It is a bittersweet day for a few reasons. This morning Amy departed for Kampala before boarding her flight home tomorrow night. And then there were four. I didn’t prepare myself to be quite so emotional, but after we all said our goodbyes, I think it really began to sink in that this summer is drawing to a close. This time next week, I will be making my way north to London before touching down in Boston, and the next post I put up will be the final piece to this summer’s journey. As I spoke to my mom a few nights ago, she told me how changed I would be once I return. Since I began the search for a place to spend the summer, everyone says how much Africa will change you. I guess I will see once I resume my American lifestyle, but as of now, I am not sure how it will all affect me. The second day that Sarah and I were here, we both thought it was astounding how quickly we adjusted to our new surroundings. Now, here I am almost two months later, and I find it completely normal to wait on the herd of cows to finish passing before crossing the road or a chicken running through the house. While this aspect of Uganda may seem comical, it still seems shocking to me that I am not stunned by the clear display of utter poverty that surrounds me everyday. Amy and I discussed this last Sunday on our walk, and decided that we both came into this summer literally expecting anything. I’m still not quite sure if that will help or hurt my readjustment period once back home, but I know that the biggest change I have been able to see in myself is the way I see God at work everywhere. I pray that I will be able to continue to savor His observable presence no matter where life takes me. I apologize for the random stream of consciousness, so I will now give you all updates on my past week here at New Hope. “Dancing round before the Lord of glory, we will dance Hosanna.”
This past Sunday, Amy, Jeffrey and I decided to attend the Namungodi Restoration Church, which Uncle Augustine, who manages micro finance with Kiahana and Sarah, attends with his family. It is only about fifteen minutes on a boda, and upon arrival, Uncle Augustine’s daughter, Becky, greeted us, and led us to the entrance of the tiny sanctuary. The structure of the church services that I’ve attended in my time here are somewhat different than what I’m used to. They each begin with a greeting, followed by several songs, which were lead this week by Aunt Becky, and then the first sermon. Uncle Augustine spoke first, and it was so endearing that either Becky or his other daughter Sarah would translate throughout the service. What an awesome way to minister as a family. After the first sermon, Aunt Becky had each of us stand up and introduce ourselves. It was comical because Amy said she was from “the States,” while I said “America” and Jeffrey said “the US.” Aunt Becky translated all of them in Luganda as USA. A few minutes later, Aunt Becky turned to us again and said she had a “surprise dance,” so naturally, we all thought she was going to dance. Just a side note, dancing is such a huge aspect of Ugandan church services, and I do not merely mean occasionally clapping while swaying. The dances that all of the youth choirs do could seriously be in a music video in America, but it is not offensive or disrespectful in any way in this culture. It’s actually quite the opposite. This is why is came as a shock when we realized that Aunt Becky actually meant that it was a surprise dance that we three were going to perform for the congregation. I’ve never been one to excel at improvisation, but as Amy, Jeffrey and I began to sway side-to-side to the music we gained confidence. Being raised in a Baptist church, dancing has never been a big part of our services, so it was quite an experience to throw off inhibitions and just dance for Jesus. After about 30 seconds, the congregation joined in clapping and shouting and before we knew it everyone was dancing. With each song, there seemed to be choreography, and as the three of us began to pick it up, I started to have so much fun. Though I must admit, there were times when I felt as though I were either in a Michael Jackson video or a tribal ritual, yet it’s simply a part of their worship service here. Once I started singing along, I couldn’t help but catch the contagious joy that everyone had. After two or three songs, I literally thought that I had just finished taebo. Everyone was sticky with sweat and the room was thick with the heat of the morning. After the three hour service had come to a close, and everyone came to greet us, Aunt Becky and Aunt Sarah offered us a soda before we headed back to Busia. On the way to their house to fetch the drinks, Aunt Becky very honestly told us, “Aunt Amy, Uncle Jeffrey and Aunt Hayley, you can really shake.” I nearly had a heart attack, but I must say that service is among my top favorite worship moments in my life.
Monday afternoon, Uncle Ken returned from Kaliro bearing about 30 stalks of sugar cane for the children. I was fascinated to see that it looked very similar to bamboo. The kids were astonished to find out that I had never tasted it before, so within a matter of seconds precious Barbara grabbed a machete and proceeded to strip the bark for me. She carefully sliced it into bite-sized pieces, and triumphantly set it before me. I was instructed not to swallow it, but instead chew it until all of the juice came out. I liken the process to eating and spitting out sunflower seeds, except sugar cane is obviously much sweeter. After Sarah, Amy and I had all been subjected to this lovely treat, I realized that all of the children strip the bark off with their teeth! It was so precious to see how willing the older kids were to help the little ones with their stalk. Naturally, I had to try this out. haha Olivia and Barbara instructed me to clamp onto a small strip and simply rip it down the stalk. After all of the bark is successfully peeled back, you reap the benefits of the softer, sweeter inside, which is composed of many fibers. I don’t know how my body is going to react to American sugar after tasting the wonders of natural sugar cane. Yet again, Africa has spoiled me.
