I’ll always call Minnesota “home”. Even though I was born out east in Virginia, and moved around the country a little bit, Minnesota is where I grew up. It’s home. That’s not to say I’ve decided to live out the rest of my life in MN, I’m very open to following my heart and whatever God has planned for it, but if I move away from “home” it’ll come down to me choosing to move away and leave it behind. It won’t be a life or death choice. I won’t have to flee Minnesota in fear of any psychotic rebel group who, given the chance, will either kill me and my family or abduct me and force me to become a killer myself. I don’t have to worry about being cut down because I’m in the “wrong” tribe. But these are precisely the reasons for the women of Suubi to be here in Jinja. They didn’t say “Ya know, I hear that Lake Victoria is pretty scenic, let’s pack up the kids and head on down south.” Despite the success of the Suubi project (these women are earning more money than they ever have in their lives) if they had a choice, many would chose to be at home in the North- Gulu, Kitgum, Arua, wherever. Ok, that may sound a bit negative but just put yourself in their shoes, and think of what they had to leave behind and you’d feel the same way. (at least I do) Don’t think that these women aren’t absolutely happy and grateful to be here and alive, and providing for their families, but the North is home, not here, and they miss it.
This past week, myself and a few other volunteers (Melissa, Kirstin, and Ian) decided to see what “home” is for the women of Suubi and headed north to Kitgum. There was a definite feeling of adventure and even a little danger as we headed out (there hasn’t been any major rebel activity in quite a while, and the consensus is that the LRA has been driven out of the country, but still the fear remains). Plus, we were going alone without anyone who knew Kitgum at all. Ian and Melissa had both been to the North before, but knew nothing of Kitgum. All we knew is that to get there, you get on a bus headed out from Kampala and ending in Kitgum. There was a busline that Ian had used to go North before, but it turned out it didn’t go through Kitgum, and we were diverted to the buspark (Ugandan directions are awesome…”You pass down this way, branch off like this, slope down this way..”). Kampala is such a packed city, there are street vendors everywhere, and if you’re white they all think you’re rich and yell at you to come buy their stuff, so navigating your way through the streets is sort of exhausting. Luckily, the moment we got to the buspark, Jesus showed up. Literally. The exact bus we needed to take pulled up right along side us. Across the front windshield in big white letters was the name JESUS, and sitting on the dashboard was a framed portrait of the savior himself. From here on out, we never really had to rely on ourselves to find the way (talk about a metaphor for life!) Our driver pointed us in the direction of a guest house to stay in for the night. Our room was tiny, but we had a sweet sleepover, and there was a restaurant just down the hall so we didn’t have to navigate Kampala after dark. The next morning we were off at 6am (we were scheduled to leave at 5, but what are ya gonna do?), and for the first 5 hours the ride was smooth. Along the way, buses make short stops at trading centers where passengers get bombarded with people selling all sorts of deliciousness (fresh bananas, fruits, chapate, meat on a stick, and live chickens) so we didn’t need to worry that much about munchies. Then, shortly after Gulu, Jesus broke down. Somehow a bolt snapped off somewhere underneath the bus, and that bolt had some specific important job to do and we couldn’t be without it. But it was an awesome breakdown, because it happened right down the road from an Internally Displaced Persons camp, which I’d wanted a closer look at. IDP camps were set up at a result of the war to alleviate the insane amount of homeless fleeing people, whose villages had been destroyed by the rebels. Basically they’re huge settlements of grass roofed mud huts, where people do their best to scratch out a living…not that different from any village here I guess. It was a little sad to see when you thought about the circumstances that forced the people here, but true to form there were some awesome kids who were all ready to hang out. One of them had a slingshot so we set up a plastic bottle as a target and got schooled in the arts of slingshot hunting. After about 2 hours another bus came by that was headed to Kitgum, so we left Jesus and went on (He never said He’d be physically with us forever, after all. But don’t worry, Jesus did rise again after a few hours. Shall we say 3?) The further north we got, the more remote and beautiful Africa became. At one point we crossed over the Nile and got a rockin view of the most violent, beautiful whitewater I’ve ever seen (remember my love for rapids?). We also saw a few small groups of baboons along the roadside, which was cool to see since monkeys don’t really hang out in Jinja, and I wanted to see some up close. While we were on the second bus, Kirstin ended up talking to a guy who recommended a nice guest house in Kitgum and when we finally arrived we headed straight there. When we got there, we got a short introduction to the night guard, David and checked into our rooms. Little did we know that David would be our ambassador to Kitgum, a genuine angel, and basically the highlight of our trip…
The tentative plan when we got to Kitgum was to head out into the bush and search for a certain village where some of Betty’s relatives still live. We had the names, but no idea where to start. Enter David. He knew of the area and some guys who could take us there by motorcycle. The ride through the northern bush was loaded with breathtaking scenery…endless green plains, some rolling hills, mountains in the distance on all sides. (check out my pictures) On the downside, for every sweet view there was an IDP camp along the way that remided me of the struggles of the North, and it’s haunted past.
