I Ate a Termite Queen!

Believe it! Here's proof!
Click on the images to make them bigger, if you wish.

Step 1: Destroy the termite mound!

Step 2: Find the queen in that mess. She's hidden in a clump of dirt packed VERY hard... so hard that even the Africans have to use an ax to break it!

Step 3: Break the dirt clump, get the Queen. Some termite mounds have multiple queens!

Step 4: Get a good look at your feast. What a nice abdomen, huh?

Step 5: Wrap her up in a nice green leaf.

Step 6: Roast her over a fire or directly in a fire by some embers, whichever you have easier access to at the time. Let her roast for about 10-15 minutes.

Step 7: Take a bite while she's still hot! During this step, it's nice to hold a good friend's hand for support. Suzie and I thankfully had each other.

All in all, it actually wasn't bad. The texture is like warm string cheese, and the flavor is kind of nutty. The worst part is mental!

THE END!

Three Interviews

I have a basic idea of what I want to do for the intro of the documentary! And I'm really excited about it. So today, we started getting the sound we need for it.

We interviewed three of the Ugandan staff here at Village of Hope, individually. We hooked a microphone to their shirt, but didn't use the camera, because their words will simply be used as a voice over. First, I asked them to explain the history of the war to me. Then, I asked them how it affected the people of Northern Uganda and also how it affected them personally. Then, I asked them if there is hope for Uganda. Then, I asked them if Village of Hope is bringing hope and is truly helping.

The first was one of the construction workers here. First, he told us about the IDP (Internally Displaced People, aka Refugee) Camps and how they were necessary for the safety of the people... but also how they weren't too safe because the government soldiers who were supposed to "protect" the people often raped the girls and women or would steal food from them. Then he told us that many people have moved out of the camps now and gone back to their homelands so they can farm, but because none of the centers around their home villages are built up at all, education and health care have not been good at all. Many kids can't go to school because they don't have the funds or school is too far. And many people who are sick or pregnant can't get to health centers fast enough because there is little transportation and the health centers are far away. He said many people who are trying to get to a health center just die on the road.

The second interview was harder than the first. He lived in the African bush from 1990 until 2007. Literally did not sleep at home at all, for fear that the rebels would attack his home and abduct or kill him and his siblings. He said that throughout that whole time he would hear news that (in his words) "five people died there," and "eleven people died this other side," all around him. He said that sometimes, the rebels would force 25 people into one hut and then burn it. That's how his grandmother died. His father died of TB. His older brother died as a soldier in the war. His friend was abducted and killed. Then he said, "I can't tell any more stories."

The third interview was hard as well, and possibly the most informative about the war. She went to an all girls school, and one night, 20 girls were abducted from the showers. She was in the dormitory, so she didn't get abducted, but she was so scared and was hiding the whole time. Of the 20 girls who were abducted, three have survived and returned. One of the girls who returned told her about a girl she went to school with who was abducted. Because she was so beautiful, the rebel leaders all wanted her to be their wife, so they cut her into pieces and so they each got a piece of her. They forced all the schoolgirls to watch, and told them that if they cry or express anything besides laughter, they would kill them the same way.

Hearing things like that is unreal. It’s impossible, even while hearing a firsthand account, to fathom that things like that actually happened, and are happening. I’m really happy we got those stories recorded, because that’s the type of thing people need to hear so they will understand that help is needed. Every single interviewee said (even without being prompted) that Village of Hope is helping so much because these kids otherwise have no hope and no one can care for them. It was perfect content for a documentary about VOH.

Our purpose here is being accomplished, little by little. Keep praying that it will continue to be. Daily.

Love, love, love. All of you!

Trusting. A lot.

Each day, I am more humbled by the Ugandan children here at Village of Hope. For starters, they are more diligent than any kids I’ve ever met. They are literally busy (whether it’s chores or school) from 7:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night, with the exception of an hour here for lunch and an hour and a half there for play and then showers. Each day, I wake up at 6:30 to them all singing praises to God… thanking him for food, for education, for life, for hope. And they truly sing like they mean it. It’s a beautiful sound to wake up to. They love learning—Math, English, Science, Social Studies. They work hard because they understand, even at age 11, that knowledge is so vital if they want to succeed. They all love each other so much. I haven’t seen any evidence of cliques or anyone being left out, and they all share clothes with each other. Granted, they have much fewer clothing than we’re used to in the US, but still… we’re taught so early that our things are OURS and that sharing is good, but you get to decide what you want to share, in a sense. These kids don’t have that mentality at all. They share everything. Everything is everybody’s.

