countdown

So, since I leave Uganda in a little over a week, I have decided to commemorate the event with a countdown of my best photographs from my time here.  Starting right now, this blog will be updated once a day.  Each day the post will contain one of my favorite photographs from Uganda, ending on Thursday July 9th with my all-time favorite photograph.  Make sure you check back everyday for the new picture of the day!  This first one is a flower I found in the Rwenzori Mountains this past weekend.

Thank you all for your continuous support and prayers during the entire stint of my time in Uganda.

May God bless you all, and I will see you all soon…

time

I have little more than two and a half weeks left in Uganda. My time here has flown by so quickly that I often wonder if it was six months I spent here or six days.  Over the past six months, I have seen, heard, and experienced so much.  It will be impossible to describe everything, including the changes that have gone on inside of me.  I hope that when the time comes, God will help me to explain to you all the people, places, and culture that is Uganda.  I hope to see you all soon…

Pajule

So, I am back from my project trip.  Over the past week and a half, I have been in Pajule, Uganda.  Pajule is located in the Pader district of Uganda, which is located in the Northern region of the country.  The northern region has been absolutely disassembled due to the recent activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and all the people fleeing into Uganda from Sudan and the DRC.

The project trip was a project for the Ugandan American Partnership Organization (UAPO). UAPO has had a vision for re-establishing the communities of the Pader district.  The vision is for a community center that teaches the displaced people how to form a community, make a living, and continue living the lives they used to have.  Within fifteen minutes drive of Pajule, there are three IDP camps.  The land purchased for this project is central to each IDP camp, and will serve as the main hub of community activity for the people.  The week was busy, and involved a lot of work.  Here is the run-down on some things I did and witnessed.

I have helped pass out 200+ pairs of shoes to children of an Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp.
I have helped pass out new clothes to children at a different IDP camp.
I have helped in giving medical assistance to yet another IDP camp.
I have seen children with the most infected cuts and gashes I have ever seen.
I have seen 50+ Ugandan children hum along to the chicken dance song, all while shaking their butts with the biggest smiles and laughs I have ever seen or heard.
I have helped design architecture that will serve as the hopes and futures of 300+ Ugandan people.
I have participated in one of the most moving church services I have ever attended, which was held in a single classroom packed with far too many Ugandans.
I have been led home from church hand-in-hand by two little Ugandan boys.

The week was busy, and packed filled with opportunities to serve the surrounding community.  Good times all around.  After the week, our team was able to spend a day at Murchison Falls National Park.  We were able to take a boat drive, followed by a game drive.  We got to see elephants, giraffes, hippos, warthogs, crocodiles, eagles, gazelle, many types of deer, and lots of birds.  All in all, the project trip was a great success, filled with times of amazing fellowship and comraderie.  I have over 2,000 photos to sift through and edit, so pictures might not be up for a while.  Sorry…

super league

This past week I had the opportunity to travel with the Arua Central Football Club to their regional tournament.  The tournament consisted of six different teams, since two of the teams did not show.  As you can see from the above photo, Arua Central won the tournament.  This means that they will be brought up to the Super League, get sponsored, and even get payed to play football next season.

Somehow, I don’t understand how big this tournament was.  Somehow, the championship game was the biggest game of these guys’ lifes.  I mean, that tournament was what they have been dreaming about since they were little boys.  Somehow, I cannot grasp the significance or the totality of their triumph.  And yet I was still able to participate in the celebrating.  It will probably stand out as one of the more amazing experiences I have had in Uganda.

arua central

Currently, I am in Arua, Uganda.  This afternoon, I will be traveling to Yumbe with the Arua Central Football Club.  ACFC’s regional tournament is there, and I have the opportunity to be their official photographer for the week.  The tournament consists of eight teams.  The winning team will be moved into the Super League for next season’s play.