After about an hour we reached a village/camp called Raaokun that David thought might be the right one. With David acting as our translator, and after a quite a bit of confusion, we figured out that the village we were looking for might be further down the path so we headed back into the bush. We found the next village with no problem, but that wasn’t the right one either. All this was eating up a lot of time, and stress was starting to mount, so we decided to head back to Raaokun to see if we could maybe stay there for the night. David was a complete rockstar (really, I can’t stress enough what a helpful, selfless man he is) and he convinced the chairman of the village to provide a hut for us to sleep in, and also some food for supper. It was awesome to see how much David cared for us, and above anything he was campaigning most heavily for our safety. Raaokun is settled right in the shadow of a small mountain so ,after a few more provisions from Davey boy, we hiked up for the grandest African scenery of my time here at sunset (everything I described earlier all in one huge dose from the top of a mountain). When the sun went down, we spent time talking (and had an awesome little time of prayer) with the residents of Raaokun as our supper was being prepared. And after we ate, we turned in for the night. It was such a surreal feeling to be sleeping the night in a mud hut deep in the African wilderness, with so much uncertainty (and the potential for some serious danger) all around us. But God was so present there with us, and sleep finally came. (especially slow for me because there were some enormous cockroaches and spiders crawling around all over the place).
We woke the next morning and went back up the mountain for the sunrise, and we got to witness as each beautiful moment tried to outdo the previous. Unreal.
David would be returning to pick us up around midday, so we had a few to wait in which time we got to experience a day in the life of an IDP camp—a lot of nothing it seemed. I won’t lie, it all felt a little hopeless. It was a tough dynamic to deal with. On one hand, you have raw beauty all around you, on the other a group of people who are struggling just to survive every day…
Our time in the village ended on kind of a sour note with the “chairpeople” trying to squeeze way too much money out of us for the night’s stay, and we left a little annoyed, but with an awesome experience.
That night back in Kitgum, we took the amazing David and his amazing family out to a nice dinner in appreciation for everything he’d done for us. The uncomfortable truth is that many African men are content to let the women do the bulk of work (at least that’s what I’ve seen and heard) and aren’t the most caring of fathers. This couldn’t be farther from the truth for our man David. He is an incredibly loving husband and father, he and his wife shared stories of their youth as they fell in love, and the plans they have for their future and the hope they have for their children. Just getting to know David over the past few days, and seeing what a determined rational man he is, we knew that he was so sincere and ready to do anything to give his family everything they deserved. Along with the men in my family, David is a shining example of the kind of man and father I hope to be. Like I said before (and told him many times), I believe that God sent David as an angel for us in the North, and I will never forget the man.
We said our goodbyes and hit the sack, only to get up a few hours later to leave at 5am for the busride home, but that wasn’t without a last minute goodbye from David as we were waiting to leave (yeah, he rushed over to the buspark at 5 just to see us off.)
