Despite the fact that I’ve been living in a country where the majority of the population still lives in ramshackle buildings or mud huts with grass roofs, despite the fact that most of the kids run around wearing what can only be described as glorified rags and no shoes, and despite the fact that families of 10 are surviving on the equivalent of a couple of dollars a day, despite all these really eye opening, mind blowing things I’ve experienced, my time here has been…well…fun. Really fun, inspiring and uplifting…
I can’t help but to have fun while surrounded by all these incredibly warm, welcoming, boisterous, laughing, gracious people (and let’s not forget the kids, y’all). But really, should this be fun? I didn’t come here for a vacation. I came here to follow my heart and what God has planned for it. I was ready and willing for some shock and awe, to look injustice in the face, pop my Wolverine claws and cut it up (yes, in this scenario I’m an X-man).
Apparently I got lost along the way and ended up at Woodstock. The summer of LOVE (minus the rampant sex and hallucinogenic drug use) and my heart melted. And that’s cool, this is the way Jesus wants to use me here, to be the hands and voice of love and support to a bunch of really deserving people. The angry super hero inside me decided to take a little nap and Jesus took his place. My days were filled with sunshine, smiling ladies, phenomenal hang out time, glorious scenery, gardening, beautiful Suubi beads, and soccer. The thing is, that part of me that was screaming “THIS ISN’T RIGHT!” was only dormant. I was still really aware of the poverty around me, but I was choosing to bypass worrying about all that to focus on the good. Which is good- to an extent. But you can only ignore crappy situations for so long (and as my mother can tell you, I’m pretty awesome at it)…and I began to feel a little uneasy that this was so easy…
And then, a visit to the children’s hospital in Jinja rocked me back down to earth. We found out that one of the Suubi women, Rachel, was there with one of the two surviving members of her triplets-and he was pretty sick. So we all went down there to show her and little John (nice choice of name right?) a little love and support. There’s nothing that can drain your happy shiny outlook on life quite like seeing sick (really sick) children, and these were the sickest I’ve seen in real life. You’ve all seen those “help the starving children” commercials on TV. The ones that show kids pretty much lying there lifeless, emotionless, skin and bones, with eyes that burn a hole straight through you. I saw those eyes in person, and it broke my heart. Seriously the babies that had the strength to cry were crying, and those who didn’t were sort of just lying there too tired to move around and too miserable to sleep. Seeing that really gets into your heart and starts trashing the place. And you begin to realize, these aren’t kids who caught the flu from little Billy down the street or kids with a peanut allergy who accidentally ate some peanut butter M&Ms. These kids are lying here suffering because they don’t have clean water to drink and parasites in that water are allowed to thrive in their bodies. These kids don’t have enough food with nutritional value, so their bodies are wasting away. These kids don’t have malaria meds, so one mosquito bite could potentially end in disaster. Some have AIDS because, in order to provide for her family, their mother turned to prostitution to make ends meet. The hallways of the hospital were lined with posters warning parents to be aware of the empty promises of child traffickers, and the devastation that occurs when a child is forced into marriage and raising children when she’s only a child herself. Prostition, sexual abuse, malnutrition, and death from treatable sickness have become the norm. Men who know they’re HIV positive are out there sleeping around because they know how easy it is to pack up and leave town when those women show up pregnant on their doorstep. Not to mention that there are countless shrines in the area where people still offer sacrifices to call upon evil spirits to curse their enemies. The scary truth is that satan is just as real as God, and just as hungry for us. It’s easy to forget that, and the enemy is really REALLY good at keeping us unaware. Just look at all the available distractions in our lives. Distractions away from God. Think those are coincidence?
All of this is going on while happy John is playing soccer in the field and thinking “Ain’t life grand?”
So I find myself here. Out there in the sunshine is everything I love about Uganda, and in the shadows is everything I’ve learned to hate. There’s a battle going on here that we’re so ill equipped to fight on our own. Thankfully, we’re not alone. And thank God for showing me that life is AWESOME…but there are people suffering and dying all around us. I like to think He shows us things like that because He believes He can use us to help. He’s calling us all to be super heroes.
It’s easy to get fired up again and want to get my claws back out, and now that I’ve seen just how shady things are (and things are bad everywhere, not just 3rd world countries) it’s impossible for me to forget it, and shame on me if I do. I ask God for the strength to do what I can when I can, and I think you should all join me. Why not? You’ve already come this far.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Of Hope and Dirty Mustaches
It’s an awesome thing when prayers are answered. It’s especially sweet when you get to see the collective prayer of 62 amazing Ugandan women answered…
Shortly before I arrived here the routine was to buy four necklaces from each woman every other week (bought at 4 times the usual price in the market here, mind you. If you’re at all familiar with the Suubi project you’ll already know that. If you’re not and you’re just reading my blog at this site, you should really check out lightgivesheat.org)
Anyways, soon after I got here word came from the states that Light Gives Heat would have the sweet opportunity to open a kiosk at a mall in Colorado during the Christmas shopping season. Which is awesome because American shoppers at Christmas are like hungry sharks and Suubi necklaces are like nice juicy fish (seriously, they rock. HARD) So in anticipation of the season, Light Gives Heat upped the order to 8 necklaces every other week, which was a pretty big deal, and set off a nice little celebration by the ladies at the weekly meeting. And then a week later, in even greater anticipation that order got raised to 10 necklaces EVERY WEEK...the roof almost blew off the Suubi building, I swear (and we got it all on tape. Keep your eyes peeled) Ladies were shouting celebrations, screaming, embracing, high fiving, and dancing around. And we got to sit back and witness the blessing, laughing right along with them. Thanks be to god that I got to be a part of it, and everything else here!
