Today I was reminded once again that "church" has absolutely nothing to do with the building, but rather with the people who make up the church. For the first several weeks, WGM missionaries are taking us around to various African Gospel Churches (AGC) so we can see which churches WGM is affiliated with. This morning we went to a small church built with sticks and mud. We sat on small wooden benches for several hours. Chickens ran in and out of the building during the service, and goats and cows wandered around just outside. There were no lights, there was no sound system, there was no electricity, but the presence of the Lord was there. There was no coffee shop, there was no bookstore, there was no fancy piano. There were holes in the walls and the rain leaked in as we sat through the service, but the Holy Spirit was there, and the people were genuinely worshiping the Lord. We sang songs for over an hour, then heard a wonderful message, then sang more songs. Various church attenders shared testimonies from their week. They thanked the Lord for rain, because Uganda has been in drought. They thanked the Lord that their families are alive and that each one of us made it to church that day. They thanked the Lord for the simplest of things...things I too often take for granted. They worshiped, and it was awesome. They had nothing but a mud and stick building, and yet they truly worshiped the Lord. Many of them shared that many nights they do not have enough money to put food on the dinner table, and night after night, they skip meals, and yet they praised the Lord. They were full of joy and they were content. And that is why I love the Christian African culture.
Now, please don't think I'm putting down the western churches. I'm not trying to say there is anything wrong with large churches who have fancy music equipment or coffee shops and bookstores. Those things are wonderful, and an awesome asset for fellowship at church. All I'm saying is maybe sometimes we spend too much time focusing on what our church has or doesn't have, and too little time genuinely worshiping and praising the Lord. We have more than we need, and we don't depend on rain. We won't run out of water, and our children aren't dying of starvation. The church shouldn't be about a place or a building, but about a group of people following the Lord, praising Him no matter what. That is what I saw this morning, and that is how I want to live.
My roommate and I continue to struggle with living in our "missionary bubble" and are trying to search for opportunities to involve ourselves with the Ugandan culture. Right now, we walk to school each day, teach classes, and walk home. We live in a huge house with electricity, internet, and running water. We're incredibly thankful for our living conditions, and very thankful that we're protected by a guard and a tall wall around our home. But we're not being immersed in the African culture. We're not getting to know the Ugandan families who live just down the street from us in mud huts. I am realizing more and more how thankful I am for the experience I had last year in Uganda, and the awesome opportunity I had when living with my Ugandan host family. Yes, there were plenty of challenges, and yes, I'm thankful to live in a home with a toilet this year, but when I lived with my family, I became one of them. The neighbors treated me as an "African" and I learned how to live with little. I learned how to be sensitive to the culture, and I learned how dependent this culture has to be on the Lord. When it didn't rain, I didn't shower. When my host mom didn't get hours at her job, we didn't have meat that week for lunch. They couldn't walk down the road to the corner drugstore and purchase medicine if they were sick. Instead, they stayed home and prayed. Yes, the semester with my host family presented many challenging situations, some I would rather not have experienced, but it was through those experiences that I saw my family radically depend on God for survival. It was through those situations I saw my family depend on prayer. It was through those situations I learned to be sensitive to the African culture, and to love it and embrace it. Yet now, here I am, living in Uganda, but hardly feeling like it. My room here is twice as big as my bedroom at home. Our power was off all day yesterday, and our fridge and water heater stopped working, but even when the power is out, we have back-up lights and power for 24 hours. All this just goes to say, I suppose, that I really want to find some way to get involved with the Ugandan culture. I don't want to spend my year here walking to school, teaching, and walking home. I want to find some way to immerse myself in this culture and remain sensitive to what's going on around me. I don't want to grow so accustomed to the western culture that I forget there are people living right down the street from me who literally have nothing.
On a lighter note, I've been keeping a list of things that are more difficult to accomplish here. So far my list includes the following:
-cooking: no directions on anything and boiling foods takes twice as long, not to mention the need to bleach every fruit or vegetable bought in any store and boil any water you want to drink or use for cooking
-walking: As a result of the roads and the enormous amount of dust, walking becomes more difficult because you must constantly glance down and make sure it's an ok area to walk on, and you must walk slower in order to avoid sliding down hills and falling
-starting new rolls of toilet paper: Now, this one's pretty silly, but TP isn't perforated here, so you basically have to tear apart the roll until you finally get it started
-using the microwave: Well, our microwave anyway. It's obviously very close to dying, as only one button on it works, and it only works once each time. The outlets here have on/off switches, and we keep the microwave switched off unless we use it. So, when we turn it on, we can push the "one minute plus" button once, wait for the minute to be up, switch the power off and back on again, and repeat the process until our food is warm.
-Making ice cubes: It's a wonderful blessing to have a fridge/freezer in our house, and I'm thankful to be able to have cold drinks instead of room temperature ones like last year. However, making ice requires boiling water, letting it cool,and then finally putting it in the freezer to freeze.
