Two Different Battlefields

For the men on  Lingira Island, especially the young men, the football field is like a battlefield. It is a field that is sloped slightly downhill with pancaked ant hills.  If there was as much grass as there is rock it would be a decent field. Most of the players compete bare foot, but for them, that is how it has always been.  They give their all as if they’re in a really battle.  Rocks, thorns, and thistles are littered on the field but they run for the ball as if it’s spotless. These young men are warriors on this battlefield. During a match and after a goal is scored the eruption of the crowd and the rushing of the field make it evident.

On the football field, these young men are leaders and some are even elected captains.  But there is battlefield off the football field as well, the battlefield of life.  I’m not sure if these men would be considered warriors on this field.  Maybe there are some. And for the few that there are, they deserve a trophy, if not in this life, then in the one to come.  However, for most it seems as if that role vanishes, as if it only exists on the football field.  We would just have to ask the women because in general it seems they do everything the men don’t do.  If the men do anything here on the island, they fish, eat, drink, sleep and impregnate.  The women do everything else.  They dig their gardens, prepare meals, wash clothes, pay school fees, and even chop firewood.

A young man named Geoffrey is one of those captains. One evening, the football team from Katonga village traveled to play a team from another Island called Buwanzi. Katonga lost the game 1-0.  And as we were reaching the boat to return to Lingira Island it was getting dark.  And right after we started moving we ran out of gas. So there we were on Lake Victoria in the dark with about 35 young men in a man-made wooden boat with an engine on empty.  Luckily, there were two paddles that the expert fisherman used (including Geoffrey) to navigate us to the nearest camp to buy more fuel.  After at least a 30 minute wait, we set off for Lingira again.  We could have been in for a pretty depressing ride home with a seemingly negative domino effect of events, all igniting with the loss.  But that wasn’t the case.  As the boat was gliding along the peaceful and rippling water in the dark night, the players were acting as if they had just won the game of their life. They were singing and chanting and Geoffrey was the one leading them.  See, Geoffrey recently received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.  And he is also a fisherman, a job that is associated with drunkenness, prostitution, and a wayfaring and wasted life.  However, as a fisherman, Geoffrey has chosen a different path, a narrow one, one that seems to be lacking men, at least here on Lingira Island.  But for Geoffrey it has not been easy.  Hopefully, he didn’t expect it to be, because about a week after he was baptized he was beaten and taken to jail for a crime that he was not guilty of. Somebody on the island had knowingly bought stolen fishing nets and the police went around the Island arresting random fisherman whom they thought might have been guilty. So right after Geoffrey committed his life to Christ he spent a few days in prison for no reason. But he would later testify in church that God helped him to persevere during his time there.  He said that God helped him to complete work that was not only physically challenging, but to finish it before the other men who seemed stronger than him. And to add to Geoffrey’s challenge, there are people who mock him by calling him “pastor”.  It hasn’t been easy for Geoffrey.  But he is a leader on the football field.  Let us pray that he will grow to be a leader off of it as well.  And let us pray that God will raise up leaders on the battlefield of life here on the Island.

Jesse

All dressed up.

Ready for an African wedding.

Rafting on the Nile.

A wet experience to say the least.

The Rest of My Ballad

This will be my last post from Lingira.  We leave the Island and will be in Jinja soon.  Jesse and I will be going white water river rafting on the Nile together, but Andy is not going to be able to go with us after all. 
We are looking forward to spending some time in Germany! 
I am already feeling the excitement and anticipation of my return! I feel really funny, though. It isn’t a sick funny; it is an emotional funny. I feel really sad that I am leaving. I feel really happy that I am coming.
It feels like I am going to visit my family, but I am going home! I can’t wait to see you all again and I am SO glad to be going home. However, I will miss this place. A lot. I will miss the people and the sights and even some of the smells. I will even miss the food!  I will miss the experiences; butchering and cooking a rooster, welding, learning how to make things work because nothing ever works the way it should!  Learning to learn, on the spot, whatever skill is needed in the moment.
Saying goodbye to all my friends has been really hard, and I know it is harder cause I might never see them again.

