Allison! I just received the package you sent me today and it was super incredible! And I just want everyone to know how much I love and appreciate the Littlefield's!
For everyone else reading this blog let me just explain something. This past summer I worked at Camp Fair Haven in Brooks, Maine and on most weekends we would stay with Kurty's cousin Al, her husband Cliff, and their boys Tommy and Luke. This family is so much fun and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to stay with them. They were so generous to open up their home to the three (Kirk being the third) of us counselors and let us terrorize their kids and their home. Little Tommy was a blast to play with and brought me so much joy.
Inside the package were wonderful things like coffee singles, tea, and chocolate, but the best part about the whole thing was the letter, picture, and present from Tommy. Al sent me a little race car in the package for my host brother Enoch. In the letter she followed it up with making sure I didn't give it to him "if he still puts stuff in his mouth- the wheels are small." You are so great Nurse Alison! Don't worry he's past that stage so the car is perfect! The second great thing about it was the picture of Tommy and Luke in their matching Carhart overalls. I can hear the collective "ahhh" from across cyberspace :). It made me miss you guys a lot! The final thing in the package that made my week was a present from Tommy. He sent me a piece of his most prized possession, (maybe after his peter pan outfit) his blanky! Talk about melting my heart! It definitely made me tear up and want to fly out as soon as possible to see that little monster! It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever received. Al, please tell Tommy I say thank you so much and give him a hug and tell him I'm excited to see him again and play with him. Thanks to you too. The package was great.
This also makes me want to thank all of you for the letters, emails, messages, packages, and especially prayers. I am so appreciative of the prayers especially. It's something that I've been realizing more and more how much prayer can connect us as the body of Christ. It's some powerful stuff. So thank you all for your prayers and for going to battle for me as I live life out here. I wish I repay you all for that incredible service so thanks. I love you guys!
Oh and Al, Kurty's has not quite come yet so don't worry she will rejoice probably louder than I soon! And if you didn't send her one because you like me better :) I'll help convince her it just got lost in the mail!
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
The Weight Doesn't Have to be Heavy
Last night as Kurty and I walked home we did what we normally do after each day. We debriefed about the different things we had talked about and discussed in class. The topics last night were things like war, pacifism, and God’s calling. We discuss the stuff that is presented to us in class and then weigh in with each other the things we were thinking or have thought about since the class. This is great for me because I struggle to contribute much to the discussions because I think things through a lot slower than the class pace goes. Also, a lot of times I want to talk about something that would probably get us way off topic. Being able to talk to Kurty about it all helps me to grasp the concepts and my opinion as well as the practical application it may have for me. That is what I love about talking with Kurty. She and I always get to the point of what does any of it mean for me, how should it change my behavior, or affect my lifestyle when I return home specifically to our environment.
I realized that I’ve been presented with enough heavy and controversial issues this semester to fill a swimming pool. It’s all a bit heavy and a bit overwhelming trying to store it all in my head and figure out my stance and response to every thing. I understand why they say re-entry is harder than entry. It makes coming back seem to loom larger every time I look ahead, but as my mom has said, “knowing that possibility is half the battle.” I've realized for me to look at it as this burden I have to sift through and drag around in is skewed. What an opportunity I have! God has blessed me with these tough issues to struggle through so that I can respond. Heck yea!!
I have a feeling that all I’ve been learning here will really come clear in the months after I return. It’s hard to put a finger on life lessons I’ve learned or how I’ve grown and changed since being here. I think those closest to me will be able to see those things better than even I will. I can say for sure however, that I have definitely grown. In maturity, understanding, wisdom, and truth (not to mention waist size with all those carbs!). It’s like I can feel this next layer of growth being put on me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel it because how can you come to something like this and not change.
I know I've been severely blessed through this opportunity and I don't want to miss using what I've learned and how I've changed to glorify God. It is exciting for me to come back and see where God is wanting me to go to or change or become. It's all so exciting too because I know that God is pumped about it all and about me continuing to grow and learn from him! As Kurty always says, "we're just living the GRAND ADVENTURE." It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it that way. It makes me want to take every next step with Him. Hallelujah!
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble (or adventures) of its own. Matthew 6:33-34
I realized that I’ve been presented with enough heavy and controversial issues this semester to fill a swimming pool. It’s all a bit heavy and a bit overwhelming trying to store it all in my head and figure out my stance and response to every thing. I understand why they say re-entry is harder than entry. It makes coming back seem to loom larger every time I look ahead, but as my mom has said, “knowing that possibility is half the battle.” I've realized for me to look at it as this burden I have to sift through and drag around in is skewed. What an opportunity I have! God has blessed me with these tough issues to struggle through so that I can respond. Heck yea!!
I have a feeling that all I’ve been learning here will really come clear in the months after I return. It’s hard to put a finger on life lessons I’ve learned or how I’ve grown and changed since being here. I think those closest to me will be able to see those things better than even I will. I can say for sure however, that I have definitely grown. In maturity, understanding, wisdom, and truth (not to mention waist size with all those carbs!). It’s like I can feel this next layer of growth being put on me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel it because how can you come to something like this and not change.
I know I've been severely blessed through this opportunity and I don't want to miss using what I've learned and how I've changed to glorify God. It is exciting for me to come back and see where God is wanting me to go to or change or become. It's all so exciting too because I know that God is pumped about it all and about me continuing to grow and learn from him! As Kurty always says, "we're just living the GRAND ADVENTURE." It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it that way. It makes me want to take every next step with Him. Hallelujah!
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble (or adventures) of its own. Matthew 6:33-34
Monday, 24 November 2008
If You Fall Out, Hold On….or You’re Dead!
6 hours on the Nile: super sun-burned thighs. Class 5 rapids: swallowed gallons of water. Feeling like you went through a human sized washing machine: priceless!
What an unbelievable experience rafting the Nile turned out to be! We went rafting in Jinja with a company called Nile River Explorers. On Saturday we got up and left for breakfast at 8:30 where we had coffee (which I found out was actually not needed when I got out in the rapids!) and a light breakfast and had our quick briefing and then loaded up in open bed trucks to head to the drop in point. In my raft there were 7 of the USP students (including Kurty and Justin Lane), which was nice because we all knew each other so that made the whole experience even more exciting. Our river guide was called Alex and he was….basically crazy, but I suppose that’s sort of a prerequisite for this sort of thing. He looked African, but sounded Australian so go figure that one out. He was very blunt, but also very entertaining. The name of the blog is a quote of his. When we got out in the water we were taught all of the commands and what to do in different situations and then he let us swim/float down a class 1 rapid, which initially scared me (and I’m sort of embarrassed about that) until later when we went through class 4 and 5 rapids. Floating around in the river made me think of Minnesota and I tried to close my eys and picture it…that is until I’d hit a wave and get water up my nose. It reminded me of tubing down the St. Croix with camp.
Anyways, enough reminiscing. The trip took about 6 or so hours to do and the day was absolutely beautiful for being out on a river. I’ll hit a few of the highlights for you or else Kurty might say I’m long-winded again (which I know I am and am probably already guilty of). At one of the rapids we went down a waterfall backwards and Justin, deciding to do something exciting for the video camera, stood up in front of me and then fell back on me and sat on my face…haha, that sounds funny to write. I smashed down on my paddle and bit a chunk into my lip, but it was well worth the adventure and the worst of any injuries.
Immediately following that we went down a rapid called Chop Suey (I would love to have a job of naming the rapids because they’re so fun). Our guide pretty much purposefully flipped us and we were under the water for probably the longest amount of time during the trip…maybe 4 seconds or so before our life jackets would pop us back up and the kayakers would paddle us back to our boat. I wish I could better describe to you the sensation of being told “get down” as you drop into the rapid and then see a wall of white, angry water about to crash down on you and knowing that the angle you are at means you will thrown into it, where you will be churned around for a while not quite knowing where up is until it pops you out and you start laughing and shouting at everyone and as soon as you get back in the boat everyone is relaying their grand experiences (how’s that for a sentence ☺). It’s unbelievable fun! It was just a great day to be alive. Kurty and I had a phenomenal time out on the Nile.