So everything is going completely awesome in Suubiland, which got me thinking of how easy it is to just start spiritually coasting out the good times. When things are tough and we really need something, it’s easy to be really dedicated to praying for that need (or want. distinguishing between those two can get tricky too. It’s much easier having seen the things I’ve seen here) But when your prayers are answered it’s easy to sometimes celebrate the outcome and put your dedication to the Lord on the back burner. And when things get tough again, you feel pretty sheepish when you intensify your prayers because you’re in a tough spot…and it feels just a little insincere. Hopefully you all know what I’m talking about and I’m not the only slacker who’s struggled with this. But I’m really learning the balance and it’s a billion times better to have that sweet relationship with God and to have the same dedication to Him no matter the situation. Plus, it’s just really fun and fulfilling to walk home in a torrential downpour with a smile on your face, thanking God for the rain.
So for now, praise God that the market for the necklaces is lookin good, and keep praying for big things in the future!!!
Ok, it feels like a ton of stuff has happened since I last wrote, so I’ll try to remember it all…
I’ve found my favorite spot in all of Africa so far (ok so I was taken there by one of the Suubi children, Reagan. He’s an awesome friend, but goes back to boarding school in Kampala today. I’m bummed) It’s this giant hill on the edge of Danita and has such a magnificent view of pretty much the entire span of Jinja and the surrounding villages, plantations, and in the distance Lake Victoria. I’ll put some pictures of it up online so be sure to check them out. It’s just a really peaceful place to come hang out away from town and the bustle of the village. Plus there’s a sweet soccer field.. I still gotta get up there for a sunrise…
I did some gardening with a few ladies (it was kind of a side show to see a white boy digging) and my left hand got pretty torn up (again, check the pictures). I think there was a total of 5 blisters on one hand. When they saw it they made me stop, but there was still other work I could help out with. The hand is all healed now and I’m ready for more, I just have to loosen my grip a bit.
I bought 2 chickens from the market and slaughtered one myself. It was my first time (I missed out on doing it at Grandpa and Grandma Schulzs’) I wanted to just lop the head off with a machete, but it was locked away. So I had to use a knife that turned out to be a little dull and it took some sawing to get through the neck, which was not cool with me. Betty got a kick out of it all, and we had a really nice meal that night. If we do it again, I’m gonna make sure the knife is sharp, although I don’t know how good I want to get at killin’…
HEY OH! TWO NEW SUUBI FACES!!! This week we welcomed Melissa and Kirsten, who are both tiny girls with enormous hearts. Melissa is technically only part time Suubi, so she doesn’t live in the house, but she’s around a lot and that’s phenomenal. Kirsten is full on, all go Suubi volunteer extraordinaire and completely excited to be HERE and involved (she was a phenom in the states). They’re both gonna bring so much to the table, so I’m pumped and blessed to be a part of this rockin team.
Today, we all made a 2 hour journey to visit Georges’ (the night guard here at the house) village and meet his family. George is such a sweet, kind hearted, honorable Christian man. I absolutely love hanging around and talking and laughing with him in the evenings. He’s a great friend here, so it was very cool to meet his family, and his residence was SO beautiful. Kinda like being out in the country back home, so it was really nice to be there.
His wife Janet made us an amazing African meal, we all got stuffed and then his children and some other village kids sang some songs for us. Julie and Kirsten had some sweet playtime with the kids while us men sat in the shade and talked smart. Our time there was great. The ride home, on the other hand, wasn’t that cool. We had about 20 people all crammed into a taxi van which is waaaay too many. Especially for these long legs. Plus it was raining so the windows were closed and it was all stuffy and sweaty. But, hey, that’s how they roll here in Uganda so I’m cool with it as long as it’s only now and then…
And last but not least, I have a sweet dirty mustache. And I’ll be honest, it’s one of those things that started off as a joke, but I wanna see just how legit this thing turns out to be. I think I’m almost past the REALLY nasty stage. I’ve been this far only once so I pray for the strength to press on. Just kidding, I’m not really gonna waste a prayer on that because I think God will let this stache go just so he can laugh at it.
