back in the swing...

I am putting up two posts today. Please don't miss my Post below on my friend Adam after reading this one. thank you!

So I am back in the swing of ‘school’ again, although it has not technically started yet. We have been busy getting the school ready, trying to encourage the builders to build the hostels well but quickly, getting all of the papers ready for registration of new students, encouraging our Senior 4 Candidate Class which has come early to study hard because they have their big examination at the end of this year, creating next years time-table, and so much. We are so fortunate to have such great teachers returning, four of which have already come back… two to teach, one because he just loves the school and another to help with some administration work around the school. We currently have money for three hostels but are lacking enough for all four. Hopefully the photo I want to show you of the hostels uploads, but sometimes those things are so so stubborn!!! Computers here are always a joy! I uploaded a picture of Pastor Waboka mudding the new hostels!

We are looking for various supporters of the school…. Whether big or small…. We need to get bunk beds for the students, so they are not putting a mattress on the mudd floor of the mudd hutt hostel. We are looking to build a fence around the school compound not only for security but to keep the animals out so we can actually grow a garden and all the veggies will not get eaten! We are looking for monthly supporters for school upkeep. You may be thinking shouldn’t the school tuition be covering all of these costs, but it doesn’t even come close to covering all of these costs. The islands are a very very poor community and they lack even the $3 to send their kids to primary (elementary) school most times. So we are trying to make the fee’s as affordable as possible but they are still high for them. I think about the scripture from Hosea 4:6… “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” I don’t want to see that happen at the islands so I am seeking out ways to see to it that this small island school will be lasting!

So February is quickly approaching. And I am excited to say I have church family coming over! I can’t wait to see them and to host them here in Uganda! And I am excited for all of you that sent goodies with them for me J I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me! I love suprises! Then at the end of February I have to travel (take a short trip across the boarder, again to renew my visa). This will be a very short excursion as I am really missing the islands. Please pray for safe travels for me as I go. So February will fly by and March will be here, and come march I will only have 3-4months left and I will be home! I can’t believe it. Thinking about coming home is bitter sweet. I miss home, I miss my family, my friends, my hot showers, concerts on the square, the badgers, the lakes of Madison. But then there is so much here I love too. The people and the work I am doing. I really don’t know what next year will bring, I am seeking God’s direction for that. Only time will tell! Well I love you and have to run.

Adam Langford

So today I attended my friend Adam’s Memorial service at the Source Café. I wanted to post his last blog on suffering because I thought it was moving and appropriate to blog myself. Please checkout his other blogs on life in Africa. He does a really good job at explaining life here in Uganda. http://www.jinjamissions.org/. Look for my other thoughts after his blog...Adam Langford's last blog:

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Uganda has problems. I am not sure of the politically correct term these days: Developing Nation, 3rd World Country, or Emerging State , so I will just say that Uganda is defiantly not one of the more advanced countries in the world. I don’t believe they are at the bottom of the list, but they are no where near the top. This was quickly evident to me when I ventured here 10 months ago from my home in America . From the time I stepped foot into Uganda I saw the effects and the causes of a country that appears to have gotten the short end of the stick in this new global community: misplaced populations, poor infrastructure, little education, few hospitals, corrupt government, and a culture that doesn’t quite fit with the ever expanding Western way of doing things. The longer I am here, the more problems I seem to find.

Like any educated Westerner, I immediately start looking for solutions to all of these problems. I quickly learn though that quick solutions don’t often work, in fact they usually cause more problems. So, I search for sustainable answers, but all I have come up with so far are more questions. Uganda has big problems.

For the past couple of months I have found myself engaged in a conversation with several different people from different walks of life, “How do we help Uganda?” Over the past several years the affluent parts of the world have also been engaged in that same conversation. Aid organizations, churches, non-profits, governments, the UN, Bill Gates, and even U2’s Bono have been vigorously working to put an end to poverty and all the problems that go with it in places like Uganda. I am very glad this collective group of intelligent, well funded people is focusing on the problems here, because for the life of me I can’t figure them out. Living in the midst of all these problems with no solutions is difficult. I am constantly faced with the immense suffering. Yesterday I had a church member plead with me for a job because as he said, “My family is dying Adam, you have to help me.” While this was a bit of a overdramatic plea to get an emotion response from me, it is really not that far from the truth. I didn’t have any work for him; he will have to suffer through it.

