January 31, 2007 - An Opportunity for You All 

Today I met with a man named Chris, a contact that God somehow formed together from a list of random connections to put together the final details for my group to spend the day on Sunday at his church, (lol, he gave me a little surprise today by asking me to give a half hour sermon and letting me know that our group would be conducting the entire service), going out to eat with him and his family, and then going back to his orphanage to play with the kids. Anyways, a few years back Chris and his wife took in a few children after the death of her parents to AIDS, their hearts for the orphans grew, and now, just five years later he has started an orphanage that now has 700 kids, a primary school (schooling here is very expensive for kids to go to and so it was necesary for him to start his own school in order for his kids to be able to go) and a church with also around 700 members. When asking where all of these kids came from he continued on to tell me that children are often dropped off on their front doorstep, or parents that are alive but dying of AIDS come and speak with him and try to get their children ensured in the home before they pass away. A lot of times parents will also come and say that they are the child's neighbor and that they need the child to be accepted into the orphanage, when I asked Chris why a parent would ever try to get rid of their own child he replied, "Life in Uganda is very bitter. Here at the orphanage, the kids get three meals a day, they get shoes, and uniforms, and the opportunity to go to school. Most parents want that kind of a life and ensured future (ie- schooling) for their child, they simply cannot give it." Again, God struck me with the incredible needs of this country and the beautiful people in it but with the hope that a life, truly devoted to Him really could bring about massive change.

In order to raise funds to build a secondary school for his orphans and expand the orphanage, he is going to try and recieve a grant so that he can go to the United States with about 20 of the orphans for two months to speak at churches and schools and spend time with people to raise awareness, partners, and funds (and give those 20 kids the experience and vacation of a lifetime!): a very effective tool that Watoto, another major orphanage in Kampala has been doing and has immediate success with. The kids will be coming in October (and staying in Phoenix) and Chris is wanting them to be able to stay at Christian homes, rather than by themselves at a random and impersonal hotel. He does not yet have enough willing homes and so I was wondering if there were any of you out there who would be willing to house one, (or two, or a few depending on how much extra space you have) of these children? These children are amazingly precious, adorable, well-behaved, and unspoiled and it would be an incredible opportunity to love on an orphan in a way that he or she has never experienced before! I understand that most of you simply would not be able to house them due to a variety of reasons which is completely understandable, but, if God so laid it on your heart and you would like to house some of these children (or even donate money to their school and orphanage) please let me know.

January 31, 2007 - Not pointing a finger outward but looking in 
 

"Rock a by baby in the tree tops, when the wind blows the cradle will rock, when the wind blows the cradle will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all."

When I think of lullaby's, this is the first song that comes to mind, and I picture a mother rocking her baby to sleep as she sings it... A godly girl that I have met on this trip once told me that living in the United States was like living in a lullaby.

I think she was right.

January 30, 2007 - Kampala 

It's been a few days. Usually, I take some time to write these entries in the evenings in my room, but this one will be off the top of my head. Our group of 18 was scattered over the country of Uganda this past weekend for 3 day rural village visits. I went with two other students and our Ugandan friend Winnie to visit her family in Kaabalanda, Masaka. It was 3 days packed full of new and awkward experiences, but I wouldn't trade any of it for anything...I only wish we could have stayed a little bit longer.

We stayed at the home of Winnie's grandfather, Jaja. He's 87, has only 1 tooth left, had at least 6 wives and more than 38 children, owned a whole valley in which much of the extended family lives, is a descendant of one of the former kings of the Bugandan kingdom, and one of the coolest men I've ever met. He seemed pretty intimidating at first, but was endeared to my heart by the time we had to say goodbye. The Bagandans have a very patriarchal society, so as women, we had to kneel whenever we were greeting anyone older than ourselves. It's a humbling experience, but at the same time I was relieved- there was a way that I could show utmost respect for my hosts instead of them treating me like royalty all the time. My guy classmate didn't have to kneel. (He did say he felt sorry for me- not that I had to kneel, but b/c my knees were skinned up. He thinks he's so funny.)

