As Christmas approaches I can’t help but reflect on where we have been and where we are going. I am going to assume not all of you will finish reading this letter but my hope is that you do. These days when people hear the words “Christ” or “Jesus” they usually put their fists up. It makes sense when Christianity, particularly in America, is lately being stereotyped as: unforgiving, hypocritical, homophobic, consumerism, bigotry, paternalism and much more.
These words are quite different then the words used in scripture explaining a follower of Christ. Galatians says, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) I think many are trying to figure out how this change happened. Why aren’t his “followers” today living the way Galatians says to live? I think one of the main problems is we really aren’t looking to the people who once turned this world upside down. We are more influenced by what’s going on around us and the traditions of our day.
Eberhard Arnold said, “The original witness of the church must lead us all, though still in very different camps, into the unity and purity of the clear light. The period of original revelation must be the point of departure for any dialogue between the many churches, sects and movements of our own day. The awakening and uniting of all who truly desire to follow Christ will be given the source, and nowhere else.”
Looking back to the time of the Apostles you see something very different then what you are seeing today.
“We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We are patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us. We are honest, but they call us imposters. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.” (2 Corinthians 6: 3-10)
Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. (1 Corinthians 4:10-13)
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
If you only love those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” (Luke 6:27-36)
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2)
There was a century of Christians who lived life followed by the Holy Spirit and turned that world upside down. But then something happened. People conformed. The church conformed.
Between the years of 140-200 AD was when the New Testament was given its primary form. Eberhard Arnold said, “AD 180 marks the turning point in the social and political stance of the church. From now on, Christians exerted increasing power and influence in politics and public affairs; they were no longer criminals in the eyes of the State like the first Christians.”
“From AD 313 to 325, Christianity was no longer a struggling religion trying to survive the Roman government. It was basking in the sun of imperialism, loaded with money and status. To be a Christian under Constantine’s reign was no longer a handicap. It was an advantage. It was fashionable to become a part of the emperor’s religion.” (Pagan Christianity, 2008)
Sound familiar?
These days many people are turned off from Jesus. Not because of Jesus but because of the people who claim to follow him. They claim him with their lips but their lives show something completely different. But this isn’t surprising. Scripture said this was going to happen. And many were going to do it. Today we find mass conformity. Many Christians in the Black Friday mobs, Christmas trees filled with presents, expensive homes filled of stuff, expensive cars, expensive habits, abusive spouses, and people consumed with themselves while not even realizing it. Imagine the 1 billion or so “Christians” today living like the early Church; going against what society has to offer. Imagine them living a life that demanded an explanation. Imagine if the body of Christ in America spent $230 billion dollars on the world’s crises instead of church real estate.
Ghandi said, “I like your Christ. I don’t like your Christians. You’re Christians act nothing like your Christ.”
My friend put it another way, “I love our Christ but I am sick of our Christians. They are nothing like our Christ.”
I hope sooner than later we can realize what Ghandi was saying…
The way I live life has been questioned a lot. The funny part about it is that many people who have questioned it happen to be Christians. But for some reason they live a completely different way of life than me. Am I wrong? Are they wrong? I don’t know if anyone is. At the end will Jesus really ask me why I didn’t take more? Why I didn’t buy more and more things for myself? Even though he preached about money and possessions and he told us to not store our treasures here on earth. Will he really tell me I should have spent more time and money on myself? For some reason I don’t see him asking those questions. As followers of Jesus we are called to give up our lives and everything else and follow him. He never said it was going to be easy. He said it was going to be very hard and many people will give up. I see what he meant. I see it almost every day. I believe all the people who gave up everything for others will find true treasures in everything they have done.
Again, 2 Corinthians 6: 3-10 says, “We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God”
The greatest gift you can give this Christmas is accepting our apology. We are sorry for causing many to stumble. We are sorry for living a life which contradicts the faith we claim. We are sorry for not showing you the true Christ. We are sorry for not loving our neighbors as ourselves. We are sorry for not forgiving. We are sorry for not showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We are sorry for not acting like followers of Christ.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Relationships
Lately I have been thinking about the life of someone I barely knew. He had a short life on this earth. His going was sudden and confusing. I find myself wondering why I even think of someone I didn’t know and briefly encountered close to 15 years ago. With the thoughts of him roaming in my head I have also been pondering this quote:
"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" - Clarence Oddbody
Why do I feel like he has left an awful hole? I didn’t even know him. He touched my sister’s life more. I think I still feel the pain she suffered.
I can’t help but think of relationships and how people impact others. Relationships are the most important thing in life. But today we are becoming busier and busier. Why? For what? Are we becoming busier building relationships? Or busier making money? More and more we take people for granted. When they are in our presence we aren’t as thankful as when they are gone. Why do we pick up our phones when we are talking to someone face to face? Don’t we see that we are really saying, “Well, you’re not that important.” Society tells us to be busy. Work hard. Make money. Buy that house. Go for the newer car. Get your retirement set. Do anything it takes. Climb that ladder. A friend sent me this a while back:
"The things society says are important are not important. Your profession, your money, your looks. Loving people, having a deep connection with people, taking care of people, that is important."
What has made us become so concerned with our worldy lifestyle? We feel the need to tell the world what we’ve accomplished. What if we took more time to build relationships? Made less money. Watched less television. Spent less time on the internet. Spent less time at work. Reduced our style of material living. And used that time to make current relationships stronger and made new relationships with strangers. What if stopped to sit on that park bench and simply talked to people. What if we didn’t fear the unknown? What would happen if we didn’t fear change? What has caused us to become cold? Beauty comes from people, not from things. Imagine how much more beautiful life could be…
Once our time here is done nothing material comes with us. But the love we have shown to others does.
