Greetings from Uganda!! I hope all is well with all of you. I am still enjoying my time in Uganda even though the time is running short here.
I am enjoying the health clinic a lot. Even though I am mostly doing work that no one else really wants to do and I almost feel not needed, the staff that I have come to know are great. I have had some really great conversations with them and that is what makes the experience very enjoyable. I have not interacted with the patients and I do not know if that would be possible at this time, but we will see.
My host family is still doing well. I am still enjoying my time with them and I am continually reminded of how blessed I am to call them my family. I am still have great conversations with my host dad and having great times with my little sister Jemi and my host mom.
This past weekend I traveled to Lira with my Practicum class. We really didn't know what we would be doing there until the Wednesday before we left. We found out that we would be visiting a couple of different ministries and seeing what that part of the country is like after the war.
It took us 6 hours to get there. We first went to Sankofa Cafe which was started by an American couple. We had pizza and milk shakes (or whatever we wanted to drink). It was all pretty good (mainly because I miss pizza and milk shakes a lot). We just chilled there and then we left to go to our hotel. The hotel is called Alpha Resort Hotel. The staff are very friendly and gave us all hugs when we got off the bus. The hotel had pretty nice beds, a flushing toilet, and an actual shower. It was such a treat. We went to bed a little bit after we arrived.
The next morning we visiting Otino-Waa which is an orphanage/school for school aged children (5-18 years old). Otino-Waa means "Our Children" in Luro which is the language they speak in that part of the country. It is such an amazing ministry!!!!!! It is run by an elderly American couple Bob and Carol. They told us all about the ministry and we got to see the place. They house the students, teach them, and teach them skills so that they can get jobs afterwards. They also have a bee keeping part that they are teaching the older kids how to do so that they can make and sell honey. I could go into more details, but I have more to say. So if you want to know more just ask. But just know that this ministry is doing really good things and just how everything works together is just awesome and glorifying to God.
The next place we went to was Helen's Shelter. This is run by a woman named Helen who was a police woman in Uganda for 30 years. She started this organization to help women who are abused by their husbands or family members, drug addicts, or women who have been rescued from trafficking. The organization lacks funding because they want to keep it a secret for the women who are there because they don't want the men finding them and hurting them again. But the women do make bags and necklaces to help with funding. I bought a bag and necklace and I love them very much. The organization gives counseling and other services as such, but for the most part the women are there for that and learn how to make the bags and necklaces. That is pretty much all the women do. It is a nice humble ministry and it is the only of it's kind in the area. If only it had more funding.
We also got to know more about the Sankofa Cafe and how that started. It is run by Brian and Susan who are graduates of Wheaton College. It was never their intention to run a cafe in Northern Uganda, but it's what the Lord has willed so they are doing. They provide simple cafe type stuff that is foreign to Uganda as well as Ugandan favorites. Their staff is primarily Ugandans which is nice. Yeah, it's just a simple cafe where a lot of people in the community use which is awesome.
And now I think it is time for me to share my thoughts on KONY 2012. And let me just tell you, it takes a whole different perspective when you actually go to the place where it happened.
First off, Uganda is in East Africa NOT Central Africa. I would think an organization that has been working in Uganda for the past 8 years would know that.
Northern Uganda has pretty much gone back to business as usual. The camps are gone for the most part. The only thing is people are not returning to their villages because they have nothing left there and have no money to rebuild. They are staying in the cities because of that and also because the education is better than in the villages. But other than that, things are developing.
I know most of you have probably heard this but still, KONY IS NOT IN UGANDA NOR IS HE A THREAT TO UGANDA. He is kind of floating around between Sudan, Central African Republic, or the Congo. Now, that does not mean that he can't come back to Uganda, but I think that if he ever did he would be stopped before he did much if anything.
The country of Uganda has been at peace since about 1986 and Northern Uganda has been at peace since about 2006. If the northern part of Uganda was unsafe they would not have let us travel there.
While all of this was going on back 20 years ago the rest of the country really did not care. The rest of the country just knew to not go to the north because it was really dangerous. But for the most part they did not care.
I will give it to Invisible Children that was a great video. It was very well done and it did make people care (seeing as how all those Action Kits sold out within 3 days of the video airing). I know some people complain about this contributing to the consumerism of America, but honestly I think they are using something bad for good. Many people have bought quite a lot of stuff to support IC and whatever it is they are doing, it is working.
People are complaining about the fact that very little of the budget of IC goes towards development. That is not their mission or vision. They are an advocacy organization, they mainly just want to make the world aware of what happened in northern Uganda. And they are fulfilling their mission in that sense. Other organizations are there to help with the children directly. I just kind of wish that IC would use some of their money to help those organizations who are actually helping the victims of the war. I think that would be a good use of their money.
I know that it does take money to make videos like that and to be frank I am okay with the fact that the vast majority of their money goes towards media because that is them using their talents to make people aware. If the video was crap no one would watch it. Also people are complaining about the simplicity of the video. If the video was complicated and gave all the facts about the war, Kony, and the LRA, it would be too much and probably no would watch it. Most people do not want to watch a video of just facts. It was up to the people who watched the video to look more in depth of situation. If they didn't then I am upset that they are supporting something that they have no idea about. I hope all of you who watched the video actually did some more research on the situation.
The video does briefly mention that the LRA is not in Uganda anymore and that they country is at peace, but I think they focused too much on what Uganda used to be about. They needed to do that so that people would know what did happen which is fine, but at the same time a lot of people have a poor view of what Uganda actually looks like.
The video failed to say that the Ugandan government did step up and take action against Kony and put in certain programs to help the victims of the war. The video made it seem like the government did nothing and that is not true.
The video was shown in Lira Town across from the Sankofa Cafe about a week and half ago. It did not get a good response. People were throwing rocks at it and such. It got the point where they had to turn the video off. I know the video is not meant for Ugandans, it is meant for the world. But IC should have known that there would be a lot of Ugandans who would watch it. For the most part they do not understand the phrase "Make him famous." Uganda is a very literal country. If you say something they will believe it at face value (which means I can never be sarcastic with Ugandans, which has been quite hard to be honest). So they do not understand why they would want to make Kony famous because of what he did. I know the video does say what it means to make him famous, but the Ugandans do not understand that. I would have hoped they would have used different terminology, but again the video is for the rest of the world not Uganda. This video also reopened wounds that are just now starting to heal. The people in Northern Uganda are just now trying to get past it and then Kony is shoved right back into their faces. They are quite upset about that. And I can understand that.
When I first saw on Facebook and Twitter STOP KONY or #KONY2012 I was a bit cynical about it. I was thinking this whole thing was contributing to America's slackivitism. It is easy to put up a status about stopping a warlord, but what are you doing with the homeless community in your area? It's easy to buy a shirt and say you care about something that is 8,000 miles away from you, but what are you doing to end the injustice in your city? I don't mean to say this to be judgmental because I am also guilty of doing this. But being here has made me realize how much I can do in my own city. I don't need to cross continents in order to do good in the world, I just need to go down the street.
And then I started liking what IC was doing because I thought that Kony did need to get arrested and I still believe that. I am alright with the US coming in and helping get him because they are providing the technology and resources to get him. I just have a problem with the US acting like the world police and thinking they need to enter every conflict in the world and try to instill peace. If this turns into a partnership with Uganda with the intent of the US leaving altogether, I am fine. If this is just another "let's throw money at it in hopes it goes away" that I have a problem with. But we will see.
