine! pass it on!)
last weekend i ventured out to entebbe with a few muzungos and a few host fam' siblings. walked through a marvelous garden (where the first Tarzan movie was filmed) and splashed a bit in the grand Lake Victoria. Fed monkeys too..oh and there were these wee lil' twin monkeys born the day before...clinging to their mommies in dear love!
What a glamorized picture! Truly, truly much of life is routine here, yet I still find myself thrilled with the chance to walk down the main street and buy chipatti from a street vendor, or an avocado from the market! Much of my time this week was focused on school work, what an unfortunate obligation; yet in making more friends on campus life is made more cheery.
Valentine's Day was another normal day...spent the evening with my host family (after the daily run around with the neighbor children who come and play nearly everyday now) sitting outside the compound laughing about our missing valentines. My host brother said he was going to walk through the streets and ask the first lady, opening his arms to her, "will you be my valentine..." It was a comical scene truly...especially after which they all mentioned how Ugandan men aren't very forward..I chuckle to myself to think that earlier that day a gent came up to me in the library and asked for my number, convinced that he always wanted to have a "friend like me"...
Met some missionaries in one of my classes, one of whom is a nurse, that are working in northern Uganda. It somehow "encouraging" to hear how the need I had presumed Africa to have does exist, with significant challenges alongside when it comes to the question of "betterment" or change. Imagine...a community where the English Bible is more practically used than the one they have in their own language (largely a spoken language), where there are some 1,000 children in a single church with little childcare help, where a hospital run only by one nurse, who has to ride 5 hours one way to pick up medicine stock (cutting two days out of caring for patients)....pray for allan and annie in arua.
I have friends at the supermarket. Kristy and Flavia. I love going in and chatting with them. They work from 7:30 to 10:00 everyday...they are fixed there. They are wonderful sisters, they make me smile...they would make you smile too :D
Okie dokie folkie....peace like a river to you (oh and you guys...two other usp students here use the same phrase...imagine! pass it on!)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
a very happy birthday.
so thank you for all your happy birthday-facebook wishes my dear friends!! how i love you and miss you!
my birthday was fantabulous and a half! 21 years now. weird. no banana beer...shoot. a group of students went out for lunch..for these egg chipatti things...scrumptious. then i went to the market..crammed with people selling and buying miscellaneous merchandise, american t-shirts and skirts, and everything from strainers and old teddy bears to watches--and then there was a food market section where we saw our neighbor's dinner fish get chopped up with a machete...so beautiful and colorful though (the tower of pineapple was magnificent)! then, best of all, on the way home I met the neighbor boys (dennis, mickey and job..oh and their sweet sister madu)...we started a small football game and the whole neighborhood came...watching from the gate and then flooding in when we welcomed them with "yangu"...there must have been a couple dozen of them...so adorable..such a blessing to finally play with a group of children...to hold them and run around with them...they spoke very little english...but it was fun to just dance and play a version of sorts of follow-the-leader. as much as I adore the children and was so very blessed by them...can't help but remember that one of the main reasons they want to play with me is because i'm a different color...and yet I'm grateful.
then dinner with the family was very special..we ate early (around 8) and had two kinds of meat..a chicken sauce, fanta, and a cake (that we're still working on)! there was much laughter and family fun. so grateful for my family's generosity!
oh and then the next day...
visited this rehabilitation center up on a hill just above campus...they are doing casting and physical therapy for children with disabilities..so excited to keep going..to shadow nurse joyce and spend time with the children!!!!! they are doing great things there...helping children with cerebal palsy...club foot, rickets, osteomalitis, and burns. it's called CHERUB, pray for their work! It is wonderful!
and then upon returning home...the kids were back and we played a sweet game with a big red balloon!! joyfulness!
tried making kettle corn for the family yesterday...partially successful...my brother sechii was like..."americans like what, sweet."
this week has been golden! today we are going to some burial site place...should be good...hopefully it will stop raining!
thank you for your love...I send mine to you!
