In Uganda

Up until now most of my blog posts have been dealing with what is going on at ABIDE. Well this one is going to be different. First starters it doesn't talk about ABIDE. This one will consist of odd, interesting, and funny things. All of them I have seen happen, done them, or heard it said. 

1. In Uganda it is possibly to lose power with out losing power. (I could charge my phone and run my mosquito repellent. Other then that nothing worked, not even the overhead light.) 

2. In Uganda the operation of many scientific laws is suspended when it come to transporting things on a bicycle or motorcycle. (I have seen 4-5 people, 6 bundles of bananas, a pig, a twin-full sized bed frame, and that is just a few of the things I have seen)

3. In Uganda most of the creatures here will bite you if they are given half a chance, this includes the locust. 

4. In Uganda most of the national foods either come from other countries, or the plants to make them come from other countries. (Corn, potatoes, matoke, cabbage, etc)

5. In Uganda it is perfectly normal to have something like a can of corn for breakfast when you are up early to travel. 

6.  In Uganda you have to be careful what you say to other missionaries concerning countries you have been in. They can and will turn them in to a joke or pun if given half a chance. 

7. In Uganda it is surprising the amount of thing you can learn to cook with only an electric kettle. 

8. In Uganda being up to 1am is late. Unless you are loudly playing a keyboard that can be heard in every room. (My room is at the end of the line and I could plainly hear it)

9. In Uganda a mouse running around your room only draws your attention because it is a break from different things you are working on. 

10. In Uganda more then just insects jump at a computer screen in a dark room. (Had a baby gecko do that before)

11. In Uganda they use some hip and trendy words in their advertising. One that were popular in the US.... about 5 years ago. (words like "fresh")

12. In Uganda your schedule is constantly ........ haha just joking about that. You are lucky if you even get to make a schedule more then half of the time. Last moment tends to be the name of the game. 

I may add more of these later on, those are just the ones that I had thought of. Hope yall find some of them as funny as I have

Refocusing

I sat down a few days ago and started to write an update, but could barely start it. I don't know why normally they aren't hard, atleast not starting them. Well in a way it is good though because this one is headed a different direction.

  Since the break ended things have seemed different. I can't really put a finger on what changed, or if anything really did change. Maybe it was coming into the last half of my time here, or the thousands of things that occasionally get under my skin. Though it might just all be in my head as well.

 Some days I have been tempted to just completely check out. I am tired of dealing with the hassle and constant irritation that is life here some times. Things that for months hadn't been an more then a minor inconvenience suddenly drove me nuts. (Like not having a way to keep any type of cold food or a place to cook) Patience is harder at times, especially when working with some of the high maintenance people in the program.

 It is the times like that though which help put things in perspective. Those are the days that really can drive you back to God, and depend on Him for help. Apart from His grace I would have thrown in the towel long ago. Whenever that temptation comes, He uses to show me how I am depending on my strength not His. It refocuses things and puts them in perspective. The times I question why I am even here or what I am here for. He reminds me I am not here for me, and I am not even here for the people. I am here because this is were He wanted me. No, I am not saying the people aren't important, but following His will is so much more important.

 I find it funny and ironic that something I have been teaching the boys is something I was learning without realizing. I have talked about it two different weeks, back to back, in the John. How first and most important above everything else is the glory of God. Not the people, not the ministry, not the location, not the teaching, and not the classes. That His glory should be something focused on and should take priority over all else. It was in the verses I covered in the John class (talking over John 15:4 one week, and John 15:4-17 the next).

 There have been many times I have lost sight of that. Often though when I was reminded I didn't notice that was what I was being pointed too. Whenever I wondered or questioned why here and why me. The point I always came back to was that God wanted me here. I missed the point in the regard that I didn't realized it was for His Glory.


 Just be praying for me to finish well. Abide ends eight weeks from today. Approximately ten weeks and four days from now I will be back home in Georgia. While I have begun thinking of the what I will be doing after, and have been busy with some things. There is a great need to remain focused on the task at hand.

 Pray as well for this coming weekend. The Mbarara house has an outreach coming up but it is going to be completely different then any other. Why is it different? Well mainly because the others don't involve crossing international boundaries. Yep thats right, we are leaving Uganda for this coming mission. For this we are headed south to Rwanda. Just pray, cause it will be needed.