On Sunday we did some relaxing and went into Jinja. We took Boda-Bodas (mini motorcycles) into town because of the distance and that was quite the experience. I’m not exactly one for those types of things so I was a bit nervous, but ended up liking it quite a bit. We shopped around, played some cards, and then came back where we listened to our home churches sermon on my computer in the bathroom because it was about 20 degrees cooler in there! It was great to have that time to relax since in the next two weeks I have 5 papers, a project and presentation, and two final tests to prepare for. I would love your prayers for all of that because it’s a bit overwhelming especially when you pair that with the fact that we only have about 25 days left to soak up all Uganda and the people we’ve met here have to offer. Ahhh!!!
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him! Matthew 8:27
What an unbelievable experience rafting the Nile turned out to be! We went rafting in Jinja with a company called Nile River Explorers. On Saturday we got up and left for breakfast at 8:30 where we had coffee (which I found out was actually not needed when I got out in the rapids!) and a light breakfast and had our quick briefing and then loaded up in open bed trucks to head to the drop in point. In my raft there were 7 of the USP students (including Kurty and Justin Lane), which was nice because we all knew each other so that made the whole experience even more exciting. Our river guide was called Alex and he was….basically crazy, but I suppose that’s sort of a prerequisite for this sort of thing. He looked African, but sounded Australian so go figure that one out. He was very blunt, but also very entertaining. The name of the blog is a quote of his. When we got out in the water we were taught all of the commands and what to do in different situations and then he let us swim/float down a class 1 rapid, which initially scared me (and I’m sort of embarrassed about that) until later when we went through class 4 and 5 rapids. Floating around in the river made me think of Minnesota and I tried to close my eys and picture it…that is until I’d hit a wave and get water up my nose. It reminded me of tubing down the St. Croix with camp.
Anyways, enough reminiscing. The trip took about 6 or so hours to do and the day was absolutely beautiful for being out on a river. I’ll hit a few of the highlights for you or else Kurty might say I’m long-winded again (which I know I am and am probably already guilty of). At one of the rapids we went down a waterfall backwards and Justin, deciding to do something exciting for the video camera, stood up in front of me and then fell back on me and sat on my face…haha, that sounds funny to write. I smashed down on my paddle and bit a chunk into my lip, but it was well worth the adventure and the worst of any injuries.
Immediately following that we went down a rapid called Chop Suey (I would love to have a job of naming the rapids because they’re so fun). Our guide pretty much purposefully flipped us and we were under the water for probably the longest amount of time during the trip…maybe 4 seconds or so before our life jackets would pop us back up and the kayakers would paddle us back to our boat. I wish I could better describe to you the sensation of being told “get down” as you drop into the rapid and then see a wall of white, angry water about to crash down on you and knowing that the angle you are at means you will thrown into it, where you will be churned around for a while not quite knowing where up is until it pops you out and you start laughing and shouting at everyone and as soon as you get back in the boat everyone is relaying their grand experiences (how’s that for a sentence ☺). It’s unbelievable fun! It was just a great day to be alive. Kurty and I had a phenomenal time out on the Nile.
On Sunday we did some relaxing and went into Jinja. We took Boda-Bodas (mini motorcycles) into town because of the distance and that was quite the experience. I’m not exactly one for those types of things so I was a bit nervous, but ended up liking it quite a bit. We shopped around, played some cards, and then came back where we listened to our home churches sermon on my computer in the bathroom because it was about 20 degrees cooler in there! It was great to have that time to relax since in the next two weeks I have 5 papers, a project and presentation, and two final tests to prepare for. I would love your prayers for all of that because it’s a bit overwhelming especially when you pair that with the fact that we only have about 25 days left to soak up all Uganda and the people we’ve met here have to offer. Ahhh!!!
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him! Matthew 8:27
Luweero
We embarked on our final IMME trip this past weekend. Our destination was a district called Luweero. It was the closest of all our tips so we only sat on the bus for a little over two hours.
When we got there we immediately went to the Anglican Bishop of Luweero’s home to speak with him. He was an extremely welcoming man and invited us into a beautiful home. It was probably the nicest home I’ve been in since being here in Uganda. It felt sort of weird to look around at all these things and hear him talk about how he grew up in poverty and so understands the needs of the poor and knows the value of sharing what you have. It was just sort of weird to me when he was obviously living much better than those around him. I understand that it’s hard and he probably does do a lot for his community. It was just hard to follow him when he talked about the poverty in Africa and look around at all these lavish decorations. He spoke English very well and had been to America before so he had fun stories. We were also given refreshments of juice, hot cocoa, popcorn, and fried cassava. I love fried cassava or in English, fried root. It’s the root of a bush, but I think it tastes like popcorn and fries when they fry it! Yumm!
We stayed at an Anglican guest house and it was really nice…ok, except that we’re pretty sure that Kurty and our other roommate, Kamanha, had company as they slept!...Bed bugs!!! It gave a whole new meaning to the rhyme “good night, sleep night, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” We didn’t really discover until after the weekend and it wasn’t too bad, just annoying. It was made up for however (Kurty might disagree since I escaped the weekend without any bites) when we were able to take extremely hot showers!!! It felt fantastic! I let it get almost to the point where I couldn’t bear it just to remember what it felt like.
On Saturday we went to a place called the Mirembe Resource Center to share time and fellowship with the children and families that were supported there. The organization was started by a local couple who saw the need in their community to address the needs of the families effected with HIV/AIDS. There is an incredible stigma here against people with HIV. They are almost immediately ostracized from a community when it is discovered that they have contracted it, whether it was their fault or not. I was sort of surprised by this and during my time there and I saw how important it was to give these people their dignity back. It is great that there are programs that address the poverty of HIV and offer medical assistance, but it is almost more crucial to return their dignity back to them. Especially in a culture where being a part of the community is pivotal.
This organization helped out about 8 families. One was a child headed household, one had a grandmother as its head because the parents had died, and another was completely rejected from the rest of the family because the mother bore a child who was disabled. This young 7 year girl who was disabled was named Christine and she was born without clavicles so her arms are useless, but she is miraculous with her feet. She immediately stole my heart and I played soccer and talked with her for a while.
We were told that these kids look forward to this day when we come and play with them every semester. When we arrived we started out the day by introducing ourselves and getting a quick introduction from the staff and then were told, “ok, here are some games and toys. Go play.” Are you kidding me?!? I actually get to go play with them instead of just sitting and listening to a speaker!?!? Not to say that speakers are bad, but I mean really, let me at those cute kids! We played for over an hour with them. Soccer, balloon animals, games with the massive parachute, volleyball, and tons of other hysterically fun adventures! The only low light was when I was playing keep away with a younger girl and Justin Lane and he thought it would be fun to bounce the volleyball off my face from 2 feet away! No worries, no broken nose, but we’re still trying to work out our differences. It was actually pretty funny. We had lunch with them and then shared songs and skits with each other as a big group. They sang a few songs and danced for us and we sang them a few songs (banana song, Jesus loves me remix, father Abraham, and others). What a rewarding time spent to see the smiles and laughter. I think this might possibly be the highlight of my time here in Africa. It was so refreshing.
Later that night we met with a Catholic priest from the area named Father Jerry. He was a nice guy, pretty young. It was a pretty casual meeting and he just shared stories with us about his ministry, especially with HIV/AIDS, and different people he’s helped. I really like speaking with him because he was one of the first people I met who talked about his own weaknesses and shared about his wonderings and doubts about God. He really struggled with the injustice and seeming unfairness of God. I just really appreciated his honesty and the fact that he was thinking critically about himself and his community, which is a trait that I haven’t really experienced very much here because of how the schools teach by way of wrote memorization.