JOY TO YOU THIS DAY!
my birthday was fantabulous and a half! 21 years now. weird. no banana beer...shoot. a group of students went out for lunch..for these egg chipatti things...scrumptious. then i went to the market..crammed with people selling and buying miscellaneous merchandise, american t-shirts and skirts, and everything from strainers and old teddy bears to watches--and then there was a food market section where we saw our neighbor's dinner fish get chopped up with a machete...so beautiful and colorful though (the tower of pineapple was magnificent)! then, best of all, on the way home I met the neighbor boys (dennis, mickey and job..oh and their sweet sister madu)...we started a small football game and the whole neighborhood came...watching from the gate and then flooding in when we welcomed them with "yangu"...there must have been a couple dozen of them...so adorable..such a blessing to finally play with a group of children...to hold them and run around with them...they spoke very little english...but it was fun to just dance and play a version of sorts of follow-the-leader. as much as I adore the children and was so very blessed by them...can't help but remember that one of the main reasons they want to play with me is because i'm a different color...and yet I'm grateful.
then dinner with the family was very special..we ate early (around 8) and had two kinds of meat..a chicken sauce, fanta, and a cake (that we're still working on)! there was much laughter and family fun. so grateful for my family's generosity!
oh and then the next day...
visited this rehabilitation center up on a hill just above campus...they are doing casting and physical therapy for children with disabilities..so excited to keep going..to shadow nurse joyce and spend time with the children!!!!! they are doing great things there...helping children with cerebal palsy...club foot, rickets, osteomalitis, and burns. it's called CHERUB, pray for their work! It is wonderful!
and then upon returning home...the kids were back and we played a sweet game with a big red balloon!! joyfulness!
tried making kettle corn for the family yesterday...partially successful...my brother sechii was like..."americans like what, sweet."
this week has been golden! today we are going to some burial site place...should be good...hopefully it will stop raining!
thank you for your love...I send mine to you!
JOY TO YOU THIS DAY!
Monday, February 4, 2008
the romantic world falls subject to questioning
another monday already. feeling better. my "dog" as we called it (my cough) has almost lost his raspy voice! thank you friends, for your prayers.
today has been an interesting day. my heart and my mind have been burdened...perplexed as I wrestle with issues that are emerging...in class and in the context of life in Africa. wondering since this morning's politics class how an african mind can conceive to shed his neighbor's blood for the sole sake of tribal heritage? in my old testament tutorial, a class full of pre-law students mind you, heated, heartless and seemingly unchristian arguments arose from scenerios presented by our lecturer. in thinking about joseph for instance, and the betrayal of his brothers, the question was posed, what would you do if a man who had betrayed you lay dying and you were the only one who could help him? interesting that the fact that this dying man wasn't kin made it a while different issue. i do not want to present these classmates as brutish, for african students as i have known them these last few weeks have been very hospitable (and even after class I had a lovely introductory chat with one of the most pronounced, and opinionated students in the tutorial), but good grief, there was no sense of compassion, or grace to be felt in that classroom, "eye for an eye" was shouted from one end to another, with few suggesting the idea of forgiveness! from here, i met with a class to discuss the matter of Christ's relevance in our world, and in light of a traditional african world view. oh and the questions flowed...questions that have too easy of an answer in a western university theology classroom. what would one say of God's love and providence to a starving child, to a mother who has lost a handful of children, to those now in kenya who are caught in the midst of horrific atrocities? I delight in the fact that Christ is present, that he not only sympathizes, but understands suffering. yet...it doesn't make the problem of evil any less difficult...and it doesn't necessarily make a sufficient response when, as a white want-a-be missionary, i may be asked to explain Christ to someone who as KNOWN suffering as I have only had nightmares about. And how does one explain affluence in one hemisphere and poverty in another? Where is God's hand in that?