 This one hasn't been really anything like the other updates. Though I think in a lot of ways it is more important. It is what God has been working slowly in me, and there is still much left to learn.

Blog update coming soon

I just realized how long it had been since I had done a blog update. Be looking for one to come soon. Until then I will be preparing for a lesson I just found out that I had to teach.

Break

     Well I am sitting here at the end of the break that we have had here at ABIDE. Some days were a bit boring, but other days were busy and quite a bit of fun. So what all happened you might ask? Well a bunch has happened and very little has happened.

     For me the first few days of the break were spent recovering from a mission that we went on the weekend prior to the break. It was a four day mission out to the western part of Uganda up in the hill country. Very exhausting because most our days started around 6-7am and then usually finished after 12am. So the first few days of break were spent putting away things that I had taken on the outreach, sleeping, and very much enjoying the quiet. As well it was also the time to iron out a few details for something else that I had coming up.

     Well the fun thing that I happen to be referring to would be a safari that me and Chris (AIM short termer out from the UK) went on. We left the Mbarara area around 6:30am for  the 1.5-2hour drive up to the park. I found it cool getting to see some tea plantations on the drive up, mainly because it was different from what I had expected. Mostly because normally tea plants are chest high or taller, but the plants that I saw were quite short (I would say waist high at most). Just one of those odd things that I happen to observe sometimes. Once we arrived at the park we drove around for a few hours getting to see some interesting animals. Within the first couple hours or so we got to see Lions, Cape Buffalo, Waterbucks, Elephants, Monkeys, and bunches of different animals and birds. There were some definite highlights from the Safari and boat ride that we did. One highlight getting to see a Monitor Lizard up close and being able to get some pictures of it. Then right after lunch getting to go and be around a group of mongooses (as in they were sniffing around our feet, and one started pulling on my shoelace). For me though I was happy that I got to see a two crocodiles, they weren't that big (about 4-5ft) but it was still cool getting to see them.

     That night me and Chris stayed at Kingfisher Lodge. While not a really big place, it easily has one of the best views of the park. It sits on a hill side and give you a view of the valley were the park sits. The stay there though was great, buffets for both lunch and breakfast, and then (for me a big thing) hot water for a shower. The next day (Monday) was a team day for AIM up at Kingfisher, it was a chance for the whole team to relax and just enjoy ourselves. There was lots of swimming, lots of splashing, and lots of jumping into the pool. Everyone had a great time despite a few of us getting sun burns.

     Other than that though the break has not been nearly as busy in regards to traveling. The rest of the time has been spent in the Mbarara area. Sometimes spending the whole day at ABIDE, other days getting together with friends, and then some days just all over the place. Haven't done anything super amazing or interesting. Why? Well often that costs a lot of money, and a lot of times the weather wouldn't allow it. (It is currently rainy season here)

     I know this update was kinda rambling and all over the place. Sorry about that in advance cause it is just one of those days right now. There are only a few more days of the break left which they will be pretty much nothing but meetings.

     Things that are coming up that need prayer:

   Both houses will be combined together next week down in Kabale. Things are going to be a bit cramped down there with there being around 30 people there.

 

Patience for me, there are some things I have been dealing with which have worn my patience kinda thin recently. (Some is cultural, some is more of a personality thing)

I am a Disciple

This is something that I might do every once in a while as I find good (longer length) quotes. This is one that I ran across a long time ago but it is still really good. Hope that yall enjoy it

  "I am a Disciple"

The die has been cast, I’ve stepped over the line; the decision has been made;
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded . I now live by faith, love by patience, live by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set; my gait is fast; my goal is the heaven. My road is narrow;
My way is rough; my companions few; my Guide reliable; my mission clear!
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, I will not hesitate in the presence of adversity; I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, nor meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I will not give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I have prayed up, preached up, stored up, and stayed up the cause of Jesus Christ!
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He returns; give until I drop;
preach until all know; and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me;
My colors are flying high, and they are clear for all to see              

(Exact version taken from the Sermon "It Will Cost You Everything" by Steve Lawson)

I hope that yall have a good week and if there are any questions  feel free to send me an email. Beardedmissions@gmail.com God bless