-Teaching: Not having any technology whatsoever does present some challlenges, and makes it difficult to figure out how to design creative lesson plans. Aside from no technology, we have very few resources like markers or art supplies for doing projects
Such is life in Africa :) I constantly think back to my semester here last year, and the fact that I said I'd never come back, and yet here I am. It's amazing how God works. I'm glad He knows what's best for us, and that He promises to take care of us. This is quite a different experience from last year, but I have no doubt I will learn just as much, be challenged just as much (the first week at school proved that), and hopefully grow just as much!
Mukama Yebazibwe! (Praise the Lord) Amiina (Amen)- A common phrase spoken in many churches around this area
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Random notes after three days in the classroom:
-I now teach 6-12 grade. Because they combined the 7th and 8th graders this week (so the we'd have one class of four instead of two classes with one and three students), they added 6th graders to the secondary curriculum. I have four classes each day, plus 20 minutes of devotions.
- The curriculum we use for math would be awesome, if only I were teaching in America! Already, on day one in the book, students seemed quite confused by the wording and phrases in the American book. Every example has something to do with the US, and many international students have never heard of many of the places/examples used in the book. I'll likely have to rewrite all tests/quizzes so the students understand, though that's a tough task, since I don't really know the culture well enough to know what to replace the American phrases with. It will be an interesting year.
- I am learning more each day about the math program last year, and how it was basically non-existent. The principal told me to "put the hammer down" and be as strict as I can with these kids because most of them failed math last year and are used to sitting in class and goofing around doing nothing. Today when I asked the students what they did last year in math, they responded similarly. "Nothing. We sat here, did some worksheets, and played games. The teacher sat at his desk and said nothing." The faculty/administration is obviously wanting this year to be different, drastically different, which sometimes feels like a lot of pressure, but at the same time, it seems like anything should be improvement from last year.
- I have four classes, sizes 8, 4, 5, and 11. The entire 7-12 grade only has 20 kids. They say many kids left the school last year after it had so many problems. The awesome thing is that these kids are from ALL over. I have one student from Australia, one from Ethiopia, a couple from the UK, one from the Philippines, from Kenya, from America, and from Uganda. And every one of them has a different accent. It's amazing :)
- Kristi and I walked to town this afternoon to get groceries. We wanted to be outside and exercise rather than take a boda, so we set out, a little unsure of where we were going, and started on our way to the store. It was a 30 minute walk and quite relaxing on the way there, with empty backpacks. The way home was a bit more exhausting, with our backpacks STUFFED full with groceries. At least we have some food...now we just have to learn how to cook here!
- Some days are better than others. Day one of teaching was pretty decent. Day two made me want to quit teaching forever. Day three was in between. Again I say, it's going to be a challenging year...a good, but challenging year.
- There's not enough hours in the day to complete everything on my daily to-do list. But that's not because I'm in Uganda...that's just life, I suppose.
And with that, while there are still many more stories/thoughts I could share, I must plan another lesson and get some sleep. Here's for hoping day four goes better than the rest.
- The curriculum we use for math would be awesome, if only I were teaching in America! Already, on day one in the book, students seemed quite confused by the wording and phrases in the American book. Every example has something to do with the US, and many international students have never heard of many of the places/examples used in the book. I'll likely have to rewrite all tests/quizzes so the students understand, though that's a tough task, since I don't really know the culture well enough to know what to replace the American phrases with. It will be an interesting year.
- I am learning more each day about the math program last year, and how it was basically non-existent. The principal told me to "put the hammer down" and be as strict as I can with these kids because most of them failed math last year and are used to sitting in class and goofing around doing nothing. Today when I asked the students what they did last year in math, they responded similarly. "Nothing. We sat here, did some worksheets, and played games. The teacher sat at his desk and said nothing." The faculty/administration is obviously wanting this year to be different, drastically different, which sometimes feels like a lot of pressure, but at the same time, it seems like anything should be improvement from last year.
- I have four classes, sizes 8, 4, 5, and 11. The entire 7-12 grade only has 20 kids. They say many kids left the school last year after it had so many problems. The awesome thing is that these kids are from ALL over. I have one student from Australia, one from Ethiopia, a couple from the UK, one from the Philippines, from Kenya, from America, and from Uganda. And every one of them has a different accent. It's amazing :)
- Kristi and I walked to town this afternoon to get groceries. We wanted to be outside and exercise rather than take a boda, so we set out, a little unsure of where we were going, and started on our way to the store. It was a 30 minute walk and quite relaxing on the way there, with empty backpacks. The way home was a bit more exhausting, with our backpacks STUFFED full with groceries. At least we have some food...now we just have to learn how to cook here!