I have endured quite a bit of suffering myself in the last couple of months due to the problems of Uganda. While Ugandan’s themselves are amused at my perceived problems, they are very real for me. Last month I had no electricity in my house for 26 straight days. It came back on day 27 only to go off again for another 3 days. For all of you who are romanticizing this simplified life by thinking how great it would be to read all of those books you’ve been meaning too next to the soft glow of lantern light, try taking freezing cold showers for a month; that should you bring you back to reality. During this time, while I was trying to figure out what the problem was, I uncovered that my landlord has been stealing electricity from me. This was topped off by four days of no water right at the end of my 30 day electricity fast, which was a nice break from the cold showers. I have been able to fix my relatively trite problems for the mean time, but because this place is what it is I am confident they will be back. Uganda has problems and I am suffering because of them.

In September I visited a close by village with two visitors from America who were in town for a few days. Our time in Kyabirawa was shaping up to be a pretty normal day in the village. We took a tour of a garden, we greeted some of the neighbors, and we shared a meal. After we ate, our host Maanda Wilson told us that one of the elder church members had recently lost his youngest daughter and people were gathering for the burial. We agreed to go over and give our condolences to the family and view the body. Just as in America, it is customary to view the body of the deceased as part of the ritual of saying goodbye. In Uganda, they don’t have funeral homes that are able to present the body in a manor that reflects the living person. The 33 year old women that we saw looked dead. It was a disturbing site. Her older sister was holding back the sheet that covered her lifeless body. I asked her, “How did your sister die?” The older sister stared at me for a moment and then shook her head with a disgusted, frustrated look on her face. “Don’t you know?” she said in an exhausted gasp. I thought I had messed up. I didn’t think that question was inappropriate, but this lady was obviously disturbed. “She died of AIDS! Like everyone else around here, she died of AIDS.” Her voice cracked and a she started to tear up. I softly said “nga kitalo” which is a Lusoga word of lament that is solely used in the midst of death, it literally translates ‘oh no!’ I had nothing else to say. Uganda has problems and its people are suffering to the point of death.

My illusions of solving the problems of this country have long ago left me. They have been replaced with the hope of a risen savior who understands what it means to suffer in this world. This world refuses to work on God’s terms and thus will always be filled with suffering. And because I live in this world, I am privy to that suffering rather I am living in America or Uganda. While I will never stop trying to eliminate the suffering in this world, the suffering in Uganda, the suffering in losing a younger sister to AIDs, or even the suffering in my own life, I do not believe that is all I should be doing. Solutions are wonderful. Cures are amazing. Answers are great. But in this broken world, I am beginning to believe we need more people who are willing to enter into the suffering of others whether they can help or not. I want to choose to suffering for the sake of others. I am not always sure how to do that or what it looks like, but most days I wake up and can’t think of anything else to do. Uganda has problems, I pray that God will solve them, but until He does I will also pray for the strength to suffer.

Suffering cheerfully endured, ceases to be suffering and is transmuted into an ineffable joy. -- Mahatma Gandhi

During the service we all sang a song that really touched my heart. I could feel God’s presence (like when people all come together to sing Amazing Grace) as we all sang out, so I wrote the words: “What a friend we have in Jesus; all our sins and grief’s to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh what peace we often forfeit, o what needless pain we bear, all because we don not carry everything to God in prayer. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer; can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge –take it to the Lord in prayer; do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer; in His arms He’ll take and shield thee; thou will find a solace there.”

A woman stood up that was Adam’s neighbor. She explained how Adam really lived his life loving the Lord. He wasn’t a big preacher man but he was a man of his action. And because of the actions that portrayed the love of Christ, she gave her life to Christ. The bible talks about in John 3:7 that you must be born again. I used to have a really hard time with that term because I thought it sounded hyper religious, but it is so true. At some point in our life we either choose to surrender our life to the Lord or we continue on with our own ways. I pray that all those I know and love surrender their life to the Lord. Who else can we put our hope in?

