A little Christmas greeting...

Back home in Adjumani...

It’s been a while since I wrote about what daily life has held for us here…There has been so much – not only in terms of ministry, but also in the way that God has been teaching me more and more about His incredible ways through the people of Adjumani. He never ceases to amaze…

Here are some snippets and photos of some of what has happened over the last several weeks:

~ Jaclyn and I were able to visit some of the Sudanese settlement camps located about 10 minutes north of us. A friend of ours, Pastor Gama Joseph who was himself a refugee from Sudan, accompanied us and was able to tell us a lot about the three camps we drove through – Alere, Rubidere, and Oligi. Pastor Gama Joseph had lived in Oligi camp for several years. Alere and Rubidiere were largely abandoned (pictured here is a section of the abandoned Rubidiere camp) by the refugees as many had been repatriated back into S. Sudan by the UNHCR within the last year or so. We drove into Oligi and visited the market there. There were still some people selling produce and some other items. But, Pastor Gama said it was once much more populated. He still knew a few of the people there and greeted them. He also explained that the UNHCR does not force people to repatriate – they only go back if they choose to do so. I would not have known it was a camp had Pastor Gama not told me. It seemed very much like a nice village only without any permanent buildings. And, it seemed that a good number of people were deciding to make Oligi home. Many feel that the peace in S. Sudan will be short-lived. Of course, we pray that isn't true.

~ On the 17th – 19th of November, Liberty Baptist church (where we worship on Sundays) hosted a women’s conference. The days were filled with lots of teaching by pastors all with the aim of building the women up spiritually. Of course, there was a lot of singing, praising, awesome drumming, and dancing. It was, as always, such an honor to be with these incredible women as they worshipped Jesus. Their love for God is infectious. Jaclyn and I also had the opportunity to share with the women about older women who had been instrumental in our faith journeys. We then had a time for the young women to share how an older woman had been influential in her faith walk. And, then we asked the older women to share a time when a younger woman had influenced her faith in God. It was beautiful to hear their stories, and then we had a time of praying for each other in small groups.

~ I’ve been wondering, for a long time, how God might be guiding me in the area of social work/counseling in working with international people. And, because of this, I’ve had some very interesting conversations with Sunday (our gatekeeper), and Esther (our cook) that eventually lead me to meet with a woman by the name of Sr. Bunia Alice. Since Esther is trained as a volunteer counselor in Adjumani she knew that Sr. Alice is a nurse/counselor at the main hospital in Adjumani, and Sr. Alice had also trained Esther as a volunteer counselor. Esther made arrangements for me to meet with Sr. Alice and we met in her tukul just a couple of weeks ago. She is a sweet, gentle, wise, and patient woman who answered my many questions about the kinds of emotional/psychological issues she sees in Adjumani from those she counsels. It was a wonderful time of learning and I just enjoyed being with Sr. Alice because of her sweet and genuinely caring demeanor. We made a plan for me to meet her at the hospital just a few days later so that I could observe her in her work with patients. She assured me that it would be okay – that the patients would be okay with me being there…I decided to trust her on that. I ended up spending about an hour and half with her while she saw about seven patients. It was such a special opportunity, and from what I could tell, they seemed okay with me being there. Sr. Alice translated what they were saying and on a few occasions I felt compelled, through prayer, to ask some questions or give some encouragement. Afterwards, Sr. Alice took me to sign in with the asst. administrator and made the comment that I had been a great help to her that day. If that was indeed true, it just proves that God can use us as His vessels anytime, anywhere.

~ Just a few days ago, we saw our very dear elderly next door neighbor lying almost lifeless on the ground. Many neighbors began to gather around her and were trying to figure out what to do. She was breathing, but otherwise seemed extremely weak and barely conscious. Jaclyn and I transported her to the hospital (as there is no 9-1-1 here) where the nurse after evaluating her said that she was extremely dehydrated from not eating and consuming a very large amount of alcohol. When she went to wipe the site on her arm for an IV, layers of dirt and black soot came off of her skin as she had not bathed in probably a few days. We know that dede (pronounced “day-day”- the respectful name for an elderly woman) has a problem with alcoholism as we hear her talking loudly to herself many nights. She takes care of her two grandchildren and also maintains chopping wood, cooking over a fire, grinding different grains/seeds by hand, and digging in her garden for her family’s food. She is dear to us. It was an honor to be able to help in this way. And, I was able to tell Sr. Alice about her so that she could try and counsel her on alcoholism.
Alcoholism is a huge problem here. People make a “home brew” of sorts and sell it by the jerry can. I’m not sure what it’s made out of, but I’ve heard that it is very potent.

~ We also were able to attend two graduation ceremonies for the children of Esther and also our Pastor Vuyaya Henry. It was so sweet and beautiful to see the pride in the faces of the parent’s who’s children were “graduating” to the next level of their schooling. This was true especially at Pr. Henry’s 6 yr old daughter, Succella’s, graduation ceremony (pic of Succella and Regina). Each time a child received their certificate the mother of that child picked he or she up and gave a traditional whoop of excitement. The occasion was also filled with amazing Acholi traditional dancing (pic of dancing) and music from a marching band who was from a district across the Albert Nile.

~ As before, we’ve been with the children at Amazing Grace Orphanage teaching a Bible lesson and doing arts/crafts with them, and shared in Bible study with some women at Libery Baptist church almost each week.

