Thank you

Tiffany and I were just walking around the village and I happened to have my camera to record this (call it my great PR skills ;) ). In no way was this staged.

This is Basimbye George, the headmaster at Life Academy Christian School in Seeta, Uganda. 

Thank you, sincerely, for all your support, love and prayers. We are all so blessed. 

Grace

Meet Grace.  A beautiful Ugandan woman who has given her life to care for precious children at Adventure Village in Seeta, Uganda.  During our "celebration" day she gave her testimony of what God has done in her life.

Amy & Grace

At the age of 16 or 17 (not many really know their real age in Uganda) she was married off to an older man because her parents could no longer afford to take care of her.  Being educated was her only dream, and being married off so young only squandered it.  Her husband was not a man of good character and in her words she "never had a good time in the marriage."  She had five children with this man and he never supported them.  Since she is uneducated it was really hard for her to find work, so she had to find odd jobs to support her children by herself.  She worked so hard and became so thin and diseased-like because she gave all the food she could grow and buy to her children.  She heard about Christian Life Ministries and went to apply to be a "mum".  She told us that if it weren't for Jackson Senyonga answering God's call her children wouldn't have the opportunity to go to school and she wouldn't have ever been able to go to the Ridar hotel (the place where we stay while we are in country). She said, "I never thought I would go to a place like that."

By most American standards the Ridar Hotel is nothing special (personally, I think it's a really nice hotel), but it meant so much to her that she was able to go. Because of her job at the orphanage she can pay her children's school fees, and when she visits her family they tell her she is so fat (which means you are healthy) and ask her how she is living so well.

I was so touched by her testimony because it reminded me of how fortunate I am.  I get to choose if and to whom I marry.  I had the opportunity to go to school, and had loving parents and family to support me.  I never thought I took all that for granted, but at times I do.  It sort of reminded me of my mom.  She may not have been encouraged to do well in school or pursue higher education, but she always encouraged us kids, always loved us through everything.  Going to college was non-negotiable in her eyes, and like Grace did for her kids, she did all that she could to equip us for that journey.

It's women like Grace that remind me to be thankful in all circumstances.

It's election time!

Praying for peace and safety as voting begins in Uganda tonight. Their current president has been in power for more than 26 years.. If you want to join me, pray specifically for peace after the decision is determined and that corruption will be limited in the very least.

Introduction

This year in Uganda I had the opportunity to go to a Kwanjula, which translates into "introduction" in English. It's a Buganda tribal wedding, where the bride is "introduced" to her husband.   The groom and his family get all dressed up and parades to where the bride lives to present himself to her family.   Not only did I get to see all of this, but I got to take part in it as well.

My friend Levi married a Buganda woman, Winnie, whom he met three years ago on his first trip with us to Uganda. Since none of his family members were able to attend we got to stand in for his family.  For this, we had to dress in traditional clothing (see picture below) and carry in the dowry on our heads. 

Me in a Gomesi with my friend and one of the orphans, Dan

 

 

As you can see the children at the orphanage loved that we dressed up in their traditional clothing.  A picture of me in the Gomesi even made the local paper (not joking!). Not only was it honoring to them, but they all kept telling us how "smart" we look.   It's times like these when I start to feel embarrassed for being American and white.  I don't like that some much reverence is put on being white and American.  They hold what we do and say at a much higher value than that of their own people.  It's amazing how ingrained this is even after Britain relinquished their rule. But before I really go off on that, I should get back to the Kwanjula.

Part of Winnie's dowry.  Thank goodness I didn't have to carry the leg of cow. Yuck!

To bring the dowry to the brides family we formed a "conga line" and danced down to where they were seated with baskets of fruit, oil, vegetables etc. on our heads and presented them to her family. It was so neat to be part of something that is so foreign to me and my culture.  I can't imagine ever doing something like this or allowing someone to "pay" a dowry for me.  I guess that's the beauty of it though.  As much as I would typically be annoyed about dowries in general, my Ugandan friends made a good point when they later told me that this is why they rarely get divorced.  The price they have to pay to get married is quite high and it is a literal investment in their wife and their wife's family.  

