wonderful. lovely. blessed day.

:)

Beyond exhaustion and classes, my day went from okay to the BEST!

I reminded myself that I was here for Africa and experience, NOT good marks.

I felt comfortable at lunch, ate with some Kenyan friends and saw other friends in line… I actually felt like I was PART of the community!!

Thankfully our literature class started late and ended early… so kimber and I went to “study” at a canteen. I say “study” because we actually had a super wonderful conversation for like an hour about life, instead of our mounds of reading…. J

THEN we were asked to babysit for our professor, Rev. Button at eight.

So after dinner (posho beans and rice of course) our night became even more LOVELY!

The children were adorable (blondies with English accents) and we only had to read a bedtime story and put them to bed, then we were free to hang out.

Note: Sarah went to kampala and brought back cinnamon raisin bagels… so we toasted them. And Kimberlee bought a pineapple. PLUS we had delicious tea and coffee. J

Payment for babysitting is simple here: access to steaming hot showers and free reign of the kitchen and capability to relax on a couch while watching a movie not on a laptop!!

It was my first steaming hot shower in two months. such a blessing!! :) i was SO grateful!!
Kimber and i just looked at the shower and exclaimed: "there are TWO knobs!"

It was all just too good to be true!

Praise the Lord for a day chalk full of blessings.

I feel like I am rambling petty details, but my happiness is found in and because of these petty details. J

independence day. in uganda.

A joyous occasion.

A start to a wonderful morning were the "yogurt-banana-wheatabix” parfaits sar, kimber, and i created.

Bliss.

Then we went to an African FAIR!!

I felt like I was back in cali at the end of august, at the state fair.

There were exhibits, carnival rides, over-priced food, crowds, loud music and shopping.

I even had vanilla soft-serve ice cream and a hotdog (I know crazy… but I am in a fair in Africa and I only live this moment once!!... it was fabulous by the way! J)!!!

love. love . love

I LOVE AFRICA.

Independence Day, Tuesday, was the first day I could say that whole-heartedly.

Everyone has a countdown calendar, but not me.

Am I living in a fairytale?

I am even content to up with 4” grasshoppers in my shower and geckos by the toilets!!

Already devastated about leaving,

But joyful for a passionate place in my heart!

what i am learning. wrap up of primal vision.

Here is a summary of what I have been learning in my classes. There are some high points in bold, but if you want you can read all my thoughts (i am warning you that it's long!) ...

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The book is by John V. Taylor (have you heard of him), Primal Vision. It talks about African Christianity, so lots of my faith has been challenged because it differs so much from Western Christianity. Questions like: Is there a Christian faith without culture?

If cultures are created by God, do we need to redefine them to fit the Western view of Christianity? Basically, does God shape culture or is Christianity shaped by culture? And the repercussions of these questions, and a lot of the book, bring up issues of salvation (is it necessary to know the name of Jesus; personal/ tribe or family decision), sin (is the OT and Ten Commandments relevant to all cultures or does it manifest differently according to culture; what about polygamy?), prayer (Africans speak/pray to ancestors because it continues community of tribe and because they are closer to God). Overall it was a really eye-opening book that I really enjoyed grappling with.

But to bring in Abide in Christ… Jesus transcended, meaning that He became like man/ suffered/ PARTICIPATED with people. In Africa the Descartes theory, “I think therefore I am” translates to “I participate therefore I am” (Taylor, 27) or “I am because we are.” Therefore belief is an action not just a thought. Faith is acted out, not simply a confession. I have wanted to intellectually wrap my mind around Jesus and Faith, but by this I felt assurance that my actions speak louder than my words (or thoughts). This links with abiding in Christ, because the life of faith is not a one-time decision, but PARTICIPATION with Christ, acted out in relationships with others, for all of life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “Jesus exists only for other people… Our relationship to God is not a ‘religious’ one to the highest- that is not transcendence- but our relationship to God is a new life in ‘existence for others’, in participation in the being of Jesus” (Taylor, 58). I have been thinking a lot about relationship versus religion this semester, and realized one day that when I get to heaven I will not be in a “religion” with God, but a RELATIONSHIP with Him through the blood of Christ. His redemption has made it possible for me to be in a relationship.

“I am in Christ: This simple thought, carefully, prayerfully, believingly uttered, removes the fear that there is yet some great attainment to be reached” (Murray, 38).

“I am the Vine… He really will be to you ALL that a vine can be- holding you fast, nourishing you, and making Himself responsible every moment for your growth and your fruit” (Murray, 37).

“Our part is simply to yield, to trust, and to wait for what He has promised to perform” (Murray, 25).