Kampala Visit: Mar 15th-18th

     Well this has been a long overdue update, that much is for sure. I don't even have much of an excuse as to why I haven't done this other then I just didn't get around to typing it. I even had a lot of it written down so I could type it, I guess I could blame it on the break. That will come in another update though which I will do later. With out further stalling though I will just jump right in, and talk about what this whole thing is about. My weekend trip to Kampala

     Well as the last sentence says, I went for a weekend trip up to Kampala. The trip was part business, part pleasure, and part humor the unique blend of curiosity and adventurousness that I naturally have. (the first time I was in Kampala was very much a whirlwind half day spent going all over the city) While up there my base of operations was the AIM guesthouse, Matoke Inn. Though it is located a little ways from downtown Kampala I like it a lot. It is conveniently located near the Kampala-Entebbe Road, which makes it easy for getting to the downtown area. It also means that it is quieter then staying closer to or in the city (quiet is always nice especially since it is something I rarely ever get at ABIDE just because of the number of people here at the Juna Amagara compound.

     One of the reasons I was in Kampala was some business I had to attend to at the AIM offices. The very fact that I was taking care of this business was a definite answer to prayer. Other then the fact that it was the will of God there was no reason for me to even be in the position to take care of this. I know it probably seems like I am drawing this out just a little, well to be honest it makes it more dramatic that way. With out drawing it out (to much) more the business I had to attend to was...........*Drumroll*......... was paying for my Ugandan work permit. This might not seem like a lot but there have been quite a few recent hurdles facing an AIM personnel seeking to get work permits here. It is not the easiest to explain but a very short explanation is that we (Aim) was experiencing trouble in getting permission from one government for another to issue us work permits. That I know of there are still those even in the South-west Uganda team (the team I am part of) who last I heard had not gotten their work permits. So needless to say that when I found out I had gotten mine it definitely came as a little bit of a shock.

    Really those last to parts just sorta fit together, kinda like a dovetail on a box. The reason why is that one way I relax is to explore, which is something I did. First bit of the exploring was going over to the American Recreation Association (ARA), I know doesn't sound like much. Once a month though they have a flea market, which happened to be on the Saturday I was up there. I heard that it can be hit or miss as to whether you will find anything worth while, I was more then happy to find a few nice craft booths set up. (which you have to pay to get in the flea market, but it is only 2,000 UGX or about $.75) After wandering around there for a bit, and spending a good bit of money I decided to walk over to Freedom city (the Ugandan version of a mall). It was a goodly 3km-4km over there from the ARA but it wasn't bad cause it was only around 11am. (so not quite as hot as afternoon) I wandered around there, and spent a good amount of time exploring the supermarket there. (I know weird but in a way it just kinda seemed much bigger then the Nakumatt here so I just wandered for a while) This also spent a good amount of time looking over their tea, coffee, and spice collection. One find from there that definitely made it worth while was finding a good lemongrass tea. (It coast 5300 UGX for a 250g bag, over about $2.04 for a half pound bag) I then spent a little more time wondering around in the "mall" then went to a fast food place there. (literally the only one I remember seeing in the entire country). On Sunday I went over to a place called Mish Mash, really not the easiest place to describe. Just think an art exhibit, a restaurant, live cultural exhibits, and a few other odd things all rolled in to one place. That will give you something of an idea of Mish Mash, from went to run an errand in another part of town. Then later on I went to garden city (another "mall"), and decide to explore the supermarket they had there. Do you kinda see a theme developing here?

     Well there is a summery of most the things I did up in Kampala. Really a lot of it was just a chance to get away and unwind after about two months of being at ABIDE. It was much needed because the first few months were pretty hard. It was kinda a smooth initial transition considering I was very quickly thrown in the middle of a completely different culture. Really most the difficulties set in for me once the houses split (prior to the split my roommate was another american, after though it was a national). This made it hard because if some certain cultural thing was bugging me on a particular day, I got little break from it. It is just hard to explain but there is just something about being around those that are either from the same country or just think fairly similarly (Canadians, and Brits). A lot of this is just hard to explain or understand unless you have been there. (which I know some might look down on sentiments like those I expressed and those who say them. All I can say to that is that if there are thing back home that sometimes bother you, then there are typically similar things other places that will. Yes, you just go with the flow but doesn't mean things wont try and get under you skin. It is just part of life and being sinful people, things will bother us no matter were we are in the world)

The Flow of Things

     Well it has been a while since the last update. In that time it seems like much has changed and like little has changed. That is just how it is here, the more things change then the more that they stay the same. That is just the flow of things here in a country where time seems to standstill and race ahead at the same time.

