Tuesday, 24 August 2010

It could be a miracle. But I don't think it really is. Just perhaps, reality. An update.

I have a free day in London... And....I’m not going out to hit the shops (though that really is tempting....) my friend is at work, and has let me be still at the beautiful apartment she shares with her friend. No appointments, deadlines, buses or trains to catch (at least not until later this evening when I’ll travel back to Bath). I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to just be still, and quiet. Restorative I guess... I’ve just returned from Scotland (via a 9 1/2 hour bus journey...) where my Ugandan friend – Vincent and I were doing outreach for KCM and the ‘End Child Sacrifice Campaign’. [Note: this blog is going to happen backwards....and in parts. So beginning with Scotland and back to Uganda... I know, strange but it’s the only way I can get my head around it for some strange reason.] While in Scotland we stayed with a beautiful family who are involved with ‘Teen Challenge’. A program that reaches out to people caught up in addiction, not just specific to teens but to anyone in need. Teen challenge in Scotland has a fleet of buses that go out every night (apart from Sunday) onto the streets and meets such an immediate need – of acceptance...a listening ear and just being there. Marks and Spencer (a huge grocery and food chain here) donate a heap of bakery items and sandwiches at the end of every day to be given out on the buses. Tea and coffee is also freely available, and if you’ve ever experienced a cold summer (yeahha) night in Scotland – you would know a hot drink is so wonderful. And if you’re homeless, the value of a hot drink just multiplies. We went out on Friday night first to a suburb of Glasgow called ‘Greenock’ and opened the bus to from 8 – 10pm, and then into central Glasgow from 11 – around 1am. Many people came onto the bus, the ages between late teens to 40s. Drug addicts and alcoholics, and prostitutes (some were so young; it was heart wrenching to see them). They spoke freely about their addictions, yet many of them not willing or ready (at this stage) to take the next step into rehab. The bus is an awesome way of indentifying people who are really wanting change, wanting to stop the horrible cycle of additions. If they are identified through the outreach nights, they are encouraged to come along to the church cafe in Port Glasgow on Sunday night – an amazing, non judgemental outreach every Sunday night. The church opens its doors to anyone at all (as most churches do – but this night is especially for these people.... more Marks and Spencer food available (cookies, cakes, muffins, sandwiches, salads...gosh – it’s a feast), tea, coffee, a rocking band playing modern worship and a light hearted program of encouragement and testimonies, . My goodness, I’ve never seen anything quite like it ...around 60 and (I was told there are) sometimes more drug addicts and alcoholics together in a church with established members of the church – singing, listening, being encouraged. There was no judgement, just acceptance and love. Quite an amazing and humbling experience. Vincent and I were asked to give our testimonies on the night we were there. That too was (nerve wracking...I’m not yet the most confident public speaker...), but something that I was really thankful that I had the chance to do.

When people from the bus attend the service, and genuinely show they want help – they are interviewed for acceptance into a rehabilitation program based in the beautiful countryside on the outskirts of Glasgow. The house is called ‘The Haven’ and it’s truly a retreat. The haven is for the guys, and the girls are accepted into ‘Hope House’ a little further away. They stay in the structured program for 12 months within their own freewill – no force. Once they’ve graduated from the 12 months, they are then transitioned into another house where the program isn’t quite as structured – for another 6 months. It gives them confidence to transition into the real world. Having a bit more freedom during the 6 months, but still with the support of the team if they need it – helps them gauge how they’ll go when they move away from the Haven into the real world. We went to the Haven on Saturday morning after being on the bus for the devotions they have there – and a tour of the property. I was so encouraged and blessed to see this next step. There were around 8 or so guys with impacting stories, clearly thankful and happy to be in the place they were. It wasn’t heavy. The atmosphere was really positive, and quite light. I am certain they have hard days; I don’t think there would be a drug/alcohol rehabilitation program that would be all smooth sailing. The histories of some of the guys I spoke to were full on – but how awesome they can go through the healing process in such an amazing environment with a team that have their heart in exactly the right place. I’ll be keeping this ministry in my thoughts and prayers for sure...

