ok team

I know I promised blog posts this week! And I have a whole list sitting by my bed of topics to write about. Plus I have a whole stack of emails to answer. But this week I've been busy with an excuse that I know at least one of my readers will be glad to hear: I'm creating a video of my life for my church's AWANA program.

And man alive, making movies is hard business!! So the time I would normally spend writing is being devoured by video-creating. Not that I'm complaining--it's kinda fun. But it means no blog posts and no emails until this video is done.

Which leads me to two prayer requests: First, that I would be able to finish the thing without my computer crashing or losing the video or other technical disasters. And secondly (and MORE IMPORTANTLY!), that I would be able to upload this thing to the internet! Our internet is pretty slow and tenuous when it comes to important things like downloading and uploading videos. I'm hoping that by waking up at 3am one morning and attempting it when no one else is online, I might be able to send the video. So pray with me that God would provide a miracle--that the video would upload to the world wide web!

to hold you over, here's a picture of my temporary living quarters (the house where I'm living until December):

See you on the other side...

happy new year

Sorry for the week-plus absence! The early part of last week was rough emotionally (all part of the adjustment process!) and then the last part was completely full with preparations for the first annual Womanhood Retreat that NHU has hosted! We left for Musana Camps at 8:30am on Friday morning and returned at 8:30pm Sunday night--quite the journey, but the retreat was worth it.

I'll post more about both the journey and the retreat later, just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive! Last night, I attended a Rosh Hoshanah celebration with two families and my housemates. Rosh Hoshanah is the Jewish New Year and also references the Binding of Issac (see Gen. 22). There was delicious food and good conversation...and making new year's resolutions in mid-September is fun. So happy new year!

"she welcomed us well."

My dinner guests just left.

Funny thing is, 2.5 hours ago I didn't know I was having dinner guests. 

See, in Ugandan culture, welcoming people to your home is vitally important--as in, you are considered pretty rude if some comes to your house and you don't say 'you are welcome' or 'welcome.' Then you should ask how they are, how their family is (if you know the person somewhat well), and of course, you'll answer those questions in turn. Then there's an awkward pause*, for you as the host should never just come out and say 'well, whatdaya want?' So to compensate for the awkwardness, you can invite the person inside or offer them a drink, which they'll either accept (meaning they're not in a hurry) or graciously decline (which means they're about to tell you why they're there).

If the person accepts and comes inside, then you'll both drink some water and the awkward pause will continue, only this time you are seated, so it's a little more comfortable. Eventually, your visitor will come out with why they are visiting...and if they don't, then probably they were just thinking of you or they were in the neighborhood and stopped by to say hi.

So, all that to say, if your visitor happens to arrive around a mealtime or during a mealtime...well, let's just say that holding dinner until they leave isn't exactly kosher. Hence, tonight I had two dinner guests. I'm housesittting for a family as they took a 4 day weekend, and some of the kids from their family group stopped by, for apparently these two come every Saturday to help out around the house. Well, they happened to arrive around dinner time and we chatted and I invited them in for dinner...because I wasn't really sure what else to do! I was eating a very non-Ugandan meal; it was more of an Italian theme, with pasta, ground beef, tomatoes, and onions. And pineapple for dessert, because we do live on the equator, after all. It wasn't anything fancy, and the dinner conversation was pretty minimal since it's considered rude to talk while eating in Ugandan culture...plus, I was out of conversation topics. The kids enjoyed the meal, though; even though it was brand new to them, they both went back for seconds!

So the dinner was over; what next? Dishes, I thought, we should do the dishes. But as I began to rise, one of the kids stopped me. "Let us pray," she said and both kids assumed the prayer position. Slightly confused (maybe this is what their family group does after meals?? maybe this is an NHU tradition I don't know about yet??), I followed suit, unprepared to be astonished, humbled, and blessed by this prayer. She thanked God for bringing me there, for making me a mom to them, and then uttered a simple statement that warmed my heart immensely: "She welcomed us well." 

It's encouraging to realize that even though many times this new culture baffles me, today I can say that for a few moments, at least, I knew what was culturally expected of me and I was able to do it successfully.

*note: I'm not sure if Ugandans find the pause awkward. The awkwardness might just be a Western thing. 

Busting a Myth

It’s rained almost daily during my first two weeks of life in Uganda, and every time, I’ve been surprised. Rain? I say to myself. Really? It’s raining in Africa?

So while caught in a brief rain shower while walking home today, again stunned to find rain in Africa, I began questioning my surprise. WHY am I astonished when water falls from the sky here? It’s a completely natural occurrence in my homeland; I’ve seen rain in all forms, from day-long drizzle to hurricane style. Why does its appearance here startle me?

Africa = sunny, flat, and wild? False!

As I hustled through the rain, pondering my surprise, a picture crossed my mind. It was the end of a National Geographic documentary about Africa; actually, it was the end of pretty much any documentary about Africa. I could almost hear the narrator, his deep voice majestically concluding the documentary as rain began to fall across the plains in torrents: “And the rains finally began—the animals would thirst no more.”

Wildlife, anyone?

 I nearly stopped dead in my tracks (the mud prevented a full stop, unfortunately). National Geographic. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC! They are to blame for my surprise at rain in Africa! All those documentaries about the dry season, about animals searching for water, about lions and hyenas fighting for a boar-hole—yet never once a documentary about the wet season! Hence, my bewilderment at finding rain in Uganda. National Geographic convinced me that Africa was continually despairing of water…despite the fact that the rain came (in bucketloads, at that!) at the end of every documentary.*

I felt like a real live Myth Buster this afternoon. 

Myth: It never rains in Africa.

Truth: It does rain in Uganda. A lot. And since Uganda is in Africa, ergo…

Truth: It rains in Africa.  

This picture is even from NG! So they don't intentionally conceal the truth...

*note bene: I understand that Africa is much larger than just Uganda and that there are some places in Africa where water truly is in great demand. And I’m sure that in the Ugandan dry season, National Geographic will be proved right. 

the end of chicken run

Today saw the end of an era. For 2 weeks, we've been chasing chickens (yes, other chickens learned from Fred's example and began escaping!) multiple times daily. Our labors shall cease now, and the chickens will quietly rest in their enclosure--we've had their wings clipped.

Kibedi (say "chew-betty" really fast) came to deliver chicken food and clip their wings. The sounds of chicken wailing filled the air--I've heard some strange chicken noises the past few weeks, but this was entirely different. It's amazing how 'pain' sounds the same in both human or animal noises! "Clipping the wings" here means that the person grabs the chicken by its 'armpit' and pulls out the appropriate feathers, by hand, until the chicken can no longer fly. 

clipping the chickens

 Thankfully the chickens only screamed while they were being clipped; it seems that the pain only lasts during the process. Now the chickens are clipped and enjoying some food, safely in their enclosure and unable to escape. 

There's probably a spiritual lesson in there somewhere...10 points to the person who can point it out. 

the aftermath & traumatized chickens

big day!

We start school today! In about 45 minutes, to be exact...

Julia starts the day, with math, PE, geography, and practical skills. Then it's Jeremiah's turn--we'll discuss how he wants to set up his study schedule, start the writing and literature curriculum, and figure out what chemistry concepts we need to review before that class start. Eee, it's going to be a busy week, as I'll have to review chemistry as well!