Today at church, the kids were praying. Hearing them all pray is another thing that just humbles me even more… it’s so real and so raw. Today they prayed for you. For Americans. They thanked the Lord for the blessings they have received because of American donors, and recognized that they would still be in the refugee camps if people in the US hadn’t donated their resources to Village of Hope. If that isn’t amazing enough, they then prayed that those people who have donated to VOH would be blessed for it. That they would have even more because they chose to give. How humbling is that?

I’m learning so much. What is wealth? Is it material, or is it relational? After watching these kids interact with one another, I would argue that true wealth in this world must be relational. That material possession literally is nothing. That’s something I’m really learning right now… to let go of my material possessions. That nothing I own is truly mine, and nothing I own is going to last anyways. I think that many American Christians (including myself) have for so long been so blind to how materialistic we are. We’re taught that our stuff is a blessing. But what if our material possessions are actually hindering us from realizing the message that Jesus taught? Everything he ever preached tells us to love the orphans, the widows, the needy, the sick, the oppressed, the unwanted, and the hurting. Are we blinded to what is going on in the world because we’re so focused on our possessions? My stuff… and that’s all it is—stuff—will never be a blessing until I realize that God has blessed me with excess not so that I can HAVE more, but so that I can GIVE more.

Having a faith in Christ does not mean greater material blessings or prosperity in this world. I know I’ve said this so much… but I’ll say it until it changes… how can we read Jesus’ command in Mark 10 to sell everything and give it to the poor and then just sit back and watch, as 26,000 children die daily of starvation or preventable diseases? Or maybe it’s because we don’t watch. We turn the other way. We don’t know their names, so they are easy to ignore.

But they are here. They’re here in Uganda, they’re scattered across Africa. They’re in India, in El Salvador, and in the Philippines. They’re even in the USA. And they have names, and they smile and they laugh and they cry and they get hungry and they get full, and they run and jump and skip and play hide and seek, and they think and dream and they hope for a future.

“Our perspective on our possessions radically changes when we open our eyes to the needs of the world around us. When we have the courage to look in the faces of brothers and sisters whose bodies are malnourished and whose brains are deformed because they have no food, Christ will change our desires and we will long to sacrifice our resources for the glory of his name among them.” –David Platt

And that’s just it… we have what we have in order to bless those who don’t have anything. And the purpose of that isn’t simply to satisfy a need or fill a belly. Because honestly, those truly are short-term needs. The purpose of providing for the needs of the poor is to glorify the name of God. Sounds selfish… but whom else would we praise? If you believe there is a God, why wouldn’t you praise him? I truly would like to know.

“There is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, “I wish you would have kept more for yourself.” I’m confident that God will take care of me. When God tells us to give extravagantly, we can trust him to do the same in our lives… Do we trust him?” –again, David Platt.

I’m scared, thinking about all of this. It’s scary to imagine giving up what I’ve always been comfortable with for a life where I truly rely daily on God’s provision. And I think it might be a slow process. Learning what the balance is and applying it. Trusting.

But I have to. I can’t look at Fida and Gloria and Cosmas and Prossy and Clinton and then go home and live in affluence. Because now some of those 26,000 children dying of preventable causes have faces, and they have names. And they are relying on me. And they are praising the Lord that he is using people like me to provide their needs. That’s insane.

Village!

I don't really know what to blog... it's sometimes hard to know what to write, because SO much happens and so much of it is just... normal. So sometimes it seems like maybe what I write will be boring, or sometimes there's just so much I don't know where to start in my writing. But each week, I have to write for school, so I can get my 3 credits for this adventure. So, here's what I wrote for school this week, I hope you find it interesting. I want to write another update about what I'm learning spiritually, but maybe I can do that this weekend or something. We'll see.

Last Saturday, my team and I transferred from Gulu town to the Village of Hope land, which is located in the Masindi district, two hours south of Gulu district. We were all very ready to start fresh and have a change of scenery!