Taylor devotes an entire chapter to PRESENCE. He says, “A Christian, whoever he may be, who stands in that world in the name of Christ, has nothing to offer unless he offers to be present, really and totally present, really and totally IN the present” (Taylor, 136). I have seen the outflow of this belief in the African culture. For example, a visitor is never an interruption to anyone. “Whether he is a child or adult makes no difference; one can enjoy the other’s presence without fuss or pressure, in conversation or in silence as the mood dictates” (Taylor, 3). Relationship over efficiency, again!! God is always present for all of His creation, and He showed this through Jesus’ Incarnation. Therefore we should follow His example of presence, in “MISSIONS” and our daily life.

Christ comes INTERNALLY into culture, not EXTERNALLY. He meets people and cultures where they are at. “Either He is the Lord of all possible worlds and of all human cultures, or He is Lord of one world and one culture only… From within their own culture He challenged their strength and judged their wisdom. He turned their world upside down, just as He had turned Judaism [diet and Council of Jerusalem] upside down” (Taylor, 74). So, Jesus transcends and participates with each culture individually. He uses Acts 2:7-11 about the Pentecost, “How is it that each of us can hear them in his own native language?” He also quotes Paul in his letter to the Corinthians about how he became a Jew to win the Jews (1 Corinthians 10:19-22). Not universalism- the name of Jesus is important and belief in His death and resurrection is still significant. God meets culture. (Yes, but how far, what about sin and lifestyle… hmmm for me still!!)

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I love you all and let me know what you think of all this. I would LOVE a good discussion. Feel free to point out truths and untruths that you see… :)

ps. i know its really long, but i didn't know how else to post it as a link, i apologize.

laundry day.

laundry. laundry. laundry.
what a process.
soak. scrub. rinse. rinse. ring dry. hang on the line. [watch for rain clouds.] iron.

i used to hate it, but i am learning to enjoy it now.
just this week i was hanging out my clothes and saw a monkey not twenty feet from me.
i savor moments like these.
what a joy to be in africa at times like these.

:)

CURRENT NEWS in uganda: FLOODING.

CURRENT NEWS in uganda is major, major flooding in Northern and Eastern Uganda for the past two weeks. Thousands of people have been displaced from their homes, some cannot even retreat without airplanes or a boat. of some kind. Their farming has been wiped-out and destroyed, especially their cassava (an edible root) and ground nuts (which really are a family's diet). and their toilets have been flooded and are now overflowing. which means that disease is rampant and starvation is equally devastating. president museveni issued a state of emergency for those districts last week.

yesterday there was a "charity walk for the flood affected areas".
i went with some other students from ucu and it was awesome to be a part of something happening in uganda, IN uganda. we marched through the town and raised money to be sent to the districts that have an urgent need for assistance- all sectors need help: food, medical, counseling, etc. after we marched we sat and listened to MPs (members of parliment) and other "majesty's" address the problem and offer compassion and mercy. the president also spoke, which i didn't stay for. but i guess he quoted a tribal proverb that was like "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade," but in english it translated to "if your mother drowns, make soup from the water." strange. and he also said the problem was the bridges, and that not a lot of people died. he said if the bridges were better than it wouldn't have been such a problem. i don't know about him... anyways it was an eventful day in kampala.

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for me the day was eventful as well. :)
african time was of course present in our after eight departure instead of seven... i actually left to get my own matatu (taxi) with a couple girls. then when we got there we had to go through this metal detector. and they wouldn't let anyone bring a camera... which we ALL had pretty much brought. sweet. NOT! the police shooed us away and told us to bring them home... which is like an hour away. craziest thing is that our friend will tried to go through after with his camera and then realized that he still had it in his pocket. they asked him to show what he had and he realized he had lied and panicked. so he backed up and said he wasn't going through anymore... it was so suspicious!! they totally thought he had a gun or something which they were NOT okay with... i was like "will just show him the camera..." thankfully they left him go then. don't mess with the ugandan police, they all have ak47s!! :(

irony: after giving up our cameras to someone, we walked the streets which meant TONS of people never even saw a metal detector and the area where the dignitaries spoke could have easily had a USEFUL metal detector check... that's uganda for ya! :)

during the walk i met a really awesome mzungu (which literally means "white person") named tamara. she is working with micro-finance here in kampala with her husband (and she's a believer too). we exchanged numbers and she said i could possibly volunteer to survey families staying in a local IDP camp near kampala. i am SOOO excited. i wouldn't just be a consumer-tourist, but i could actually converse with the acholi people!! :) :) just this past week i have been asking what my purpose is here, and where i can get involved for uganda. thank you God for showing me a potential direction!

also i was thinking about swipe to save and hoping that maybe we can find a good organization to send aid to these flooded regions. it was overall a very purposed time and i felt excited to start thinking creatively how i can offer my time and energy to help uganda!! :)

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prayers:
.. the forecast has more rain coming, which means more flooding. pray for the people who may be displaced and for adequate aid to arrive to help their food and medical needs.
.. personal direction for where God wants to use me while i a here. And even plans for after I leave this semester.

friends. sar.me.kimber. long-car-ride-fun.