We went to his church the next day. I had never been to a Catholic service before so it was interesting. It was in Luganda though so it was tough to know what was going on. It was a pretty big church too. I think their dedication to ritual is admirable and Father Jerry was extremely relatable with his congregation. It was a good experience and I appreciated the look into a different denomination within Uganda.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6
When we got there we immediately went to the Anglican Bishop of Luweero’s home to speak with him. He was an extremely welcoming man and invited us into a beautiful home. It was probably the nicest home I’ve been in since being here in Uganda. It felt sort of weird to look around at all these things and hear him talk about how he grew up in poverty and so understands the needs of the poor and knows the value of sharing what you have. It was just sort of weird to me when he was obviously living much better than those around him. I understand that it’s hard and he probably does do a lot for his community. It was just hard to follow him when he talked about the poverty in Africa and look around at all these lavish decorations. He spoke English very well and had been to America before so he had fun stories. We were also given refreshments of juice, hot cocoa, popcorn, and fried cassava. I love fried cassava or in English, fried root. It’s the root of a bush, but I think it tastes like popcorn and fries when they fry it! Yumm!
We stayed at an Anglican guest house and it was really nice…ok, except that we’re pretty sure that Kurty and our other roommate, Kamanha, had company as they slept!...Bed bugs!!! It gave a whole new meaning to the rhyme “good night, sleep night, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” We didn’t really discover until after the weekend and it wasn’t too bad, just annoying. It was made up for however (Kurty might disagree since I escaped the weekend without any bites) when we were able to take extremely hot showers!!! It felt fantastic! I let it get almost to the point where I couldn’t bear it just to remember what it felt like.
On Saturday we went to a place called the Mirembe Resource Center to share time and fellowship with the children and families that were supported there. The organization was started by a local couple who saw the need in their community to address the needs of the families effected with HIV/AIDS. There is an incredible stigma here against people with HIV. They are almost immediately ostracized from a community when it is discovered that they have contracted it, whether it was their fault or not. I was sort of surprised by this and during my time there and I saw how important it was to give these people their dignity back. It is great that there are programs that address the poverty of HIV and offer medical assistance, but it is almost more crucial to return their dignity back to them. Especially in a culture where being a part of the community is pivotal.
This organization helped out about 8 families. One was a child headed household, one had a grandmother as its head because the parents had died, and another was completely rejected from the rest of the family because the mother bore a child who was disabled. This young 7 year girl who was disabled was named Christine and she was born without clavicles so her arms are useless, but she is miraculous with her feet. She immediately stole my heart and I played soccer and talked with her for a while.
We were told that these kids look forward to this day when we come and play with them every semester. When we arrived we started out the day by introducing ourselves and getting a quick introduction from the staff and then were told, “ok, here are some games and toys. Go play.” Are you kidding me?!? I actually get to go play with them instead of just sitting and listening to a speaker!?!? Not to say that speakers are bad, but I mean really, let me at those cute kids! We played for over an hour with them. Soccer, balloon animals, games with the massive parachute, volleyball, and tons of other hysterically fun adventures! The only low light was when I was playing keep away with a younger girl and Justin Lane and he thought it would be fun to bounce the volleyball off my face from 2 feet away! No worries, no broken nose, but we’re still trying to work out our differences. It was actually pretty funny. We had lunch with them and then shared songs and skits with each other as a big group. They sang a few songs and danced for us and we sang them a few songs (banana song, Jesus loves me remix, father Abraham, and others). What a rewarding time spent to see the smiles and laughter. I think this might possibly be the highlight of my time here in Africa. It was so refreshing.
Later that night we met with a Catholic priest from the area named Father Jerry. He was a nice guy, pretty young. It was a pretty casual meeting and he just shared stories with us about his ministry, especially with HIV/AIDS, and different people he’s helped. I really like speaking with him because he was one of the first people I met who talked about his own weaknesses and shared about his wonderings and doubts about God. He really struggled with the injustice and seeming unfairness of God. I just really appreciated his honesty and the fact that he was thinking critically about himself and his community, which is a trait that I haven’t really experienced very much here because of how the schools teach by way of wrote memorization.
We went to his church the next day. I had never been to a Catholic service before so it was interesting. It was in Luganda though so it was tough to know what was going on. It was a pretty big church too. I think their dedication to ritual is admirable and Father Jerry was extremely relatable with his congregation. It was a good experience and I appreciated the look into a different denomination within Uganda.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6
Monday, 17 November 2008
I'd Rather Measure Life in Laughter
The week after rural home stat week just happened to be my birthday week. And as it goes with birthday weeks everything is just more exciting and special. Plus the birthday feel often lingers for a few days after the actual date. I will relay to you all the events related and unrelated to my birthday during that glorious week,
I received, via snail mail, a package from my grandmother that contained leaves!! Real fall leaves that had held onto their beautiful reds, yellows, oranges, and golds. They were a big hit with all the students who live in places where the change of colors happens. We even taped some up in the IMME study room! Thanks so much grandma! They are much appreciated.
On my birthday I received two phone calls from my grandparents who kept the singing of happy birthday over the phone tradition alive. They wished me Happy Birthday on the Ugandan birthday and on my American birthday! It was very fun. I also was able to talk to my parents and my sister, which was super wonderful as well. My brother had wished me a happy birthday via the computer two days prior because, to quote him, the chances of him “actually remembering to tell me on the actual day was about as good as the Vikings winning the super bowl.” Got to love a packers fan!
Kurty surprised me with real chai tea! I savored every sip! Thanks so much Jane for sending those out. It was a comforting experience of home. I can’t wait to drink some while being all bundled up looking out at snow! Mmmmmm!!!
I was treated to lunch and also received four pineapple pops and a bag of corn nuts! The Justin’s were responsible for those gifts! The IMME group also had brownies made for the occasion!
My birthday was a bit overshadowed by the fact that Mr. Barak Obama decided to go and get himself elected as president. You would have thought it was the second coming the way Africa celebrated! Kenya had a national holiday declared and every baby born that day was either named Barak Obama or Michelle Obama. It got a little exhausting to have that be the only topic of conversation from people who only know that the reason they like him is that he has connections to Africa and not because of any of his policies.
That night at home because I had gotten Elisha with water on his birthday (since that is the tradition among the youth) he came in after supper with a cup full, sang me happy birthday, and tossed it right in my face! I’m glad he’s not shy around me anymore ☺
On Friday that week we had a missionary dinner to go to. It was with an older couple who have been in Uganda four about 3 years now named Alan and Heather Hall. On our way we ran into a biker who flew out in front of us. Right before that I had been wondering how we were not witnessing any accidents because of how crazy the traffic is and then, smack, there goes the biker. He actually didn’t fall off or anything and he just kept biking away, but both Kurty and I were holding our breaths! Anyways, Alan was not a shy man and I think we only asked a couple questions because we shared most everything with us. His wife grew up in South Africa and her father was a Brit. They had been married for 4 years and were doing ministry in Uganda and living off of his social security check. He had a neat conversion story about how God spoke to him. He was an interesting man and before we left he anointed with oil from the Holy Land so we could go on and bless others. My favorite thing about the whole night was probably the pasta and incredible marinara, meat sauce! Yum yum yum!
On Saturday, Kurty and Justin Lane took me to Kampala to extend my birthday celebrations. They took me first to eat breakfast at a more American restaurant and I ate, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, and a toasted bagel and butter! I also got to sample Justin’s banana pancakes! We played some cribbage while we waited and I won both games. I could have stopped there and been satisfied, but then we went to these fun craft shops and I loved looking around for fun Christmas gifts! After that we went to get ice cream and watch more of the Vikings game! The Vikings game didn’t actually play, but it was still great. Kurty and Justin did a great job surprising me with the different activities. Before we left Kurty and I bought a basketball so we wouldn’t have to always run around at school trying to find one. Good purchase!
On Saturday there was also a futbol match with that I played a bit in, which was fun and gave me great memories of playing in high school. The best part about it all was not that we had great orange jerseys, even though that was great, but that there was a goat roast after and they decided to kill the goat on the edge of the field…the man walked by me with machete in one hand and the goat in the other. After it’s last cries they strung it up between two poles and skinned it. Only in Africa.