And also, what happens after April 20th? Will America go back to things as usually and not care anymore? And what is going to happen with IC or what are they going to do once he is caught? I hope this is not just a fad that people contribute to and then completely forget about.
There was an article from the Government of Uganda with a response to the KONY 2012 video. They are appreciative of what IC has done, but they really do not like them and they are doing more harm than good. IC completely undermined the Ugandan people and the government and never gave them any credit where it was due. Granted, some of their facts were also misinformed, but they did provide some good things as well.
So why should we support an organization that is not really wanted in the country they are doing work in? I don't know how I feel about that. I don't even know how I should feel about that.
That is my two cents on KONY 2012. You may agree or disagree with me, but like I said before it takes a different perspective when you actually interact with the people and see the place where he was.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Hello. My name is Delaney Carter and I'm a Stubborn Person.
Hello all! It's been a while.
First off everything in Mukono is going very well. My Luganda class has ended so now I have more time to relax, do homework, and go to my internship at the Mukono Health Clinic. Speaking of which, I have only been there twice so far and I am just doing office type stuff for the HIV/AIDS program. I hope to do more as I go more often. More on that later hopefully.
Before I get into my rural home stay I have to share my host parents reactions when I reminded them I was leaving for 9 days.
(6 days before I left)
Me: "Mama, remember that I am leaving on Friday for Soroti for 10 days."
Mama: "Heh! 10 days! That is too long! Two days is all you need. You go there, spend the night, and come back. And I will not let you dig. You cannot dig. And if there is anything you don't want to do just pretend that you are ill."
(A few days later)
Me: "So you know that I am leaving on Friday for Soroti for 10 days, right?"
Papa: "Good. You need the experience. You need to learn a different way of doing life. You will learn a lot. But if there's anything you don't feel like doing just pretend that you are ill. And please do not do more than you can manage. We don't want you coming home with bruises, blisters, and cuts all over your body."
I have great host parents. = )
If I had to sum up my rural home stay in one word it would be: necessary. But more on that in a moment.
We drove 7 hours from Mukono to Soroti on Friday. When we got there we stayed at our home stay coordinator's house for the first night. Her and her husband (who happens to be my Religions lecturer) are building a school and are boarding 50 students. We pitched tents and some people stayed in huts. I stayed in a tent. It felt like camping. We also met the 50 students. They were so nice and well mannered. We taught them some American games and they taught us so Ugandan games. It was so much fun. Except that one of my sandals broke, I will have to get that fixed soon.
Then the next morning we all loaded up to be dropped off at our homes for the week.
My family lived off the main road, but the path to get to my house was really long. It took quite a while to get there. When I arrived I met my host dad, Opolot John (Opolot is his culture name and John is his Christian name). He has two wives. One is named Florence and she was the one that stayed there the whole time. The other wife (he never told me her Christian name and I can't remember her culture name) is a nurse at the hospital and only comes by the house once in a while to visit. My host dad has 18 children. I am still thinking that there are more because the numbers weren't adding up to 18. 12 of them live in Kampala (capital city), 7 of his sons live at the house in their own huts, and their youngest daughter, who is 9 or 10, lived with us. He probably has 20+ grandchildren. There are also graves on his property (it's culture to have graves on one's property). One grave is his father, two are daughters, one is a son, and two are brothers. They all died of natural illness. My host day is in in early 80's and my host mom was probably in her 70's. They were a lovely couple and I wished that my host mom spoke more English because I think I would have really great conversations with her.
This was a hard experience for me. The reasons were because it is dry season which means there is absolutely NO work to do. So I just sat around all day and talked with my host dad from time to time. I don't do well with just sitting around doing doing. The other reason was I was completely isolated. I never left the property because I had no reason to and I didn't see anyone outside of my family for the whole week. I do not do well with isolation unless I choose to be isolated. If it forced on me, I break down. And I did cry on Sunday because I didn't know what else to do.
What also made it frustrating was the fact that I had the same conversation about food and tea with my host dad every night. I apparently never ate enough for them. I always ate enough to where I knew I would be satisfied and would not be starving until the next morning, but it apparently was never enough for them.
This is what the conversation was like:
"Take more food."
"No, thank you. I am fine. I promise."
"You eat very little."
"I know, but I know that I am satisfied."
For those of you who know me know that I hate tea. I decided to not be rude and refuse tea. So I drank it twice everyday. Even though it was milk tea which isn't as bad, it was still horrible. Another thing that I found out was, if I drink tea before bed I will be up all night. I discovered this the first night living with my Mukono family. So I would only take half a cup each time. That was never enough either.
"Take more tea."
"No, I can't. If I do I will be up all night."
There was one night where I had a full cup of tea because I didn't like the millet porrige/tea thing (look it up if you are curious what it is). I was up all night because of the tea. My host day asked me how my night was the next morning and I told him it was awful because of the tea. Then he understood. But then he continued to tell me to drink more tea, so I'm wondering if he really did understand.
Even though it was a rough experience it needed to happen. It was revealed to me that I am truly a stubborn person and need to let it go. I also had a lot of time to spend with the Lord each day which was so refreshing. And I realized that I could not do that week on my own strength. I needed the Lord a lot that week. Which is something I need to keep in mind always.
The Lord knew what I needed. And I am grateful for the experience. As hard as it was, it needed to happen to me and I hope to be different and act different after it.
There were some good things though. I got to do a little bit of work. I got to separate little tiny rocks from the rice (REALLY tedious job), pound ground nuts (basically peanuts), grind beans, shell ground nuts and dig for sweet potatoes (so I broke my Mukono Mama's rule, oh well). Those were great things and I'm happy that I got to do something besides sit around and do nothing.
I also ate with my hands for every meal. It was a bit tricky with beans and sauce, but I managed. I also had to bathe with a basin with COLD water instead of a bucket with warm water. I decided that I like bathing with a bucket better. But other than that, the experience was a lot like my home stay in Mukono. There was not much to adapt to.
After the week we all met in Kapchorwa which is where the other students stayed for the week. We went to Sipi Falls which are really beautiful. I went on a 5 hour hike to see all three of the falls. It was hard because the sun was beating down and it was a lot of up hill and down hill with really loose dirt so I fell a few times. It also didn't help that I ran out of water half way through the hike and couldn't get more. It was still a lot of fun, I'm glad I did it.
But I did get lost on the way back to the campsite we were staying. What happened was, I had to stop and rest within the last five minutes of the hike (didn't know we were that close) because I was really dehydrated and needed to rest. I let everyone go in front of me. When I was ready I got up and started walking again. I was thinking that the rest of the group wasn't that far a head of me because when I got to the top of the hill I saw a group of white people. I started following them and then within a few minutes I realized they weren't my group. So I asked a random Ugandan man how to get to the camp site I was staying at. He told me I was going the wrong way. We turned around and he took me all the way to the campsite. Such a nice man. I drank plenty of water when I got back so now I'm fine.
The next day was Sunday and we had a worship service on top of one of the hills. It was hard to get up because I was still sore from the hike, but the view was beautiful. Great time of worship and people giving their testimonies. Then we all walked down the hill and had breakfast and packed up and left for Mukono. Made it there safely.
I got back to my home and was greeted by my Mama and sister Jemi. My Papa was in Kampala. I still have yet to see him.
But that is all to report on. I am now ready for the second half of the semester. I'm told that the second half goes by a lot faster than the first half. So that means I will be home before you know it!!