Hopefully, I won’t be back until late Saturday night.  If this is the case, it means we have won the tournament, and ACFC will be playing in the Super League next season.  Either way, it will be a great time of fellowship with the team and the directors of the club.

construction

I have been designing buildings for Music For Life for over three months now.  The work has been good.  It is such a blessing to be working with the people of this ministry, as well as the people here at eMi.  The above picture is the construction of the kitchen I designed.  It is coming along very quickly.  It is crazy to realize that something that I designed is being constructed right at this moment.  The other two buildings I have designed will be constructed at a later date.  We are currently working on the working drawings for those buildings, and I should be done with those before May 27th.

On May 27th, I will be stopping work with Music For Life.  I will be going on a project trip with eMi up to Pajule.  I will be working with the organization Ugandan American Partnership Organization (UAPO).  The project we are doing is for an orphanage in Northern Uganda.  The trip will last a little over a week, in which we will do all the preliminary designs, as well as site surveying and other such work.  We will then return to Kampala to work on the rest of the project and the reports that go along with it.  This project will take me to the end of my time here in Uganda.  It should be a great experience, as well as a wonderful capstone to end my time here.  Below is a CNN article written about the organization and the work that they have done.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/15/uganda.orphanage/index.html#cnnSTCText

This past weekend I was able to travel out to Sipi Falls, which is in Eastern Uganda. The landscape was stunningly beautiful, and the weather was cool at night due to the high elevation.  There were three consecutive waterfalls, each leading in turn down to a massive 100 m. (300 ft.) plunge.  I was able to ab-seil (repel) down the last fall, about 10 m. to the left of the final falls (see picture below).  The views were incredible.  I will try to upload some pictures to my flickr site here within the next few days.

sunrise and cinnamon rolls

My new favorite past-time in Africa: watching the sun rise while eating home-made cinnamon rolls.

I’ve uploaded a bunch of new pictures on flickr, so feel free to check them out.

praying for fire

Zechariah 13:8-9

In the whole land – the Lord’s declaration – two-thirds will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in it.  I will put this third through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested.  They will call on My name, and I will answer them.

Yesterday was eMi East Africa’s Day of Prayer.  This means that instead of working all day, we were dwelling in the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Worshiping, praying, singing, and reflecting were the agenda for the day.  The passage from Zechariah above came up during one of our lessons of the day.  I thought I would share some thoughts on the matter.  The story below has been told a thousand times over, and is credited to an unknown author.

The process of refining silver occurs as follows:  The silver is placed in the middle of the flames, where the fire is the hottest.  This allows for the most efficient burning away of impurities.  When refining silver, the silver smith must remain at the fire’s side, never taking his eyes off of the silver itself.  The silver smith cannot neglect the silver itself because of the precise timing of removal.  If the smith leaves the silver in the flame an instant too long, then the silver will be destroyed.  However, if he removes the silver too early, there will still be impurities in the metal.  Some of you may ask how the smith knows exactly when the silver is ready to be removed.  One smith said it best when he said, “Well that’s easy, when I see my image in it.”

Fire is a metaphor for anything that causes us irritation.  Struggles, trials, tribulations, uncomfortableness, hardships, agitations, distresses, irritations.  From our perspective, these things seem like the fires of Hell searing our physical bodies.  We become overwhelmed by the sense that Satan is close, engulfing us in his eternal flame.  We cry out to God to save us from this fire, and deliver us into His arms.  However, this perspective is skewed.  Salvation saved each and every one of us from the burning fires of Hell the moment Jesus died on the cross.  Instead, God chooses to place us in the refining fires of His love and mercy.  So instead of being surrounded by Hell itself, we are indeed in the hands of the master metallurgist, surrounded by the same flames that will forge the image of God within us.  God will keep us in the fire until the exact moment we are purified.  If we are brought out too early, impurities will still exist within the silver.  If brought out too late, the silver will be destroyed.

Our prayers should not reflect our yearning to be more comfortable, but that which creates a more refined being in the sight of the Lord.  If God has us sleeping on a bed of rock, we should pray for more stones to lay our head upon, instead of a pillow.  If God places us in the fire (not the flames of Hell, but the flames of refinement), then we should not desire deliverance itself, but the refinement that results from the process.  Each time we are refined by the fire, God is glorified.  Each situation we overcome by His loving grace and mercy is a testament to His metallurgy.  He knows exactly when to take us out of the fire, so that His image is flawlessly reflected back to Him.

