One Week and Counting

As of this morning, we have been out of the US for an entire week. In just a few days, we have made a lot of progress and are certainly having a blast while learning a lot.
Instead of doing a whole long story-ish blog, I thought I’d give you an Mbarara top ten, as well as a list of things to get used to while living in Uganda.

Things to get used to in Uganda:
1. Mzungu. Everyone here calls us “mzungu” which means “white person” or “foreigner”. Don’t take it personally. It’s value-neutral and they love to use it.
2. Car trips that seem like adventures. 4-wheel drive is actually essential here. All those hardcore SUVs we purchase in America are actually useful on the rutted dirt roads here. Driver (and rider) beware.
3. Scaring small children. Babies cry when they see white people. Totally not kidding.
4. Dirt. It is everywhere. My skin right now feels gritty.
5. Sweat. It is everywhere you want to be.
6. Power-outs. Yeah. They happen.
7. Hand sanitizer. Totally nessesary and lovely.
8. Laughter. The Ugandans think we are hilarious and love to laugh when we use our horrible Rinyunkoli to greet them or bargain in the market.
9. Marriage proposals. Our group recieved about 8 in the market today, including our unborn children. (I also recieved an offer to take someone’s baby home. I almost considered it–the baby was really cute.)
10. Inappropriate use of hip-hop songs. I don’t know why, but our group wakes up every morning feeling like P-Diddy and walks to the market in ra-ra-mbarara.
11. Absolutely gorgeous mountain vistas everywhere you look. And then trash all over the ground at your feet. It’s the most enigmatic contrast in the world.

Uganda top 10
1. Words of Hope ministry. I’m working with Pastor Enoch in this ministry for the rest of my stay here. It is, simply put, a ministry of presence. Pastor Enoch and others from his church load up the van every morning and head out to the villages to visit those who have AIDs. After a few hours of house calls, they meet under a tree to teach groups about transmission and treatment of AIDs as well as provide support and preach the gospel. The work is exausting and usually involves no lunch, but the ministry is powerful.
2. Mukama Asiimwe. Apart from making the Ugandans laugh uproarously, the Rinyunkoli phrase for “praise the Lord” is repeated everywhere. The most profound use of it I heard was in the home of a widow, a mother of nine and grandmother of eleven. She was weathered and her white dress and long turned brown and there were gaps in her teeth. I watched a mouse crawl down the mud wall of her home while she told Janessa and I what it had been like to care for all those children on her own, especially her oldest who was handicapped and had been raped by a man who gave her both AIDs and a child. Her story was heartbreaking and the conditions she lived in were squalor. But over and over in her monologue I could distinguish the words “Mukama Asiimwe” as she explained how God had provided. Each morning, she said, she and her children woke up and prayed for God to provide their food for the day. So far, they had survived. We prayed for her and she thanked us over and over. God is faithful the world over, we told her. He has been faithful to us too.
3. Enyanya. It means tomato. Pastor Enoch stopped to buy a whole lot of them and then they rolled all around the van as we bounced and bumped around the mountain. Janessa and I chased as many down as we could. Pastor Enoch stopped to pick up one of the women we were going to visit. Excited to practice our Rinyunkoli, Janessa and I introduced ourselves. “I am called Peace”, she replied. As we continued to chase down tomatoes on the way to Peace’s home, we heard a soft voice from the back of the van. “Janess, enyanya.” Peace held out an unfortunate tomato that had rolled into the back. “She remembered my name!” Janessa whispered to me. It was only later we found out that she was HIV positive and lived on a tiny plot of land with six others to provide for.
4. Egandi mushomesa. Our language teacher is named Edison and he is so much fun. Every morning he pushes us hard but teaches us to laugh when we make mistakes. We leave with our heads spinning but love every minute of language lessons. (Oh, and Egandi Mushomesa means, “hello teacher!”)
5. Bayeti Encosi. Church was so refreshing. Worship was in so many languages–Swahili, Rinyunkoli, English–and Lauren commented that it was like Heaven. We danced and sang and watched a crazy skit and heard a fantastic sermon and my soul was so encouraged. Songs uplift my heart so much, and the African songs get so stuck in our head. Our new favorite:
Bayeti, Bayeti Encosi
Bayeti, King of Kings
Bayeti, Bayeti Encosi
Bayeti Encosi is King of Kings
You are crowned
King of Africa
You are crowned
Lord of Lords
You are crowned
King of Africa
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
6. Our family. We jokingly call Joel and Jill mom and dad, although they say it makes them feel old, and Dade and Dara are our brother and sister. We LOVE them. Jill is so open and honest, and Joel is really kind, and they are both so funny. We are so, so blessed to be living with them.
7. Our Team. Besides having a great time everytime I am with them, I am continually blown away by how passionate our team is. Tonight we were praying for the Muslims in Mbarara and Crystal, one of our team members, broke down while she prayed for her neighbors to come to know Christ. Jill is the same way–she said to us, “how can you see this need and not come?” These are incredible soldiers for Christ. And the Covenant team is no different. I am so privilaged to be here with them.
8. The market. There is no way to put the colorful, aromatic sea of people and wares into words. It is certainly overwhelming to walk between the tiny stalls and call out “Egandi!” to everyone and then barter and buy and make new friends. We go to the market to practice our Rinyunkoli and buy fun things–like a dress I bought today for $10. We also engage people in conversation–today we met several sellers and made friends. Sharing why we are here naturally leads to sharing about Christ, and it is really fun to share our testimonies.
9. Exotic diseases (and not getting them). A few bouts with the stomach flu, but so far no one has malaria, typhoid, yellow fever, dysentery, AIDs, or anything else remotely interesting. Lauren and I have not been sick at all. Praise God for that and thanks for your prayers!
10. David. He is our guard at the compound and he has a fantastic smile, a shirt that says “crack a Bible–get high on Jesus”, a cute baby, two spears that Joel sharpened tonight, and a stun gun. No one ever messes with us.

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