We had a going away party, and I read this poem out loud.  Everyone laughed and enjoyed it very much.  I hope you enjoy it also.
You will have to read this in conjunction with the first half, which was posted in “A Day in the Life of a Short Term Missionary”.
 

I guess it is needless to say,
Our lunch was late that day.
Late in the afternoon, we finally get back.
Really hungry, I go for a snack.
I pinch my finger on the door I unbar,
Then find that I have only one protein bar!
I change my clothes to dig a latrine,
This day wasn’t what it could have been.
I work ’til dark then come in for dinner,
But I’m late, it’s finished! (I feel my self getting thinner)
So, I scrounge around and make some oatmeal,
Talk to Jesse and strike a deal:
A protein bar for some money.
I think, “This day has not been funny!”
I pull out a netbook to check my Gmail,
For an hour and a half I write an email.
Finally, finished, I go to hit send
only, right then, the internet ends!
So, I sit and relax with a book
Until at the clock I look.
“Midnight!” I gasp,
“I need to get to bed- Fast!”
I say my prayers and get in bed.
I am asleep before the pillow hit’s my head.

See you soon! ~Nathan

 

 

An unexpected answer

Today I wanted to give a gift to the pastor from the church here in Kyoya. As I was walking to the small village I was hoping to find him in the camp. I did. He was busy weaving a new fishing net, while his wife was sitting nearby weaving a new rope, the rope in between her toes to keep the braid tight. But the pastor wasn’t busy enough to not invite me to sit down in his little wooden homemade chair, a normal gesture of hospitality.  We started chatting.  He has seven kids, five boys and two daughters.  And three of his sons are named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Then I mentioned how we need men who are willing to put their life on the line for their faith.  I asked him, whether you are Muslim, Catholic, Mormon, Atheist, or Born again, what is the point of your faith if you’re not willing to die for it? Because of the language barrier he didn’t fully understand the question.  Then, assuming he would answer “yes,” I asked him if he would be willing to die to save the life of one of his sons.  He gave me a flat-out “NO”!  I was taken back, somewhat surprised.  But when I asked him in the same way if he would be willing to die for his faith, he answered with confident “yes”.

Jesse

What Africa Taught Me

This summer has been a time of learning for me unlike any other time in my life!
I have learned a lot about suffering and poverty.
Poverty doesn’t mean that you live on less than two dollars a day, on an island in the middle of nowhere. It can be spiritual or relational, too.
I have also seen that poverty can be self imposed or made worse by what we do or don’t do.
(What am I doing that causes myself pain or ‘poverty’ in my relationship with God or man? What can I do to alleviate personal pain or poverty in those areas?)
Suffering may also be self imposed, or worsened by ourselves. Some people here seem content to suffer. They don’t want to work to better their circumstances.
I have learned the blessing of education. I have taken education for granted all my life. Here, people have to struggle to go to school.
I have learned the true value of family. Good family. I have always been close to my family, but being gone for three months, in a totally different culture, climate, people group, etc. has made me really appreciate each and every person in my family. Family life as we know it, is nearly non-existent in Africa.
I will never look at my family, and especially my father, the same again! Dads, in America, are those guys who go to work, lay the rules out, and generally oversee our lives. It can be easy to “blow off” their love and sacrifice. My Dad is a great man! I love him more today than I ever knew I did! I am proud to call him father and I finally see and understand how his choices have been made for my benefit, to his own sacrifice. I am proud to call him Dad!

I have really enjoyed my time here with the SHIM family. It has been a summer full of adventure, fun, and most importantly, learning. Teaching the kids at the primary school; watching their kitchen shack fall down; hanging out with the kids from the secondary school; the AMAZING birthday dinner and cake Keeky and Ruthie made me; the way everyone at SHIM made my birthday special; attending the SHIM prayer meetings; I could fill an entire book full of memories from my stay here.