Two things of much significance that I remember from this day was the symbol of giving a rooster to the brother of the bride and and the advice Winnie's family gave her on how to be a good wife.   In Buganda culture it is common that the brother is the one who gives their sister away.  While courting, the groom will go to the brother and bribe him so that he will cover for his sister when she sneaks out to see her "boyfriend."  When the parents ask what that noise was her brother will respond "it is only the rooster", so at the introduction the groom will hand a rooster to the brother as a gift for his sister's hand in marriage.  I thought it was kind of sweet.  

Now on to the hard part.  Winnie's family gave her some really sound advice about arguing with her husband.  I'm a little too stubborn and head strong for this, but I thought it was great.  They told her that whenever her husband is upset with her and they are arguing that she should take a drink of water and hold it in her mouth so she does not escalate the argument, and when he is done she can spit it out.  Eventually, he will come around and apologize for being a jerk and making up will be easier.  I think it's wise in a lot of cases to not yell back, but I think I would end up spitting the water on someone who was yelling at me ;)

Testimonies

video recorded by Adam Neil & Steven Gosvener

These are testimonies of some of the orphans I work with in Uganda. It's hard for me to have much to say about these because the first time I watched them I had to leave the room because I couldn't stop crying. If this doesn't motivate you to love I'm not sure what will.

An Uncomfortable Truth

"'Fifteen thousand Africans are dying each day of preventable, treatable diseases--AIDS, malaria, TB--for lack of drugs that we take for granted.

This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea many of us hold on to very tightly: the idea of equality. What is happening to Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concern and questions our commitment to the whole concept. Because if we're honest, there's no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not North America or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames? Deep down, if we really accept that their lives--African lives--are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It's an uncomfortable truth.'"

I'm not sure that I have ever felt more challenged\gulity\angry all at once. I love Bono's boldness in this quote, and I've read it before, but when I came across it in a book I was reading tonight it struck me differently. The sentence that strikes me the most was "Deep down, if we really accept that their lives--African lives-- are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out." This is so much bigger than even the continent of Africa.

How do we view our neighbors? How do we determine who we want to befriend? Why do we choose to show love to only some people? I think we fail to find value in the lives of people who are outcasts of our society and people who seem to be far removed from our self-centered world views. I think this reigns true of how we view people living in extreme poverty or even as simple as people we proudly consider ourselves more intelligent than. How are we effectively using all that we have been given?

I don't have any solutions or answers, but I feel called/challenged with passion to make a difference. I'm not sure what this will look like, but I'm making it a point to seek out ways I can value people in a completely different way.

I want to live life differently and learn what it means to truly, completely love people. I think in this we find our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity to change or remedy the atrocities of this world. I don't think God intended for there to be poverty, inequalities, or an ever widening gap between the richest and the poorest of the world, but in these things we are able to live out His love and have an impact.

Returning once again (Lord willing)

Poverty is widespread. Nothing we’ve been told or shown allows us to believe any differently. We “hear” about poverty, but where do we really experience it? We see men and women both young and old on street corners with signs asking for money and many different thoughts run through our heads: “Do they really need help?” “What are they going to do with my money? Drink? Eat? Buy drugs?”

What we see as poverty in the US is incomparable to poverty in third world countries. Something intrinsically breaks you inside when you witness extreme poverty. The question of ill-intent leaves you and you’re left piecing back together your broken heart. Responsibility for the crises consume you. What’s the cause? Who’s to blame? When will it end? How will we end it? Who will help? Is it too much to bear?

... Imagine what Jesus must have thought on his road to the cross…

Walk with me down a red dirt road full of ruts and newly formed potholes, reminders of last year’s rains and what is to come. Pass through the market place where rotting meat of malnourished animals hang on hooks, suitable only for the flies that adorn the flesh with hungry attention. Divert your eyes to the many booths where shoppers barter for food, clothing and plastic shoes, the bare necessities of life. Go a bit further and pass huts and houses, some glorious and others not suitable as a prison cell. Pass the basic brick school house and see students fortunate enough to have their fees paid for a basic education that has insurmountable personal costs compared to their western counterparts.

Outside of those four wall see the children in rags, if anything at all, too shy to look you in the eye without running away. Walk further still and you’ll experience the beauty of Africa, the lush trees and bushes, the bricks drying in the sun, foundations for new homes, and you’ll find your way to Seeta Adventure Village. Be greeted by 850 orphans overjoyed at your presence. Where there was once turmoil, they have been given peace. Where there was once sorrow they have been filled with joy. Where despair was all they knew they have a new found hope. All given by our faith lived out in action.

