Waiting for Sunrise

Village Visit

liftpullflop — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:23:06 +0000

These are some pictures from our visit to Rev. Twinomujuni’s home in a village south of Mbarara. We went to his banana plantation to get a glimpse of what daily life is like for those who do not live in the city. Rev. Twinomujuni fed us some delicious kabarragara and led us in a discussion on the church in Uganda.

Driving through the village

The whole group with Rev. Twinomujuni and his family

Hiking around the banana plantation

How they trim the banana trees

Dev loves bananas!

Rev. Twinomujuni

Davy hanging out at our house

Dev and I ready for our first boda ride!

The whole team at our team meeting that night

Two Weeks in Africa

liftpullflop — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:40:53 +0000

These are some pictures from our first two weeks in Uganda. They’re not quite in order, so I’ve done my best to put them in their proper context.

Joel, Pastor enoch and Pastor Alocious bargaining for the enyanyas

Me and Josiah: early morning language lessons!

The girls: Laura, Rachel, Lauren Dev, Janessa, Christina

Josiah ready to embark on a boda-boda

Dinner after church at the Ugandan version of Panara

The boys all dressed up for church at St. Luke's Chapel

Janessa and Rachel during a giggle attack in our bunk bed

The whole gang at the Equator

Me and Dr. K: "sooooooooma!"

Tired and silly in the Amsterdam airport: on our way to Africa!

: Some passion fruits from the farming projects. They were not quite ripe and really sour

One of the villages we visited

Enyanyas!

Janessa hiking through the cornfields on our way to a home visit.

Bride

liftpullflop — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:13:29 +0000

In some ways, life in Uganda is idyllic. The breeze rustles through the trees, the sun shines out of a clear blue sky, the red earth a breathtaking contrast with the green mountains. Zebras roam through the fields and cows gaze contentedly at the cars that rumble by every now and then. We leave the doors open, eat fresh, local food, and stop to say hello to people. Children run around barefoot in the villages, chasing goats and chickens. We sit under the acacia tree on wooden benches and sing “nincunda kabarragara” (I love bananas) to make the women laugh.

On the other hand, life in Uganda is pretty hard. The women we sing with are dressed in shabby clothes and their bones show through their paper-thin skin. The cute children running around are barefoot because they have no shoes (and the babies have no diapers…beware). The villages smell of sewage and animals and people who don’t bathe enough. And today we are here to share the word, visit village projects, and make sure everyone has mosquito nets, because Malaria is very common.

Lauren and I spend an hour hiking around the area, visiting the agricultural projects and getting all melty about the baby goats. Lauren informs a few of them that God loves them in Rinyuncoli, at which point Pastor Enoch teases us about preaching to animals.

When we return to the rest of the group, they have finished treating the mosquito nets and one of the women who came with us is teaching the word. The children are still running and playing, the women still sitting under the acacia tree, the sun still high in the sky. And now they have strung the nets across the field, a dozen or so fluttering in the breeze as they dry. The women sit with their backs to them, but every now and then one of them will remind the women of their presence by a gentle brush on the shoulder.

One woman in particular captures my attention. She is younger than some of the other women, her skin still clear and smooth. She’s nursing a baby while she listens to the Bible teaching, sitting on the ground, her ankles crossed. The white netting swirls around her every time the breeze blows. She’s beautiful. I know her life must be hard, but for the moment, I envy her.

And at that moment, my heart is suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. I envy her because, as waves of love wash over me, I realize how deeply God loves her. He is in love with these women, these mothers and grandmothers and daughters who will never finish school, who will spend their lives eking out a living in this place, who will probably never leave this village and never have indoor plumbing. He loves them. The Holy Spirit whispered this love to my heart as I gazed upon them; I began to see through his eyes. They were withered and old, but lovely. They were tired and work-worn, but they were gorgeous in his eyes.

And I call to mind Eph 5:25-27: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

That’s when I finally understand. These women are his bride. And no bride ever looked ugly. No, they’re beautiful, the wife of the Lamb. I will see them again at the wedding, and I have no doubt that they will be radient.

Like I said, Uganda can be beautiful. But more beautiful than the land or the weather or the animals is the blushing bride contained within its borders. The church is there, and she is gorgeous.