But a few stand out: The hospitality and understanding of the Smiths, Ruth, Mama and Papa O, and the entire SHIM staff, especially.

I guess that the best way to sum this up in one sentence would be thus: I can’t wait to come back!
~Nate

A Day in the Life of a Short Term Missionary (A Ballad)

I wake up early feeling tired,

a condition toward which

my dreams conspired.

I grab some oatmeal and a spoon;

My breakfast is ready soon.

I read some chapters from Isaiah

then spend some time in ‘prayah’.

I ready a lesson to teach some kids

about how great my God is.

I sweep the floor and then help mop.

Argh! Again, I missed a spot!

I shake my sandle’s to rid them of frogs,

then get jumped on by a pair of dogs.

Their paws were dirty- now so is my shirt.

I try to brush off all the dirt.

No time to change I grab my bag:

I’m being told not to lag!

I sprint to catch up, bag flopping around.

I clear the gate in a single bound!

The trail is rocky, I try not to trip,

But while walking around, I suddenly slip!

I fall to my knees, scraping my hand,

Thankful that in a cowpie I didn’t land!

I brush myself off. ‘The day cant get worse I”, wish!

Walking along, I talk to my friends, until I hear a ‘squish.’

I clean off my sandle the best I can do,

Wrinkling my nose at the stench of the poo.

When we get to the school we sit and wait.

Here, there’s no such thing as being late.

We sit and stare at the shack they call a kitchen.

My ankle really starts to ‘itchen’.

Finally, they’re ready for us to teach.

I am pretty nervous to get to preach.

So I give the lesson then apply

The moral of the story to they’re lives.

I ask for questions- there are none.

And so, I assume, we are done.

We turn to leave when a teacher asks,

“Do you have time to teach my class?”

Three classes later, my voice is hoarse.

We are ready to eat; but the food ain’t ready, of course!

We sit and stare at the kitchen shack,

We we are startled by a loud ‘crack!’

it starts to lean and then it falls!

the result of children leaning on the walls.

-Nate  P.S.  Hope you enjoy my little poem!

Celebrating a Jewish Passover Seder in Uganda

There is a Pastoral Training Seminar going on right now here on Lingira Island. Pastor’s from areas around come to be taught the Bible.
Today, as a part of our Pastor’s training, we celebrated a Passover Seder with all of the pastors and SHIM members.
This morning, we bought a year old ram and slaughtered it. While Jesse, Andy, and Bob Peterson (another missionary) taught about the Passover, I helped Keeky in the kitchen preparing the meal.
I didn’t want to teach, as all of these men are older than I. Also, I am still wary of accidentally causing an offense. Besides, it felt great to be able to work with Keeky in the kitchen! I enjoy cooking!
Well, we really were experimenting as much as we were cooking! This is the land of “Do What You Can With What You Have”!
I helped chop radish greens for the bitter herbs, and prepared the sweet sauce, and made this spice rub for the lamb. For the bitter herbs we used radish greens, olive oil, garlic, water, and a little salt. For the sweet sauce we used an apple, some sugar, some cinnamon, some honey, some peanuts, and, since we didn’t have sweet wine or grape juice , we used a little bit of cherry kool-aide! I mixed some ground cumin, ground coriander, and salt as a spice rub for the meat. I cut several slices criss-cross on the top of the pieces of meat and sprinkled and rubbed this mixture liberally over the trimmed lamb. Then I made several small incisions in the meat and inserted slices of garlic. After that, I put the meat in a cast iron Dutch oven, covered the top with onions, added enough water to cover the whole with an inch of water, and put it on a segiri (Charcoal stove). We cooked the meat for several hours.
We wanted to keep our celebration as traditionally accurate as we could. We made some short tables by placing pieces of particle board on one foot high boxes. Then all laid down, propping ourselves up on our left elbows.
We started with an introduction and a prayer. Mr. Peterson explained the process as we sat/laid there. He told us that they would have started the day with a thorough cleaning of the house in order to get rid of all the leavening. Then they would have gone to the temple and sacrificed a lamb, a male ram of around one year old. They would have roasted the lamb after they had sacrificed it and they would have spent an entire day preparing the food. Then, in the evening, they would have gathered as a household. They would have prayed, just as we did.
There are four cups of wine that are drunk during a Passover Seder. The Four Cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God in Exodus 6:6-7: “I will bring out,” “I will deliver,” “I will redeem,” and “I will take”.
First, they would have drunk the first cup (though wine was the original drink, we used sweetened cooled hibiscus tea instead).
Then, Mr. Peterson explained that the head of the household would have been brought water and a towel to wash his hands, but Jesus put the towel on and washed his disciples feet. After he explained this, he took a basin of water and washed Andy’s feet. Then Andy washed someone else’s feet and so on. We got three basins going around with every one washing each other’s feet. We used three basins because there were almost 30 people (we didn’t want to let the food get too cold). Then we dipped bitter herbs, (small radish leaves) in salt water, and ate them. I had been chosen before hand as the youngest to ask four questions. (there were only two others present younger than me; a four and two year old)