I don't know. I don't have answers to so many questions, questions that take on a whole new character when you see Africa outside the windows of your eyes. I don't expect you to answer these questions for me...but seek them out...don't be satisfied with a complacent faith! Dig into the issues of the world and ask why! Pray, discuss, and ask where that discussion should end, and where action in response should begin! I'm frustrated a bit with Uganda today, with the world, with God and my finite being. I pray that God would meet me, and so many other students who are wrestling with these very relevant and at-hand issues, that He would show us Himself in the midst of suffering here, would show us how we might possibly have a hand in it, that He would grant my mind and heart peace about my rational for "coming in" as one who is privileged to share Christ's compassion, that I would have a better hope and idea of what it means to truly do His will (whatever that means, since oh how colored our theology is by our culture and perception of the world).
May God bless you this day, I pray that you might see how truly blessed you are, and that you might ask why...are we blessed solely to bless others? is following Christ, and understanding His relevance, expressed in living completely for others? what do we do in light of the fact that such a mission is impossible? I don't know...ahh...I just pray (and sincerely so even in thinking about how we may really not deserve it because of our abundance to begin with...)that you are blessed today.
today has been an interesting day. my heart and my mind have been burdened...perplexed as I wrestle with issues that are emerging...in class and in the context of life in Africa. wondering since this morning's politics class how an african mind can conceive to shed his neighbor's blood for the sole sake of tribal heritage? in my old testament tutorial, a class full of pre-law students mind you, heated, heartless and seemingly unchristian arguments arose from scenerios presented by our lecturer. in thinking about joseph for instance, and the betrayal of his brothers, the question was posed, what would you do if a man who had betrayed you lay dying and you were the only one who could help him? interesting that the fact that this dying man wasn't kin made it a while different issue. i do not want to present these classmates as brutish, for african students as i have known them these last few weeks have been very hospitable (and even after class I had a lovely introductory chat with one of the most pronounced, and opinionated students in the tutorial), but good grief, there was no sense of compassion, or grace to be felt in that classroom, "eye for an eye" was shouted from one end to another, with few suggesting the idea of forgiveness! from here, i met with a class to discuss the matter of Christ's relevance in our world, and in light of a traditional african world view. oh and the questions flowed...questions that have too easy of an answer in a western university theology classroom. what would one say of God's love and providence to a starving child, to a mother who has lost a handful of children, to those now in kenya who are caught in the midst of horrific atrocities? I delight in the fact that Christ is present, that he not only sympathizes, but understands suffering. yet...it doesn't make the problem of evil any less difficult...and it doesn't necessarily make a sufficient response when, as a white want-a-be missionary, i may be asked to explain Christ to someone who as KNOWN suffering as I have only had nightmares about. And how does one explain affluence in one hemisphere and poverty in another? Where is God's hand in that?
I don't know. I don't have answers to so many questions, questions that take on a whole new character when you see Africa outside the windows of your eyes. I don't expect you to answer these questions for me...but seek them out...don't be satisfied with a complacent faith! Dig into the issues of the world and ask why! Pray, discuss, and ask where that discussion should end, and where action in response should begin! I'm frustrated a bit with Uganda today, with the world, with God and my finite being. I pray that God would meet me, and so many other students who are wrestling with these very relevant and at-hand issues, that He would show us Himself in the midst of suffering here, would show us how we might possibly have a hand in it, that He would grant my mind and heart peace about my rational for "coming in" as one who is privileged to share Christ's compassion, that I would have a better hope and idea of what it means to truly do His will (whatever that means, since oh how colored our theology is by our culture and perception of the world).
May God bless you this day, I pray that you might see how truly blessed you are, and that you might ask why...are we blessed solely to bless others? is following Christ, and understanding His relevance, expressed in living completely for others? what do we do in light of the fact that such a mission is impossible? I don't know...ahh...I just pray (and sincerely so even in thinking about how we may really not deserve it because of our abundance to begin with...)that you are blessed today.
Monday, January 28, 2008
so much to say.
today is a low day. i'm sick...the cold (or flu as mama robinah calls it) is still lingering, at a climax i hope...lots of coughing and sniffling still. i just want to sleep and have a sick day...but I can't because time doesn't much allow it. bum. hadn't anticipated sinus-lung junk...only forethought stomach issues (which have been nonexistent).