I miss you all very much and cannot wait to see all of you soon!!
Prayer Requests:
To be present here
To continue being productive in homework
Safety and good health
be Blessed All!
First off everything in Mukono is going very well. My Luganda class has ended so now I have more time to relax, do homework, and go to my internship at the Mukono Health Clinic. Speaking of which, I have only been there twice so far and I am just doing office type stuff for the HIV/AIDS program. I hope to do more as I go more often. More on that later hopefully.
Before I get into my rural home stay I have to share my host parents reactions when I reminded them I was leaving for 9 days.
(6 days before I left)
Me: "Mama, remember that I am leaving on Friday for Soroti for 10 days."
Mama: "Heh! 10 days! That is too long! Two days is all you need. You go there, spend the night, and come back. And I will not let you dig. You cannot dig. And if there is anything you don't want to do just pretend that you are ill."
(A few days later)
Me: "So you know that I am leaving on Friday for Soroti for 10 days, right?"
Papa: "Good. You need the experience. You need to learn a different way of doing life. You will learn a lot. But if there's anything you don't feel like doing just pretend that you are ill. And please do not do more than you can manage. We don't want you coming home with bruises, blisters, and cuts all over your body."
I have great host parents. = )
If I had to sum up my rural home stay in one word it would be: necessary. But more on that in a moment.
We drove 7 hours from Mukono to Soroti on Friday. When we got there we stayed at our home stay coordinator's house for the first night. Her and her husband (who happens to be my Religions lecturer) are building a school and are boarding 50 students. We pitched tents and some people stayed in huts. I stayed in a tent. It felt like camping. We also met the 50 students. They were so nice and well mannered. We taught them some American games and they taught us so Ugandan games. It was so much fun. Except that one of my sandals broke, I will have to get that fixed soon.
Then the next morning we all loaded up to be dropped off at our homes for the week.
My family lived off the main road, but the path to get to my house was really long. It took quite a while to get there. When I arrived I met my host dad, Opolot John (Opolot is his culture name and John is his Christian name). He has two wives. One is named Florence and she was the one that stayed there the whole time. The other wife (he never told me her Christian name and I can't remember her culture name) is a nurse at the hospital and only comes by the house once in a while to visit. My host dad has 18 children. I am still thinking that there are more because the numbers weren't adding up to 18. 12 of them live in Kampala (capital city), 7 of his sons live at the house in their own huts, and their youngest daughter, who is 9 or 10, lived with us. He probably has 20+ grandchildren. There are also graves on his property (it's culture to have graves on one's property). One grave is his father, two are daughters, one is a son, and two are brothers. They all died of natural illness. My host day is in in early 80's and my host mom was probably in her 70's. They were a lovely couple and I wished that my host mom spoke more English because I think I would have really great conversations with her.
This was a hard experience for me. The reasons were because it is dry season which means there is absolutely NO work to do. So I just sat around all day and talked with my host dad from time to time. I don't do well with just sitting around doing doing. The other reason was I was completely isolated. I never left the property because I had no reason to and I didn't see anyone outside of my family for the whole week. I do not do well with isolation unless I choose to be isolated. If it forced on me, I break down. And I did cry on Sunday because I didn't know what else to do.
What also made it frustrating was the fact that I had the same conversation about food and tea with my host dad every night. I apparently never ate enough for them. I always ate enough to where I knew I would be satisfied and would not be starving until the next morning, but it apparently was never enough for them.
This is what the conversation was like:
"Take more food."
"No, thank you. I am fine. I promise."
"You eat very little."
"I know, but I know that I am satisfied."
For those of you who know me know that I hate tea. I decided to not be rude and refuse tea. So I drank it twice everyday. Even though it was milk tea which isn't as bad, it was still horrible. Another thing that I found out was, if I drink tea before bed I will be up all night. I discovered this the first night living with my Mukono family. So I would only take half a cup each time. That was never enough either.
"Take more tea."
"No, I can't. If I do I will be up all night."
There was one night where I had a full cup of tea because I didn't like the millet porrige/tea thing (look it up if you are curious what it is). I was up all night because of the tea. My host day asked me how my night was the next morning and I told him it was awful because of the tea. Then he understood. But then he continued to tell me to drink more tea, so I'm wondering if he really did understand.
Even though it was a rough experience it needed to happen. It was revealed to me that I am truly a stubborn person and need to let it go. I also had a lot of time to spend with the Lord each day which was so refreshing. And I realized that I could not do that week on my own strength. I needed the Lord a lot that week. Which is something I need to keep in mind always.
The Lord knew what I needed. And I am grateful for the experience. As hard as it was, it needed to happen to me and I hope to be different and act different after it.
There were some good things though. I got to do a little bit of work. I got to separate little tiny rocks from the rice (REALLY tedious job), pound ground nuts (basically peanuts), grind beans, shell ground nuts and dig for sweet potatoes (so I broke my Mukono Mama's rule, oh well). Those were great things and I'm happy that I got to do something besides sit around and do nothing.
I also ate with my hands for every meal. It was a bit tricky with beans and sauce, but I managed. I also had to bathe with a basin with COLD water instead of a bucket with warm water. I decided that I like bathing with a bucket better. But other than that, the experience was a lot like my home stay in Mukono. There was not much to adapt to.
After the week we all met in Kapchorwa which is where the other students stayed for the week. We went to Sipi Falls which are really beautiful. I went on a 5 hour hike to see all three of the falls. It was hard because the sun was beating down and it was a lot of up hill and down hill with really loose dirt so I fell a few times. It also didn't help that I ran out of water half way through the hike and couldn't get more. It was still a lot of fun, I'm glad I did it.
But I did get lost on the way back to the campsite we were staying. What happened was, I had to stop and rest within the last five minutes of the hike (didn't know we were that close) because I was really dehydrated and needed to rest. I let everyone go in front of me. When I was ready I got up and started walking again. I was thinking that the rest of the group wasn't that far a head of me because when I got to the top of the hill I saw a group of white people. I started following them and then within a few minutes I realized they weren't my group. So I asked a random Ugandan man how to get to the camp site I was staying at. He told me I was going the wrong way. We turned around and he took me all the way to the campsite. Such a nice man. I drank plenty of water when I got back so now I'm fine.
The next day was Sunday and we had a worship service on top of one of the hills. It was hard to get up because I was still sore from the hike, but the view was beautiful. Great time of worship and people giving their testimonies. Then we all walked down the hill and had breakfast and packed up and left for Mukono. Made it there safely.
I got back to my home and was greeted by my Mama and sister Jemi. My Papa was in Kampala. I still have yet to see him.
But that is all to report on. I am now ready for the second half of the semester. I'm told that the second half goes by a lot faster than the first half. So that means I will be home before you know it!!
I miss you all very much and cannot wait to see all of you soon!!
Prayer Requests:
To be present here
To continue being productive in homework
Safety and good health
be Blessed All!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Processing and Wrestling
**Disclaimer: This post is going to be kind of venting. Everything is fine, I promise it's just there are some things that I need to get out. This is not a cry for people to feel sorry for me or to think I want to go home now. That is not the case. I love it here and I am so happy for this opportunity to be here. So please just bare with me.**
I had a pretty easy transition to Africa. I was very comfortable with being here and with my family. But I'm going to be honest, it is hard to leave family, friends, and comfort for a period of time. I do miss my family and friends and I miss the fact that my friends would only be a short walk down the hall and that my family is a car ride away. Now, if I really want to go home I would have to get on a plane and travel for almost a full day.