We carried water from the well on our heads, learned to make matoke (steamed and mashed bananas), cooked over an open fire, used a pit latrine, went to an authentic African church, drank chai, ate papaya... had a lot of strange moments, and did a lot of thinking.

I thought I knew what poverty was- it was hunger, and dust, and dirty water, and less than a dollar a day. I think that is what it is in some places. But as the other two students and I sat on benches tossing extra corn kernels to the chickens at our feet after eating an enormous breakfast of rice, chicken, roasted corn, chai, papaya, and mango, we agreed that we no longer could place our finger on poverty. Jaja has not worked in years, and there literally is not a cent in the house. The house is not finished, but it a spacious house with a maze of rooms- unfinished because Jaja decided that the education of his children was more important than a beautiful home. The walls were dirty from years of little hands being put on them, and the food was prepared on banana leaves on the ground. BUT- we were never hungry, in fact we couldn't eat all that was laid before us. Even if they were preparing more food for their visitors, we would have had our fill from the all the fresh foods around us. Jaja's family will never go hungry. A natural spring on his land provides the village with clean water that they can drink. So, we decided that poverty isn't necessarily being hungry.

I'm still baffled, because I came away from Kaabalanda so confused...but the rest of those musings will have to wait until the next entry. Yes, I'm leaving you hanging so that you have to come back for more.

January 25, 2007 - Difficult Last Few Days 
 

Some stories have to be swallowed: most pictures not taken.

These last few days have been difficult. This place is full of love and hope. I said it so many times last semester, "Guys listen up, every 5 seconds a child dies from hunger and hunger related causes." But it is a completely different thing to see that child, to hear that child, and to touch that child with your own hands. It is as if I have never been out of the country before, I'm beginning to realize now how numbing my life had softened all of the previous experiences I had had in third world countries before. I know I should not be as shocked and upset as I am now but it is as if every suffering child that I see is the first. Sometimes it really hurts but I know that God is expanding my heart, (and therefore responsibility) I will never be the same.

Through it all, there is still a separation between who I am, what I can do, what I believe, and what I in fact, do. Hearing of missionaries going out and giving EVERYTHING (think Mother Teresa) that belonged to them: their physical comfort safety, possessions, familiarities, everything and serving people that had so little, is so much more than I had ever realized. Only divine intervention on a daily basis of dying to self could take a person to that level, and I know I have a lifetime to go. God has laid a heavy need on my heart, and I am desperate to know what He wants me to do with it.

Please pray for me and direction to know what I am to do to best help the people here. Please pray for Africa. For the war that is still in effect in the north and for the millions of people that it has effected. I have met so many people who's lives have been shattered from such a senseless war. Pray for peace. And pray for deliverance.

January 22, 2007 - A Boy Named Simon 

Today I met this boy named Simon who we began talking to after a man made fun of him for being a, "street child" he was thirteen, both of his parents and all his siblings had been killed in gulu and he had fled by himself to Kampala three years ago. He lives on 1,000 shillings a day (roughly fifty cents, enough to buy a bottle of water) he wants to go to school (it is only $15) but he has to work and he keeps getting sick with malaria. He dreams of graduating from college but he doesn't see how he possibly can do so. When asked where he lives he gets nervous points his finger around the place and then says he is with his friend Chitu who come from the conflict in Sudan. He was so sweet, he absolutely broke my heart.

It is a story you hear everywhere, today was a hard day. There was a lot of suffering and I felt so powerless to do anything about it. It's hard to talk with children who are hungry and hopeless, and who you can only help so much and tell them, "Jesus loves you, He will take care of you..." and fully believe it.

"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth."

I do believe God hasn't turned a blind eye. I do believe that God will give them mercy in the end.