The ride home was long and uneventful, but a great opportunity to process everything we’d experienced and to thank the Lord for everything he’d provided along the way…
It was an awesome trip, and with only 2 weeks remaining here in Africa, I feel so fortunate to have been there in the North, and to have seen what the women of Suubi call home.
So remember, folks, when Jesus pulls up in front of you, just jump on and ride it out. It’s a sweet ride.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Gathering of the Clouds
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.
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.
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
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Just Do It
Happy Birthday to my incredible sister Becky and the savage hunter Uncle Boyd!!!
Back to what I was saying before. I need to stop putting tremendous pressure on myself to do great things, and just start doing what I can with great amounts of love. Because what I think is average and unimportant might mean a great deal to someone else. (Like I said before, just playing with kids all day. But kids are easy, they love anything you do with them. I’m REALLY praying for things I can do to serve the adults around here. You can too if you get the chance)……..
I’ll wrap this up with a little update of whats been going on around here. Last Friday me, Julie, and 2 other non-Suubi (but equally as cool) volunteers, Josh and Ian, went to a nearby village to feed some hungry kids. The meal consisted of beans, chipote (like a thick flour tortilla), and some fruit. We ended up feeding around 400 kids, which was SO AWESOME. The whole process got a little crazy because there were so many kids all trying to get to the front of the line. My “job” was to maintain order and watch for bigger kids shoving the little ones out of line, or cutting ahead, or eating their food and jumping back in line for seconds, or just straight up stealing other kids’ food. Thankfully I had some help with a few of the village women, and Josh, Ian, and Julie had done this before so they were pretty good at catching the sneaky ones. I was super nervous that the food was going to run out and someone would go hungry so I was praying pretty much nonstop. When all was said and done, everyone got their meal! There was even a bit left over that was given to the women who had prepared the food. Josh is the one who organized the thing, which consists of us pooling our money, buying the food, paying some people to prepare it, and us handing it out. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a weekly thing, and I’m blessed that I get to be a part of it. I mean, feeding hungry kids in
On Saturday I took an awesome walk with Betty down to
Even if they’re just little rainwater rivers.
this is the address view my pictures for those who want to check them out...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=63433&l=7de71&id=503735906
Monday, August 25, 2008
just a quick one...
hey everyone, this isn't an actual blog just a random thought.
i'm sitting in this internet cafe, it's absolutely pouring outside and i can't stop replaying the song "Africa" by Toto in my head ("i bless the rains down in africa") if you haven't heard it, it's absolutely necessary that you listen to it soon.
that's all. i'll write an actual blog tonight and post it tomorrow.
love, john
i'm sitting in this internet cafe, it's absolutely pouring outside and i can't stop replaying the song "Africa" by Toto in my head ("i bless the rains down in africa") if you haven't heard it, it's absolutely necessary that you listen to it soon.
that's all. i'll write an actual blog tonight and post it tomorrow.
love, john
Monday, August 18, 2008
Concerning Ugandan children
I gotta be careful because I’m starting to develop a sense of celebrity. (don’t think me vain, I know I don’t deserve any of it, and it’s not like I’m looking for any special treatment or signing autographs) It’s just really hard not to when I can make a group of kids erupt into fits of uncontrollable laughter with only a smile and a wave. And there is no shortage of Ugandan children seeking attention from us “Mzungus”. They hear our van coming and they come out in droves, waving and shouting. It’s addicting. And I have to control myself because if I’m not careful my entire time here will be spent on a soccer field surrounded by 100 laughing adorable kids.
Seriously, nothing is quite like the smile and laughter of a Ugandan child. A kid who’s been wearing the same clothes for, who knows how long- a week, maybe two. Who’s had nothing to eat but some rice and cabbage or some beans.
