For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. (Gal. 5:13, NLT)
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. (Col. 4:5, NLT)
“YOOOO HOOOO!!”
“I-am-over-here!”
“and-i-am-over-here!”
“YOOOO HOOOO!!”
“I-am-over-here!”
“and-i-am-over-here!”
Flapflapflap. “YOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!”
“I-am-over-here!”
“and-i-am-over-here!”
“AARRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AAAAAARRROOOOOUUUUUGGGHHHHH!!”
So began the morning conversations between the village animals. Mr. Alpha Rooster, that early-morning-riser who just so happened to live in the storage hut right next to ours, decided that 3:30 AM was the perfect time to send a shout-out to all his rooster buddies throughout the village. From their various roosts, they’d all reply, ensuring that the Fraternity of Poultry was still intact. Mr. Alpha Rooster would beef himself up for his “holla” by beating his wings and then belt out his greetings for all of Northern Uganda to hear. And we held coop-side seats to catch every bit of the action…for the next 4 hours.
Around 5AM, just when we thought things might be calming down a bit, a new friend joined the mix. I think the conversation we had over breakfast tells the story better than I could, so here goes:
Team member #1: So, Debbi, how did you sleep last night?
Debbi: I slept great, until 3:30 when that blasted rooster started up!
Team member #1: I know! That was obnoxious!
Debbi: Seriously. And then, just when he was starting to give it a rest, those COWS started in!
Team member #2: Uh, COWS??
Team member #1: What COWS??
Debbi: You know, those COWS. They sounded like they were just over there.(pointing)
Team member #2: I didn’t hear any COWS. I heard Tiger howling.
Team members #1-9: Me, too. I heard Tiger howling. I didn’t hear any COWS.
Debbi: Oh, yeah. That’s what I heard, too. Not COWS. Who ever heard of COWS howling??
Ah, yes. Tiger. Mike’s dog. Tied up because he’s started this bad habit of growling at muzungas (white people). Tied up while his lady friends, Mama Dog and Pepper, are both in heat. Howling at the unfairness of the entire situation. Howling because his master – Alpha Dog Mike – has been stateside for the past 6 weeks. Howling…pathetically…for hours -HOURS – on end.
The joys of living on a working farm. And just to clarify: a farm without cows.
Rude awakenings aside, the Ugandan morning was beautiful. The cool, moist morning mist hung over the football (soccer) field as the sun’s first rays peeked over the horizon. Each day feels like a miracle here, as the freshness of a new day inspires tremendous possibility and invites us to participate.
The kitchen staff had pulled out all the stops for our first breakfast at the village: omelet (eggs), toast (bread), bananas and tea! So delicious. After breakfast, Jon led our team devotions, using the passages above. He offered a great reminder to us to look for opportunities to serve one another while we are here, because we don’t know the impact our service will have on those around us, and to look to God as the source of our wisdom, asking Him to lead us to those opportunities of service. That challenged echoed the desire of my own heart: show me, Lord. Lead me, Lord. Show me where You need me to be. Lead me to opportunities of service to others. Give me the chance to pour myself out and make a difference because I am HERE. Let me bear fruit, and let this fruit remain.
Rose left in the morning to travel back to Entebbe, pour soul, to pick up Mike, Janelle, Jenna, and 3 of her cousins at the airport. Trace had the opportunity to visit with her briefly before her departure and get the go-ahead for us to use our morning time to assist the house mothers with their chores. I was particularly grateful and excited to have such a quick answer to my prayers! Cleaning and cooking – even African style – is something I *know* I can handle.
Trace also spent some time with Irene, the school’s headmistress, to discuss our teaching schedule. After their meeting, I was able to create an Excel “spreadsheet” – Ugandan style – for each hut. Our daily routine looked something like this:
- 7:00-7:30 Good morning!
- 7:30-9:00 Quiet time, breakfast, team devotionals and prayer
- 9:00-10:30 Help house mothers with their chores
- 10:30-11:00 Children return from school and eat breakfast
- 11:00-1:00 Continue to help house mothers with their chores or do other work around the village as needed
- 1:00-2:00 Team lunch while children eat
- 2:00–4:30 ESL and Bible study lessons at the school
- 4:30-7:00 Playtime with the children – AFTER their chores are completed
- 7:00-9:00 Team supper and chat around the campfire while children are at “prep”
- 9:00-9:30 Prep ends, walk children back to houses, say good-night
- 9:30-?? Games, reflection, visit with staff…bedtime
Based on our schedule, we anticipated teaching every class at least once with our ESL/Science lessons, and the P1/P2 (Primary 1/Primary 2 – similar to 1st/2nd grades) classes every afternoon! We also were excited about the opportunity to piggyback our Bible study to nearly every ESL/Science lesson.