I have been here a month. Which means I have 3 months to go. Part of me is counting down because I am a future oriented person and am looking forward to the day when I get back to the States. The other part is saying, "Shoot! Time is running fast (Ugandan phrase)! I only have 3 more months?!" I feel as though I have so much to do in such a short amount of time. But then I remind myself, that I have time and do not need to stress. I need to learn to be more present here and learn to get through a day, one day at a time. Not to worry about what's going to happen next week or what life is going to be like when I get back to the States in 3 months.
I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:34, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Oh Lord, help me not be anxious!!!
I also feel as though I am at that place where I have nothing to write about for people back home to read about. I have gotten into a routine and it just seems like life is normal now with classes, homework, and interactions with my host family. It's almost like I'm a normal college student. Even though I'm not living a typical college life because I am not involved with anything on campus. But I do promise if something worthwhile happens I will write about it for all you to see.
It feels as though things take so much time here. Like walking to school. The bathrooms are half way across campus so it takes like 3 minutes to get there and it's not always guaranteed that there will be toilet paper or soap there so you have to bring some with you. Cooking takes a long time. My host mother comes home at like 6:30 and is cooking dinner until we eat at 9-9:30. Most of what she makes, could be cooked in an hour tops in the States. Bathing takes longer because my host mother boils water for me and I pour it into a bucket and then add 3/4 more cold water to make the water bearable. Doing the laundry is a 2-3 day task. Because the clothes get washed and then are put on the line to dry all day, and then someone has to iron them. And because there are so many clothes, ironing takes 2-3 hours. And ironing is not done right as soon as the clothes are dry. The clothes sit on a shelf for a day before they get ironed. I would iron, but my family hires a neighborhood girl to do it so if I did it I would be taking away a paying job for her. Washing dishes take a lot of time because there is no dish washer. My host mother is the dish washer (she has yet to let me help her).
Here's the thing. It's okay. This is the way life is here and I knew that going into it. Ugandans have the time to do life this way. In the States we would complain because we are so used to things getting done fast and efficiently. I need to take a page out of a Ugandan book. These tasks force a person to be present. I need to take time and just sit with my host mother when she is making supper and just talk with her. I need to be broken of my Western mindset.
I am also having to process so much. There are many questions that have been raised in my Faith and Action class, that I am wrestling with. Such as, what is salvation and how is a person saved? Is it different from culture to culture? How do we really do cross-cultural missions? What parts of a culture should we allow the natives to practice and what parts should we challenge? And how do we even know what would be acceptable and what wouldn't?
There are quite a few cultural difference here that I know would be looked down upon in the States, but they are perfectly acceptable here. So who is to say that they are right or wrong? How much should our cultures influence our walks with Jesus or should it be the other way around? Oh goodness, my head is spinning just thinking about all this. Maybe I will never know the answers to these questions, but they are good questions to be asking and processing. I'm hoping to get some guidance on these questions by the time I leave. That does not mean I will be an expert or have all the answers. It's a journey that I will be on the rest of my life.
Now unto something happy....
I went bungee jumping last Sunday morning. It was awesome!!!!! I was not as scared as I thought I would be. I was fine up until I was on the edge of the platform. That was when I was starting to get a little nervous. I even looked down and the guide said not to, so I looked up again. That helped me a lot. It made it easier to jump. I was holding onto a bar above me and then I had to drop my arms and then I hear the words, "Take a couple deep breaths. Okay, now you are ready. THREE, TWO, ONE, BUNGEE!!!!" And then I jumped. I had my eyes open the whole time and so I saw everything below me. And then I shot up again and back down and swung back and forth. Ah, so great. I would probably do it again if the opportunity arises. I do have a video of it, but it won't load on Facebook so you will have to wait until I get back to see it.
Other than that there is not much to write about.
Prayer Requests:
To be present here
to be up to date on homework and to get this Politics paper written because it is due on Thursday
Be in the Word daily
To be able to process as much as I can
I just want to say thank you for all who have been praying!! I am so happy for the support. Please continue to be praying!!
Be Blessed All!!
I had a pretty easy transition to Africa. I was very comfortable with being here and with my family. But I'm going to be honest, it is hard to leave family, friends, and comfort for a period of time. I do miss my family and friends and I miss the fact that my friends would only be a short walk down the hall and that my family is a car ride away. Now, if I really want to go home I would have to get on a plane and travel for almost a full day.
I have been here a month. Which means I have 3 months to go. Part of me is counting down because I am a future oriented person and am looking forward to the day when I get back to the States. The other part is saying, "Shoot! Time is running fast (Ugandan phrase)! I only have 3 more months?!" I feel as though I have so much to do in such a short amount of time. But then I remind myself, that I have time and do not need to stress. I need to learn to be more present here and learn to get through a day, one day at a time. Not to worry about what's going to happen next week or what life is going to be like when I get back to the States in 3 months.
I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:34, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Oh Lord, help me not be anxious!!!
I also feel as though I am at that place where I have nothing to write about for people back home to read about. I have gotten into a routine and it just seems like life is normal now with classes, homework, and interactions with my host family. It's almost like I'm a normal college student. Even though I'm not living a typical college life because I am not involved with anything on campus. But I do promise if something worthwhile happens I will write about it for all you to see.
It feels as though things take so much time here. Like walking to school. The bathrooms are half way across campus so it takes like 3 minutes to get there and it's not always guaranteed that there will be toilet paper or soap there so you have to bring some with you. Cooking takes a long time. My host mother comes home at like 6:30 and is cooking dinner until we eat at 9-9:30. Most of what she makes, could be cooked in an hour tops in the States. Bathing takes longer because my host mother boils water for me and I pour it into a bucket and then add 3/4 more cold water to make the water bearable. Doing the laundry is a 2-3 day task. Because the clothes get washed and then are put on the line to dry all day, and then someone has to iron them. And because there are so many clothes, ironing takes 2-3 hours. And ironing is not done right as soon as the clothes are dry. The clothes sit on a shelf for a day before they get ironed. I would iron, but my family hires a neighborhood girl to do it so if I did it I would be taking away a paying job for her. Washing dishes take a lot of time because there is no dish washer. My host mother is the dish washer (she has yet to let me help her).
Here's the thing. It's okay. This is the way life is here and I knew that going into it. Ugandans have the time to do life this way. In the States we would complain because we are so used to things getting done fast and efficiently. I need to take a page out of a Ugandan book. These tasks force a person to be present. I need to take time and just sit with my host mother when she is making supper and just talk with her. I need to be broken of my Western mindset.
I am also having to process so much. There are many questions that have been raised in my Faith and Action class, that I am wrestling with. Such as, what is salvation and how is a person saved? Is it different from culture to culture? How do we really do cross-cultural missions? What parts of a culture should we allow the natives to practice and what parts should we challenge? And how do we even know what would be acceptable and what wouldn't?
There are quite a few cultural difference here that I know would be looked down upon in the States, but they are perfectly acceptable here. So who is to say that they are right or wrong? How much should our cultures influence our walks with Jesus or should it be the other way around? Oh goodness, my head is spinning just thinking about all this. Maybe I will never know the answers to these questions, but they are good questions to be asking and processing. I'm hoping to get some guidance on these questions by the time I leave. That does not mean I will be an expert or have all the answers. It's a journey that I will be on the rest of my life.