- Some days are better than others. Day one of teaching was pretty decent. Day two made me want to quit teaching forever. Day three was in between. Again I say, it's going to be a challenging year...a good, but challenging year.
- There's not enough hours in the day to complete everything on my daily to-do list. But that's not because I'm in Uganda...that's just life, I suppose.
And with that, while there are still many more stories/thoughts I could share, I must plan another lesson and get some sleep. Here's for hoping day four goes better than the rest.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Proof You've been asking for
Some of you asked for a picture (in Uganda, pictures are called "snaps") of me on the boda boda. Thanks for my roommate, Kristi, now you have the proof you've been waiting for. She was ahead of me on another boda, going slow enough to be able to snap a picture. Of course, you can barely see me, but I assure you, it is in fact me :) More to come later, I'm sure...after all, I'm here for a year...there's plenty of time for photos.
Sidenote: In this picture, the road is paved. Keep in mind, however, that many roads around here are not, and those roads are EXTREMELY bumpy and filled with holes. Here, workers add speed bumps to the road whenever they feel like it. I believe I've heard that within a one kilometer stretch between my house and another WGM leader, there are 17. Just one more reason to hang on for your life :)
A good, but challenging year ahead.
Several stories to share after the first day of school....
- School: I survived. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't amazing, and it pretty much went as expected. My class sizes were 1, 3, 3, and 9. The 9 will be a challenging class, as according to the other teachers, they're known as the "troublemakers who could care less about school." One student, Bhavik, practices the Jain religion, and seems to be a math genius. He was the one student all day who admitted to liking math. He was the only one in grades 10-12 who was actually willing to talk to me, though, and asked immediately if I am a Christian. When I said yes, he replied, "Figures, all the teachers are." The curriculum is still changing, and I still don't know for sure which classes I'm teaching and which books I'm using. This may sound stressful to some, but for my procrastination habits in lesson planning, it works well, as I haven't planned lessons for any of the classes yet! :) All in all, there's a lot to get used to, and my conclusion after day one is that this will be a challenging year....a GOOD, but challenging year.
I also found out today that I give devotions to the 8th graders three times a week,and that they're supposed to be 20 minutes long. That's both really exciting, and really scary. Reading from a book each day would be an easy task, but 20 minutes? Seems like a mini-sermon. I imagine I'll try and involve the kids as much as possible and ask them to participate as well. Any ideas from those of you who are creative would be much appreciated, though!! Heritage International is the only Christian international school in Uganda.
-Youth Group: At Heritage, each teacher is required to participate in at least one after school activity. My chosen (err, assigned rather, since I just happened to be in the meeting at the right time) activity is youth group. The youth group is basically any of the secondary students who want to attend, and we meet basically every other Friday after school. We also go on a three day retreat in September and have a couple of overnight activities. We'll do short Bible studies, and play lots of fun games. I'm really excited to be a part of this ministry, and look forward to building even closer relationships with the students through the youth group events. Our first meeting is this Friday after school. Please pray it goes well and kids show up!
-Bodas: For those of you who have asked, no, the passenger on the boda (me) does not wear a helmet. I have only seen a few boda drivers wearing helmets, and passengers never do. That is likely the reason accidents are awful when they occur. I pray for the Lord's protection every time I get on one, which has been a total of three times so far. Today after school three of us went to town to buy ice cream, and since our car is still in the shop (and we don't yet know how to drive), we took bodas. I was told it is VERY inappropriate for a woman wearing a skirt to "straddle" the boda seat. That's why we typically sit sideways. However, on the way home from the market, when I sat down sideways, the driver looked and said, "NO, you sit like a man!" So there I was, wearing a skirt, straddling a boda. A sight to see, for sure! :)
-Health: As a quick prayer request, I'll share that I've been sick at some point throughout the day every day for four days now. The majority of the days I feel fine, and then for about an hour each day, I feel awful. I don't know what's causing it, as we're trying to be super careful with all of our food and water. Prayers would be much appreciated!
And now it's 7:30pm and I have yet to start planning tomorrow's lessons. In my defense, I only arrived home twenty minutes ago, but I must get to work so eventually I can get to sleep! Continue praying for a positive experience this week at school, for the students, and for their brand new math teacher :)
- School: I survived. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't amazing, and it pretty much went as expected. My class sizes were 1, 3, 3, and 9. The 9 will be a challenging class, as according to the other teachers, they're known as the "troublemakers who could care less about school." One student, Bhavik, practices the Jain religion, and seems to be a math genius. He was the one student all day who admitted to liking math. He was the only one in grades 10-12 who was actually willing to talk to me, though, and asked immediately if I am a Christian. When I said yes, he replied, "Figures, all the teachers are." The curriculum is still changing, and I still don't know for sure which classes I'm teaching and which books I'm using. This may sound stressful to some, but for my procrastination habits in lesson planning, it works well, as I haven't planned lessons for any of the classes yet! :) All in all, there's a lot to get used to, and my conclusion after day one is that this will be a challenging year....a GOOD, but challenging year.