And these kids have energy to burn! I don’t know where they get it all. It’s so beautifully exhausting to spend a few hours with these kids, to have them hanging on your every mispronounced Lugandan word and hanging on your arms. And if you really wanna get them going just introduce a soccer ball into the equation. I don’t even know the specific rules of the game, but I play. And that’s whats important. (I really have to learn now because one of the Suubi ladies son who’s 23 asked me to play with the men. And they’re amazing) Most of the time the kids just want to be near you, or to touch your skin. Or for you to act like a lion and chase them around all day long. It never gets old.
The other day they asked me to take off my socks so they could see my feet. I did, and it was like I’d just lit off some fireworks or something, they were totally amazed. I know they’ve seen white feet before, mine are just probably the whitest. I mean what do you do with that? I almost started to cry because I just couldn’t comprehend their joy…I think maybe that’s where I run into trouble here, trying to make sense of happiness. I have to stop thoughts like “How can they be so freakin’ happy? They live in a shack and they don’t have any shoes”. If I let them, thoughts like that will completely ruin my time here, because it’s impossible for me to carry each of these families out of poverty. It really is. (that’s not to say we shouldn’t try like crazy, because God does provide and miracles are real) And I’m not gonna waste my time feeling guilty about that, because that’ll drive me crazy too. What it boils down to is just doing what Christ wants us all to do, and when you come to that realization it’s unbelievably simple. Just love one another. That’s another fact that just completely blows my mind! The love that I’m giving these kids is the love of Jesus in me, and I’m just passing it along. It’s literally me sitting there acting on Jesus’ behalf. I mean, come on, can I really be this blessed?! I gotta stop myself from crying in moments of realization like that for two reasons. One, I’d probably never stop crying. And two, I’d freak these kids out. But it’s the best feeling I’ve ever known to be right where God wants me to be, doing exactly what He wants me to do. Even if it is just showing off my ridiculously white skin, which up until now has been kind of a running joke, and a little embarrassing at times. But if I can use my whiteness as a tool to show God’s love then, hey, I hope I never get a tan. GOD IS SO GOOD.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Directionally Challenged American gets lost in Ugandan village, Finds Hope
I have been so blessed with so many gifts in my life time. Sense of direction just isn’t one of them. Sorry, Dad. I know you tried.
That being said, my first solo trip to one of the villages (Danita) had the potential to end in disaster. The funny thing is that as I was riding over there I was telling myself “No problem, Johnny boy. You got this” Like I could conjure up some sense of direction by sheer power of will. And when I got there (mind you, I’d been there probably 10 times previously) I didn’t recognize anything. So I told my piki driver to just drop me off and I’d walk around until I saw something familiar. After a million funny looks that said “this pale kid has no clue where he is,” one kid took mercy on me and sorta walked up and said hi. I told him I was looking for the Suubi place-the building we meet the women to buy necklaces, have crazy-awesome fellowship, and conduct English and Literacy classes. The boy mildly understood what I was talking about and said “the place where they bring the motorcar?”. That was it! He took me there, so at least I was positive that I was in a place I’d been before. My next problem was trying to find an actual Suubi woman’s home, which meant I was back to my aimless wandering. In my defense, most of the shacks and buildings look pretty similar. I’m not a total loss, it just takes me a while.
After about 20 minutes, I was ready to give up and flagged a piki driver to take me back home. I jumped on and we took off, feeling discouraged and frustrated when my angel of hope ,Agnes, appeared on her front stoop! I told the driver that I’d changed my mind (which was a bit of a challenge in and of itself, and I ended up giving him 500 shillings for his troubles…)
From there on (and after a happy greeting from Agnes and her family) I got the grand tour of Danita, with stops at every Suubi womans house along the way. Agnes and the other women had a few laughs watching me trying to memorize landmarks, and we drew a few glances from the rest of the neighborhood as we were being followed by about 30 of the Danita children (the kids are gonna get a blog all to themselves, trust me they’re worth it). And the trip ended back at Agnes’ place for a little impromptu game of handball with a few of her relatives. A total success.
Next up- the
God bless you all as he’s blessed me!
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