On Sunday Kurty and I were able to download some sermons from our home church and listen to them. We missed it a lot and were like little kids in a candy store listening and taking notes. It has been frustrating for us with the church experiences we’ve had here. The sermons we listen to are not exactly challenging or engaging because most of the congregation can’t handle anything deeper. Christianity, especially in the cities, is just the thing to do on Sundays. It seems pretty shallow. There doesn’t seem to be much conviction past that during the week. I miss people who are passionate about Christ. It just feels spiritually dead most places I’ve been. My host father is a perfect example of that. I know God can speak to you in every situation, but it’s hard to listen to someone preach to you about how we need to love each other. Kurty and I were just craving something deeper.
I also received all of the birthday cards that people sent me. Thanks to Marilyn, Nancy, Great Gma Charlotte, Gma Jean and Gpa Milt, Gma Nancy and Gpa Thor, Annika, and Mom and Dad. Annika we play your card for people and surprise everyone with its contents every so often. It was a great choice on your part! I got all 8 cards in one day! Talk about exciting and everyone being jealous of me!
Update on No-Shave-November—I look like I have man legs ☺
My birthday week was wonderful and I thank everyone for wishing me a happy day of my birth!
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10
I received, via snail mail, a package from my grandmother that contained leaves!! Real fall leaves that had held onto their beautiful reds, yellows, oranges, and golds. They were a big hit with all the students who live in places where the change of colors happens. We even taped some up in the IMME study room! Thanks so much grandma! They are much appreciated.
On my birthday I received two phone calls from my grandparents who kept the singing of happy birthday over the phone tradition alive. They wished me Happy Birthday on the Ugandan birthday and on my American birthday! It was very fun. I also was able to talk to my parents and my sister, which was super wonderful as well. My brother had wished me a happy birthday via the computer two days prior because, to quote him, the chances of him “actually remembering to tell me on the actual day was about as good as the Vikings winning the super bowl.” Got to love a packers fan!
Kurty surprised me with real chai tea! I savored every sip! Thanks so much Jane for sending those out. It was a comforting experience of home. I can’t wait to drink some while being all bundled up looking out at snow! Mmmmmm!!!
I was treated to lunch and also received four pineapple pops and a bag of corn nuts! The Justin’s were responsible for those gifts! The IMME group also had brownies made for the occasion!
My birthday was a bit overshadowed by the fact that Mr. Barak Obama decided to go and get himself elected as president. You would have thought it was the second coming the way Africa celebrated! Kenya had a national holiday declared and every baby born that day was either named Barak Obama or Michelle Obama. It got a little exhausting to have that be the only topic of conversation from people who only know that the reason they like him is that he has connections to Africa and not because of any of his policies.
That night at home because I had gotten Elisha with water on his birthday (since that is the tradition among the youth) he came in after supper with a cup full, sang me happy birthday, and tossed it right in my face! I’m glad he’s not shy around me anymore ☺
On Friday that week we had a missionary dinner to go to. It was with an older couple who have been in Uganda four about 3 years now named Alan and Heather Hall. On our way we ran into a biker who flew out in front of us. Right before that I had been wondering how we were not witnessing any accidents because of how crazy the traffic is and then, smack, there goes the biker. He actually didn’t fall off or anything and he just kept biking away, but both Kurty and I were holding our breaths! Anyways, Alan was not a shy man and I think we only asked a couple questions because we shared most everything with us. His wife grew up in South Africa and her father was a Brit. They had been married for 4 years and were doing ministry in Uganda and living off of his social security check. He had a neat conversion story about how God spoke to him. He was an interesting man and before we left he anointed with oil from the Holy Land so we could go on and bless others. My favorite thing about the whole night was probably the pasta and incredible marinara, meat sauce! Yum yum yum!
On Saturday, Kurty and Justin Lane took me to Kampala to extend my birthday celebrations. They took me first to eat breakfast at a more American restaurant and I ate, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, and a toasted bagel and butter! I also got to sample Justin’s banana pancakes! We played some cribbage while we waited and I won both games. I could have stopped there and been satisfied, but then we went to these fun craft shops and I loved looking around for fun Christmas gifts! After that we went to get ice cream and watch more of the Vikings game! The Vikings game didn’t actually play, but it was still great. Kurty and Justin did a great job surprising me with the different activities. Before we left Kurty and I bought a basketball so we wouldn’t have to always run around at school trying to find one. Good purchase!
On Saturday there was also a futbol match with that I played a bit in, which was fun and gave me great memories of playing in high school. The best part about it all was not that we had great orange jerseys, even though that was great, but that there was a goat roast after and they decided to kill the goat on the edge of the field…the man walked by me with machete in one hand and the goat in the other. After it’s last cries they strung it up between two poles and skinned it. Only in Africa.
On Sunday Kurty and I were able to download some sermons from our home church and listen to them. We missed it a lot and were like little kids in a candy store listening and taking notes. It has been frustrating for us with the church experiences we’ve had here. The sermons we listen to are not exactly challenging or engaging because most of the congregation can’t handle anything deeper. Christianity, especially in the cities, is just the thing to do on Sundays. It seems pretty shallow. There doesn’t seem to be much conviction past that during the week. I miss people who are passionate about Christ. It just feels spiritually dead most places I’ve been. My host father is a perfect example of that. I know God can speak to you in every situation, but it’s hard to listen to someone preach to you about how we need to love each other. Kurty and I were just craving something deeper.
I also received all of the birthday cards that people sent me. Thanks to Marilyn, Nancy, Great Gma Charlotte, Gma Jean and Gpa Milt, Gma Nancy and Gpa Thor, Annika, and Mom and Dad. Annika we play your card for people and surprise everyone with its contents every so often. It was a great choice on your part! I got all 8 cards in one day! Talk about exciting and everyone being jealous of me!
Update on No-Shave-November—I look like I have man legs ☺
My birthday week was wonderful and I thank everyone for wishing me a happy day of my birth!
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10
Debrief at Sipi and Soroti
After our rural experiences we were picked up and drove out of the mountains and went to the plains of Soroti to meet up with the other part of our group that did their rural home stays there. We stayed at a hospital and the mosquitoes were the absolute worst I’ve experienced yet, but I made it through with only 1 bug bite, which my bite ridden counterparts marveled at. The purpose was to see where they lived, debrief out times, and hear from a group called TEDDO who was involved in championing for peace in the area. Let me share a few of my experiences of these few days.
First of all, when our IMME group was reunited before we headed down to meet the other group we were incredibly loud and boisterous! It was so fun to everyone talking a mile a minute sharing stories. That is of course what happened when Kurty and I met up again. We were so pumped to see each other and we launched at each other and gave new definition to the term “big bear hug!” We took turns reading our journals to each other on the ride down and laughing hysterically about each of our experiences.
At debrief we shared stories about our experiences and I wanted to share a few with you. A couple girls witnessed a tornado destroy part of there village from up on a cliff (thank the Lord I had no idea this was going on because I am extremely afraid of tornadoes!). One of the guys shared his bedroom with pigeons, cockroaches, bats, and a lizard (needless to say he was somewhat pleased to be done with all that). He also was given a chicken uterus to eat (the part with all the partially developed eggs attached) since he was the guest of honor. Kamahna had a funny experience at church when they were all introduced. The pastor said that they should pray for America and the election and then said they should pray for their sister from Asia (Kamahna is often associated with the entire continent). He then said “I actually spoke with Asia this morning on the phone and was told they are doing well. So there are no problems in Asia. They are doing just fine.” Hahahaha
At Sipi we played a lot of rook again with Justin Lane and he went fishing within our group for some more, how should I put it, competitiveness…someone explain to me the attitude that you only play to enjoy and don’t care if you win!! Anyways, Lane was successful and found a partner, Justin Struik, who was able to propel him to a 5-3 record over the week. His overall record still being 18-6 there seemed to be light on the horizon! Kurty and I remembered what the sting of losing felt like again and the burning to crush them in the next opportunity.
We met with TEDDO and the Peace Promoters and learned about the problems between the Karamojong and the Ateso. The Karamojong are cattle raiders and it was only recently that the government stepped in to disarm them and try and bring peace. These average members of the community were trying to promote peace and dispel the hatred between the two neighboring tribes. It was interesting because it was all such a recent thing.