Now unto something happy....
I went bungee jumping last Sunday morning. It was awesome!!!!! I was not as scared as I thought I would be. I was fine up until I was on the edge of the platform. That was when I was starting to get a little nervous. I even looked down and the guide said not to, so I looked up again. That helped me a lot. It made it easier to jump. I was holding onto a bar above me and then I had to drop my arms and then I hear the words, "Take a couple deep breaths. Okay, now you are ready. THREE, TWO, ONE, BUNGEE!!!!" And then I jumped. I had my eyes open the whole time and so I saw everything below me. And then I shot up again and back down and swung back and forth. Ah, so great. I would probably do it again if the opportunity arises. I do have a video of it, but it won't load on Facebook so you will have to wait until I get back to see it.
Other than that there is not much to write about.
Prayer Requests:
To be present here
to be up to date on homework and to get this Politics paper written because it is due on Thursday
Be in the Word daily
To be able to process as much as I can
I just want to say thank you for all who have been praying!! I am so happy for the support. Please continue to be praying!!
Be Blessed All!!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Another Update
Hello All!
I hope you are doing well. I hear the weather in Michigan is being quite bi-polar, but what else is new. The weather in Uganda has been consistently sunny and around 80-90 degrees. But that will change in the next few weeks. Rainy season starts again and it won't be sprinkling. It will be a down pour for a few hours everyday. This should be fun walking to and from school in.
Life is good. I tend to do the same thing everyday. Wake up, get dressed, take breakfast, take a 15-20 minute walk to school on a red dusty road, tell the boda-boda drivers that I don't want a ride, having them drive past me on the roads which makes the roads even dustier, get to school, take lunch, classes, and walk home on the same red dusty roads at about 6. My feet are covered in dirt everyday.
When I get home, I take a "shower." My shower is a bucket. I bend down, scoop some water in my hands and pour it on myself until I feel as though I am able to wash myself. Then I do the same thing to rinse myself. I wash my hair by dunking my head in a bucket and washing it with shampoo and then taking a cup and pouring that on my head until I get all the shampoo out. So clean here is a relative term. I am clean enough that all the dust is off of me, but I am not clean by US standards. But it's good enough for me.
I mostly watch movies with my dad, little sister, and brother when he was still here. Then we all take supper. We eat at about 9-9:30 pm. I pretty much go right to bed afterwards because I am so tired. Then repeat the next morning.
Everything is still going well. I was sick all day yesterday. It was just a stomach thing, so nothing major. I am feeling much better today.
Last week Thursday was a national holiday in Uganda. It was Liberation Day. It's the day they celebrate the changing of governments. Even though no one really celebrates it, they just use it as a day off. So classes were cancelled except my politics class. After class I went to visit my mama at her shop for a couple hours. It was nice just to sit and talk with her because I don't do it enough here.
My religions and politics classes took a field trip to the Buganda Tourist Centre. It's where Parliament meet. So we got to learn more about how things work here and learn more about Buganda culture. We also got to see where the king used to live. Beautiful palace with a beautiful view of the capital city, Kampala.
Other than that there is not much to report on. Everything is going well. My brother Jonah went back to university on Saturday, but he will be back on some weekends. My sister Rita went back to boarding school in Kampala, but she won't be back. I have her address so I will be writing to her. Jemi My youngest sister goes back to school tomorrow, but she will be back everyday. It will be interesting to see what family life is like with them gone.
Oh, and one more thing. I'm going bungee jumping on Sunday in the Nile River. Sorry Karla!!
Grace and Peace to you all!
I hope you are doing well. I hear the weather in Michigan is being quite bi-polar, but what else is new. The weather in Uganda has been consistently sunny and around 80-90 degrees. But that will change in the next few weeks. Rainy season starts again and it won't be sprinkling. It will be a down pour for a few hours everyday. This should be fun walking to and from school in.
Life is good. I tend to do the same thing everyday. Wake up, get dressed, take breakfast, take a 15-20 minute walk to school on a red dusty road, tell the boda-boda drivers that I don't want a ride, having them drive past me on the roads which makes the roads even dustier, get to school, take lunch, classes, and walk home on the same red dusty roads at about 6. My feet are covered in dirt everyday.
When I get home, I take a "shower." My shower is a bucket. I bend down, scoop some water in my hands and pour it on myself until I feel as though I am able to wash myself. Then I do the same thing to rinse myself. I wash my hair by dunking my head in a bucket and washing it with shampoo and then taking a cup and pouring that on my head until I get all the shampoo out. So clean here is a relative term. I am clean enough that all the dust is off of me, but I am not clean by US standards. But it's good enough for me.
I mostly watch movies with my dad, little sister, and brother when he was still here. Then we all take supper. We eat at about 9-9:30 pm. I pretty much go right to bed afterwards because I am so tired. Then repeat the next morning.
Everything is still going well. I was sick all day yesterday. It was just a stomach thing, so nothing major. I am feeling much better today.
Last week Thursday was a national holiday in Uganda. It was Liberation Day. It's the day they celebrate the changing of governments. Even though no one really celebrates it, they just use it as a day off. So classes were cancelled except my politics class. After class I went to visit my mama at her shop for a couple hours. It was nice just to sit and talk with her because I don't do it enough here.
My religions and politics classes took a field trip to the Buganda Tourist Centre. It's where Parliament meet. So we got to learn more about how things work here and learn more about Buganda culture. We also got to see where the king used to live. Beautiful palace with a beautiful view of the capital city, Kampala.
Other than that there is not much to report on. Everything is going well. My brother Jonah went back to university on Saturday, but he will be back on some weekends. My sister Rita went back to boarding school in Kampala, but she won't be back. I have her address so I will be writing to her. Jemi My youngest sister goes back to school tomorrow, but she will be back everyday. It will be interesting to see what family life is like with them gone.
Oh, and one more thing. I'm going bungee jumping on Sunday in the Nile River. Sorry Karla!!
Grace and Peace to you all!
Monday, January 23, 2012
And my internship is...
...
...
...
...
The Mukono Health Clinic!! The health clinic does do a lot of general health illnesses, but they also do births and work with HIV/AIDS patients. I'm really looking forward to this. I'm sure I will have some crazy and awesome stories to share.
Things are still going well. Classes are fine, I'm not as overwhelmed anymore, but we will see how long that lasts. Still in great health so no worries there.
I have a neat little God story to share with everyone.
I have a padlock and key on a trunk at my house to keep all my stuff in. On that same key ring, I have a key to the front door and padlock to IMME quarters (where I go when I'm not in class and do homework) and a key to the padlock on my locker. So if I loss them, I have to get new keys and there would be to be a new padlock on the door and all the other IMME students would have to get new keys.
Well, I lost my keys last Friday. I thought they were in my bag, but then I thought that I left them at home. I looked everywhere and they were no where to be found. I was getting so upset and I almost cried because I thought it would be a huge inconvenience to everyone else.
Then I took sometime to ask God where they may be. I was trying to keep calm, but I was still freaking out. So I went to class and found out that because I lost my keys everyone has to get a new key. I felt awful.
But then, during class time the Lord brought to mind the tear in the lining of my purse. The tear is right behind the pocket where I keep my keys. So during class I looked there and there were my keys!!!!! Praise God!!!!! It was such a relief to find them. This is a great reminder that God cares about the small things as well as the big things in life. So I want to encourage all of you to instead of freaking out about something missing, just take some time and pray about it and see if God reminds you of where it could be.
