Monday, January 5, 2009

I know we’re still in Uganda because…

-Stephanie and Mills were asked to give an impromptu sermon at the church they visited this morning for half an hour
-Your circa 1968 van breaks down and the guys have to get out and push/run along side the van to get it into “town”. Later, the axle breaks in half. May be time to put the van into the classic car museum.
-When you feel like you are in a high-speed chase while driving down a one-lane dirt road with a big IZUZU truck tailing you only to pass you on the right with a 6-inch margin. Safety first.
-Drew takes a big bucket of water with him to the outhouse to wash down anything that may not make it into the big hole
-Leigh still has not gotten her bag from the airport.
-The police come to your New Years celebration not because of a noise ordinance (those don’t exist here) but because they want to join the fun. And they continue to stop by every night
-When your trip leader doesn’t want to be called by his name anymore but insists on being called “Daddy”. TIA.
-Shower time is a community affair and just getting your hands, feet, and face clean feel awesome.
-Your head lamp is the most functional accessory you can wear unless the moonlight is enough to light your way
-When you start blending in with the Africans because of the dirt caking your face after truck rides. And your hair sticks up making you look like a lion.
-When the chairman of the village asks you to speak to the village people at the same time that you’re about to yak (or you do and swallow it) after doing the dizzy bat spin for them
-You are greeted at a Young Life club with 50 people swamping the truck and then getting hoisted into the air in a parade through town
-When you try to go to the bathroom but the only semi private place is next to a feeding hog and people are still able to see what is happening
-When sitting in the shade it is still about 85 degrees
-Picking your nose is acceptable. And brown boogers are normal.

Haley Gage

P.S. Sarah, I saw a yellow truck


So I just wanted to throw out the disclaimer that my previous post (and the lack of proper grammar- my apologies to my third grade teach Mrs. Long) was a direct result of too much equatorial sunshine (that and having about 12 kids jumping on, climbing on, clinging to, laughing at you…not to mention helping you type. Speaking of Africa, yesterday was perhaps my favorite day so far. As I mentioned previously we all got to attend church yesterday. I continue to be amazed by the simplicity and passion of the people’s faith here. It really is all about knowing Jesus and believing that He is a real part of your life. There are no fancy church buildings with fancy projection screens. There is no choir practice or service rehearsal. Their idea of a worship planning meeting involves time spent in prayer with the Holy Spirit. I am finding very quickly what a production we make of church and of our faith. Simon keeps talking about letting go of “program”. Being flexible to God’s moving in our lives. So often I think we overindulge ourselves with rehearsals and singing the right song in the right order. If you read the gospels you find that Jesus came to serve and love and pour His passion into those around him. He never avoided a situation or made an excuse or missed a chance to meet with someone because of a scheduling conflict. I wonder if we too can learn to live out our faith with such an attitude that nothing else matters but to just BE. I’m finding that God is reveling that to me on this trip. I still don’t quite know why He has brought me to Africa here and now (after 4 ½ years of waiting and praying). But perhaps it has something to do with just being with Him. Just spending time in His presence; to allow myself to be open to receiving the wonderful world He has made and the beautiful people that are a part of it. This Is Africa. May we continue to be blessed on our journey through the Motherland!

Leigh

PS- Mom, I don’t have my bag yet but I’m fine…actually I’m great. God has provided SO much! And 1.4.3. ;-)


I count 17 chickens running around the yard at the moment. They are scavengers feeding on the crumbs from our table, which so happens to be the yard. Eastern Uganda has become a part of my story for the past six days of my life. I can say that a lot has been written and I wish I could spend the next few hours explaining, but time is valuable here with these people and this Mac is burning my legs. Six of us have conglomerated together in the middle of our rest day to talk about the Lord and love. At the moment, the rest of the group is arriving from in town on little motorcycles. I can’t get enough of this feeling though. God has provided comfort here. Sure it’s hot, food is interesting, solid sleep is intermittent, and bathing is difficult, but the time here is surely comfortable. Anxiety and worry is really non existent even when the Ugandan police show up at 12am to collect names and passport numbers with AK-47’s wrapped around their shoulders. Our Muzungu tribe has commanded much attention over the past few days as we have helped out with Young Life Clubs in different villages. My jealous heart wants to be a loving brother to all we come in contact with. The attention is overwhelming sometimes. Through this, though, I have valued the time alone with the Lord to re-energize whether that is in prayer or in the Scriptures. We have stepped into an area that finds good things and joy in the simplest provisions. We’ve shared stories from day one and I can’t find anything more enjoyable than hearing about a ridiculous experience here in Uganda or previously in the states. Wow, this computer is hot… so hot. I am starting to sweat from the heat of the Mac coupled with the dry heat of Uganda. I’ll go, leave the blog to someone else. C.S. Lewis once explained the effect of Dr. Ransom’s journey from the distant planed of Mars in his book Perelandra that can accurately let you know how I feel about our trip here, “A man who has been in another world does not come back unchanged. One can’t put the difference into words.” The experience here will leave our changes unseen. We probably won’t come back and bathe with a bucket without swallowing the water or poop in a man made hole in the ground, but we will come back with a story to tell of how our hearts were affected. A song to listen to that has been playing since I arrived would be Miracle Drug by U2. Can’t wait to share with y’all when we get back!

Schroder