News flash, announcement, attention...there are ordinary days even in Africa. Didn't much suppose that bit either. There is routine and monotonous school just the same. wake up. shower with my orange bucket and boiled water. drink my tea/hot chocolate. walk to school. classes...home for tea, socialization and a late dinner right before bed. School is very interesting, but with very limited time to actually study and prepare, I find myself overwhelmed...pray that I can even pass my classes (oh and i fear losing my academic scholarship), pray that time is maximized for study when available...and i don't even want to study because motivation is lacking, even my politics teacher today was mentioning how it is strangely difficult to focus on academics when it is so wonderful outside...or for me when there is so much to experience and take in, people to meet, and things to try...sitting down with a book seems almost irresponsible. enough whining...let me recount some wonders to you!
*the other day, some young gisu boys were dressed in their tribal wear, dancing to drums for the public to raise money for their circumcision celebration (or money for the medication after the fact)...it is the even year you see...a year of manhood for so many. I might even get to see one such ceremony for my religions class....
*had a dance party with my family a few nights ago. i wonder if i could ever shake my hips as they do. much laughter to say the least. I love the african dancing...so wonderfully rhythmic and strong. i love watching children dance and sing in church--purely magic.
*have been learning how to make some ugandan delicacies. ground nut sauce and samosas...delightful. oh how i love to savor the flavor of avocado, pineapple and mango..
*went to jinja this past weekend.
Went to meet some missionary folk...but we also were able to see the source of the Nile out of Lake Victoria (rode around in a lil' boat for a bit)! It was an interesting trip...we saw an industrial area (called "ting ting" for all the clamor and hammering) where men were busy turning junk into some profitable, earning maybe a few dollars a week, and we visited for a few moments the local hospital (the only public hospital for the entire district of some 2 million people). The hospital...oh the hospital!!! I was able to pray with some TB patients...(for only such a short time....) and my heart was wrenched to leave. Every time I cough now (and I don't have TB...all is well...and I really don't think I infected anyone either), I'm picturing George, a prisoner chained to his bed, his family waiting outside the window, a weary man with whom i chatted a bit about God's power. I can't even describe it...the two nurses in their pink uniforms, entire families waiting with their loved ones, people waiting to see a doctor out on the grass (sometimes up to months we were told, with no saying whether they will be able to afford medicine), patients wasting away in their beds, without even a glass of water brought to them by the nurses (all is provided by the family). So it was a trip of contrast, finishing up saturday with a fancy dinner...so many more thoughts on it all...
Sunday was glorious and refreshing...blessed by the congregation we fellowshipped with, by their praise and joy in worship! I helped out with sunday school...we were thrown on the spot to lead a children's program. I have done such so many times...but oh not in english...my mind kept bringing up spanish songs....it turned out great...acting out david and goliath. Johnson, the wee lad that played david was my new friend for the day, a precious lil' lad was he.
*las night's sunset was the first time that has been as I had once imagined it would be every night in Africa. The sky burned in flamboyant oranges and reds...
*my host sister was down with malaria this last weekend...no big deal was the impression i received. she was back on her feet again to greet us by the time we returned...cooking away at the fire...a fighter, resilient and strong is my sister Eva.
*my american sister is sick again too...please pray for her...she was doing so well, regaining her strength from the first blow until an unexpected relapse today. her name is betsy.
*climbed a hill near school yesterday and found the campus monkeys! how i dream of diving from one tree to another without fear of falling!
There are countless things I want to do here! Possibly walking further up monkey hill where there is apparently an orphanage and a center for people with disabilities, and hopefully volunteering at a local clinic my mama knows of...playing football with some local lads, and marketing frozen chocolate bananas to name a few...but i'm stuck until my lungs return to me...
Thanks for reading this note. Pray when you think of it and know that my thoughts are with you.
My love to you,
News flash, announcement, attention...there are ordinary days even in Africa. Didn't much suppose that bit either. There is routine and monotonous school just the same. wake up. shower with my orange bucket and boiled water. drink my tea/hot chocolate. walk to school. classes...home for tea, socialization and a late dinner right before bed. School is very interesting, but with very limited time to actually study and prepare, I find myself overwhelmed...pray that I can even pass my classes (oh and i fear losing my academic scholarship), pray that time is maximized for study when available...and i don't even want to study because motivation is lacking, even my politics teacher today was mentioning how it is strangely difficult to focus on academics when it is so wonderful outside...or for me when there is so much to experience and take in, people to meet, and things to try...sitting down with a book seems almost irresponsible. enough whining...let me recount some wonders to you!