Ok, so in my last blog I shared about how I hurt my shoulder throwing my little brother up in the air and spent the rest of the time compensating for it, which in turn hurt my back. My back got worse and all of the muscles on the right side of my spine were really tight and every time they were rubbed out would shoot sharp pains up into my neck and shoulder and down my back. I figured that I would just keep mooching off people for back rubs and it would get better because my shoulder was feeling great. The first night in Soroti I woke Kurty up in the middle of the night because I was whimpering. She came over to my bed to check up on me and that’s when I woke up to incredibly painful back spasms and Kurty holding my hand and telling me to breath. It was, to put it mildly, a rude awakening and I freaked Kurty out pretty bad. Not only because she was worried about me, but also because she realized that if she needed to go get help she would have to run out in her nightgown! I had spasms every night for about a week and one during the day after I went on a long hike. It was frustrating because it was of course painful, but it wasn’t getting better and I kept waking people up at night...mostly Kurty. Kurty, thank you so much for holding my hand and stroking my head until they stopped and showing me so much care and concern. I’m sorry for interrupting your nights sleep so often!
One night we were told to come outside because there was a very cool lightning storm going on. It was absolutely incredible. We lay on the ground and watched this incredible lightning storm going on in the clouds. We sang hymns and other songs that praised God in his mightiness and it was one of those moments where you hope you feel that way forever.
The second part of debriefing was to head back up to Kapturwa and a resort (this is a very loose term although it was very nice) near Sipi falls (a succession of 3 beautiful waterfalls). We got to eat pancakes!! Even though there was no syrup they had a hint of cinnamon and tasted delicious!
On the way we stopped at these rocks and climbed around and saw ancient rock drawings. Pretty sweet and we also went climbing around and into places that weren’t probably meant for humans to access without difficulty, but it was fun.
On Saturday we were given the option to go on an all day hike to see each one of the falls. I wasn’t going to miss out on that even though my back was still being stupid and I did pay for it later by having spasms about an hour after getting done and two during the night. Brutal, but I think worth it. Yes, I know I was thinking as a dumb, invincible young person possibly, but that is who I am right now so I thought I’d fulfill that roll to a T. No worries, even though some of you may think I risked paralysis, the spasms have since decreased and my back is not as tight anymore. On the hike though I was doing great and watched people slip and fall left and right without falling myself (I know, that’s quite the feat for me). The first two falls were beautiful, but the last fall was the biggest and coolest, but it required an extremely slippery hike down. This is where Kurty and I had our one and only wipe out. Kurty on a root and me on my back. When we fell two things happened: 1. Little boys came out of the bush to grab our hands and “help” us down the mountain…there help was pretty darn annoying because how is a nine year old really going to keep me standing if I’m on my way down and they all just wanted us to pay them for their “services.” They also gave me three walking sticks on the way down, two of which I threw in frustration. 2. Justin Lane came flying down the mountain risking his own stability in order to get pictures of us. What a dork. I believe that one of my sticks was flung in his direction if I remember correctly. When we finally made it down to the fall we had to put on raincoats because the spray from this thundering fall was soaking us. It was a neat feeling.
That pretty much sums up the second half of the rural home stay experience. It was a great and hard week and I’m so grateful for all the experiences and great memories.
Shout to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Isaiah 12:5
First of all, when our IMME group was reunited before we headed down to meet the other group we were incredibly loud and boisterous! It was so fun to everyone talking a mile a minute sharing stories. That is of course what happened when Kurty and I met up again. We were so pumped to see each other and we launched at each other and gave new definition to the term “big bear hug!” We took turns reading our journals to each other on the ride down and laughing hysterically about each of our experiences.
At debrief we shared stories about our experiences and I wanted to share a few with you. A couple girls witnessed a tornado destroy part of there village from up on a cliff (thank the Lord I had no idea this was going on because I am extremely afraid of tornadoes!). One of the guys shared his bedroom with pigeons, cockroaches, bats, and a lizard (needless to say he was somewhat pleased to be done with all that). He also was given a chicken uterus to eat (the part with all the partially developed eggs attached) since he was the guest of honor. Kamahna had a funny experience at church when they were all introduced. The pastor said that they should pray for America and the election and then said they should pray for their sister from Asia (Kamahna is often associated with the entire continent). He then said “I actually spoke with Asia this morning on the phone and was told they are doing well. So there are no problems in Asia. They are doing just fine.” Hahahaha
At Sipi we played a lot of rook again with Justin Lane and he went fishing within our group for some more, how should I put it, competitiveness…someone explain to me the attitude that you only play to enjoy and don’t care if you win!! Anyways, Lane was successful and found a partner, Justin Struik, who was able to propel him to a 5-3 record over the week. His overall record still being 18-6 there seemed to be light on the horizon! Kurty and I remembered what the sting of losing felt like again and the burning to crush them in the next opportunity.
We met with TEDDO and the Peace Promoters and learned about the problems between the Karamojong and the Ateso. The Karamojong are cattle raiders and it was only recently that the government stepped in to disarm them and try and bring peace. These average members of the community were trying to promote peace and dispel the hatred between the two neighboring tribes. It was interesting because it was all such a recent thing.
Ok, so in my last blog I shared about how I hurt my shoulder throwing my little brother up in the air and spent the rest of the time compensating for it, which in turn hurt my back. My back got worse and all of the muscles on the right side of my spine were really tight and every time they were rubbed out would shoot sharp pains up into my neck and shoulder and down my back. I figured that I would just keep mooching off people for back rubs and it would get better because my shoulder was feeling great. The first night in Soroti I woke Kurty up in the middle of the night because I was whimpering. She came over to my bed to check up on me and that’s when I woke up to incredibly painful back spasms and Kurty holding my hand and telling me to breath. It was, to put it mildly, a rude awakening and I freaked Kurty out pretty bad. Not only because she was worried about me, but also because she realized that if she needed to go get help she would have to run out in her nightgown! I had spasms every night for about a week and one during the day after I went on a long hike. It was frustrating because it was of course painful, but it wasn’t getting better and I kept waking people up at night...mostly Kurty. Kurty, thank you so much for holding my hand and stroking my head until they stopped and showing me so much care and concern. I’m sorry for interrupting your nights sleep so often!
One night we were told to come outside because there was a very cool lightning storm going on. It was absolutely incredible. We lay on the ground and watched this incredible lightning storm going on in the clouds. We sang hymns and other songs that praised God in his mightiness and it was one of those moments where you hope you feel that way forever.
The second part of debriefing was to head back up to Kapturwa and a resort (this is a very loose term although it was very nice) near Sipi falls (a succession of 3 beautiful waterfalls). We got to eat pancakes!! Even though there was no syrup they had a hint of cinnamon and tasted delicious!
On the way we stopped at these rocks and climbed around and saw ancient rock drawings. Pretty sweet and we also went climbing around and into places that weren’t probably meant for humans to access without difficulty, but it was fun.
On Saturday we were given the option to go on an all day hike to see each one of the falls. I wasn’t going to miss out on that even though my back was still being stupid and I did pay for it later by having spasms about an hour after getting done and two during the night. Brutal, but I think worth it. Yes, I know I was thinking as a dumb, invincible young person possibly, but that is who I am right now so I thought I’d fulfill that roll to a T. No worries, even though some of you may think I risked paralysis, the spasms have since decreased and my back is not as tight anymore. On the hike though I was doing great and watched people slip and fall left and right without falling myself (I know, that’s quite the feat for me). The first two falls were beautiful, but the last fall was the biggest and coolest, but it required an extremely slippery hike down. This is where Kurty and I had our one and only wipe out. Kurty on a root and me on my back. When we fell two things happened: 1. Little boys came out of the bush to grab our hands and “help” us down the mountain…there help was pretty darn annoying because how is a nine year old really going to keep me standing if I’m on my way down and they all just wanted us to pay them for their “services.” They also gave me three walking sticks on the way down, two of which I threw in frustration. 2. Justin Lane came flying down the mountain risking his own stability in order to get pictures of us. What a dork. I believe that one of my sticks was flung in his direction if I remember correctly. When we finally made it down to the fall we had to put on raincoats because the spray from this thundering fall was soaking us. It was a neat feeling.