     Considering that the last update was a while back there is a fair amount to write about. I will start though with the thing that over arches this whole time frame. That would be a wonderful thing know as culture shock. It doesn't matter who you are, if you go live in another culture for any amount of time you will experience it. For me it seems to strike mainly in two forms, either to fight against it or to just hide away from it. Really it isn't caused by anyone thing but rather is the result of a thousand tiny things. Most of the time I can't even really put a finger on what is causing it, but it is still there. One of the joys of going to another culture, I guess.

     On to more cheerful things though, things at ABIDE have been going pretty good. A few weeks back made my first trip down to Kabale, and got to spend the day with the guys down there. We did a home visitation as well, it was to Samuel's house. (He is one of the students at the Mbarara house). As always seems to happen there were a few mishaps, and technical difficulties but over all the weekend was good. It did help that we were fed fairly well all weekend, though over the course of the weekend I drank more passion fruit juice then I ever before. It was good though and it is hard to beat fresh made juice, the stuff in the containers in stores just don't taste quite the same. 

     To more recent things though, this past friday was a Ugandan national holiday. Normally there is no school that day, so over at ABIDE we had a day off from classes so we went and had some fun. There is a "waterfall" (called that but it is more of a cataract), I enjoyed getting a chance to do a little fishing. After that most of us deciding on swimming, and that ultimately turned into jumping into the current and floating down stream. (It was about waist deep so there was little chance of hitting any rocks on the bottom).

     Well this has kinda been a bit of a rambling post, If yall have any questions about any of it just shoot me an email at beardedmissions@gmail.com

     Be looking for future updates about my Kampala trip, and as well for the joint mission trip that ABIDE has coming up. (It will be the Mbarara and the Kabale house working together on this trip). 

ABIDE Week 2 - Student Arrive

     That was really the highlight of the week. The arrival of the students made for a very busy week for the staff at ABIDE. Through all the craziness though God kept us all by His grace.

 

     Monday proved to be one of the more laid back days for the week. The main thing happening was the arrival of the students, this was good because it meant there was time for a quick run into town.

 

Tuesday and Wednesday prove to be rather crazy days. First thing we do at ABIDE with the new students is to take them on a camping trip. We left Tuesday morning to start the hike to the mountain (which is about an hour from the ABIDE house). Our campsite was a lovely mountain top (that also happens to get a good amount of wind), which was rather steep to hike up. One of the most interesting parts was we were staying in a field that had a bunch of Ankole cattle. The main purpose of the trip is to break the ice between all the students and the staff. (the students are from all over the country and from different tribes)

 

Thursday through Saturday was orientation and training for the students. Since the students were in that it meant a very weird schedule for the staff. We had to be there for some classes, and not for others. Made things rather tiring for the most part cause you are either on the go doing stuff with the students, having to do stuff in town, or working on stuff in my room. 

 

Sunday had to be one of the busiest days of all. Went to a church service around 8am, then back to ABIDE for a late breakfast, then to another service around 11pm, then back to ABIDE for lunch, relax a little, then in the afternoon off to a worship service at another church.

 

    

     Despite all the busyness and everything going on though the Lord was faithful through it all. He kept all of us through the week and gave us the energy to accomplish the tasks set before us.

Converting From Dollars to Shillings

     I figured that it would be helpful to put a post together explaining  the difference value wise between the US dollar and the Ugandan Shilling. This is mostly to help make things easier to understand when I throw money amounts out there in the Ugandan Shilling. It can seem a bit complicated but atleast for those here we get used to thinking in terms of shillings, but grow used to converting it.

 

     With this I will start at the basics of the money here. The currency here is the Ugandan Shilling (UGX), and it comes in a number of different amounts. For the coins you have a 100, 200, and 500 shilling coins. In paper bills you have a 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, and 50000 shilling bills. Really the most commonly used on a day to day bases (unless in a larger store) are 5,000 UGX (and smaller) then all the coin values. 