I went to an introduction ceremony on Saturday. This is a huge celebration for a couple who are about to be married. This is where the girl introduces her future husband to her parents. It involves the favorite aunt of the girl, music, gifts, and some dancing. It's kind of long and completely in Luganda so I didn't understand what was really happening.
Basically the guy goes to the aunt and says he wants to marry the girl. The aunt goes to the parents to get the blessing. The parents want something in return for their daughter. It could be anything as small as sugar and sodas or as expensive as a house or a car. If the guy cannot meet that requirement, he cannot marry the daughter. So at the ceremony the gifts are presented to the parents and the girl introduces the guy to her parents. The aunt is the one that kind of runs everything at the ceremony as well. There's a lot more to it, but I have to wait to watch a tape of one and my Papa can teach me more.
I got to go to my family's church yesterday (Sunday). It is called Blessed Christian Church. It is a beautiful church and the people are very welcoming to visitors. The worship time is western Christian songs so I knew a few of them. There was a little Luganda, but not much. The message was about reaping and sowing. I am still trying to figure out how I feel about the church. I also went to observe the Sunday school, because I will be helping out with it this semester.
The children here are so well mannered. In the States, kids would be running around and screaming until the teacher told them to sit down and be quiet. It took the teacher quite a while to get the kids all together, but none of them were screaming or running around. Most of them were sitting down and waiting quietly. The teacher was just trying to arrange them in a way so that all the kids could sit. It was interesting to see that because I was expecting the kids to be crazy. But here, respect for elders is expected even from a young age. I like that a lot. Respect is not earned, it is just expected.
They were talking about the 10 Commandments and when the teacher was talking about Honor your Father and Mother, she asked how do you do that? One child said by obeying them and respecting them. The teacher said, "Yes, and how do you show respect? By having good manners.Remember your manners. Always remember to say 'thank you' etc." She never said, "And remember to say 'please'." In Uganda, people don't really say please every. They usually say, "Give me my phone" or "Can I have some?" without saying please. I don't know why that is, but they aren't rude about their requests either, they just don't say please. That will probably be hard for me being here because I say please quite a lot.
I found out that it's okay for me not to be able to climb trees. In Uganda, girls don't climb trees, only boys do. = )
Oh I almost forgot....
I went to the capital city, Kampala on Friday. That was an experience. I have never been so close to so many taxis and boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis) in my life. And there were so many people there as well. It was mass chaos and the city is always like that. There are so many markets and stores and everyone is trying to get some where. I almost got hit by a couple taxis because pedestrians don't have the right of way and sometimes you have to force a car to stop in order to walk. I had to do that and it was kind of scary. I am so glad that one of my friend's Papa was there or else we would have been so lost and confused. He told us how to get a taxi and how much it will be. Where to get off from and how to get to where we need to go. I think I need to take more trips because that's where the best markets are for souvenir type things. Overall, it was exhausting, but really informative and fun.
My Papa gave me a Ugandan name. Nalutaaya (Na-Loo-Ta-ya). There is no special meaning to it, it is just a special name to him. It was the name of his sister that passed away some time ago and he was really close to her. I am honored to be given that name because of how special it is to him.
I think that is all I have for now. Once I get into my internship I will be sharing more about that and how everything else is going.
Prayer requests:
I'm sleeping better so Praise God for that
Connecting with family on more than a "I want to learn more about your culture so that's why I'm talking to you" level
Build friendships with other USP students
In the Word daily
and as always health and safety
Be Blessed all!!
...
...
...
The Mukono Health Clinic!! The health clinic does do a lot of general health illnesses, but they also do births and work with HIV/AIDS patients. I'm really looking forward to this. I'm sure I will have some crazy and awesome stories to share.
Things are still going well. Classes are fine, I'm not as overwhelmed anymore, but we will see how long that lasts. Still in great health so no worries there.
I have a neat little God story to share with everyone.
I have a padlock and key on a trunk at my house to keep all my stuff in. On that same key ring, I have a key to the front door and padlock to IMME quarters (where I go when I'm not in class and do homework) and a key to the padlock on my locker. So if I loss them, I have to get new keys and there would be to be a new padlock on the door and all the other IMME students would have to get new keys.
Well, I lost my keys last Friday. I thought they were in my bag, but then I thought that I left them at home. I looked everywhere and they were no where to be found. I was getting so upset and I almost cried because I thought it would be a huge inconvenience to everyone else.
Then I took sometime to ask God where they may be. I was trying to keep calm, but I was still freaking out. So I went to class and found out that because I lost my keys everyone has to get a new key. I felt awful.
But then, during class time the Lord brought to mind the tear in the lining of my purse. The tear is right behind the pocket where I keep my keys. So during class I looked there and there were my keys!!!!! Praise God!!!!! It was such a relief to find them. This is a great reminder that God cares about the small things as well as the big things in life. So I want to encourage all of you to instead of freaking out about something missing, just take some time and pray about it and see if God reminds you of where it could be.
I went to an introduction ceremony on Saturday. This is a huge celebration for a couple who are about to be married. This is where the girl introduces her future husband to her parents. It involves the favorite aunt of the girl, music, gifts, and some dancing. It's kind of long and completely in Luganda so I didn't understand what was really happening.
Basically the guy goes to the aunt and says he wants to marry the girl. The aunt goes to the parents to get the blessing. The parents want something in return for their daughter. It could be anything as small as sugar and sodas or as expensive as a house or a car. If the guy cannot meet that requirement, he cannot marry the daughter. So at the ceremony the gifts are presented to the parents and the girl introduces the guy to her parents. The aunt is the one that kind of runs everything at the ceremony as well. There's a lot more to it, but I have to wait to watch a tape of one and my Papa can teach me more.
I got to go to my family's church yesterday (Sunday). It is called Blessed Christian Church. It is a beautiful church and the people are very welcoming to visitors. The worship time is western Christian songs so I knew a few of them. There was a little Luganda, but not much. The message was about reaping and sowing. I am still trying to figure out how I feel about the church. I also went to observe the Sunday school, because I will be helping out with it this semester.
The children here are so well mannered. In the States, kids would be running around and screaming until the teacher told them to sit down and be quiet. It took the teacher quite a while to get the kids all together, but none of them were screaming or running around. Most of them were sitting down and waiting quietly. The teacher was just trying to arrange them in a way so that all the kids could sit. It was interesting to see that because I was expecting the kids to be crazy. But here, respect for elders is expected even from a young age. I like that a lot. Respect is not earned, it is just expected.
They were talking about the 10 Commandments and when the teacher was talking about Honor your Father and Mother, she asked how do you do that? One child said by obeying them and respecting them. The teacher said, "Yes, and how do you show respect? By having good manners.Remember your manners. Always remember to say 'thank you' etc." She never said, "And remember to say 'please'." In Uganda, people don't really say please every. They usually say, "Give me my phone" or "Can I have some?" without saying please. I don't know why that is, but they aren't rude about their requests either, they just don't say please. That will probably be hard for me being here because I say please quite a lot.
I found out that it's okay for me not to be able to climb trees. In Uganda, girls don't climb trees, only boys do. = )
Oh I almost forgot....