Janessa peeking out of her mosquito net

One night in Uganda

liftpullflop — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:37:40 +0000

“Kweda, stop! I’m contemplating the universe!”

It had finally gotten dark, and Lauren, Janessa, Dara and I had gone outside to look at the stars. We spread our mats out on the yard and gazed up at more stars than I had seen in a long time. I watched meteors fall and saw the Southern Cross for the first time. And then the dogs found us. Soon we were in a mass of squirming bodies of children and dogs and I fled to the window ledge.
“Contemplating the universe” Janessa called it, but my thoughts that evening were very earthly. I was thinking about the children I had been working with at the kindergarden, about the goodness of waffle wednesdays, and the fact that I was looking at a whole different set of stars than I’d seen before. I was so very far from home.
And yet not. I gazed up on the stars, which Psalm 8 says God “set in place” and knew I was still in my father’s world. In that sense, even the interruption of the dogs was beautiful, part of a world ordered by a loving God and infused with the sacredness of daily life. Now that Christ had come, every moment, every silly incident, every priceless one-liner from Dara or Dade, every shooting star, every attack from overly friendly puppies…was holy.
I was laying on holy ground. Christ was here, and it was sacred.
It can get muddled at times. The daily life aspect in Uganda was not something I counted on. I thought it was going to be exotic, exciting, and full of adventure. I didn’t count on evenings spent reading or playing with the kids, or going to the market, or simply sitting in the living room talking. It has taken me some time to see how these, too, are part of missions. But tonight, laying under the stars, I began to see things a little more clearly. Maybe the stars helped me see my place in this huge universe. So tiny, yet so holy.
So sleeping and laughing and singing and eating and cleaning and teaching school and sitting through unitelligible sermons in Rinyuncoli…they’re all holy ground. It is my father’s world. Jesus has gone here before me. And the Holy Spirit is with me now. This makes everything sacred.
That night in Uganda was holy.

Children, Dogs and Navy Blue Ribbon…

liftpullflop — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:35:00 +0000

…are basically my life right now. I am in Fenton, MI, helping my best friend Katie Jo get married. Babies are all over the place as extended family continue to arrive, and the dogs are everywhere, and the Markovich’s big rambling house is bursting at the seams with crafts and happiness. I’ll have more Uganda stories to come, I promise. Right now things are just a little crazy.

Life is hard

liftpullflop — Fri, 28 May 2010 09:04:45 +0000

Interacting with another culture is a lot of work. You really don’t realize how much until you come home for the evening and just have no more energy. It’s exausting to be speaking another language and interacting with people who are so different all the time. It’s a lot of work just to make yourself understood.
It’s even harder when you are technically living in two worlds. Wednesday morning I woke up from a dream about the FAFSA in a state of near panic. Joel made me take the day off and I spent the whole morning filling out forms, making phone calls and sending emails. The result: I have successfully applied to both RTS (which I should be hearing from on Tuesday) and UTC (which will take a few more weeks). I also did all my banking and applied for three or four jobs. Whew. Joel reminded me that these little daily things of life are all part of the missionary experience.
That evening, we made dinner for our family. Lauren and I did the whole process: we went to the market and bargained for vegetables, we walked home and prepared them, and right before we were going to start the power went out. So we cooked on a gas stove by the light of a lantern. Dade and Dara helped with cooking and preparing the vegetables and the four of us spent about two hours in the kitchen. It took a whole lot longer, but it was really fun, and the food turned out great. Daily life in Uganda: hard but good.
Then yesterday I taught kindergarten down the street. It certainly keeps you on your toes. There are no copiers or worksheets, so everything the students do has to be made up as you go along. Add to that the average class size of around 50, and it is quite a challenge. But fun. The kids hugged me goodbye and told me they loved me, and they are so precious.
Last night I made dinner for the guys on our team and our fried chicken took so much longer than it should have, but was certainly the better for the wait. In the US we would have just stuck the chicken in the microwave, but our only option was a gas camping stove.
A few other misdemeanors:
1. Getting lost. I asked a boda driver to take me to Nkokenjeru and ended up in Ruharo. They’re both suburbs of Mbarara, and they’re right next to each other. Not the end of the world, right? An hour later, I finally found the people I was supposed to meet. I was hot and tired and very sunburned. Now I know not to get off the boda unless you know where you are.
2. In the village market, I was kindly greeting an older woman in Rinyunkoli. The danger is when people think you know more than you actually do. In a few minutes, we were having a complex conversation in which the only words I understood were “abaana” and “ente”–children and cows. I said “ego” (yes) and “nimanya kakiie” (I know only a little) a few times before finally escaping. A few steps down the road I met Janessa and Josiah, who asked me where all the children came from. I turned around to see a group of 20 children, whom I had apparently just purchased for a bunch of cows!

