Giving Thanks

We’re celebrating Thanksgiving here in Bundibugyo early, since we’ll be traveling to Kampala on Thursday. While spending holidays away from home can be hard, I am trying to focus on the many unique aspects of celebrating my first Thanksgiving in Uganda!

#1 and most importantly:

I met the turkey we’ll be eating today while it was still living. It’s true. She didn’t seem particularly bothered, laying in the grass with her feet tied. I think if she had known what was coming, she would have been a bit more lively.

Webhale Yesu (Thank you Jesus) that there is one, brave man left on our small team. While I participated in another way, as you’ll see, I did not have to kill the turkey or two small chickens we’ll be feasting on this afternoon. Loren, brave pioneer woman that she is, was willing to hold it down for John—three cheers for her!

While I did not help with the actual slaughtering, I did find myself plucking two very fresh chickens and one small turkey. Can’t say that I ever planned on doing that but I can now add it to my list of “Things Accomplished in Uganda”. And if you ever find yourself in need of direction on plucking poultry, I am now qualified :)

#2:

Making pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin! I can’t say I’ve ever made a pumpkin pie, let alone from scratch, but I think it turned out well. I’m also so thankful that I was able to get all the ingredients for green bean casserole—an absolute essential for my personal Thanksgiving traditions. It is amazing what familiar foods can do to boost morale!

#3:

Explaining to my Ugandan friends what this strange American holiday called “Thanksgiving” really is. I think I’ve found the holiday more meaningful as I’ve been forced to stop and actually explain why we’re celebrating.

While I’ve been here in Bundibugyo, I’ve been trying to regularly list the things I’m thankful for from the day. It is easy to become discouraged, focused on negatives, and mired in self-pity. But I’ve found that listing ways God has blessed me in the past 24 hours is a real boost in the right direction. So here are just a few for this (early) Thanksgiving day:

• Going for a run this morning while the streets were still quiet and watching the sun rise over the beautiful Rwenzori Mountains—definitely the most beautiful place I’ve ever taken a morning jog!
• The wonder of the internet’s capabilities to keep in touch with loved ones from home, even in rural Bundibugyo!
• Looking forward to my first trip to Kampala, a taste of the outside world, and the return of Anna and the Johnsons in less than 2 weeks!
• Delicious food to feast upon, the means to buy it, and tastes of home on this very American holiday.
• A team to celebrate with that is becoming my second family and Ugandan friends to share our traditions with.
• A wonderfully supportive and loving family at home in America.
• A Savior that has the power to transform lives, bring us from darkness to light, loves us unconditionally, and is faithful to bless us each new day.

Remembering Anne

About 24 hours ago, I found out that a friend of mine from college, Anne Jackson, died suddenly. I don’t have any details concerning what happened, I only know that she will be greatly missed. We were not the closest of friends but we spent a lot of time together, eating in the cafeteria, watching movies in dorm rooms, and chatting on the way to class. Several months ago, I drove her with another friend from Nyack to Maryland and listened to her studying for one of her musical performance finals from the backseat. She was an incredibly gifted singer and was always stunningly beautiful for her recitals.

My heart is heavy for her family and I ask that you would join me in praying for them in this incredibly difficult time. Anne was the most cheerful, optimistic red-head I knew and her smile radiated Jesus’ love. She shone brightly and it is hard to imagine that she is no longer here. I am reminded yet again today that this place is not our home and I look forward to seeing Anne in our true home someday.

A Splendid Saturday

What makes up the best Saturday yet in Bundibugyo? The recipe includes:

-2 perfectly baked loaves of bread. After struggling with my propane oven, burning everything, and being afraid of making my first loaf of yeast bread, success x2! Delicious and a boost to my baking ego :)

-1 plate of fried pork and cassava from Pat’s favorite new local eatery.

-1 full hour of reading a good book without being interrupted more than once by knocking at the door.

-1 hour of time spent chatting with Joyce at her clothes stall in the market. Bought a beautiful piece of tie-dyed fabric from her and she lifted me off the ground when she hugged me hello and good-bye. I’ll work on getting a picture of her—she is a small woman to be lifting me off the ground!

-1 massive papaya given as a gift, 2 guavas, and a piece of jackfruit from RMS. Went to RMS with 4 boys, armed with a rolled-up magazine to keep dogs from jumping all over us in excitement and watched as they climbed up the guava and jackfruit trees like professionals. We returned victorious and none of the dogs even got out of the fence! I enjoyed my first taste of jackfruit with the boys, sheltered from the rain by our porch.

-Innumerable squirts of Bendaryl spray bringing sweet relief from the mosquito bites covering every square inch of my arms.

Thanks God for Saturdays filled with rest, fellowship, fruit-picking adventures, and delicious food!

Delicious tropical fruits--papaya, guava, and jackfruit!

Richard enjoying some of the jackfruit he knocked out of the tree.

Neighborhood boys enjoying jackfruit too!

2 perfect loaves of bread; if you're from near Galena, MD--they taste just like Village Bakery's bread. Truly made my day!

Highs and Lows

Some highs and lows from the past few days:

High: Opening our safe on the first try of putting in the combination

Low: Finding a dead rat in our pantry (the smell led me to it—gross!)

High: Talking to my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew from halfway across the globe

Low: Having to kill a rat with a baseball bat not more than 3 hours after finding the other dead one in the pantry

High: Checking “kill a rat” off my list of firsts

Low: Seeing pictures of my nephew’s 5^th birthday party and wishing I could have been there (still thankful for the internet and the ability to see those photos though!)

High: Praying with the girls at Christ School, reminding them that they are beloved children of God, and hearing Betty’s beautiful prayer for me

Low: Hearing stories of corrupt politicians in the area that think they can commit crimes with immunity

High: Helping Baguma Charles on a busy day at the health center and being able to successfully hear and correctly spell names in the record books (a big improvement from a few weeks ago!)

