Mom’s African Adventure

Last month, my mom came to visit. I have to say, I love hanging out with my mom. It’s really cool that we’ve gotten to the point where she’s not really my mom—she’s one of my closest friends. Anyway, back to the story…

The adventure began before she ever left America. Turns out, there was some kind of issue with the plane coming to the States from Amsterdam, so her outgoing flight was delayed for around 3 hours. She almost didn’t make her connection in Amsterdam, and there was no way her luggage was going to make it on that plane. She didn’t get reunited with her bags until five days later!

I had flown down to Entebbe to meet Mom at the airport on Friday, and we stayed the night with Amanda and Larry, some colleagues who live there. They took us back to the airport Saturday morning and we flew up to Arua on the smallest commercial passenger airplane ever—only 19 seats, less if they have extra baggage to carry! Mom’s jaw started to drop as we landed on the dirt runway. Oh boy—welcome to Africa!

Mom had never been anywhere like Arua. And if you’ve never been to Africa, there’s really nothing to compare it to. The sad state of our roads, the thousands of bikes and pedestrians, the random goats and chickens crossing the road. (Yes, it really does happen… and the punchline is true!) There’s just no preparing for Arua.

On Sunday we walked to Awindiri Baptist Church. It just happened to be Eid, the holiday that ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The calls to prayer were louder, longer, and more frequent than normal, and we passed a huge gathering at one of the mosques on the way to church. What a great opportunity to be reminded of our call to prayer—for the salvation of those around us!

Church at Awindiri was great—very African, very different from home. I love worshipping with Africans!

Mom was able to go on campus to all the schools where we’re working, including Vurra Secondary, where we presented True Love Waits for the first time. When we got to Modern on Tuesday, we were sitting and waiting for the secondary students to finish classes when we heard singing at the primary school next door. We walked around the side of the building and found about a hundred primary students singing a traditional song. We sat down to listen, and before too long some of the neighborhood kids wandered over to investigate us. They were so excited to greet the three white women, and some of them were singing along with the bigger kids. Well, it didn’t take long for the kids in the choir to notice us as well, and when we realized we were causing a distraction, we tried to make a discreet exit. Some of the smaller children followed us back to the tree where we usually have our meeting. But once the primary kids were dismissed, they came looking for us—and we got mobbed! Everyone wanted to greet us, to touch our hair, and to thank us for coming. About 50 of the primary kids wound up staying for the story group with the secondary students—what a great day!

Some of the other highlights of the week in Arua: lunch at the coffee shop, Africa by Boat; lots of naked babies; conversations with students; dinner with my friends Billy and Joanna; tours of school campuses; women’s Bible Study; and a day off at White Castle (sadly, NOT the hamburger chain). And yes, Mom did get the full “Arua Experience” while she was here: no power, no hot water, and we actually completely ran out of water for the first time!

Ha Ha Ha

Have you ever felt like God was laughing at you? Now, I don’t mean those moments when you do something goofy and everyone, including you, giggles. I mean, has the irony of your life ever been so great that you could just see the Creator of the Universe crumbling into a belly-laugh that makes thunder roll? That is exactly where my life is right now.

Before I came to Africa, I lived alone for seven years. I was a teacher for four years, which may be one of the most solitary professions there is. I’m a huge extrovert, and I love being around people, but when it came to my life, I was on my own and in control.

When I moved to Virginia a year ago to begin my training, my partner Kelli became my roommate. Sandra, Roommate #2, moved in 3 weeks ago. In less than 18 months, I’ve gone from being totally on my own to having two roommates! But that’s not all…

In January, we have a team of four semester volunteers coming to work with us for 4 months. Know were the two girls, Jessica and Bridgette, will be living? You guessed it—the Arua branch of the Baptist Sorority House. Go ahead and raise my roommate count to 4!

I know that I am a control freak, There are some things that I want done the right way… which is, of course, my way. I knew when I moved to Africa that a big part of my experience would simply be the Father refining areas of my character. I just didn’t know that living in a household of 5 women would be a part of it! Pray for me… and my roommates. We’re al gonna need it!

…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Kids

It’s crazy to me to think that I’ve been in Uganda for more than 9 months. Even amid all the culture shock, homesickness, driving stress, and “Whoa, I live in Africa” moments, it’s hard not to notice the kids. They’re amazing. Always smiling, always waving, always looking for just a bit of your attention.

The more I notice the kids here, the more I realize that kids, all over the world, are all the same: Bubbles are the best thing in the world. There’s no reason to walk when you can run. The best way to wear a jacket is by just putting the hood over your head. A dare can never, ever be turned down. And when you start singing, the louder, the better.

I don’t really know where this is going… maybe it’s not just the kids. Maybe, underneath the culture and the lifestyle and all the things that make us think we’re so different, maybe deep down, we’re all basically the same.

Bible 101

Getting work started in Arua has been, well, interesting to say the least. And figuring out what youth ministry looks like here is more along the lines of frustrating. The time when we’re actually able to be on campus is really very limited, and it seems like something’s always “coming up” to interfere with our scheduled meetings with students. Some schools have been very receptive to True Love Waits, but other schools have been harder to get off the ground.

Latibo Secondary School is that school. Kelli and I have been on Latibo’s campus since January and have made some great relationships with students, but every attempt at a small group has fallen flat.

While Kelli was spending time with Lillian, one of the 4th-year students at Latibo, Lillian mentioned the fact that she wanted to read and study the Bible, but didn’t know where to start. That got us started thinking—why not start a Bible 101 class? Basic info about what the Bible is, why we should read it, and where to find help in it when we need it. Over six weeks, study involves a series of devotions through the Old and New Testaments, discussions, and Scripture memory. Students who successfully complete the course can earn a study Bible for their efforts.

Our first Bible 101 class met last Sunday at Latibo, and almost 40 students attended. We met with students again this past Sunday, with a smaller turnout, but still close to 30. Several students had completed all their devotions for the week, and more are continuing to work on them. (Another factor to consider in all this is the fact that 4th-year students began their final, national exams on Monday, which determine the courses of study students can continue in. The pressure is huge, and most of their time right now is spent studying.)

Please pray for the students attending Bible 101, that they would be diligent in their study and keep coming to the classes. We currently have 36 study Bibles, and would love to give them all away at the end of the course next month. We also hope to take Bible 101 to other campuses next year, if it continues to be well-received at Latibo. How exciting to get the Word into the hands of your people who have a real hunger for it!

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to Your word.
Psalm 119:11

Blogger Way Behind

Good grief! So I realized this morning just how long it's been since I blogged... and that's NOT okay! It's not that there's been nothing to write about, because there has. I've got lots of potential posts floating around in my brain... I just have to take the time and exercise the discipline to put them down on paper... and then type them... and then upload them to the site. So for those of you who enjoy reading about my (mis)adventures in Africa, have no fear-- blogs are on the way. For those of you who don't, well, you probably aren't reading this in the first place.

Thanks for your patience. Wait for it.....