That pretty much sums up the second half of the rural home stay experience. It was a great and hard week and I’m so grateful for all the experiences and great memories.
Shout to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Isaiah 12:5
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Sunsets and Lightning Storms Over the Banana Trees
This is the second section about my rural home stay experience.
Activities
Coffee Harvesting- My family had a smaller garden compared to some of the ones I’ve heard about. I learned how to pick coffee with them though and when we first got to the garden Solomon taught me the proper technique for picking and then informed me, sort of off hand, that I was “standing in a hill of biting ants.” Thanks Solomon. Needless to say I spent the rest of the day slapping at imaginary ants. I also went along to the second stage of coffee harvesting, called pulping. There’s a crank machine they use to pop the beans out of their outer case. It was hard work constantly turning the crank and it made me pretty tired. Also, let me just tell you that coffee does not smell good until after it has been roasted! For all of you who know that I struggle with smells understand how sucky that was.
Dodgeball- this term is a little misleading, but let me explain. The family had a ball that was pretty deflated and one time we were throwing it around and playing catch, but it then morphed into I would stand in the middle of our yard and huck the ball at one of the kids. It started out with just Solomon, Selestine, and Abida and then all of a sudden there were about 10 more neighbor kids. There was so much giggling. I’ve never enjoyed pelting people so much in my life!
Chores- I helped peal matooke (really hard and I cut myself…big surprise there!), shell ground nuts (exactly like peanuts at a ball game), fetch water (why do rivers have to be down in the valleys so you have to walk up), de-kernalizing (Kurty’s word) corn (mom, what would the term actually be for that?), and digging in the garden (six blisters from only 15 minutes with a hoe ☹).
Food- So I ate a ton all the time, but there are a few specific dishes I want to share with you. One morning, in between picking coffee my mom brought out a mug of “porridge” for me to eat. It contained maize flower, millet, rice, milk, and water…it looked like paper mache mix or “camel snot” as my dad calls it for his art classes. It was all right and I only gagged once because of the texture, but I ate all of it…ok, not all of it, I threw a couple spoonfuls into the bush when no one was looking more because I was full than didn’t like it. There was however something I met with that caused me to get the closest I’ve gotten to throwing up because of something I was eating or in this case drinking. One night my mom asked me if I liked milk to which I of course replied to in the positive. She brought in a glass of it and I took a sip…it was warm, chunky, very sour, and it smelled. It was something they appropriately call “sour milk” and is made by mixing milk and ash together and then letting it sit in a gourd four a couple days! They love this stuff and I watched my whole family chug it. It was the single most disgusting thing I’ve ever had and I was oh so close to puking everywhere! The rest of the meal I tasted it every time I took a bite and even after brushing my teeth twice I could taste it. It was that potent. The last food I’m going to talk about is the sugar cane I got to eat. Sugar cane is fun to eat. You rip off a piece with your teeth and the chew and suck on it until the sugar is gone and then spit it out. The taste and the smell reminded me of my brother and camp. It tasted and smelled like the sweet corn we used to sneak in and swipe out of the freezer at camp and take fishing with us. What a great memory!
Murdering a Chicken- I was given the opportunity to kill a chicken for supper. Let’s just say that the knife was dull and required a lot of sawing….and at one point I hit a nerve so it flinched and I freaked out and stepped off the wing so it splattered me with blood. What an experience. I got to pluck all the feathers off and when we gutted it we found a fully formed egg (which we ate later) and tons of others at various stages of development. It was fascinating.
Church- I went to my father’s church on Sunday, but the night before he spent about an hour with me writing out a script in the local language, kupsabene, so that I could introduce myself in church to everyone without a translator. I practiced really hard because I wanted to be able to offer this to the people in his congregation because I knew they would appreciate it. It went pretty well and they laughed and applauded my attempt a lot, but it was really fulfilling to connect with them like that! My father also bought me an avocado at the end of the service where they auction off the offering items. He bought it for me because when he asked me if I’ve ever eaten it I couldn’t understand what he said so I just said no…oops, but good thing I love avocado!
Meetings- I went to a couple women’s meeting with my mom and learned about how they pool their money to take care of each other in their community when it’s needed. It was cool, but I didn’t understand any of it for the most part besides when they would say muzungu every so often. I just played with the kids..that is f they weren’t afraid of me. Once when my mother turned on the flashlight on her phone a young boy kept trying to blow it out because he thought it was a candle. Very cute!
Glowstick Bracelets- I brought along some bracelets that, when you crack them, light up and glow in the dark for a period of time. I brought them out for each one of my family members and they loved them. They were amazed by them and we went outside and played around with them. We tried to take pictures, but it was a bit difficult. It was really fun to see their fascination with it all.
The Cliff- My father took me on a walk to a place they call “the cliff” one evening. The cliff sounded sort of ominous to me, but on the way we walked through a massive sunflower field that was absolutely breathtaking so I figured it couldn’t be that bad…I was definitely right about that! We walked out of the field and I could see for miles! It was an overlook where I could see all the way to Soroti, which was about 2 hours drive from Kapturwa. It was really clear and the sun was even setting! Talk about drop your jaw and rub your eyes! We stood and Bonifas pointed out all the different sites and landmarks to me. It was one of my favorite moments.
Playing with Abida- After Abida got over his fear with me he started playing with me a lot. One specific game we played was where I would count to 3 and throw him into the air and then catch him again (a very important part of the game). It was probably his favorite game and he would run up to me and hold out his arms to show me he wanted me to throw him. At one time however, I was throwing him up and I felt something shift in my shoulder :s and I almost didn’t catch him again. My shoulder feels fine now, but it bothered me a lot then and has caused other problems especially in my back because I kept trying to compensate for my shoulder. I’ll explain all those consequences in the next blog.
Before I end this blog I want to explain the title of this blog and share a few things I appreciated during my 5 day with my rural family.
As for my title, one evening I was hanging out at the home and looked out over the top of our banana trees and saw a lightning storm on one end of my horizon and a beautiful sunset on the other end. Both of these contrasting pictures that I saw on my horizon were both incredibly stunning. It was a captivating sight and I could see God for those few moments. The sunset exuded God’s beauty and majesty while the lightning storm showed off God’s incredible strength and power! His character was there, on one skyline for me. I could go into more about what God was speaking to me about, but I don’t have the room and that is the main point anyways.
As for what I appreciated about it all, I really enjoyed having a mom present. I missed that. My family was very active in caring for those in their community and sphere of influence. I loved seeing that. I like working with them to produce something. I like learning from Bonifas about the culture. I appreciated the slow down and the time to interact. And I liked the kids :) Always my thing!
The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has been clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Psalm 93:1
Activities
Coffee Harvesting- My family had a smaller garden compared to some of the ones I’ve heard about. I learned how to pick coffee with them though and when we first got to the garden Solomon taught me the proper technique for picking and then informed me, sort of off hand, that I was “standing in a hill of biting ants.” Thanks Solomon. Needless to say I spent the rest of the day slapping at imaginary ants. I also went along to the second stage of coffee harvesting, called pulping. There’s a crank machine they use to pop the beans out of their outer case. It was hard work constantly turning the crank and it made me pretty tired. Also, let me just tell you that coffee does not smell good until after it has been roasted! For all of you who know that I struggle with smells understand how sucky that was.
Dodgeball- this term is a little misleading, but let me explain. The family had a ball that was pretty deflated and one time we were throwing it around and playing catch, but it then morphed into I would stand in the middle of our yard and huck the ball at one of the kids. It started out with just Solomon, Selestine, and Abida and then all of a sudden there were about 10 more neighbor kids. There was so much giggling. I’ve never enjoyed pelting people so much in my life!