~ Of course, there’s been plenty of: Cockroach squishing, mosquito catching, walks to town or to visit people who are sick or have just invited us to spend time with them, cooking at home, good conversations with Sunday and Esther about God/Adjumani/people, bike rides, shopping in the market, fighting with the internet (Jaclyn does most of that:), wishing I could be in Portland just while it’s snowing, laughing hysterically with Jaclyn about silly things, singing with Jaclyn in the kitchen, talking with Jaclyn about the painful parts of being here…yes, we spend a lot of time together – we joke that this must be preparing us for what it will be like to be married.

As I look back at all of the ways we have been involved here – I see that God has done an amazing thing and we have become woven into the community in a way that I would never have imagined. It is so beautiful with all of the pains and all of the joys that come with becoming a part of these people’s lives. It shows me the power of unity in Christ, and is also a glimpse of what heaven may feel like.

Solidarity...

Happy December!

I wrote this entry a few months back with the intent of posting it a lot sooner than this. But, it's one of those that is applicable to my experience here, in general. There is a lot more to say on what I've learned about solidarity, but I think I will just leave you with this entry for now...

“This is how the people suffer…,” said Michelle as we were stopped on the side of the road to Adjumani from Gulu. The road was horrible…full of giant, deep potholes full of thick, tire swallowing mud. We stopped about three times so that Jeff could use his truck to try and rescue some of the other lorries (trucks) and buses that had become trapped in the mud. We also got stuck at one point, but Jeff masterfully got us loose and we were on our way in no time. Fortunately, we finished the journey safe and well even though we were very tired, sweaty, a bit dizzy, and covered with reddish dust that almost resembled a fake tan gone wrong.

Those words that Michelle spoke stuck with me. At our home in Adjumani, we are hardly suffering the way the people here do. But, things like the road from Gulu to Adjumani that I refer to above, shortages in Adjumani of milk and butter, the possibility of more shortages as the main route from Kampala to Adjumani could become impassable for trucks bringing food and supplies, and a good chance that the running water system drying up at some point during the dry season (December, January, February, March) are all reminders of how we really do need to depend on our Father, and how life’s circumstances are so beyond our control. (Since I first wrote this entry we did experience a surprise one afternoon of having no running water until the next day…Thankfully, this home was built with a very large cistern in back from which we could get water for drinking, bathing, and washing dishes.) The photo to the right is a typical scene at a borehole of many jerry cans and other water holding containers waiting to be filled. A family of six people will often use up to twelve jerry cans a day which are all carried by hand to the home - we may join our neighbors in "fetching" water if our system does indeed dry up. (And, yet another example after a few more weeks since this last addition– Jaclyn and I took the bus from Kampala to Adjumani today and ended up getting stuck in the mud twice. The second time, after all of the passengers filed out of the bus to await our rescue, the rain started to fall and we all ran underneath a tree which didn’t prove to be much of an umbrella. As I started to go through the options in my mind of how we could get home Jaclyn made the comment that, “This is what the people here have to go through…so why shouldn’t we be with them?” I agreed. We were all in it together…and, I felt like we were right where we were supposed to be.)

In all of the situations I just mentioned, there is an opportunity for panic to set in. But, then as I remember Michelle’s words, there is somehow a peace in the solidarity that I feel as I think about suffering with those we live amongst. Again, we have other ways of getting the resources we need and our suffering would most likely never match that of our neighbors, but it brings me that much closer to understanding what solidarity truly means. And, it opens up the opportunity to live in faith and not in fear…never easy, always good.

Thanksgiving in Adjumani...

It was my first Thanksgiving away from home, and the first time that I've had any twinge of homesickness at all since arriving here. But, this was probably one of the sweetest Thanksgiving celebrations I've ever had. Don't get me wrong, being with my family on Thanksgiving is something I look forward to every year, and we always have a wonderful time together. But, cooking, dancing, being extremely silly, and even cleaning together was especially great this time around...Jaclyn and I spent several hours Wedsnesday evening preparing a few dishes...sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pies, and frosted sugar cookies. Then, Thursday morning Esther and Palima greeted us as usual, but this time Palima had two roosters with her whose fate was to be on our dinner table the same day. Jaclyn told me that I had to watch a chicken (a u - pronounced "ah-ooh" in the Madi language) get slaughtered at least once while I'm here. So, with a cup of coffee in hand I walked outside to where Esther was preparing to slaughter both roosters. I planted my feet and stared while she used a knife from the kitchen to slice each one's neck right off. It wasn't so bad until after the neck was off of the first one and somehow it still kept clucking. Esther promptly showed me the voicebox that was still working...sorry, I hope you aren't getting queezy! Esther kept her foot on both of them so they didn't do the, "chickens running around with their heads cut off" thing. So, I survived...without passing out. :)

The rest of the morning was filled with music, laughter, Esther and Palima watching us make some of the traditional Thanksgiving fare, and, oh yes, a lot of sweat! It's hot here...and, especially in a kitchen with three people using the oven.

We hosted seven guests from the Lahash team (www.lahash.net) who was serving with Amazing Grace Orphanage here in Adjumani. We had a wonderful time together especially with the rousing game of spoons we played after dinner (Jaclyn gave me a bloody finger;).

I'm so grateful to God for allowing me the opportunity to be here...it has been incredible in so many ways.

Some photos of the day...