ps. i think (or hope) that my mustache makes me look like a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. star wars rules all
pps. new pics here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=63433&l=7de71&id=503735906
and here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68122&l=78e15&id=503735906
Shortly before I arrived here the routine was to buy four necklaces from each woman every other week (bought at 4 times the usual price in the market here, mind you. If you’re at all familiar with the Suubi project you’ll already know that. If you’re not and you’re just reading my blog at this site, you should really check out lightgivesheat.org)
Anyways, soon after I got here word came from the states that Light Gives Heat would have the sweet opportunity to open a kiosk at a mall in Colorado during the Christmas shopping season. Which is awesome because American shoppers at Christmas are like hungry sharks and Suubi necklaces are like nice juicy fish (seriously, they rock. HARD) So in anticipation of the season, Light Gives Heat upped the order to 8 necklaces every other week, which was a pretty big deal, and set off a nice little celebration by the ladies at the weekly meeting. And then a week later, in even greater anticipation that order got raised to 10 necklaces EVERY WEEK...the roof almost blew off the Suubi building, I swear (and we got it all on tape. Keep your eyes peeled) Ladies were shouting celebrations, screaming, embracing, high fiving, and dancing around. And we got to sit back and witness the blessing, laughing right along with them. Thanks be to god that I got to be a part of it, and everything else here!
So everything is going completely awesome in Suubiland, which got me thinking of how easy it is to just start spiritually coasting out the good times. When things are tough and we really need something, it’s easy to be really dedicated to praying for that need (or want. distinguishing between those two can get tricky too. It’s much easier having seen the things I’ve seen here) But when your prayers are answered it’s easy to sometimes celebrate the outcome and put your dedication to the Lord on the back burner. And when things get tough again, you feel pretty sheepish when you intensify your prayers because you’re in a tough spot…and it feels just a little insincere. Hopefully you all know what I’m talking about and I’m not the only slacker who’s struggled with this. But I’m really learning the balance and it’s a billion times better to have that sweet relationship with God and to have the same dedication to Him no matter the situation. Plus, it’s just really fun and fulfilling to walk home in a torrential downpour with a smile on your face, thanking God for the rain.
So for now, praise God that the market for the necklaces is lookin good, and keep praying for big things in the future!!!
Ok, it feels like a ton of stuff has happened since I last wrote, so I’ll try to remember it all…
I’ve found my favorite spot in all of Africa so far (ok so I was taken there by one of the Suubi children, Reagan. He’s an awesome friend, but goes back to boarding school in Kampala today. I’m bummed) It’s this giant hill on the edge of Danita and has such a magnificent view of pretty much the entire span of Jinja and the surrounding villages, plantations, and in the distance Lake Victoria. I’ll put some pictures of it up online so be sure to check them out. It’s just a really peaceful place to come hang out away from town and the bustle of the village. Plus there’s a sweet soccer field.. I still gotta get up there for a sunrise…
I did some gardening with a few ladies (it was kind of a side show to see a white boy digging) and my left hand got pretty torn up (again, check the pictures). I think there was a total of 5 blisters on one hand. When they saw it they made me stop, but there was still other work I could help out with. The hand is all healed now and I’m ready for more, I just have to loosen my grip a bit.
I bought 2 chickens from the market and slaughtered one myself. It was my first time (I missed out on doing it at Grandpa and Grandma Schulzs’) I wanted to just lop the head off with a machete, but it was locked away. So I had to use a knife that turned out to be a little dull and it took some sawing to get through the neck, which was not cool with me. Betty got a kick out of it all, and we had a really nice meal that night. If we do it again, I’m gonna make sure the knife is sharp, although I don’t know how good I want to get at killin’…
HEY OH! TWO NEW SUUBI FACES!!! This week we welcomed Melissa and Kirsten, who are both tiny girls with enormous hearts. Melissa is technically only part time Suubi, so she doesn’t live in the house, but she’s around a lot and that’s phenomenal. Kirsten is full on, all go Suubi volunteer extraordinaire and completely excited to be HERE and involved (she was a phenom in the states). They’re both gonna bring so much to the table, so I’m pumped and blessed to be a part of this rockin team.
Today, we all made a 2 hour journey to visit Georges’ (the night guard here at the house) village and meet his family. George is such a sweet, kind hearted, honorable Christian man. I absolutely love hanging around and talking and laughing with him in the evenings. He’s a great friend here, so it was very cool to meet his family, and his residence was SO beautiful. Kinda like being out in the country back home, so it was really nice to be there.
His wife Janet made us an amazing African meal, we all got stuffed and then his children and some other village kids sang some songs for us. Julie and Kirsten had some sweet playtime with the kids while us men sat in the shade and talked smart. Our time there was great. The ride home, on the other hand, wasn’t that cool. We had about 20 people all crammed into a taxi van which is waaaay too many. Especially for these long legs. Plus it was raining so the windows were closed and it was all stuffy and sweaty. But, hey, that’s how they roll here in Uganda so I’m cool with it as long as it’s only now and then…
And last but not least, I have a sweet dirty mustache. And I’ll be honest, it’s one of those things that started off as a joke, but I wanna see just how legit this thing turns out to be. I think I’m almost past the REALLY nasty stage. I’ve been this far only once so I pray for the strength to press on. Just kidding, I’m not really gonna waste a prayer on that because I think God will let this stache go just so he can laugh at it.
ps. i think (or hope) that my mustache makes me look like a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. star wars rules all
pps. new pics here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=63433&l=7de71&id=503735906
and here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68122&l=78e15&id=503735906
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)