Part 2 (London, Bath and Newwine Conference installment) to come, very shortly. x

My Relaxing Sunday Afternoon

So...I was invited to a party after spending the morning at Kyampisi Community Church on Sunday. Sounded lovely. The thought that is, really lovely. I’ve heard parties in Uganda are quite an event. Music, traditional (and not so traditional...) dancing, friends, celebrations...and plenty of food. But if I was completely honest (and, I will be..) prior to receiving the invitation hours before we were scheduled to attend... I was so looking forward to a quiet afternoon. Time out really. Time to just be still and quiet. Time to gather my thoughts perhaps write emails to home (which have been very few), to my church....and do a load of washing that had been piling up since last weekend. Dilemma. I really wanted to go, but I really wanted to stay. For the sake of my sanity.... I decided to decline the invitation hoping very much that I wouldn’t offend the host who had been so kind in offering to show me the ropes of Uganda parties. Thankfully, I was reassured it was all ok. Now this is unusual... an afternoon with nothing really planned....what to do? Well... Looking around, I notice the substantial pile of dirty dishes to wash up (Sunday lunch had just been enjoyed) – first things first. Washing up. Check. Next, I’ll get my clothes washing out of the road. Now, washing Uganda style isn’t quite the case of throwing the load in the washing machine, selecting function and pressing start and brilliantly, in about 20minutes your clothes are clean and all you have to do is hang them out. Oh...no, after washing Uganda style – there is no need to head to the gym. I am serious! First you have to gather 4 basins (thanks Diana for the tip!). 2 to wash, 2 to rinse......fill them, line them up in a procession line. Sort coloureds from whites....and begin. Now there have been many occasions that I have been the brunt of laughter as the ‘muzungu’ attempts to wash – apparently there is an art (I am sure of it), and I just don’t have it.....yet. You have to almost be brutal with your clothes, grab some soap (most any cake will do)....lather your clothes, then rub them together in every corner of the fabric, ring out, repeat in basin 2, ring out, rinse in basin 3, ring out rinse in basin 4, ring out....and then hang on the line! Repeat by however many items of clothes you happen to be washing that day. In my case.... it was about 30 repetitions. Around an hour and half later, now with the sun down (and no hope of my clothes drying til the morning...). I’m done. Wonderful feeling. OK, so washing up done. Clothes washing done. Now... for a shower, wash my hair....and I have visions of relaxing on the bed writing some emails, postcards and my journal in about 20 minutes. Now amidst showering.... I noticed the water was pooling a little more than normal, but nothing too alarming. It seemed to still be going down the plug hole.... so I kept on washing my hair etc... until I switched off the taps walked out of the shower ... and stepped into a puddle that was about 1 inch deep....and it didn’t stop at the door....oh no. I saw it going out under the door...I dared open the door (after a deep breath) and the water had trickled (OK, flooded) the entire hallway (about 5 meters long). Then, I dared open the door at the end of the hallway and the water had tri...flooded the dining room and happened to stop just before reaching my bedroom. Are you serious?????? (I remember thinking on many occasions). Yes, serious. OK, in the style of a drowned rat (having just stepped out of the shower to the above realisation (now clothed...thankfully) I threw down my towel in the hope that its (perhaps) 300ml soaking up capacity might just turn into say, 20 litres?? Hmm, well. No luck there. What to do? What to do? Giant ‘squidgy’ (that we keep in the shower).... start squidging. Pushing the water back in the plughole that clearly failed me mid shower. Not making any real progress with the torrent... I decided to call in for backup. Farida?? Ibra? (housemates) No one insight....ah, where am I supposed to find a rag? I really need a rag, or 40. I just kept trooping on with my 300ml capacity towel and that good old sqidgy. Around 30minutes passed, I heard Farida (a wonderful lady who lives with us, and who speaks very little English (and I, minimal Luganda). So I called ‘Farida...’ and hand gestured that ‘if it were at all possible... could you come and see the developments of the past hour??’ I really need some backup. She followed me, and upon seeing the water... just giggled and said ‘Oh Rebecca’....yes, my thoughts exactly. Didn’t take a moment and she was off to get the rag and a basin and got into helping me dry this house out....all the while singing! She is beautiful and though we cannot speak each other language well.... it was a lot more fun mopping up water with someone to laugh and smile with. So, about 1.5hours post shower. The floor is dry, and really....really clean. The time is now about 9pm. Ah, relax? Everybody is still out apart from Farida and I.... they’ll be home soon and needing dinner. It’s Farida’s night off.....so, looks like I’m cooking. OK, that’s fine. What will it be? Farida says G-Nuts. OK..... G-Nuts... How on earth do you cook G-Nuts?? (Note: for those who aren’t familiar: ‘G-Nuts’ are ‘Ground nuts’... or what we would call peanuts in Australia. G-Nut sauce is ground G-nuts made into a paste with onions typically, and salt...and is really yum! Eaten with matoke/cassava/sweet potatoes typically). With my only experienced advisory assistant speaking Luganda..... I decided smile thankfully for her advice, and then enlist the help of my Ugandan (English translation) recipe book. G-Nuts....G-Nuts.... G-Nuts! Awesome. About an hour later... done! G-nut sauce, accompanied by sweet potatoes, posho and avocado. Great.... Time is now around 10pm. Just as the sauce is cooked the crew rock up home. Serve food, sit and eat, catch up with everyone.......and time is now around 12am. Hmm, bed?? Thinking that sounds like a wonderful idea.....after the events of my relaxing Sunday afternoon. Funnily enough. By the end of the night, I was feeling refreshed and re energised. Not sure if it was just all the adrenaline I was running on come floodwaters, the accomplishment of clean clothes, dishes and/or another Ugandan recipe attempted (G-nuts) and at least, resulting in edibility. I didn’t get to write my emails, I didn’t get to write in my journal, sit on my bed....or anything I really was envisioning. But honestly, I think my day was blessed in a better way than if things went to my plans. I again practiced the art of (hand) washing clothes (all the while getting a serious workout ), I built on my friendship with Farida having the opportunity to laugh (or be laughed at..), smile and spend time with another beautiful spirit..... Farida sat with me while cooking G-Nut sauce (cooked over a charcoal stove in the courtyard) and kept saying things in Luganda to me, trying to teach me more Lugandan words. Then she’d say ‘English’ while we pointed to things such as the cockroach that was running across the cement. Yep, that is a cockroach. Or having watched me struggle to carry a basin with (now) 2 very soaked towels (post events of the afternoon) and full of water.... miming my exact movements saying ‘english’. Ah...? Heavy?? Heeaavy? Yes, heavy. Farida may not realise it, but she also evidenced to me the beauty of having a servant’s heart. She didn’t think twice about helping me mop the torrents which took over an hour of her time, while singing and with a smile on her face. Or trying to teach me how to make G-Nut sauce with a very evident language barrier. My goodness, my heart is challenged. How do I react to situations outside of my control, and in service of others? (Thank you LORD for the reminder).