“They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag.” ~K’naan
Yesterday, I, along with my P6 class, began the search for their performance music, and I was delightfully surprised how quickly they decided on two songs. Sierra and Ben, you will appreciate this. They chose “Wavin’ Flag” and “Oh Africa,” mainly because those were the only songs they recognized from my selection. I am so excited to see how they will enjoy their big moment next Monday. After establishing our soundtrack, we relocated outside to learn the second dance. It’s so adorable how enthusiastic they are to learn something new. Though they really have no concept of what cheerleading is, it warms my heart to see how much joy it brings them to have a break from their rigorous academic schedule. It will never cease to amaze me how interested the children are in learning anything that volunteers want to teach them. I have a renewed love for discovering the little joys in day-to-day life, which is exactly what these children do. I know that I have been the one ‘teaching’ math for the past two months, but I am blessed to say that I have learned more from my students than I could ever teach them.
“There’s only now, there’s only here. Begin to love or live in fear.” ~RENT
I wanted to do something special with each Olivia and Barbara in my final week here, and thankfully I came up with two unique projects. Last Friday, I asked if Olivia wanted to record the songs that we have worked on this summer on my computer, which I hope to turn into a DVD to send her later. I didn't realize what a buzz this would create amongst the rest of the New Hope children. Hardly any of them really took interest in Olivia's daily music lesson, until this past week. Anytime a new electronic is brought to the compound, a swarm of children follow. The first few days I began to get frustrated because they literally would sit on top of Olivia and me to better see themselves reflected in the screen. I understand that this new gadget is intriguing, but I wanted it to be a special time for Olivia. The third day, I realized that the time and attention that I give to the children is far more important than having a perfect video of all of the songs. The children crowding around did not bother Olivia, and I soon invited them to join in on the simpler songs in an effort to be more inclusive. Just knowing that they were somehow part of what Olivia was doing made a world of difference in their behavior. The children were more patient, and when I told them it was Olivia’s turn to sing alone, they waited until she was finished and eagerly anticipated watching the end result. As Beth Moore pointed in out in my study this week, “what fruit is produced when we agree to be teachable!” Patience truly is a virtue, and slowly but surely, God is whipping that aspect of my life into shape. I am so quick to get frustrated when things are not exactly working out, but this past week I have begun to see the beauty that comes out of being molded. I have truly seen many Galatians 6:9 harvests this summer as I continue to build relationships with these children.
Barbara has continued to work on the study guides that I make for her, and each day that she hands it back to me, there is a note from her at the top thanking me for the love I show her. I do not feel worthy of her kind words, but I know that God is using me to impact her life. Therefore, I asked her if she wanted to make special friendship bracelets with me on Monday afternoon. We went into the old resource center, and we carefully crafted beautiful matching bracelets in her favorite colors, pink, green, aqua and white. It was such a peaceful afternoon, and I learned that Barbara has a beautiful voice. As she was waiting for me to finish cutting the pieces of string, she quietly began singing. I cannot believe that I didn’t know before that she enjoyed singing! Although I didn’t recognize the song, it nearly brought me to tears because it was about seeking Christ when you no longer have your earthly family around. I am so pleased that I was able to spend such wonderful quality time with Barbara, and I pray that I will continue to love her as God demonstrates His love to me. Up until this Monday, I had started to anticipate going home because I would let all of my frustrations build up. Whether it was getting more than tired of being ‘hissed’ at, which is the equivalent to the American ‘cat-call,’ stared at, the power going off, and the list continues, yet again, God used the New Hope children to snap me out of my ill mood. As Amy and I talked about last week, we must pray for God to help us live in the moment instead of looking to the future and missing out on the last few days here. I don’t want to leave next Wednesday and wish that I had given more or served more faithfully. God has taught me to vent my frustrations to Him, alone, and His faithfulness will override them as I seek Him. This could not be truer, for He has consistently refocused my attention to where it needs to be, rather than complaining about what I wished would be. Praise be to our God, who is more merciful and patient that I will ever deserve.
Eight days until I am clinging to my family, and my dogs! Please pray that I will finish out strong in serving the Lord here in Uganda.
My prayer is that you all will faithfully serve the Lord where He has paced you this week. It is so amazing and refreshing to see what He can and will accomplish.
Love and miss you all.
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