January 19, 2007 - Invading Kampala 

The issue came up in a discussion yesterday. Why did we come here? To help develop this country? Do they even need to be developed? It was the west who gave them the idea that they should be developed in the first place. Christians came in with our western ideas and changed everything. Some change was good – bringing in the idea that all life should be cherished whether considered cursed or not – but some was bad too. For example, Christians wanted to banish all old traditions and rituals as they were considered pagan. Is dancing such a bad thing? I’ve learned that many of the earlier African traditions would be very useful today. The idea of using dance to express yourself in certain situations rocks. I wish we did it more often in our culture – it’s so freeing (those of you who have truly let go and danced know what I’m talking about). In some trides of Uganda with a death occurs the mourning period starts and continues until the final funeral rites. These rites are set based upon when the entire family can make it. At the final funeral ceremony you are given your last chance to cry and mourn for the dead and you are supposed to celebrate that you do not have to mourn anymore. You can now keep living despite the death of a loved one. So are we here to develop and fix this country? Maybe partly. But are we supposed to? Do they really need us? Are our ‘answers’ any good for them? Perhaps I am here to learn from their culture and I don’t think I can or should even try to ‘fix’ their culture. I would like to help them in ways they would like to change, not ways I think they should change. I’m not invading Uganda anymore, but I’m living and learning it.

January 16, 2007 - Limits & Generalizations 

January 16, 2007 - Greetings from Kampala 
 

Africa is amazing, I have already learned so much about Africa, poverty, and what can be done about it, I can hardly even imagine all the understanding I am going to have at the end of this semester. All of the kids in the group are great, my roommate Bethany completely fitting this description, we get a long wonderfully! This Food for the Hungry program is so good, not only am I learning so much about Africa and poverty and what I can do about it but I am getting to be completely submerged into the culture and experiencing everything in Uganda as well. We went to a Ugandan tribe dance things last night which was so cool (even the white kids got a chance to go shake it), we are going to the tombs of the kings on wed., on Saturday our free day a group of us are going white water rafting down the Nile, and then in two weeks we are going in small groups (of three) with a FH Ugandan worker to their home village for, "rural visits."

God is already changing my heart, worldview, and stereotypes. I wont go into detail now since I haven't yet come to full conclusions but I am beginning to see overseas missions in a fuller light and am grappling with what that means for me to be in a completely different community trying to love on people that are so different from myself. As someone reminded me, why is that we go through the old and unwanted clothes to give away to people in need, why not the best? So in missions, what kind of house would I live in? Where would my kids go to school? Who would the majority of my close friends be? Where would I go to church? Most missionaries here have tight-knit American, Christian circles from which they find solace in and use for everything but ministry. There must be a reason for this, but is it really necessary? How would me adopting kids from the country play out among the community? How much time and energy does it take to live that kind of lifestyle, how would it affect my marriage? Are my idealistic views on what I am going to occupationally realistic for the need and the way that peoples culture and traditions need me to relate to them?

I am more set than I have ever been on missions but I am beginning to be more knowledgable on what I need to develop in myself to be able to most effective in ministry in the future.

January 15, 2007 - Where in the world am I? 

Even as I write this, I realize it is the very fact that my heart has been so broken by these very same things my friend was crying about that has given me the determination to follow through and do something about them. I never want to be in that place where I can’t be touched, where I can’t be hurt by the sight, where I can’t be bothered. As hard as it is, as heartbreaking as it might be- I want to be there, in the midst of it all, being Jesus’ hands and feet to someone. And I firmly believe that if it only makes the difference in the life of one, solitary person, it will be worth it all. As we walked, I watched a friend lean down with the box of leftovers from the Chinese restaurant and hand them to a little boy sitting in a pile of dirt- he looked at her with huge eyes, and hesitantly took it from her hands, but never smiled. I think, if you can make one person smile at a gesture of love, it is more than worth the effort. And even if you can’t make them smile- I’m pretty sure that God still commands us to go forward, to press on, and to give ourselves as a living sacrifice, to be uncomfortable in our lives if for no other reason than to hand someone a gift of life.

January 8, 2007 - A Messenger 

January 8-9, 2007 - Orientation in Phoenix 

Go ED. Africa, Spring 2007 has begun!

Students arrived into Phoenix, Arizona for orientation on Monday and Tuesday, and departed for Kampala, via London, on Tuesday night.

We were excited that Alice Snyder, Director, Go ED. Africa, was able to join us for the orientation and help escort the students over to Kampala. We also received an extra blessing with the Country Director of Rwanda joining us briefly and meeting the students. The students have 3 weeks in Rwanda for their 2nd class.