So why not pray for fire?  Why not pray for flames to come and burn away your impurities, so you can reflect God Himself?  If God will never take His eyes off of you, and will remove you at the exact moment His image is envisioned within you (not before, not after), what do you have to fear?  An uncomfortable life?  A little irritation here and there?  A burning sensation on your physical body?  So be it.  Why not pray for the trials and tribulations that will create a purer silver for our Father in heaven?  Why not reward Him with a flawless piece of silver, refined by hours, days, and months in the flame?

I don’t know about you, but today, I’m praying for fire…

story time in Arua

This past weekend I spent in Arua, Uganda (which is located in the North-Western portion of the country, about 15 km. from the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo).  The time was spent in the company of Anna, Suellen, Jennifer, and Nick (the guy we went up to visit).  The weekend was full of excitement.  Included were a soccer tournament for local youth teams, home-made cinnamon rolls, a game of volleyball, a hike up Mt. Wati, Rodesian Ridgeback puppies, a van overheating in the middle of Africa, and a life-changing steak dinner 🙂  The weekend itself was physically draining, but provided some much needed spiritual restoration.  Company and conversation melded into a hybrid of spirituality and fellowship.  Which leads me to:

Nick Strong.  He’s working for World Gospel Mission (WGM) in Arua.  His main concentration is sports ministry, but helps out with pastoral training, as well as assistant coaches the Arua Central football team.  Part of his training includes storytelling.  Good, old-fashioned oration.  Each week, he is given a few biblical stories that he has to share a number of times during the week.  The function of this stems from some of the situations in Africa.  Most people do not have access to a bible, so they do not have access to these types of stories.  Even if they do have access to a bible, they probably would not be able to read the words written in it.  So this is where the word-of-mouth comes in.  People can remember a story that is told to them, and it can be passed through the generations.  It is such a unique way to minister to the people of Uganda.  Sharing the stories always happens spontaneously.

Over the course of the weekend, I was able to witness four of these stories being orated to various groups of people.  The story of Jesus calming the waters of the lake (Mark 4:35-41) to a huge crowd of people at the soccer tournament (pictured above).  The story of the calling of Levi (Mark 2:13-17) to myself and a few other friends.  The story of Jesus asking the Pharisees who is mother, brother, and sister are  (Mark 3:31-35) to about four hundred students at a school.  And lastly, the story of Jesus healing the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) to a group of Ugandan children on the side of Mt. Wati.  Every story was followed up with questions from Nick to make sure his audience was actually listening to what he was saying.  It is such a great way to make the stories of the bible known.

Lake Bunyonyi

Intern Picture (From left to right): Anna, Michelle, Lindsay, Ryan, Andrew, Suellen, Nick

This past weekend we were able to have an intern retreat at Lake Bunyonyi. Lake Bunyonyi is located on the Ugandan/Rwandan border. By bus, it is anywhere from 8-10 hours away. Fortunately, we were able to wait on the bus for 3 hours before it even left the bus station. Buses here do not leave until they are filled with people, so it’s always a crap-shoot as to when the buses leave. Not real fun when you have to spend upwards of 12 hours sitting on a bus.

The lake itself is a crater lake, that is located in the mountains. It was nice and cool there (some of the best sleeping weather I have had in Uganda), but warm enough during the day to take a dip in the water.

Lake Bunyonyi brought some much needed relaxation and restoration. The fiascoes of the past two weeks were put behind me, and it was a weekend to focus on relationships with the other interns, as well as my relationship with God. Needless to say, this weekend was truly a blessing (besides the ridiculous travel time). Thank you all for the continuous support and prayers. There will be pictures uploaded to my Flickr site from the weekend if you would like to see the beauty of Lake Bunyonyi.

God Bless You All