When we arrived, I sat down with Mike and Janelle, the career missionaries who live at VOH and oversee everything that is going on here. We talked for a long time about what life is like for them, what their job is with VOH, struggles and challenges they have, and also what me and my team can focus on while we’re here. We discussed my team member Suzie working with the nurse at VOH because Suzie is going to school to become a nurse. We discussed Leilah working with the social worker at VOH and learning how counseling works here, as well as setting up a system to keep records and a history of each kid’s counseling sessions. Tom will get involved with the construction crew because he is strong and wants to do some physical labor. Erin, our graphic designer and all around artist, will paint the VOH logo on the main office building and teach guitar lessons to a few interested kids. Collin will help Janelle with much-needed computer help and also do sound with me, of course. And when I need to film and edit, there will be ample time for that. As a team, we will teach English to each class at the VOH Primary School on Mondays and Tuesdays. We will also have reading time to work on comprehension with the kids here. Meeting with them and talking about what the next three months will look like was very exciting and affirming for me.

First, it affirmed me as leader of the team and trip. By meeting with me individually before talking with the team, Mike and Janelle affirmed my leadership and allowed me to process things before presenting it to the team. When I did tell the team about each separate project, they were so excited, and I encouraged them to take their ideas and run with them, while working with their respective Ugandan staff partners. Today, Leilah met with Ronance, the social worker, and they came up with a counseling form for the kids. Suzie met with Maureen, the nurse, and learned about all her equipment and how to say it in Acholi. Each team member truly is opening up and getting excited about how they can use their individual passions while being here in Uganda, and as a leader, that’s so great to see!

I feel like my life dreams are definitely developing and deepening. This is now the third time I’ve been in Africa— my first trip was to South Africa for four weeks, and my second was to Uganda for five weeks. Now, I’m four weeks in to a four-month-long trip, and it’s amazing. I can’t imagine being ready to leave in one week. I hope that one day I could potentially live in Africa long-term, and I’m getting a good sense of what that might look like. Granted, I still have three months to go, so who knows how I’ll feel in another four weeks… but I’m ready for it. I’m healthy, happy, and feel right at home. I think I could see myself doing this type of work forever. I don’t think my life and career will be what a typical young woman my age envisions… and I’m okay with that.

God is good. Thanks for reading, all.

Pursue Justice

This kind of goes with my last post... maybe with my last few posts. So be sure to read those too...

This is what I'm currently learning and processing.

Christians (in America) often don’t live like Christians. Like REAL Christians, like Paul and Peter and James. Christians in America (including myself) still pursue the “American Dream” … which is comfortable, but not anywhere near where Christ’s heart is. I am reading this book right now that has some great points… “We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with... with the best of intentions, we have actually turned away from Jesus. We have in many areas blindly and unknowingly embraced values and ideas that are common in our culture but are antithetical to the gospel Jesus taught… Here we stand amid an American dream dominated by self-advancement, self-esteem, and self-sufficiency, by individualism, materialism, and universalism… we are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.” (that’s from a lot of different pages that I wrote quotes down from… from the book “Radical” by David Platt. PLEASE read it, it’s so good… I think I like it better than Shane Claiborne’s “The Irresistible Revolution” even, simply because it references the Bible all over).

That’s essentially what I’m currently in the process of learning. How to TRULY abandon myself and rely on faith. We are so comfortable with having Plan B… for instance, if I became dreadfully ill all of a sudden right this second and I was about to die, a plane would come get me and bring me to a hospital and I’d be fine, because of health insurance. It’s almost like, “Ok God, I’ll pray about this now, but if you don’t answer fast enough or how I want you to, I’ve got a back-up plan on the way!” And I’m not saying health insurance is bad. That’s just my example to kind of explain how we, as Americans, simply don’t NEED to live by faith. Because we have no needs. Here in Uganda, they understand faith so much more, simply because they’re constantly faced with sickness, death, and loss. Very early on, they’re forced to realize that they’re human and very finite. Realizing that allows one to truly experience that God is a Provider. That he is a Comforter. I recently wrote in my journal… “is the American limitation of risks actually a hindrance that makes it harder for us to experience God’s faithfulness fully?”