I went to the capital city, Kampala on Friday. That was an experience. I have never been so close to so many taxis and boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis) in my life. And there were so many people there as well. It was mass chaos and the city is always like that. There are so many markets and stores and everyone is trying to get some where. I almost got hit by a couple taxis because pedestrians don't have the right of way and sometimes you have to force a car to stop in order to walk. I had to do that and it was kind of scary. I am so glad that one of my friend's Papa was there or else we would have been so lost and confused. He told us how to get a taxi and how much it will be. Where to get off from and how to get to where we need to go. I think I need to take more trips because that's where the best markets are for souvenir type things. Overall, it was exhausting, but really informative and fun.
My Papa gave me a Ugandan name. Nalutaaya (Na-Loo-Ta-ya). There is no special meaning to it, it is just a special name to him. It was the name of his sister that passed away some time ago and he was really close to her. I am honored to be given that name because of how special it is to him.
I think that is all I have for now. Once I get into my internship I will be sharing more about that and how everything else is going.
Prayer requests:
I'm sleeping better so Praise God for that
Connecting with family on more than a "I want to learn more about your culture so that's why I'm talking to you" level
Build friendships with other USP students
In the Word daily
and as always health and safety
Be Blessed all!!
Monday, January 16, 2012
T.I.A.
T.I.A. This Is Africa.
Last week seemed to be one of if not the longest week of my life. The days went by fairly quickly, but the week itself dragged on forever it seemed like. There was much to do. Getting settled in with my family, going to classes and learning about what it's like going to an African school and learning from Ugandan professors, having a lot of meetings about health and safety and procedures about what I'm going to be experiencing during my time here. There was no routine. I was just going and going from one thing to the next without feeling like I actually had any break time. I think this week will be different because I will get into some type of routine.
T.I.A. There is a loss of routine while being here, and I hope to get one so that I don't break down.
I finally met my Tata. He came home late Thursday night and I got to speak with him Friday morning before school. I got to talk with him more when I got back from school. He is a very sweet man and calls me, "Sweetheart" and "Dear." He and the rest of my family has made it clear that I am apart of their family and that they are very honored and happy that I am there. I had great conversations with him about the tribal culture that most Ugandans come from and about different traditions that Ugandans have that we do not have in the States. When I talk with him more about those, I will be more than happy to share them with you. I am looking forward to having more conversations with him.
This past weekend the group went to Jinja which is where the source of the Nile River is. So yes, I got on a boat and got on Lake Victoria and the Nile River. I have pictures to prove it.
Jinja was absolutely beautiful. The lake was right outside my window and everything was green and beautiful. We stayed in a tourist area so everything was way nicer than what we have been used to for the past week. We had a couple of seminars over some readings we had to do for the weekend, played a game, and mostly just relaxed and took some time to do homework. Seeing as how we all had an 8 am class today.
Saturday night a bunch of us went out by the docks and star gazed. Oh man, God's creation is so beautiful. I saw stars that I have never been able to see before. i wish I could have taken a picture. It was just so good to take in God's creation and just be among friends and relax. Then a few of us went star tripping. So much fun. Then I was very blessed by the conversation we had after that. We were getting into some deep topics such as what is ministry and salvation and what not. I am blessed to know that there are some people here who are passionate followers of Jesus and are passionate about their walks and are willing to have deep and hard conversations.
Sunday we had a worship service and a few girls and I gave a bit of our testimonies. That was also a great time of community and I think it is what we all needed because we have all been tired and worn out from everything that we have been experiencing the past week. It was a refreshing time and a very encouraging time. I am looking forward to getting to know people more deeply.
I also found people that know how to play Dutch Blitz and Euchre!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This made me so happy!
I also got to meet my host brother for the first time last night. He is at university and should have been home for Christmas, but his exams were delayed because the campus was shut down. The campus was shut down due to the strikes over banks and interest rates so he couldn't come home when he was supposed to. He usually gets 5 weeks for holiday, but because of the strike he will only be home for 2 weeks. He works at a mobile money stand (in Uganda, the people do not have cell phone plans, they are all prepaid pay as you go phones so there are a lot of mobile money stands here for people to purchase minutes). So he will be gone during the day when I am at school, but I will be seeing him at night. He is a very intelligent guy and is willing to talk to me about the culture and compare it to the States. I look forward to talking more with him as well.
My feet are getting much, my sleeping habits are still pretty bad though. I have yet to have a restful night sleep.
Today in class we were discussing one of the books we are reading called, "The Primal Vision." It's kind of a hard book, but it is an interesting read. In our discussion we were talking about the Gospel. Something was brought up that truly made me think and I am going to be wrestling with this all semester. It would be nice to hear what you guys think about it. Is there a pure Gospel that is being diluted by culture or can we only know the Gospel from a culture? We will be looking more at this as the semester progresses.
So and everything is still going well. I had a couple victories at home. I got to peel the potatoes for dinner and my Mama let me do my own bathing water. So I am now able to not be treated as a guest anymore and I am very happy with that.
Prayer requests:
Better sleeping habits
To be up to date on homework
Develop a deep relationship with my family
Health and safety as always
Be committed to reading the Word daily
Someone needs to keep me up to date on what is going on in the States and how the snow is treating everyone. = )
Be Blessed!
Last week seemed to be one of if not the longest week of my life. The days went by fairly quickly, but the week itself dragged on forever it seemed like. There was much to do. Getting settled in with my family, going to classes and learning about what it's like going to an African school and learning from Ugandan professors, having a lot of meetings about health and safety and procedures about what I'm going to be experiencing during my time here. There was no routine. I was just going and going from one thing to the next without feeling like I actually had any break time. I think this week will be different because I will get into some type of routine.
T.I.A. There is a loss of routine while being here, and I hope to get one so that I don't break down.
I finally met my Tata. He came home late Thursday night and I got to speak with him Friday morning before school. I got to talk with him more when I got back from school. He is a very sweet man and calls me, "Sweetheart" and "Dear." He and the rest of my family has made it clear that I am apart of their family and that they are very honored and happy that I am there. I had great conversations with him about the tribal culture that most Ugandans come from and about different traditions that Ugandans have that we do not have in the States. When I talk with him more about those, I will be more than happy to share them with you. I am looking forward to having more conversations with him.
This past weekend the group went to Jinja which is where the source of the Nile River is. So yes, I got on a boat and got on Lake Victoria and the Nile River. I have pictures to prove it.
Jinja was absolutely beautiful. The lake was right outside my window and everything was green and beautiful. We stayed in a tourist area so everything was way nicer than what we have been used to for the past week. We had a couple of seminars over some readings we had to do for the weekend, played a game, and mostly just relaxed and took some time to do homework. Seeing as how we all had an 8 am class today.
Saturday night a bunch of us went out by the docks and star gazed. Oh man, God's creation is so beautiful. I saw stars that I have never been able to see before. i wish I could have taken a picture. It was just so good to take in God's creation and just be among friends and relax. Then a few of us went star tripping. So much fun. Then I was very blessed by the conversation we had after that. We were getting into some deep topics such as what is ministry and salvation and what not. I am blessed to know that there are some people here who are passionate followers of Jesus and are passionate about their walks and are willing to have deep and hard conversations.
Sunday we had a worship service and a few girls and I gave a bit of our testimonies. That was also a great time of community and I think it is what we all needed because we have all been tired and worn out from everything that we have been experiencing the past week. It was a refreshing time and a very encouraging time. I am looking forward to getting to know people more deeply.