Play soccer, dance, sing and be relational. Hold the precious hand of a stranger and hear his/her stories…
...the 13-year-old boy who witnessed his father’s murder in the middle of the night by a bill collector…
...the 10-year-old girl who was left alone with her dying baby sister and later chased away from her home, deemed responsible for her sister’s death…
…Feel the young kids chests heave in and out while they’re sobbing in agony, wishing for their last breath, because they cannot understand their past life at the Internally Displaced Persons camp or fathom that they were capable of the forced killing they endured as child soldiers...
...Or see those who bare the marks of being branded like cattle, made property by the Lord’s Resistance Army…

What we don’t experience we have a hard time believing. The bottom line is children are precious all over the world. Respond where you are called. Not all who care have the ability to go. Are you called to give your time in prayer or your treasure to help those in need?

“’What is to be said of the character of people who, having the power to end all this, permit it to continue?’”1

I am traveling to Uganda with Abundant Life Church July 14th-Aug. 5th to expand our water project to reach the whole village, install electricity, create a playground and most importantly love on orphans and the people I come in contact with. My heart in the matter is to bring hope and the love of Christ to people who don’t experience love in all His glory. Abundant Life Church and other sponsors are generously providing funds for our projects. It is my responsibility to raise $3600 in support to cover the costs for my three weeks in Uganda. I am sending this letter to you because I am seeking prayer as well as financial support for this mission. Although financial support is very helpful, the thing I need most for the mission is prayer. If you are able to give go to Delta Ministries' Website or ask me for a response card that you can fill out to indicate the support you will be providing, and return it to Delta Ministries International. Any gift is tax deductible.

Thank you so much for your support. I am excited for this trip and what God has in store for me in Uganda. I look forward to sharing my
experience with you upon my return.

Worthy News Posts

Every morning I come into the office early to catch up on the news because I don't have time to do it during the day. This is what I found that alarmed me or made me smile in some odd fashion:

1. Woohoo for Oregon beers!
2. I would probably vote republican if Colin Powell ran for president.
3. I wonder what Michael Scott would do to get a date with Sarah Palin while she's in Scranton. (Man I miss the office!)
4. This excites me so much! The last group in Uganda to practice female circumcision finally banned it!

When will it end?

"...And a little child will lead them."
(Isaiah 11:6)

As if 20 years of war isn't enough, now involving three different countries the LRA strikes again. This breaks my heart so, so much.

After being in northern Uganda and spending time with children who have experienced the death of their parents and being child soldiers themselves, I can't imagine why this is still happening. I hate that life is taken for granted like a sick game...

I know that I don't have a complete grasp of their culture, but I still don't understand how children can have their innocence stolen and made to do things that most people would never dream of: killing (both partaking and watching), ravishing, raping, taking drugs, maiming. It's just so cruel...

And it's funny that both sides think that they are right, that they should win, but in all reality, everyone loses.

Fashion Police

You may expect something like this to happen in a third world country where modesty reigns supreme, but what do you think when something similar takes place in Florida?

Rwanda, Rwanda

Finally a country that's making some progress.

Please note this:
"'The problems of women are understood much better, much better by women themselves,' voter Anne Kayitesi told the BBC's Focus on Africa. 'You see men, especially in our culture, men used to think that women are there to be in the house, cook food, look after the children... but the real problems of a family are known by a woman and when they do it, they help a country to get much better.'"

Does anyone see the power and the conflict in that quote?

Leaving on an airplane...

While this blog was originally created to hide my musings on politics and how I would do it better, I feel the need to share a little something different right now. Today marks the first post I've actually written even though I created this blog over a year ago. Ironically, right before I left for Uganda last June. And, today is the day I leave for Uganda this year. My heart already feels so soft that it may melt before I get there.

I am truly blessed by all the people I have in my life. I have never felt so humbled, loved and supported. Thank you. I hope you enjoy these next couple weeks as much as I do. If my heart was only in one place it would definitely be Africa. I know some may not understand, but those that do know that there are few words that can describe it. With three hours before my flight I think I should get some sleep, but while you're reading this please check out what is happening in Kenya and pray for those children!