1. Why on this night do we eat the unleavened bread?
2. Why on this night do we eat the bitter herbs?
3. Why on this night do we eat the roasted lamb
(In a traditional Seder, there are four questions.)

The bitter herbs dipped in salt water stood for the tears and pain of those who were before us in captivity and bondage. The roasted lamb represented the way the Passover lamb was prepared. The Passover lamb represented the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
The unleavened bread dipped in bitter herbs stood again for bondage and captivity, and the bread dipped in bitter herbs and sweet sauce stood for our lives and how we still have sin (Bitter) and yet Gods salvation has come. (sweet!) These are not the traditional answers, but they held true to tradition while acknowledging the truth of our place in history.
Then we took a second sip, or the second cup.
Mr. Peterson broke a piece of bread in half and hid half of it in his napkin. Taking the other half, he broke it in half and explained the purpose of dipping the bread into the bitter herbs. (It stood for our time in bondage: for the Israelite’s in Egypt, and for us in sin.) We dipped the unleavened bread in the bitter herbs and ate it. The Africans weren’t expecting it to be THAT bitter, so many of them put huge gobs of bitter herbs on their bread before eating it in one bite! I couldn’t help laughing to myself because I had helped make them. I took only a small amount of the bitter herbs on my bread!
We took the bread again and dipped it once more into the bitter herbs but then we dipped it into the sweet stuff and ate it.
Then we ate the meal. It was just the meat, rice and split pea’s. The leg’s had been roasted. But the rest of the meat was what I had seasoned. The meat I had seasoned came out REALLY good! I mean REALLY, REALLY good! It was tender and moist and full of flavor! (The roasted legs were good, but had not been seasoned.)
After we finished eating, one of the little boys had to find the hidden bread. After he found it, Mr. Peterson broke it explaining that this was the time that Jesus broke the bread. We also drank the next cup, which was the cup that Jesus had passed around. We read another psalm, and drank another cup. (the one of celebration) and then sang a song and were done!

It was a fun time!
We are experimenting with a solar oven for Keeky. The charcoal oven costs a lot to fuel. So far, our attempt to ripen bananas in our solar oven failed! Tomorrow, we will try to cook something else in there! Maybe some soup?
There are three main kinds of bananas here. Sweet ‘bagoya’ which are either the big sweet bananas or the small sweet fingerling bananas; some other kind which can be large or small and seem rather familiar to us; then there are matoke (Ma- to- kay) which you have too cook before you eat. They can be cooked like mashed potatoes and taste amazingly well with gravy or broth over them. They taste like smooth and creamy mashed potatoes, only thicker. They have a savory flavor and are very starchy.