I also found people that know how to play Dutch Blitz and Euchre!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This made me so happy!
I also got to meet my host brother for the first time last night. He is at university and should have been home for Christmas, but his exams were delayed because the campus was shut down. The campus was shut down due to the strikes over banks and interest rates so he couldn't come home when he was supposed to. He usually gets 5 weeks for holiday, but because of the strike he will only be home for 2 weeks. He works at a mobile money stand (in Uganda, the people do not have cell phone plans, they are all prepaid pay as you go phones so there are a lot of mobile money stands here for people to purchase minutes). So he will be gone during the day when I am at school, but I will be seeing him at night. He is a very intelligent guy and is willing to talk to me about the culture and compare it to the States. I look forward to talking more with him as well.
My feet are getting much, my sleeping habits are still pretty bad though. I have yet to have a restful night sleep.
Today in class we were discussing one of the books we are reading called, "The Primal Vision." It's kind of a hard book, but it is an interesting read. In our discussion we were talking about the Gospel. Something was brought up that truly made me think and I am going to be wrestling with this all semester. It would be nice to hear what you guys think about it. Is there a pure Gospel that is being diluted by culture or can we only know the Gospel from a culture? We will be looking more at this as the semester progresses.
So and everything is still going well. I had a couple victories at home. I got to peel the potatoes for dinner and my Mama let me do my own bathing water. So I am now able to not be treated as a guest anymore and I am very happy with that.
Prayer requests:
Better sleeping habits
To be up to date on homework
Develop a deep relationship with my family
Health and safety as always
Be committed to reading the Word daily
Someone needs to keep me up to date on what is going on in the States and how the snow is treating everyone. = )
Be Blessed!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Week One
I only just got internet so sorry about the lack of update so far. I have been here a week so I think it’s time to share about what has happened so far.
I am in great health. The only things wrong with me are cuts on my feet, blisters on my feet, and swollen feet. All of this will heal in a week or two so no worries. I also have a horrible time sleeping, but that will get better as well.
We made it to Entebee Uganda at 10 pm their time (2 pm my time). Everyone stayed in the dorms the first two nights. We had orientation and learned a little bit more about the culture and what classes are going to be like. We also got our cell phones. I have decided that I will NOT be calling anyone because it costs money and even though it would not cost me anything to receive calls, it would cost people to call me. So you are going to have to be alright with e-mail, Facebook, and hopefully Skype soon.
I eventually got settled into my host family’s house on Sunday. I have a Mama and a Tata (Father) named Margret and William. Margret works in a shop that sells sugars and spices and other goodies. William used to work for an electric company, but now he is retired and is a farmer. He is currently working on a farm right now so I have yet to meet him. They have a son named Jonah who is at university right now so I have not met him either. They have three daughters: Avah who is 24. She just graduated from university and does not live with the family because she works in a supermarket on the other side of town, but she visits on Sundays. Rita-Martha is 18 and she is on holiday right now from boarding school. Once she goes back to school I will not see her until school lets out in May. The youngest daughter is 8 and her name is Jemi. She is a very bright little girl and I enjoy spending a lot of time with her. I have a little bit of electricity, my shower is a bucket, and my toilet is a hole in the ground. I also only have to walk 10 minutes to get to school, so that’s pretty nice. We also have a house helper named Alan who has been with the family for 20 years and he is somehow related to the family. He does a lot of the chores so I feel as though there is not much for me to do, at least not now.
Classes are going well for the first week. I feel as though I am going to be the most overwhelmed with the class work. This is because I feel as though there is a lot to do and I need to do it all at school because I do not want to do it at home because when I am at home, I want to spend time with my family. So prayers about balancing time and no procrastination would be much appreciated.
My class schedule is:
Monday:
Faith and Action at 8-9:30 am and then 10-11 am
Luganda (language) at 2-4 pm
Tuesday:
Religions in Uganda 11-12
Wednesday:
Religions in Uganda 11-1
Cross Cultural Practium (internship) 2-4
Luganda 4-6
Thursday:
East African Politics 8:30-12 with a ½ hour break in between there.
Luganda 4-6
Friday:
Faith and Action: TBA (There are two separate classes; I have yet to check which class I am in).
So I believe that if you would like to Skype Tuesdays would probably work best because I can get to school by 7:30-8:00ish and that’s about 11:30 –midnight (Mondays) back home.
I have been to one church service and one chapel service on campus so far. The theme of the worship services this semester is “Being the Church/Community of Christ”. I have been very blessed by both services because they discussed issues that people have about the church and what Christians should be doing in order to be contributing to the Church. It will be awesome to see what God does with this theme while my stay in Uganda.
A few things about Ugandan culture. Everything is pretty cheap compared to the States. Everyone is really friendly and easy to talk to. Ugandans are really trusting people. They LOVE American music. They think that everyone in the States is super rich and that all American women are very loose. This is because they watch a lot of American media. This just goes to show you that our media does not only influence our culture, but other countries’ perspective of us as well. In fact, the first American song I heard was “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. I was upset because I was hoping to avoid her. Later that night I heard “Party Rock Anthem” so that made up for it. They tend to go with the flow when it comes to time and they don’t really plan for things. When I say that, this is what I mean. I have to walk by a prison on my way to and from school (please do not freak out because I feel very safe). The gate on the prison is open and the only thing keeping the inmates separated from me is barbed wire that anyone could jump over. I just figured they were heavily watched over. I told a friend here who is a Ugandan about this and he asked, “Did you actually see any police officers?” I admitted that I did not and he said that there probably wasn’t any officers. So I asked, “How do the inmates stay in?” My friend replied, “We haven’t gotten that far. You Americans plan for everything and we don’t here.” This is very true. Americans like things to be planned out and made sure that nothing could go wrong, whereas in Uganda they don’t. In my mind I think that they haven’t planned to keep the inmates in because the inmates haven’t planned an escape. I feel like there is so much more I could say, but I’ll keep you informed on more Ugandan culture as I experience it.
The first night I was at my home stay two men came by the house. My Mama practically raised them as her own sons and she even introduced them to me as her sons. They are training to become pastors and I had a great conversation with one of the men, Collins. We were talking about the church in America and the church in Uganda. Collins tells me that many Ugandans are hungry for the Word of God and much is happening. They want to know more about Christ because they want to go to heaven. Now, I don’t believe one should become a believer just so they could go to heaven because that should not be the end goal. We should want to become believers because God is God and we desire to have relationship with our Creator and to be conformed to be more like Christ. I was encouraged by something Collins said though. “While you are here, do not just sit around. Go out and reach out to people and share the Gospel with them because there is so much hunger here for the Truth.” I really needed to hear this because a desire of mine while being here is to see what God is doing. So please be praying for opportunities to share the Gospel with people I encountered.
So far, I feel comfortable being here. I have not felt culture shock but maybe that will happen later. I almost feel as though I should be feeling uncomfortable and scared because it’s a totally new and different place than the States. But I don’t. The minute I stepped foot into my house I felt at home. I was talking with God about this and wondering if this is how I should be feeling or not. I’m still not sure yet. But I have not had a break down and I hope I won’t have one. So far everything is going well. I am happy I came and am looking forward to the rest of the semester.
So Prayer Requests:
Good health and safety
Good relationships with my family
Cohesiveness among the group
Develop deep relationships with some of the group members
Opportunities to share the Gospel
Better sleeping habits
To stay up to date on class assignments and not procrastinate
Be Blessed!
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