Chores- I helped peal matooke (really hard and I cut myself…big surprise there!), shell ground nuts (exactly like peanuts at a ball game), fetch water (why do rivers have to be down in the valleys so you have to walk up), de-kernalizing (Kurty’s word) corn (mom, what would the term actually be for that?), and digging in the garden (six blisters from only 15 minutes with a hoe ☹).
Food- So I ate a ton all the time, but there are a few specific dishes I want to share with you. One morning, in between picking coffee my mom brought out a mug of “porridge” for me to eat. It contained maize flower, millet, rice, milk, and water…it looked like paper mache mix or “camel snot” as my dad calls it for his art classes. It was all right and I only gagged once because of the texture, but I ate all of it…ok, not all of it, I threw a couple spoonfuls into the bush when no one was looking more because I was full than didn’t like it. There was however something I met with that caused me to get the closest I’ve gotten to throwing up because of something I was eating or in this case drinking. One night my mom asked me if I liked milk to which I of course replied to in the positive. She brought in a glass of it and I took a sip…it was warm, chunky, very sour, and it smelled. It was something they appropriately call “sour milk” and is made by mixing milk and ash together and then letting it sit in a gourd four a couple days! They love this stuff and I watched my whole family chug it. It was the single most disgusting thing I’ve ever had and I was oh so close to puking everywhere! The rest of the meal I tasted it every time I took a bite and even after brushing my teeth twice I could taste it. It was that potent. The last food I’m going to talk about is the sugar cane I got to eat. Sugar cane is fun to eat. You rip off a piece with your teeth and the chew and suck on it until the sugar is gone and then spit it out. The taste and the smell reminded me of my brother and camp. It tasted and smelled like the sweet corn we used to sneak in and swipe out of the freezer at camp and take fishing with us. What a great memory!
Murdering a Chicken- I was given the opportunity to kill a chicken for supper. Let’s just say that the knife was dull and required a lot of sawing….and at one point I hit a nerve so it flinched and I freaked out and stepped off the wing so it splattered me with blood. What an experience. I got to pluck all the feathers off and when we gutted it we found a fully formed egg (which we ate later) and tons of others at various stages of development. It was fascinating.
Church- I went to my father’s church on Sunday, but the night before he spent about an hour with me writing out a script in the local language, kupsabene, so that I could introduce myself in church to everyone without a translator. I practiced really hard because I wanted to be able to offer this to the people in his congregation because I knew they would appreciate it. It went pretty well and they laughed and applauded my attempt a lot, but it was really fulfilling to connect with them like that! My father also bought me an avocado at the end of the service where they auction off the offering items. He bought it for me because when he asked me if I’ve ever eaten it I couldn’t understand what he said so I just said no…oops, but good thing I love avocado!
Meetings- I went to a couple women’s meeting with my mom and learned about how they pool their money to take care of each other in their community when it’s needed. It was cool, but I didn’t understand any of it for the most part besides when they would say muzungu every so often. I just played with the kids..that is f they weren’t afraid of me. Once when my mother turned on the flashlight on her phone a young boy kept trying to blow it out because he thought it was a candle. Very cute!
Glowstick Bracelets- I brought along some bracelets that, when you crack them, light up and glow in the dark for a period of time. I brought them out for each one of my family members and they loved them. They were amazed by them and we went outside and played around with them. We tried to take pictures, but it was a bit difficult. It was really fun to see their fascination with it all.
The Cliff- My father took me on a walk to a place they call “the cliff” one evening. The cliff sounded sort of ominous to me, but on the way we walked through a massive sunflower field that was absolutely breathtaking so I figured it couldn’t be that bad…I was definitely right about that! We walked out of the field and I could see for miles! It was an overlook where I could see all the way to Soroti, which was about 2 hours drive from Kapturwa. It was really clear and the sun was even setting! Talk about drop your jaw and rub your eyes! We stood and Bonifas pointed out all the different sites and landmarks to me. It was one of my favorite moments.
Playing with Abida- After Abida got over his fear with me he started playing with me a lot. One specific game we played was where I would count to 3 and throw him into the air and then catch him again (a very important part of the game). It was probably his favorite game and he would run up to me and hold out his arms to show me he wanted me to throw him. At one time however, I was throwing him up and I felt something shift in my shoulder :s and I almost didn’t catch him again. My shoulder feels fine now, but it bothered me a lot then and has caused other problems especially in my back because I kept trying to compensate for my shoulder. I’ll explain all those consequences in the next blog.
Before I end this blog I want to explain the title of this blog and share a few things I appreciated during my 5 day with my rural family.
As for my title, one evening I was hanging out at the home and looked out over the top of our banana trees and saw a lightning storm on one end of my horizon and a beautiful sunset on the other end. Both of these contrasting pictures that I saw on my horizon were both incredibly stunning. It was a captivating sight and I could see God for those few moments. The sunset exuded God’s beauty and majesty while the lightning storm showed off God’s incredible strength and power! His character was there, on one skyline for me. I could go into more about what God was speaking to me about, but I don’t have the room and that is the main point anyways.
As for what I appreciated about it all, I really enjoyed having a mom present. I missed that. My family was very active in caring for those in their community and sphere of influence. I loved seeing that. I like working with them to produce something. I like learning from Bonifas about the culture. I appreciated the slow down and the time to interact. And I liked the kids :) Always my thing!
The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has been clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Psalm 93:1
Living on the Side of a Mountain
We headed to our rural homestays in Kapturwa, which is in eastern Uganda on the border to Kenya on October 24th. Kapturwa is a town set up in the mountains! Mt. Elgon is right near there. As we drove through the plains of the Soroti district (think Iowa flat and farmland) we could see the shadows of them in the distance and then we began to climb them. We went up for a while and saw many waterfalls and the more we drove the prettier the view over the plains we had left behind. Everyone was getting pretty anxious and excited to meet there families. We began the drop offs and one by one tossed out one student after another. The roads started getting more and more interesting including a section over three logs spanning a river…we all prayed and thought very light thoughts as we drove over it. Eventually I went with Kamahna (another IMME student) and a driver named Michael to get dropped off at our home stays. We introduced ourselves and he could not pronounce my name so he called me something like “juice-sten.” I tried to help him wrap his mouth around the syllables of my name so I just left it, but Kamahna thought it was hysterical and we laughed until we cried about it. I’m so thankful for that moment though because it really took away a lot of the tension and anxiety I was feeling. Anyways, after driving through the banana tree garden we reached my house and I started the fun!!
My Family:
It’s incredibly ironic how many similarities my family in Mukono and this one in Kapturwa have in common.
Bonifas Chemwenon: my father, who is also a mid-30’s Reverend at the local Anglican church. He was about a head shorter than me. I spent a lot of my time with him during the evening meal because he would always be out being busy doing reverend type things during the day. I really enjoyed the times I got to talk with him and I learned so much from him.
Irene Chemwenon: my mother who has the same name as my mother in Mukono! I spent most of my time with Irene and helping her with all the daily chores. She had a job as a field officer for the local coffee growing society or something, but was only gone one day for that. She was very nice and found me to be very funny…eventually ☺ The two comments I think she made to me most often were “you are tired” and “eat more.” I felt very mothered by her and it was nice. I realized how much I missed that.
Abida: my four year old brother. When he found out that a visitor was coming to stay with them he was so excited, but when, expecting an African, I showed up he ran and cried to his parents about it. Needless to say it was somewhat of a rocky start for us, but by the end he cried because he didn’t want me to leave. I broke through to him by whipping out my camera so for a while he would be friends with me if I’d get that out. Baby steps right?! By the end of the time he and I were good buddies and I was sad to say good bye to him.
Enoch: God blessed me again by having an adorable little two year old brother in this second home. He also took a little while to warm up to me, but eventually would even let me hold him and play with him. He was an absolute joy. He played so hard every day and was probably the dirtiest boy I have ever seen. My favorite thing was to watch how he would greet people: give them a good punch ☺
Jocelyn, Solomon, and Selestine: the house help I guess you could call them. Jocelyn was 25 and ran the place when mom and dad were at work and did a lot of the chores. She was a wonder woman! Solomon was one of my favorites. He had the most stunning smile I’ve ever seen. He was about 16 and Bonifas and Irene had taken him in when his parents divorced. He did a lot of work for them and stayed and ate with them. I think they also paid for his schooling. He was so very helpful at teaching me to do everything around the house. Selestine also helped out and I think she was a niece (it’s so hard to tell relations here in Uganda). She was often gone at school.