Low: Seeing a 7 month old motherless baby that weighed 3 kg with a loving grandmother who has no family support or way to feed the baby

High: Drinking coffee this morning and actually feeling a bit of a “chill” in the air; felt like it was fall for a minute!

Low: Not sleeping the past 3 nights

As you can see, life here is full of mountain peaks and valley lows. From one moment to the next, I may be floating on Cloud 9 (where does that expression even come from anyway?) or facing the stark realities of living here. So many of my daily experiences leave me feeling both triumphant and defeated. I thank God that He is always triumphant, unchanging, and his love never fails. I am so glad to have Him as a constant, strong Refuge in every moment.

Fort Portal Fun

As we drove into Fort Portal, I couldn’t see much other than the shining bright lights of the big city. My how my definition of “big city” has changed in one month! I recently returned from 10 days spent in the “big city”. It was a time of refreshment as our team went on a prayer retreat and afterwards I spent time at Pat’s second home.

Some highlights of our time away:

• Petting a camel at the guest farm we stayed at for the prayer retreat
  
  
• Speaking English and being understood most of the time
• Grocery shopping in what felt like a Wal-Mart (but my definition of Wal-Mart has changed a lot too!)
• Eating out at restaurants—cooking from scratch every night gets old after a while
• Cool temperatures at a higher elevation
• Painting one of Pat’s bathrooms with lime green paint
• Walking through the tea fields behind Pat’s house in total quiet, peace and solitude
• A lack of mosquitoes and critters in general
• Spending time in the Word while drinking coffee on Pat’s sunny back porch
• Having a great conversation with my parents (the call was only dropped 3 times!)
• Switching malaria preventatives and saying good-bye to nasty side effects
• Sleeping through the night!

My time in Fort Portal was great—the adjustment to life back in Bundibugyo has had its ups and downs. I am glad to be back in my house, feeling some vague sense of familiarity in my surroundings and not living out of a suitcase. I am glad to see some familiar faces as well and am enjoying getting back into a new rhythm of life here, even if we are missing the Johnsons and Anna. I hit a low a few days ago when I was really sick but am so thankful for God’s provision of loving team members who cared for me and kept loneliness at bay. I am feeling much better today though and have enjoyed a restful weekend full of baking, a phone call home to Tony and Rachel, teaching Usta, my language helper, to play Uno, and watching the Office over dinner with Pat.

On Being the Worst

I don’t consider myself to be a competitive person. I’ve never played sports and I enjoy playing games for the social fun rather than the joy of winning. In general, I would say I’m okay with not being the best at everything. But the other day I came to a realization. I thought to myself, “I don’t mind not being the best, but right now I feel like I’m the worst at everything!”

Coming to Bundibugyo has brought me back to that humbling, child-like level where I really am the worst at everything. I can’t communicate, I have lost social and cultural graces, my typical gifts, abilities, and even sense of humor have often been lost in the shuffle of adjustment and figuring out survival here.

Has this been hard? A resounding Yes! But am I learning from it also? Another resounding Yes! As someone who so often relies on her own strength, who finds fulfillment in accomplishing tasks, and easily forgets that her identity and worth are found in Christ, I am going back to the basics in more than one way. Multiple times throughout the day I feel discouraged that I am so clueless. But then I remind myself of the truth that “Hey! God loves you the same whether you can do this or not!” What a reassurance! My value is found in my Father and his unchanging love for me, not in whether I excel at a task or am even “operating at full capacity”. Thank you Jesus!

Thankful for Encouragement

Okay…I’m finding the need to be honest and vulnerable yet again! I’m starting to think this whole blog-writing thing is therapeutic for me; it forces me to sit down, think, and process my experiences and feelings of being here in Uganda. So feel free to read along and join in on the processing or patiently wait for a post about some other adventure I’ll have soon.

I’ve had a rough start to the week. On Sunday night my parents attempted to call me. First my phone was not working and I could not hear them. After playing around with the settings and finally deciding to turn it off and then back on (always a good trick to try!), I was able to call them and hear them. Success! Except for the multiple times that I lost reception, the call was dropped, or every fifth sentence was cutting out. It was still good to hear them and I tried to be thankful that we were even able to communicate as well as we did (there was no skype or cell phones not that long ago for most missionaries!). But it had been frustrating and made me miss home when I could call and talk to my mother for an hour at a time from the comfort of my bedroom with crystal clear calling quality.

I went to bed Sunday night struggling with homesickness and wondering yet again, “Why am I here?”. Monday morning I woke up feeling even worse. I had slept little, tossing and turning, and the little bit of time I did sleep I had strange dreams (Mefloquine-induced? Hopefully not!). Throughout the morning, tears welled up in my eyes at the most inconvenient of times but when is it convenient to cry?

I cried out to God, reading David’s laments in the Psalms and feeling equally forgotten. But God is so faithful to fulfill my every need. Amy invited me over for lunch and I knew encouragement would follow somehow. I felt such relief as Amy and Travis assured me that my feelings have been normal, that adjustment to life in Bundibugyo is hard, and that as dark as it all seems right now, God is my loving Father who has brought me here at this time, to this place, with this team for a reason. And it is all for good! I needed that reminder so desperately and God was faithful to provide it through my team leaders. Webhale Yesu (Thank you Jesus) for team!

God continued to shower me with reassurances throughout the day that I had begged him for in the morning. From that most encouraging 90 minute conversation with Amy to emails from friends and family at home to a rainbow cloud (yes! A cloud that had the stripes of a rainbow!), God was holding me close and reminding me of how much he loves me.