We have been asked about our weight. I stepped on a scale today. I have lost 15 lb.s. Jesse and I don’t feel like we have lost weight and do not experience hunger pains. We appreciate your concern over our health. We feel certain that you will all help us gain back any weight lost after we get back home!
Andy is going to try to take us white water river rafting on the Nile our last day here! We are really excited about that! I wish my camera was waterproof!

God Bless You All!

The Muslim Mosque on Lingira Island

looking down at the mosque

A Typical Ugandan Church Service

It might surprise most Americans to learn that there is more than just one “church” on Lingira Island.  There is a Muslim Mosque (this is also the fanciest building on the island), a “Protestant” church, two “born again” churches (that’s us!), and a Catholic church. There may be others that I am not aware of.
Church services here begin with a Sunday School time which starts at (or around) 9:00 a.m. This is followed at 11:30-ish by the main sermon. Church usually is over between 1:00-1:30!
We might sing four or five songs during the song service, and each one will likely be sung in a different language! Andy told us that the Islands of Lake Victoria have some of the most diversified languages in the world (according to a Bible translators group). I feel very happy if we ever get to sing one song in English! I miss understanding a church service without the language barriers that exist here.
The services are very loud! The people sing loudly, clap loudly, dance always, and pray all at the same time- out loud! If the speaker says, “Hallelujah”, all the people respond, “Praise the LORD!”.
Each week, they decide who will preach the next week. For communion, they break off into family groups.
Our church has about fifty regular attenders, but the numbers depend on how many visitors we have from other islands. Because so many young men and women come to school here on Lingira, there can be more or less attending!
I am really going to miss the people I have met here. I would love to introduce you all to “Papa & Mama O”- Okoro and Olive Tefiro. They are a wonderful example of how God has changed the lives of people here. Before God changed Mama O, she was a single mother with one child living life the way any other Ugandan would. Then God changed her! Papa and Mama O have been married for over thirty years now, have raised six children, and are wonderful examples of a Godly, Christian marriage. They regularly counsel other couples, hold marriage seminars, and work to reconcile broken relationships. Even though they have an incredibly strong marriage, they are constantly working to improve their marriage as well. They are like Grandparents to us!
Some of the things Jesse and I miss are: milk! I have only had milk twice since we got to Uganda; Of course, I have only had coffee once- and that was two months ago! We miss pizza, and tacos, and candy!
But then, they do have some interesting sodas here! For instance, how does a pineapple malt soda sound? Or does a Mirinda Fruity sound better? It is a purple soda that has a sweet taste, a bit like hibiscus.

Now, for answers:
The pit latrine is being dug for the church, actually. I really hope no one has used it yet! It is only about 8 feet deep at this time. We are digging in volcanic rock. When it gets dusty, we get filthy! My littlest sister, who is four, wonders if I will be black when I get home… if I spend much more time in this pit, I just might!

“You said that the monkeys are annoying? How so? Also, do they respond differently to a mzunga (white person) than they do to a madugabu (black person) the way the monkeys in the Philippines respond differently to a native than to a foreigner?”

The monkeys do not respond any differently to any of us. I have only seen monkeys here on Lingira, and they are annoying because you mainly see them in the garden! Worse than deer!

“Are the sunsets there beautiful?”

Hmm… This one must wait for pictures! They are worth a thousand words and a simple “yes” does not really answer that one!

“What will you be doing for the remainder of your time in Uganda?”

We will be busy working on some projects with Andy… digging a pit latrine, digging a trench to pump water from the Lake to a tank, weeding, digging with a hoe, slashing with a ponga, replacing batteries and the charge controller, making gates, etc. The Africans used to tease us that we were weak mzunga, but now they are constantly thanking us for “running”, a figure of speech that denotes doing something fast.

We miss you all and are looking forward to a joyful reunion in just a couple more weeks! God Bless You All!
P.S. The church here sends their greeting and wishes for you to know their thanks for sending us. Andy and Keeky send their greeting as well.