*the other day, some young gisu boys were dressed in their tribal wear, dancing to drums for the public to raise money for their circumcision celebration (or money for the medication after the fact)...it is the even year you see...a year of manhood for so many. I might even get to see one such ceremony for my religions class....
*had a dance party with my family a few nights ago. i wonder if i could ever shake my hips as they do. much laughter to say the least. I love the african dancing...so wonderfully rhythmic and strong. i love watching children dance and sing in church--purely magic.
*have been learning how to make some ugandan delicacies. ground nut sauce and samosas...delightful. oh how i love to savor the flavor of avocado, pineapple and mango..
*went to jinja this past weekend.
Went to meet some missionary folk...but we also were able to see the source of the Nile out of Lake Victoria (rode around in a lil' boat for a bit)! It was an interesting trip...we saw an industrial area (called "ting ting" for all the clamor and hammering) where men were busy turning junk into some profitable, earning maybe a few dollars a week, and we visited for a few moments the local hospital (the only public hospital for the entire district of some 2 million people). The hospital...oh the hospital!!! I was able to pray with some TB patients...(for only such a short time....) and my heart was wrenched to leave. Every time I cough now (and I don't have TB...all is well...and I really don't think I infected anyone either), I'm picturing George, a prisoner chained to his bed, his family waiting outside the window, a weary man with whom i chatted a bit about God's power. I can't even describe it...the two nurses in their pink uniforms, entire families waiting with their loved ones, people waiting to see a doctor out on the grass (sometimes up to months we were told, with no saying whether they will be able to afford medicine), patients wasting away in their beds, without even a glass of water brought to them by the nurses (all is provided by the family). So it was a trip of contrast, finishing up saturday with a fancy dinner...so many more thoughts on it all...
Sunday was glorious and refreshing...blessed by the congregation we fellowshipped with, by their praise and joy in worship! I helped out with sunday school...we were thrown on the spot to lead a children's program. I have done such so many times...but oh not in english...my mind kept bringing up spanish songs....it turned out great...acting out david and goliath. Johnson, the wee lad that played david was my new friend for the day, a precious lil' lad was he.
*las night's sunset was the first time that has been as I had once imagined it would be every night in Africa. The sky burned in flamboyant oranges and reds...
*my host sister was down with malaria this last weekend...no big deal was the impression i received. she was back on her feet again to greet us by the time we returned...cooking away at the fire...a fighter, resilient and strong is my sister Eva.
*my american sister is sick again too...please pray for her...she was doing so well, regaining her strength from the first blow until an unexpected relapse today. her name is betsy.
*climbed a hill near school yesterday and found the campus monkeys! how i dream of diving from one tree to another without fear of falling!
There are countless things I want to do here! Possibly walking further up monkey hill where there is apparently an orphanage and a center for people with disabilities, and hopefully volunteering at a local clinic my mama knows of...playing football with some local lads, and marketing frozen chocolate bananas to name a few...but i'm stuck until my lungs return to me...
Thanks for reading this note. Pray when you think of it and know that my thoughts are with you.
My love to you,
Monday, January 21, 2008
guess what....
chicken butt...
i saw our sunday chicken get its head chopped off (we named him mr. white)..maybe i'll get to do it next time?? oh and a lil' tidbit for you, the word for chicken in luganda is nkoko...just like the sound a chicken makes! i've been learning lots of luganda phrases (one of the many bantu languages here, spoken mainly in the central part of uganda, an area known as buganda and spoken by the baganda people), and find that in trying to respond in luganda my mind goes spanish! i love languages, so much fun! my sister eva is a very good teacher, reinforcing vocabulary daily!