I also found out today that I give devotions to the 8th graders three times a week,and that they're supposed to be 20 minutes long. That's both really exciting, and really scary. Reading from a book each day would be an easy task, but 20 minutes? Seems like a mini-sermon. I imagine I'll try and involve the kids as much as possible and ask them to participate as well. Any ideas from those of you who are creative would be much appreciated, though!! Heritage International is the only Christian international school in Uganda.
-Youth Group: At Heritage, each teacher is required to participate in at least one after school activity. My chosen (err, assigned rather, since I just happened to be in the meeting at the right time) activity is youth group. The youth group is basically any of the secondary students who want to attend, and we meet basically every other Friday after school. We also go on a three day retreat in September and have a couple of overnight activities. We'll do short Bible studies, and play lots of fun games. I'm really excited to be a part of this ministry, and look forward to building even closer relationships with the students through the youth group events. Our first meeting is this Friday after school. Please pray it goes well and kids show up!
-Bodas: For those of you who have asked, no, the passenger on the boda (me) does not wear a helmet. I have only seen a few boda drivers wearing helmets, and passengers never do. That is likely the reason accidents are awful when they occur. I pray for the Lord's protection every time I get on one, which has been a total of three times so far. Today after school three of us went to town to buy ice cream, and since our car is still in the shop (and we don't yet know how to drive), we took bodas. I was told it is VERY inappropriate for a woman wearing a skirt to "straddle" the boda seat. That's why we typically sit sideways. However, on the way home from the market, when I sat down sideways, the driver looked and said, "NO, you sit like a man!" So there I was, wearing a skirt, straddling a boda. A sight to see, for sure! :)
-Health: As a quick prayer request, I'll share that I've been sick at some point throughout the day every day for four days now. The majority of the days I feel fine, and then for about an hour each day, I feel awful. I don't know what's causing it, as we're trying to be super careful with all of our food and water. Prayers would be much appreciated!
And now it's 7:30pm and I have yet to start planning tomorrow's lessons. In my defense, I only arrived home twenty minutes ago, but I must get to work so eventually I can get to sleep! Continue praying for a positive experience this week at school, for the students, and for their brand new math teacher :)
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hanging on for dear life!
Last year when I was in Uganda, it was a USP (Uganda Studies Program) rule that we were NOT allowed to ride boda bodas (tiny motorcycles that Ugandans use as a main form of transportation). Traffic here is AWFUL, and many of the roads are in pretty poor shape, but these bodas are convenient because they zip in and out of traffic get around the traffic jams quickly. They're also a leading cause of death in the country, because they're not always that careful, and when they have an accident, its usually a terrible one. Many students rode them anyway, but I was not one of them. I was completely terrified of them and was never even tempted to get on one. Walking was just fine by me. Today, however, on my fourth day in Uganda, the leaders of the USP program were visiting friends several miles from where I live, and they asked me to take a boda to come meet them. Now, I'm going to have to learn to drive here at some point, and I'm not really looking forward to it, but the thought of taking a boda terrified me. I considered not going, but it they live an hour away, and may not be around again soon, and I figured it would really be nice to see some familiar faces. So I got up the courage, walked down my street to the boda station where at least ten bodas waved at me and wanted my business. I found one and asked, "Can you take me to the Shell station at Bunga Hill?" He responded, "yes, of course! Please, sit!" Here women sit sideways on the bike, because it is not culturally acceptable to straddle the seat, so I nervously hopped on, trusted that this man knew where we were going (because I had no idea where Bunga Hill was), and held on for dear life to the little bar crossing the back of the seat. As bumpy as the roads are here, I can see why boda accidents are common. I lifted off the seat a couple of times, and could definitely picture myself falling off as we went along the rough roads, but eventually he stopped and said, "We are here." I asked him how much, and he told me 4000 shillings (a little less than $2). What I didn't realize until after he got off was that we were not at the Shell station. He did not know where the Shell station was, so he had taken me to another petrol station in the area. So, being the very experienced boda rider that I now was, I got another boda and had him take me to the Shell station. I met my friends and had a wonderful time. I asked the people I met with how much it should cost to take a boda from Kynsanga (my town) to Bunga, and they told me 1200 at the most. I laughed and told them I'd paid 5000 between the two bodas. They told me I need to learn how to bargain with them, because they try to charge muzungus (white people) more. I'm a terrible bargainer. That's something I'll have to get better at, and soon! And thus concluded my first ever boda boda experience. We will have a car, yes, but I expect there will be many more boda rides in my future. After all, having now ridden two bodas, my reaction is "THAT WAS AWESOME!" Just make sure you hang on for your life....
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