In a moment...

…in a moment our life can be gone. Today was one of the surprises you never want. I was walking down main street on my way back to the computer to print out some documents for the secondary school, when I realized my favorite ‘coffee shop’ was closed, the source cafe. I stood starring at the signs at the door for I don’t know how long. I got lost at what I read and saw. My friend Adam, from Oregon who is giving three years to work at this café had just died the night before in an accident. The funeral was at 4pm. I stood. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to cry, my eyes got big and heavy. I was in shock. Adam, 28… great man, funny, never took himself to serious, loved God … gave me a ride on his motorcycle… was my first ‘muzungu’ friend when I first came and was sick for the first time…. Godfrey another friend that works at the source introduced Adam to me as a doctor… I will never understand. This is the first time I got an overwhelming sense of home sickness. For a moment I thought I don’t want to be here. I don’t know where I wanted to be, but just not here. I just got back from the funeral about 30-minutes ago. They talked about the accident. The vehicle Adam was in had gotten a flat tire and the driver was loosing control. Adam jumped out trying to escape and died instantly. The two other men in the vehicle, one died and the other is still in critical condition. The other man that died, I knew him also although not as well. His name is Moses. He was the manager of the source. He is leaving behind his wife and three kids…. All, also acquaintances from the source café. To make matters worse, when the crash happened locals that saw the crash started stealing all the things that got scattered, including stripping all the men naked and taking their clothes….instead of helping them. I don’t understand this, I never will. Please pray for Adam’s family in Oregon. Also for Spencer and Emily and all the source café missionaries (I think there are three families here). Jess was also a good friend to Adam. I think we are both coping okay and we will be fine. Its just hard. Okay, well I don’t know what else to say. Please know that really I am fine, it is one of those times to just draw close to the presence of God and just rest there for some time.

GO BADGERS!!!!

So i am afraid the best i can do is to title my blog for the Badgers since i can't watch the game :( Go badgers, Go!!! my friends sandy and theresa sent me the UW band CD in a package but i forgot the cd on the island :( how depressing... but i love the CD so much i had tears in my eyes just listening to it!

So new years was pretty quiet, but really enjoyable. Jess and I hung around watched some movies with friends... we even watched fireworks... we walked into town around midnight to a park where a lot of Christians gather to celebrate and pray in the new year... so we did that. We had originally hoped to go to Olive and Okoro's to celebrate, but jess has been sick and she didn't want to go to a village when she was really sick... so we celebrated in jinja town.

so really i have not just watching movies all day, really....
...i have been preparing a bible study to teach through the song of songs. i am so excited about this book and have been doing much studying! most people view this book as helpful for marriages...oh, but its so much deeper and better than that... it's about Gods radical love for us as weak but sincere believers! it is taking me so much to study... i printed off over 500 pages of notes from online and i am listening to my pastor Shane teach through it on CD.

...….Robert Wafula, Assistant Pastor on the Islands and friend who I have been doing much of my work with, has a vision to help people on the islands save money. He said to me today as we were talking, its not that people are completely poor on the islands but its more that they have no idea how to save money. If they make $5 in a day they spend it all that day. So he has asked me to stand with him in prayer and support. I am really excited about the opportunity to partner with Robert on this. This is one of the things I have talked with people about when I first came and I saw a real need for. Robert has already had his first meeting with people when I was in Tanzania. Out of the 20 people that attended, they have given Robert about $270 to save for them in an account on the mainland. Robert has a vision to see people who have business ideas to get loans down the road… and if the money becomes even more substantial we talked about the need for praying for someone who is a wise investor who can safely invest the money to grow bigger…. Its all very exciting. He wants the people to run it he just wants to get it established. He wants me helping with getting the administration of the program established.

okay, well i love you all so so much! please please pinch your elbow fat for me!! anybody remember what that part of your body is called... if you do i'll find some way to honor you!!!