The Good ol’ Homestead:
The house was made of mud and timber like the house we made with the pygmies. It was nice. It was rectangular and had an entry way that splits into the two main rooms of the house. One was the dining/sitting room and the other a storage room with a small bedroom attached where Abida and Enoch sleep. Attached to these main rooms was a smaller bedroom. My bedroom was off the sitting room and my parents bedroom was off the storage room. My room was about 5 feet by 7 feet. The bed was super comfortable and being up in the mountains meant that I got to use the thick comforter because it was wonderfully cool! Glorious! The floors of the house were made of a mixture of cow dung and ash…yes, I walked over cow crap every day! They re-cover the floor every week. I got to watch my mom mix and cover it as while I was there! The ash gets rid of any smell, but I found it crazy. My favorite part of the house was that my father decorated the walls with wallpaper for my arrival. He used old UCU newspapers to cover the walls so I would have something familiar while I was there. My room and the sitting room were covered in them. I did some crosswords on my wall in my room before I’d go to sleep and there were pictures and articles of some of my teachers in the sitting room so if I ever was eating alone I’d chat it up with them.
There were two other buildings on our land that were both circular mud huts with grass roofs. One was the kitchen, but I couldn’t spend much time in here because it filled with smoke and my eyes are “very weak” according to my mom and would start watering. The other hut was a bedroom for Solomon and I’m not sure who else. The place that I bathed had rocks all over the floor and 3 walls that were not porous…the fourth offered a reasonable view for anyone wishing to see if I was actually white all over. Don’t worry most of the time I bathed at night or hung my towel in the way. The latrine was actually one of the nicer ones I’ve used, but I only saw two other people use it besides me. I found out that they only use it to go #2 (I felt weird using the actual word) and go out in the woods to do the other. They must have thought I had to go #2 all the time because I used it more than I think I’ve ever used it in my life. I probably went about 8 times a day. That’s because they fed me and gave me so much to drink I think I must have gained 5 pounds!
Before we went to our homestays we were warned that we may only get to eat 2 times a day. That is false! I had tea at least 2 if not 3 times a day and was made to drink at least two full cups. The first time I was served supper I was waiting for the whole family to come in to eat because their was that much food, but I found out it was just for Bonifas and I!! And they said at least 4 times a meal that I must take more! I always felt like I was going to explode and I can eat a lot, but they were even pushing my limits! The food was pretty good though and I was able to sample a lot of the different foods they have, many of which they get from their garden.
I had a good time and it was a wonderful experience. I'm going to post another blog after this one that outlines those experiences and shares a bit about what I learned. This one is already too long. As my parents know I have a hard time condensing things. I remember at supper times back with the fam we'd go around sharing our highs of the day and my family would always say "Kiersten, try and share the Reader's Digest version" because I was so long winded. I can't help it so for those of you who trudge through the entirety I salute you!
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
My Family:
It’s incredibly ironic how many similarities my family in Mukono and this one in Kapturwa have in common.
Bonifas Chemwenon: my father, who is also a mid-30’s Reverend at the local Anglican church. He was about a head shorter than me. I spent a lot of my time with him during the evening meal because he would always be out being busy doing reverend type things during the day. I really enjoyed the times I got to talk with him and I learned so much from him.
Irene Chemwenon: my mother who has the same name as my mother in Mukono! I spent most of my time with Irene and helping her with all the daily chores. She had a job as a field officer for the local coffee growing society or something, but was only gone one day for that. She was very nice and found me to be very funny…eventually ☺ The two comments I think she made to me most often were “you are tired” and “eat more.” I felt very mothered by her and it was nice. I realized how much I missed that.
Abida: my four year old brother. When he found out that a visitor was coming to stay with them he was so excited, but when, expecting an African, I showed up he ran and cried to his parents about it. Needless to say it was somewhat of a rocky start for us, but by the end he cried because he didn’t want me to leave. I broke through to him by whipping out my camera so for a while he would be friends with me if I’d get that out. Baby steps right?! By the end of the time he and I were good buddies and I was sad to say good bye to him.
Enoch: God blessed me again by having an adorable little two year old brother in this second home. He also took a little while to warm up to me, but eventually would even let me hold him and play with him. He was an absolute joy. He played so hard every day and was probably the dirtiest boy I have ever seen. My favorite thing was to watch how he would greet people: give them a good punch ☺
Jocelyn, Solomon, and Selestine: the house help I guess you could call them. Jocelyn was 25 and ran the place when mom and dad were at work and did a lot of the chores. She was a wonder woman! Solomon was one of my favorites. He had the most stunning smile I’ve ever seen. He was about 16 and Bonifas and Irene had taken him in when his parents divorced. He did a lot of work for them and stayed and ate with them. I think they also paid for his schooling. He was so very helpful at teaching me to do everything around the house. Selestine also helped out and I think she was a niece (it’s so hard to tell relations here in Uganda). She was often gone at school.
The Good ol’ Homestead:
The house was made of mud and timber like the house we made with the pygmies. It was nice. It was rectangular and had an entry way that splits into the two main rooms of the house. One was the dining/sitting room and the other a storage room with a small bedroom attached where Abida and Enoch sleep. Attached to these main rooms was a smaller bedroom. My bedroom was off the sitting room and my parents bedroom was off the storage room. My room was about 5 feet by 7 feet. The bed was super comfortable and being up in the mountains meant that I got to use the thick comforter because it was wonderfully cool! Glorious! The floors of the house were made of a mixture of cow dung and ash…yes, I walked over cow crap every day! They re-cover the floor every week. I got to watch my mom mix and cover it as while I was there! The ash gets rid of any smell, but I found it crazy. My favorite part of the house was that my father decorated the walls with wallpaper for my arrival. He used old UCU newspapers to cover the walls so I would have something familiar while I was there. My room and the sitting room were covered in them. I did some crosswords on my wall in my room before I’d go to sleep and there were pictures and articles of some of my teachers in the sitting room so if I ever was eating alone I’d chat it up with them.
There were two other buildings on our land that were both circular mud huts with grass roofs. One was the kitchen, but I couldn’t spend much time in here because it filled with smoke and my eyes are “very weak” according to my mom and would start watering. The other hut was a bedroom for Solomon and I’m not sure who else. The place that I bathed had rocks all over the floor and 3 walls that were not porous…the fourth offered a reasonable view for anyone wishing to see if I was actually white all over. Don’t worry most of the time I bathed at night or hung my towel in the way. The latrine was actually one of the nicer ones I’ve used, but I only saw two other people use it besides me. I found out that they only use it to go #2 (I felt weird using the actual word) and go out in the woods to do the other. They must have thought I had to go #2 all the time because I used it more than I think I’ve ever used it in my life. I probably went about 8 times a day. That’s because they fed me and gave me so much to drink I think I must have gained 5 pounds!
Before we went to our homestays we were warned that we may only get to eat 2 times a day. That is false! I had tea at least 2 if not 3 times a day and was made to drink at least two full cups. The first time I was served supper I was waiting for the whole family to come in to eat because their was that much food, but I found out it was just for Bonifas and I!! And they said at least 4 times a meal that I must take more! I always felt like I was going to explode and I can eat a lot, but they were even pushing my limits! The food was pretty good though and I was able to sample a lot of the different foods they have, many of which they get from their garden.
I had a good time and it was a wonderful experience. I'm going to post another blog after this one that outlines those experiences and shares a bit about what I learned. This one is already too long. As my parents know I have a hard time condensing things. I remember at supper times back with the fam we'd go around sharing our highs of the day and my family would always say "Kiersten, try and share the Reader's Digest version" because I was so long winded. I can't help it so for those of you who trudge through the entirety I salute you!
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
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