on saturday we went to a wedding. the wedding itself wasn't too eventful...rather traditional i might say, but the thrill was wearing the traditional ugandan dress, called gomez, walking through town and having everyone comment, clapping, giving thumbs up signs, hollering "you are smart" which means well dressed and classy. the dress is very extravagent mind you...comparable to the japanese komono, bright colors and a big long belt. many excited faces at our sight, asking who we were, to which we informed them of our ugandan names...which i know now to be nakadu. the mayor of mukono even picked us up and took us to the cathedral so we didn't have to walk the rest of the way. the wedding singers were wonderful and we were seated with our mama, who was one of the special guests, so we were given a Fanta and were up close to the m.c. folks who were talking through the reception like it was one of those fancy award shows. oh and the cake was HUGE...small ball like cakes, of which there were at least a dozen. oh fun..and the comments on the way home were louder and more obnoxious...mama was laughing her head off.
very settled at home. love it. love how people come and go all the time. love how the old crippled dog they have is called grandpa. love their laughter and eva's enormous smile. love the little geckos that scamper around the walls. love it when the power goes out and we have conversations around lantern light. food is so good, rice, matoke, kipatti, irish and sweet potatoes, oh how i feast! took a long walk yesterday through the more village like part of my neighborhood...i saw an abandoned medical clinc....oh the dream. saw a sweet lil' house down the way....oh the dream...and then a small boy walked out of the house! My heart flies here! The sky is so pure and alive here! I might just move here...
i saw our sunday chicken get its head chopped off (we named him mr. white)..maybe i'll get to do it next time?? oh and a lil' tidbit for you, the word for chicken in luganda is nkoko...just like the sound a chicken makes! i've been learning lots of luganda phrases (one of the many bantu languages here, spoken mainly in the central part of uganda, an area known as buganda and spoken by the baganda people), and find that in trying to respond in luganda my mind goes spanish! i love languages, so much fun! my sister eva is a very good teacher, reinforcing vocabulary daily!
on saturday we went to a wedding. the wedding itself wasn't too eventful...rather traditional i might say, but the thrill was wearing the traditional ugandan dress, called gomez, walking through town and having everyone comment, clapping, giving thumbs up signs, hollering "you are smart" which means well dressed and classy. the dress is very extravagent mind you...comparable to the japanese komono, bright colors and a big long belt. many excited faces at our sight, asking who we were, to which we informed them of our ugandan names...which i know now to be nakadu. the mayor of mukono even picked us up and took us to the cathedral so we didn't have to walk the rest of the way. the wedding singers were wonderful and we were seated with our mama, who was one of the special guests, so we were given a Fanta and were up close to the m.c. folks who were talking through the reception like it was one of those fancy award shows. oh and the cake was HUGE...small ball like cakes, of which there were at least a dozen. oh fun..and the comments on the way home were louder and more obnoxious...mama was laughing her head off.
very settled at home. love it. love how people come and go all the time. love how the old crippled dog they have is called grandpa. love their laughter and eva's enormous smile. love the little geckos that scamper around the walls. love it when the power goes out and we have conversations around lantern light. food is so good, rice, matoke, kipatti, irish and sweet potatoes, oh how i feast! took a long walk yesterday through the more village like part of my neighborhood...i saw an abandoned medical clinc....oh the dream. saw a sweet lil' house down the way....oh the dream...and then a small boy walked out of the house! My heart flies here! The sky is so pure and alive here! I might just move here...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
i'm here...a few random notes.