So life in Uganda, like everywhere, is hard, but good.

If a picture’s worth a thousand words…

liftpullflop — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:58:44 +0000

…then here are couple thousand about our recent trip to the Queen Elizabeth Game Reserve in the Rift Valley. It was a great break from our weekly routine!

The road we were driving down. Hazardous at best!

On top of the boat during the ride on the channel

Hello Baboons! (Word to the wise: don

Janessa has never looked so cool!

Hanging out on top of the car

Spotted on our early-morning safari. Not spotted: lions.

African sunrise over Lake Edward

At the Equator!

The back car got a little dirty!

Sunset on the craters

The Craters. Possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Me on Safari!

Our team at the craters. The Democratic Republic of Congo is in the background

The gang on top of the car

Enjojo at the channel

The awesome resort where we spent the night

Lunch at the resort. Pizza at last!

Hippos in the channel

Travelling to Mbarara

One Week and Counting

liftpullflop — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:34:15 +0000

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.

Greetings from Mbarara, Uganda!

liftpullflop — Sat, 15 May 2010 16:50:22 +0000

Hello friends! Christina and I–and our 8 other team members–have made it safely to our home base for these next three weeks. We are staying with missionary families in the university town of Mbarara, Uganda, in the southern mountains near Rwanda. We are all healthy and enjoying our stay, but very tired. We flew for over 30 hours and then drove across the country for 7 more, so we are understandably worn out, but excited to be here.
So far our experience has mostly been training and getting to know the mission team and the city of Mbarara. We have spent our evenings playing with the MKs and chatting with our host families, who are fantastic. I am staying with the Skinners, Joel and Jill, who are from Texas and have been living here in Mbarara for 10 months. (You can check out their blog, http://skinnersaim.blogspot.com/ to find out more about them). Their two kids Dara and Dade are such a delight, and we feel like we are part of the family. Hearing about their experiences and their sense of calling to be here has been so encouraging and is certainly helping me sort out what God wants me to do with my life.
It’s remarkable how much it feels like home here. The missionaries’ homes are really not that far removed from the homes we left in the US, and although the roads in Mbarara are an adventure, the university environment is certainly familiar. Yesterday we met Fiona, a second-year student at the university, who told us she is stressed about the four exams she has left. I could totally relate.
Language classes began today, as well as evangelism training, and my brain feels like mush. We have been taking crash courses on Ugandan culture, Rinyuncoli (the local language) and how to share the gospel in animistic contexts; and learning our way around the city and trying strange new foods (like grasshoppers–not even joking. They are really good). At the same time, we are marvelling at the grace of God to us, keeping us healthy and feeding us daily with his word.
Tomorrow we are going to church at the campus chapel, which will afford us the chance to meet more university students and practice our Rinyuncoli. Monday we begin our ministry assignments. Soon I will have more to be posting. For now, a few prayer requests:
1. Continued health and protection
2. Strength. Loss of sleep and constant brain activity are wearing us out. Pray we sleep well and are refreshed in God’s word.
3. Pray for our language studies. They are HARD.
4. Pray for revival in the Ugandan church. This has been the number one request of the Ugandans we have interacted with–they are passionate about seeing their country understand and be gripped by the power of the gospel.

Until next time,
KT

I’m leaving the country!

liftpullflop — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:11:02 +0000

Just an update to let you know that as of today, May 10, I will be in Uganda for a month. I’m going with a group of Covenant students and two Covenant professors to spend some time with MTW in Mbarara, a university town in south Uganda. Please be keeping Christina and I in your prayers as we travel and work with the Ugandan church. Pray that God will be glorified in our efforts and that we will draw closer to him through this trip. I’ll be doing my best to post updates so you can follow our progress. Love to all of you!