So this isn’t quite the blog I was intending to put up next. It’s really not a normal day in the life of Uganda....but, perhaps it’s a symbol of a normal day in the life. You can plan, but plans change. Learning you have to accept it and go with the flow....you’ll be better off than where you started...having had the opportunity to learn, grow, laugh, accept. I know I am thankful for my relaxing Sunday afternoon...... I certainly wouldn’t change it for the world.

Night guys. Love and miss you all in Aus.
xx

P.S. I’ll put up another blog ASAP with a bit more of an insight into what’s been happening over the past 4 weeks (wow, cannot believe I’ve been here almost a month!). I’m heading to Tanzania on the 5 May to visit my Compassion sponsor child in a village called Shinyanga, and then hoping to stay with a friend who lives in Dar es Salaam. Will be wonderful to meet little ‘Odilia’, and (hopefully) see the effects of sponsorship in her life. Will be travelling by air, and road (bus likely)...so I am guessing I’ll be in for a bit of a Tanzanian adventure. And considering I’m only just starting to pick up Luganda... I’m going to be thrown when faced with Swahili in Tanzania... but, thankfully. I’m (usually) up for challenges.

First day in another world...and remembering why I fell in love with it.

Hi guys, this is the first offical entry in my Uganda blog... it is a little hurried, but I thought I'd upload it as I've been having problems getting my email to cooperate. This was at least a way to let everyone (my mother especially!) know I am well, and survived the journey.