 

     Now that a framework as the denominations of currency available it is time to move into talking and currency conversion. I will say right up front until you get used to converting between the two currencies it can be a little intimidating. So with this we will start again with basics, one USD (United States Dollar) is currently worth 2,670 UGX. So with this as a building block it makes things easy, $10 is worth 26,700 UGX and $100 is worth 267,000 UGX. 

 

     Well here comes the harder part for many converting  from the shilling to the dollar. I know for me this has been the hardest part. When you grow up on one money system, having to go through the process of thinking in terms of another currency isn't easy. Here is a crash course on how I do it most of the time. I usually think in terms of two bills here, the 2,000 and the 20,000. Right now the 2,000 bill is worth .75 USD while the 20,000 is worth $7.49 USD. That is sorta the baseline that I start with when figuring out the cost of different items.

 

 Here are the prices for a few of the common things we pay for:

 Item                                                UGX Price                                               USD Price

Boda                                                                 1,000-2,000                                                               .37-.75

Soda (300ml)                                                     1,000                                                                          .37

Soda (500ml)                                                   1,800-2,000                                                               .67-.75

Average meal at Ark Cafe                             12,000-15,000                                                         $4.49- $5.61

250 G bag of coffee                                        7,500-9,600                                                             $2.80- $3.59

1 liter of Juice                                                  4,900                                                                         $1.83

Small loaf of Wheat bread                             2,000                                                                            .75

Pack of ramen noodles                                   1000-1500                                                               .37-.56

 

 

     I could add a lot more to the list, but this is just to give a glimpse into something I do every day. Hopefully this will help in future when I put prices in Ugandan shillings.

Abide- Week One

     Well it has taken longer getting this ready then I would have liked, but such is life. There were several setbacks in getting it done, including losing much of what I had previously written. This past week in a nut shell can be defined by meetings and training. Something that is need to help get everyone on  the same page though never  the most enjoyable of things.

 

     Wednesday through Friday was filled with training. During this time we had a couple of guest speakers come and do different training sessions. On Friday I also received my official job description and list of responsibilities. I have known for a while the position I was coming to fill but now have more info about it. I am serving here in the capacity of an international intern (there is another intern here, from Chicago, who will be serving in the Kabale). I will be teaching one of the discipleship classes, a basic computer class, and will be helping with some of the activities. Other things  I will be doing includes mentoring students, and also helping keep an eye on things around campus.  That pretty much will be my job for the next six months (except for a break that we have about half way through).

 

     A few fun things have gone on this week, one of the best has been getting to learn a new town. It has been quite an interesting time just because there is so much to see. So far though I have food pretty much my three favorite places overall. Nakumatt, Golf Course Supermarket, and Ark Cafe (which is above Golf Course). I think in some ways though I am going to Nakumatt a little too much though because I am getting to know one of the guards there. (A very friendly Ugandan guy that I met the very first time I went there) It really is a great place though to get most anything thing, the ground floor has all your grocery items and the second has most household items. Golf course is a little bit similar though a fair bit smaller. Ark cafe is great though if you want a good meal for cheap, You can get food and a soda for around 12,000-15,000 UGX (That is about $4.50-$5.60 USD) So far I have discovered that Ark has a very tasty Philly Baguette, and cheeseburger.

 

 That is just a bit of a recap of the week, spiritually some of the week has been rather hard. There is a great temptation to become proud here because of what I know. Theologically I am ahead of many Ugandans including a lot of pastors, and there is a bait to be proud because of it. It is good though this week God has been showing me more of my need for Him here. With many little cultural things to deal with it makes it hard sometimes. (Like how their understanding of personal property is much different from an Americans, and often expect to use most anything you have whenever they want.) There has been a great need for dependence on Christ, and patience. There are so many things that can get under the skin of any american. The internet is based off USB modems, which can be very frustrating at times to work with. As well as the African sense of time, this is something much different from the USA. For Example if someone said" we are getting ready to go". Back home this would mean that you are leaving in about five minutes, but in this culture it could mean anywhere from about 10minutes to well over an hour. This isn't a bad thing, but it takes patience and a lot of getting used to. Through it all though I can see the Lord working, and I am blessed with a great AIM team here.  They have proven to be a blessing in so many ways, and I am looking forward to getting to know (most) of them in the months ahead.