after a long flight, and only a few major butt cramps, I landed on the other side of the world. uganda is absolutely beautiful, breathtakingly green, with a constant symphony of birds and creatures. met my family yesterday and had my first class today--still settling into the swing of things, might take awhile. love my family and the casual, joyful atmosphere. i was initiated into the family, given a name and everything...I just can't remember it at present. my mama is great, talked with her for hours about culture, and had my first lesson in luganda! my mama said she has 19 children, but pretty sure that that includes in-laws and nephews, my brother william is at home for a few more weeks, then it will just be me and my mama and my sixteen year old sister eva, and a few nephews too of course. another usp student will be staying with me, but she has been sick (since before we landed :(. it was difficult to understand my professor today (girls, more difficult than dr. lin). so.. politics is going to be challenging to say the least, with lots of papers to write (and i'm more than a bit rusty). excited about learning though! i haven't met many ugandan students yet since i spent most of yesterday with my family, and most of my classes are with the other exchange students, hoping to make some relationships. erin, note to self, it is only the first real day. classes started here a week ago, so not so sure about what my old testament class is going to be like (since it is the only one has really started). have somewhat of a cold right now. lots of sniffling. bum. tried the traditional dish, matooke, mashed platains, my mama calls it food, so that for dinner we had lots to eat, but no food, probably have food tonight. love tea time. sweetened black tea is delicious. oh, and last night there was a terrific thunderstorm, more powerful than i've ever heard, and it isn't even rainy season yet.
Please pray:
for relationships with my family and ugandan students.
for open ears that understand (even with accents), to really hear what ugandans have to say.
for health, to kick this cold in the hinny.
for my usp sister, that she gets back on her feet again.
for my classes, that i'll learn how to do school, with papers and lots of reading, and getting work done before my walk home at six.
Please pray:
for relationships with my family and ugandan students.
for open ears that understand (even with accents), to really hear what ugandans have to say.
for health, to kick this cold in the hinny.
for my usp sister, that she gets back on her feet again.
for my classes, that i'll learn how to do school, with papers and lots of reading, and getting work done before my walk home at six.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
a prayer
i am quieted tonight. a peace has settled down upon me. these last couple weeks have been a strange time of retreat, a form of willed seclusion from the world...it has driven me crazy, yet it was probably needed...a time to clear out the clutter of my mind, to remember the sweet goodness of my Abba.
Lord, thank you for these odd weeks of rest, of preparation, of uncomfortable solitude. Prepare me yet these next few days, even the last few hours on the plane before my feet land upon africa's soil. i don't want to miss a moment while i'm there...i pray that with every sunrise i will wake to live the dawning day fully, without regrets. help me to move, speak, and act carefully, without selfish-ambition, without vanity or conceit, open my eyes, my heart, and my hands to humbly love those around me, to take on the role of student even outside the classroom, to embrace the opportunity to be a learner. move in me and through me. i praise you for this blessing. i delight in the knowledge of your sovereignty, that neither this adventure, my story, my life, africa, nor the world lie outside the scope of your loving care. as i move forward now, guide me with your hand, that i may discern what steps you would have me take as i am led by faith into unfamiliar waters. hold me fast. may you be wholly glorified.
Lord, thank you for these odd weeks of rest, of preparation, of uncomfortable solitude. Prepare me yet these next few days, even the last few hours on the plane before my feet land upon africa's soil. i don't want to miss a moment while i'm there...i pray that with every sunrise i will wake to live the dawning day fully, without regrets. help me to move, speak, and act carefully, without selfish-ambition, without vanity or conceit, open my eyes, my heart, and my hands to humbly love those around me, to take on the role of student even outside the classroom, to embrace the opportunity to be a learner. move in me and through me. i praise you for this blessing. i delight in the knowledge of your sovereignty, that neither this adventure, my story, my life, africa, nor the world lie outside the scope of your loving care. as i move forward now, guide me with your hand, that i may discern what steps you would have me take as i am led by faith into unfamiliar waters. hold me fast. may you be wholly glorified.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
A NEW YEAR
2008 is gonna be great. I've just woken up late. I have several things I need to check off my to do list...and that I've needed to do for about a week now. Maybe I'm too relaxed? Maybe I'm somewhat anxious about these fast approaching changes..in only 10 days now I will be flying across the world. I honestly don't know if I'll ever be 100% ready. I'm excited though! So many questions. Will my computer die and leave me scrambling to finish my homework? Will I be humbly challenged in academics like I've never been before? What will my host family be like? Who will my friends be? What will I miss most from the U.S.? anything? Will I get sick? What will my neighborhood be like? Will I be able to help out in an orphanage or hospital at all? What will church be like? How will I be stretched in my faith? How is Africa going to change me?
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