01 April 2010

I’ve arrived in Uganda! What a journey it was to get here......we arrived at the Brisbane International Airport around midnight on 30 May and had a really good flight to Singapore for a short stopover stopover. We soon departed again for Dubai... wow, flying into Dubai was amazing. Really amazing. Firstly you see all these brown grey mountain deserts for as far as the eye can fathom. Any roads are built in the valleys and they are just brown and grey...no greenery or trees, Quite a sight. Then as you get closer to the coast the plains start, still in grey and brown tones. You’ll see the occasional green where someone has obviously invested in a pretty hardcore watering system for their backyard of resort. No pastures or farming land, just mines and powerplants in view....then getting even closer to the coast a mass of city just bursts. The city is different to any city I’ve seen and definitely made you feel as though you’ve arrived in the middle east...and funny that because I just had. Most of the houses were white with flat rooves. Kind of what I imagine many of the Biblical cities would appear as, less the 6 lanes highways and skyscrapers lining the distance. I didn’t see the city centre until we departed again – it too was a pretty amazing sight with the tallest building in the world dominating the skyline and that famous strange piece of architecture on the coast with a protruding golf green to practice your swing (what is that called??)......20 or so floors above the ocean. It was amazing.... and I’m glad that we flew in during daylight hours The stopover in Dubai wasn’t long... enough time to really only grab a fresh squeezed juice from the juice bar (lifesaver!) and a green tea from Starbucks. I was set for the 3rd leg of the journey...next stop – Africa! We flew into Kenya through thunder storms and that was an experience....I was thankful to get on the ground... The turbulence was just a little crazy, and the pilot did a few (what felt like) sudden dives -------- perhaps to avoid the storm clouds? I looked back once we had descended through them and saw lightening in the cloud we’d just flown through. Hmm. Safely on the ground. The flight to Uganda was worse in a smaller plane – but the pilot got clearance to fly higher and it smoothed out a little. As we approached Entebbe the pilot gave us the weather report – I don’t’ remember much other than there is low lying cloud...visibility is greater than 10 meters and it ‘should be safe to land’. Oh great, how reassuring to hear it ‘should be safe to land’. Oh LORD, I said I trust you – so now is a good time to demonstrate that hey? Needless to say really, we landed safely and I am here. Wow, I am here.

Peter and Edwin were at the gate waiting for me...it was really good to see Peter again, and finally meet Edwin. We drove home via the ‘scenic’ route of Kampala. I mentioned to Peter that I thought the roads were so good compared to last time – we had barely even seen a pothole! I thought things were changing in Uganda, until the guys laughed and said that’s because they were avoiding the everyday route...... The council manages to keep the ‘tourist’ strip almost pristine of potholes, yet sadly neglect the people they represent in the other areas.....soon enough as we got outside of Kampala the tires hit a pothole almost large enough to lose the tire in.... we all laughed and ‘welcome to Uganda!’ was all that was said. Yep, this is the Uganda I remember.

We arrived at the house close to 1am.....the house is about half an hour on the outskirts of Kampala in a small, friendly village. It is easy access to Kyampisi being only 20 minute drive there. It is a beautiful house with 4 main bedrooms, living, dining, kitchen and bathroom areas. Yes, with (cold) showers and flushing toilet! Pit latrines are available too.... they are a difficult phenomenon to describe. ‘Squat’ is all I probably need to say though, and I am confident you will fill in the blanks. I have my own room and comfortable bed which is really nice... There are a few people staying here in the quaters connected with the main house. I lady named Barbara who has shown me the ropes, Farida who works around the house cleaning and washing and a gorgeous 12 year old girl named Scovia who has become a good friend already. She is from the village and has been going through hard times so is here for a bit of respite...she is a delight. Scovia is not confident with her English, so we’ve made a pack. She’ll help me learn more luganda, while I help her to gain confidence with English. She is a great (and patient!) little teacher.

Today so far has been a really good day. The guys had errands to run in town.. so I had the opportunity for a quiet day. It’s been a blessing just to settle in without any major commitments. Tomorrow we’ll head to the village where I think the plan is to visit people of the church, outreach and have a service in the evening. Really looking forward to seeing it after what feels like so long. Last time I saw the project in Kyampisi, the place was only a piece of land, jungle and a prompting from God. He has taken it far with a now established orphanage school, thriving church (permanent building yet to come), a sponsorship program getting underway and many other things. This has all happened in such a short time, yet there is a long way to go. Prayers are so much appreciated!

Well, I will close for now. I’ll try to update this blog as often as I can... it most likely won’t be daily, the internet isn’t always reliable and the busyness of days may not allow... but I’ll be journaling my thoughts and experiences along the way and try to put condensed versions up here. I hope and pray all is well at home in Australia. I send my love and thoughts......

Bec
xx

Follow You

Lyrics by Leeland with Brandon Heath

You live amongst the least of these
The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy
For me to turn away
All my needs You have supplied
When I was dead You gave me life
How could I not give it away so freely

And I'll...
Follow you into the homes of the broken
Follow you into the world
Meet the needs of the poor and the need, God
Follow you into the world

Use my hands, use my feet
To make your kingdom come
To the corners of the earth
Until your work is done
Faith without works is dead
On the cross your blood was shed
So how could I not give it away so freely?

I give all myself
I give all myself to you.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ajIFfSaEzE&feature=player_embedded