I will end this with this verse… James 1:27- “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

We have no excuse not to pursue justice in this world. That's all I'm sayin.

True Story

6 September 2010

AIDS had always been just a movie to me, to be honest. Something real and something sad, but never inescapable. Something I could always fast-forward or turn off when it was too hard. Something I was always safely removed from. Just watching.
Opiyo Cosmas sat down next to me at Laroo refugee camp. His frame told me he was ten years old, but his stoic face said sixty. This boy had already seen too much.
I started asking him about his life. His favorite subject, his brothers and sisters, what he wants to be when he grows up.
Math.
One older brother, two younger sisters.
Pilot.
Quick answers, never a smile. I stopped asking questions and I waited. Slowly, his deep brown eyes shifted up towards my face, and he held my gaze for a few seconds, and he wrung his hands together.
“My father is HIV positive.”
My heart dropped, and I bit my lip. My head throbbed; I could feel every heart beat in my chest, but still I waited. His eyes shifted down to the dusty ground again, and he watched a line of ants, marching… marching…
Real life was happening, time was moving forward; the ants marched on. I was watching that movie, but this time I was in the movie, and I couldn’t fast forward or turn it off or escape, and neither could Cosmas. The ants kept time, marching to the drum beat of my heart, never missing a step, never looking back, forward… forward…
“My mother died of AIDS four years ago,” still his eyes were downcast. “My father is so weak now, he can’t get out of bed, he can’t care for us, so sometimes my aunt comes to cook.”
“And you? Your sisters? Your brother?” I asked.
“We are fine, except for Mercy, the youngest. She got it from my mother at birth, four years ago.” His eyes turned towards mine again. “She gets the pill, but she is weak, because she doesn’t get proper nutrition. Her body can’t stay healthy.”
Deep breath. Don’t choke. Don’t cry.
Dull, lifeless eyes; burdened shoulders; hurting heart.
I held his hand, and I prayed. What else can you do? When time won’t stop and you can’t pause, and you realize the movie is real life, and people are dying, and you know that something very well could be done, if people took action.

What can we do?

Hope is Real

Well, I think it’s time for an update! Today is Sunday, and we’re still in Gulu (in the north). We were supposed to go to Masindi (2 hours south; just south of the Nile) on September 1, but we started organizing the child sponsorship program for Village of Hope, and that’s taking extra long. At each of the five IDP camps we go to, we are taking individual photographs of the kids in VOH and then interviewing them. The interviews take SO long because there’s so much information to get, but we also have to leave some questions out. We can’t ask them if they were abducted by the LRA and if they are orphans until Rose can prepare them and then debrief with them after, so we’ve just been sticking with the simple questions, like favorite school subject, age and grade, and who they’re currently living with.

The other day I interviewed a four-year-old boy named Okello George Bush. His favorite hobby is hide-n-seek, he said he wants to be a driver when he grows up, and his prayer request was that someday when he’s a driver, that he’ll not get in accidents. He was adorable, and plus it’s just hilarious that his name is George Bush. There’s also a Bill Clinton somewhere in the VOH kids.

It feels really great to get this child sponsorship program rolling for VOH. Right now it just seems kind of disorganized. But after their interviews I always ask the kids if they have any prayer requests, and almost all of them ask me to pray that they will get a sponsor so that they can pay their school fees.

Last Wednesday, Collin and I woke up really early and went to Joyce’s house, on the outskirts of Labora IDP camp. We filmed her entire day doing her normal tasks. Here’s a quick run-down… she woke up, did dishes, went to the garden and weeded for an hour, went home and ate, got water at the well, rested for a bit, went and dug up a bunch of potatoes, washed them all, and cooked dinner for seven people. Our goal in filming this is to show that while life in the villages of Gulu isn’t necessarily bad for the kids, it certainly isn’t ideal. Their guardians (often aunts, uncles, or grandparents) aren’t typically unkind (there are some exceptions), but very rarely can they actually care for the kids. They often don’t have enough income to send the kids to school, and many of them don’t have the energy or the health to cook, clean, and wash for one to four kids other than their own children. The guardians actually WANT the kids to go the Masindi to be part of the VOH, because it means hope for the kids, especially where education is concerned.

I will try to post more updates soon! Thanks for reading, thanks for praying, I love you all!