We spent part of our morning as a team, working on our song that we would teach the children at their Friday afternoon assembly. We had chosen to teach one of the VBS songs for this year, “I Depend on You”, and videotape the children once they had learned it. We plan to show this video during VBS, to put faces to the offerings our children are collecting for Village of Hope. The rest of the morning was spent making final preparations for our first ESL/Science lesson and Bible study that afternoon.
Lunch was another feast of goat, rice, beans, stew, and pineapple (YUM!). Although I don’t particularly care for goat meat, the stew is terrific and adds great flavor to the rice and beans.
And then, it was GO TIME: time for our first ESL lesson.
We started with the P6 class, a great way to get our teaching “feet” wet. We had suggested that the team come as “assistants” to sit with the children and help us monitor for comprehension. With nearly 50 children in the class, a few extra hands make a big difference! We started with our lesson on sight, and Elizabeth took the lead, since it was one of the lessons she had prepared.
We taught them a Bible verse and the song “Open the Eyes of My Heart” to close our lesson, and I prayed that the truth of this verse: And God saw everything that He had made, and it was VERY GOOD. (Gen. 1:31) would sink deeply into their hearts. So many of these children have been told that they are worthless, that they are no good, that they have no value. I pray that our words remind them how incredibly beautiful, and precious, and valuable they are…that they are absolutely worth traveling halfway around the world for.
Ryan brought the Bible lesson on our identity in Christ. He has done a great job of taking the concepts and breaking them down to make them simple and understandable.
As the old adage says, Men make plans and God laughs. I think every time I go to Village of Hope, he ends up in hysterics. The only sure thing about our plans there is they are bound to change. And sure enough, no sooner had I created our excel “spreadsheet” and posted it in our hut than we had to change it. We discovered that the P1/P2 classes are released from school at 1:00 and no one had informed them to return for our lesson that afternoon. We had no interpreter, no students, and apparently no reason to be loitering outside the classroom.
We returned to our huts a little disappointed, but not for long. A group of little faces peered out from behind the termite tree. It was obvious they wanted to check out these muzungas but their curiosity and respect held them in check. After many assurances from us that it was, in fact, okay – You are welcome! No, seriously, you are welcome! – they timidly joined us. They beamed as they shook hands with us and we learned their names.
TNot being able to communicate much beyond that, the novelty quickly faded. So I asked them to show off their muscles. They happily obliged. In the village, you do *not* call this a gun show.
Then they started drawing in the dirt. No matter where in the world you live, boys and dirt just go together.
With a face like that, how could I resist. Next thing you know, I’m in the dirt with them, drawing hearts and crosses and teaching them how to draw 5-point stars using one continuous line.
And then, Lindsay brought out the cones and the whole game changed. Literally. Now we had TOYS!! Or hats, if you prefer.
We quickly came up with a great game idea for the boys to help them learn our names. They had a great time, and so did we.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjrpSceFoFA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
We heard the sounds of dancing and drumming coming from the schoolyard. Realizing the older children were now out of school, we thanked our new friends for playing with us and headed down to make more friends. I found a spot near the dancing and just watched for awhile. Wemazungas never cease to attract a crowd. Soon my friend Sandra had joined me.
And then, a few more joined in the fun.
Pretty soon, I was the center of a party, all wanting their pictures taken.
I stayed and listened to the singing and watched the dancing until there was nothing left to see or hear. As we walked back to their homes, Franka came up to me. In her softspoken way, she took my hand and said, “Tomorrow, you come to MY house. You sleep in MY bed. Yes?” Except that the question mark at the end was pretty much a period.
“Yes.” I said out loud. YESSSSS!!!! I said in my heart. This was what I came for. Spending time with these precious people, being part of their lives, making memories and having fun with one another. You bet, Franka. I will be there. You can count on it.
Dusk fell, the campfire was lit, and we enjoyed listening to the sounds of night coming alive. We laughed as we relived the adventures of our first full day in the village and listened quietly as the children ended their day with exuberant worship and praise. After hugs and wishes ofa but maber, wanting to make the magic of this day last just a bit longer, we joined our headlamps and enjoyed a rousing game of bananagrams.
It may not be a competition, but for the record, I won.