Uganda Update #6

1/18/09 7:40am (PST) / 1/18/09 6:40pm (Uganda)
Well, it has been a couple days since I have written. The internet
hasn't been working (surprise!) and I've been fighting a nasty cold,
so I've been trying to rest whenever I get a chance. Took a nice nap
today. ;) Although, it was flaming hot out, with no breeze! The
sweat running down my face was so soothing! Ha! But the sleep was
good.

So, I believe I need to catch you up on a few big days from last week
still. Here goes…

1/20/09 5:30am (PST) / 1/20/09 4:30pm (Uganda)
Well, as often happens here, I got interrupted and had to head out for
the day right as I began to write before. So, let me try again… I
have 30 minutes until the internet café closes, and currently, there
is no internet connection! Gotta love it!!! ;)

Wednesday 1/14
On Wednesday, we headed out to a couple more camps. Our first drive
took about 5 hours. We got lost on the way to the camp, so it took a
little longer than hoped. It was a quite bumpy ride too!

When we arrived in the first camp, our purpose was to observe and take
pictures at the Portable Bible School (PBS) that was taking place.
The room where they were meeting was packed full. All the seats were
full and there were several sitting on the floor in the back. Come to
find out afterwards that this was actually a really low attendance
day. See, Wednesday is market day. It is the only day that people
are able to sell or buy goods at the market. So at least half the
students were gone. I can't imagine what that room must look like
when they're all there. There were two teachers – one teaching and
one translating. They always deliver the teaching/preaching in
English and in the native language of the people. It looked like some
pretty intense stuff.

When FOG puts on these PBS's, they run for two months. Each student
attends for 6 hours/day, 5 days/week. They are given tests regularly.
If they "pass", they are awarded a certificate and a Bible. It's
pretty cool. The Bibles are expensive and often hard to come by, so
FOG does not just give them to anyone. They only give them to those
who have had proper training on how to use it. It's amazing to me
that these people are so hungry for truth. I mean, really, how many
of us would jump at the opportunity to sit in class for thirty hours a
week and gain nothing except a certificate and a Bible – at least
nothing tangible. These people see hope in the gospel of Christ
though, so much so that they believe it will change their lives to be
in these PBS's. That is amazing to me.

We stayed at this camp only briefly, probably less than an hour, so we
weren't able to talk to any of the students or teachers (We didn't
want to interrupt their learning.). However, before we left, Godfrey
decided he needed to buy a chicken. Why such a pressing need…so many
hours away from 'home'!? I have no idea! I'm pretty sure there are
chickens in Gulu! Nonetheless, he bought one. This was not a dead
chicken, but a live one…in a little plastic shopping bag. She sat in
the back of the van (the bumpiest part of the car) with Blair and
Steven the whole rest of our journey…and what a journey it became with
the addition of a chicken! We were probably in the car at least 4 or
5 more hours that day…and Blair and Steven were having…well, 'fun'
might not be the right word, but I was amused! Let's just say that
there was a lot of screaming, laughing, petting, feeding, and even
seat-belting in that took place over the next several hours! Blair
definitely did some bonding. You can imagine how she felt the next
day when she found out the chicken was in Godfrey's fridge! Sad day…

So from the first camp, we went (chicken in tow) to another camp about
an hour away. At this camp, a PBS had been completed previously, and
the graduates were anxiously awaiting their Bibles. We had another
ceremony, and distributed well over 100 Bibles this time. Again,
there was much cheering. I think my favorite part, though, was
immediately after the ceremony.

The interior walls of the church are pretty low, and there is about a
foot gap between the top of the wall and the thatch roof. I peeked
over, just out of curiosity. There were cute kids peeping in, and I
thought I might be able to get some cute pictures. I was surprised
instead to find an older man sitting up against the wall. He was one
of the grads who had just received his first Bible ever. He was
sitting there, completely oblivious to the rest of the world, with His
new Bible open to the first page of Genesis. He had read half of the
first column and was tracing each word with his finger as he read
aloud to himself. He couldn't even wait to walk home, he had to begin
reading as soon as possible. I could sense his hunger for the living
Word of God as though it was my own. That is one of the most precious
things I have ever witnessed.

Later, when I was standing outside the church, several of the older
women were coming over to hug me. One of them was quite excited. The
women here do this interesting hooting and hollering when they get
exciting, particularly when they are worshipping God. It's akin to
the Indian sound affect children make by screaming and patting their
lips when playing cowboys and Indians. So this women is holding my
hand, jumping, and hooting. She keeps looking at me as though she
wants some kind of approval. Finally, I decided she must want me to
participate. But look so silly in front of the whole village!?!? I
was a little unsure about it. After several attempts though, I
decided I should try to appease her, so I gave in. I threw out one
little hoot. She was ecstatic. Apparently, she wanted more! So she
began dragging me through the camp running and skipping. Rather than
sliding behind her in the dirt, I began skipping alongside her and we
hooted throughout the camp. EVERYONE was quite amused. We developed
quite a fan club in our few moments of madness.

After that, we were back in the van for another few hours…bumping
along the entire way. Several of the sky pictures I sent were from
that drive home…although, I have taken several in the morning,
afternoon, and evening each day we've been here. It's been beautiful.

I think I have to leave you with that for now. I will share more
about the some of our other adventures when I get a chance. Thanks
again for your continued prayer and encouragement. Remember to keep
Rob, Leah, Abel, Marcus, and Happiness in prayer over the next couple
days as they finish their time here and travel home. Also, pray for
wisdom and discernment for Riss and I as we figure out how to best
spend the rest of our time here.

There are a few possible things on the table for me. I have met the
head teacher and four of the other teachers from the FOG school. I am
hoping to meet with all of them a couple times next week for some
teaching workshops and to get some of their testimonies. They were
really curious and anxious to learn some of the things we do in the
States, and would really like some tips and tricks to teach English
more effectively. I'm looking forward to our time with them. They
seemed really sweet and really want the best for their students.

Also, one of the pastors here has asked me if I would be willing to
speak at their upcoming youth conference. I think this is a pretty
big thing. It's the annual conference and they invite all the youth
from the entire district and beyond. The theme of the conference is
"Living the Victorious Life". I don't really feel like I'm in the
right place to be sharing with them, yet I feel like God may be
telling me to do it anyways and walk in faith that He will give me the
right words. So, I would love for you to pray for discernment in that
specifically.

Also, I've been helping a couple of the staff with their English.
That's been a lot of fun! Martine, one of my favorites, is studying
EXACTLY what I teach at home! It's been fun helping him to understand
verb tenses! I never thought I'd say that!! ;) Martine has an
amazing story… I will try to share it sometime.

One thing that's been on my heart since we got here is to spend more
time with the staff and others in the area getting more of their
testimonies of how God has worked in and around them. We have done a
lot of video, but most of it has been overviews and details of the
different ministry areas within Favor of God. Pray for favor and
timing as I try to have some more personal conversations with the
staff in order to share those stories as an encouragement to you and
others.

Other than that, our time is open, and there are a MILLION things we
could be doing each day. I have a tendency to freeze up and do
nothing when I don't feel like I can make the "best" choice, so pray
that Riss and I would step out in confidence each day and be
intentional wherever we end up. And pray for God's CLEAR guidance if
there are specific places we need to be or conversations we need to
have.

Thanks for reading! Blessings!!!
Jenelle