Why do we act as though we will live forever? We all know we are going to die. But we really don’t know when. It could be any second. But why do we act as though it won’t happen? What would happen to the world if we all loved more? Not just our families, but even strangers. Imagine fixing that broken relationship you neglect to address. Maybe opening your heart again and being humble instead of prideful. It’s never too late. What if we were slow to anger? Would it really hurt? What if we were happy to be interrupted in our busy lives. In this we have the opportunity to touch other lives and to be touched back. Think of how much more rich life would be.
I remember being told Askia was dead. My heart hurt. It still does. I can only imagine the hearts that still hurt after all these years. Thinking of him makes me think of the identical twin brothers from my high school. One morning one of them never woke up. Imagine the words his brother never got to say before his brother died.
We don’t know when our life might be over on this earth. Be grateful for the people in your life, even the strangers. Tell them how much they mean to you. Show love to all. It lasts forever.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."
I love you all. Thank you for touching my life.
"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" - Clarence Oddbody
Why do I feel like he has left an awful hole? I didn’t even know him. He touched my sister’s life more. I think I still feel the pain she suffered.
I can’t help but think of relationships and how people impact others. Relationships are the most important thing in life. But today we are becoming busier and busier. Why? For what? Are we becoming busier building relationships? Or busier making money? More and more we take people for granted. When they are in our presence we aren’t as thankful as when they are gone. Why do we pick up our phones when we are talking to someone face to face? Don’t we see that we are really saying, “Well, you’re not that important.” Society tells us to be busy. Work hard. Make money. Buy that house. Go for the newer car. Get your retirement set. Do anything it takes. Climb that ladder. A friend sent me this a while back:
"The things society says are important are not important. Your profession, your money, your looks. Loving people, having a deep connection with people, taking care of people, that is important."
What has made us become so concerned with our worldy lifestyle? We feel the need to tell the world what we’ve accomplished. What if we took more time to build relationships? Made less money. Watched less television. Spent less time on the internet. Spent less time at work. Reduced our style of material living. And used that time to make current relationships stronger and made new relationships with strangers. What if stopped to sit on that park bench and simply talked to people. What if we didn’t fear the unknown? What would happen if we didn’t fear change? What has caused us to become cold? Beauty comes from people, not from things. Imagine how much more beautiful life could be…
Once our time here is done nothing material comes with us. But the love we have shown to others does.
Why do we act as though we will live forever? We all know we are going to die. But we really don’t know when. It could be any second. But why do we act as though it won’t happen? What would happen to the world if we all loved more? Not just our families, but even strangers. Imagine fixing that broken relationship you neglect to address. Maybe opening your heart again and being humble instead of prideful. It’s never too late. What if we were slow to anger? Would it really hurt? What if we were happy to be interrupted in our busy lives. In this we have the opportunity to touch other lives and to be touched back. Think of how much more rich life would be.
I remember being told Askia was dead. My heart hurt. It still does. I can only imagine the hearts that still hurt after all these years. Thinking of him makes me think of the identical twin brothers from my high school. One morning one of them never woke up. Imagine the words his brother never got to say before his brother died.
We don’t know when our life might be over on this earth. Be grateful for the people in your life, even the strangers. Tell them how much they mean to you. Show love to all. It lasts forever.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."
I love you all. Thank you for touching my life.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Chamwino update- 5.11.09
It is amazing how fast time flies. It felt like I just sent out an email about the guests arriving and it is approaching a week that they have been gone. The two ladies had a good time. They taught three classes per day, four days a week. Each class they had a local translating which they admitted was a life saver. When it comes to teaching English things continue to be baby steps. At this point I see 3 people eager to learn and I believe they will be translating for guests in the near future.
Last Saturday I was the Muzungu cameraman at a local wedding. It was great. It was a long day and I was definitely tired but I had a blast. The night finished with some dancing at the reception. Good times. I took about 550 photos that day and I plan to make a DVD for the newlywed’s.
Sunday I made a quick 2 day trip to Dar to visit one of ex-coworker’s from Peet’s. She was traveling with her boyfriend throughout Tanzania and I was able to have dinner with them the evening before they left. They seemed to have had a great time.
Since returning to Chamwino I have taken over 2 of the classes which the ladies were teaching. I have a pretty full schedule at this point. I am teaching English every morning, afternoon, and early evening. I am trying to keep some room for the randomness of life.
Last Saturday I was the Muzungu cameraman at a local wedding. It was great. It was a long day and I was definitely tired but I had a blast. The night finished with some dancing at the reception. Good times. I took about 550 photos that day and I plan to make a DVD for the newlywed’s.
Sunday I made a quick 2 day trip to Dar to visit one of ex-coworker’s from Peet’s. She was traveling with her boyfriend throughout Tanzania and I was able to have dinner with them the evening before they left. They seemed to have had a great time.
Since returning to Chamwino I have taken over 2 of the classes which the ladies were teaching. I have a pretty full schedule at this point. I am teaching English every morning, afternoon, and early evening. I am trying to keep some room for the randomness of life.
return from Rwanda
This is a quick one. I just wanted to email to say that I made it back to Chamwino one week ago. Now we have two wonderful guests, for 3 weeks, who are helping with teaching English. Lewis is back too.
Rwanda was beautiful. It rained. I saw a large body of water (Lake Kivu). Lots of hills (it’s the land of 1,000 hills...they aren’t joking). I experienced Genocide memorials.
It was surreal being in Kigali and surrounding areas knowing quite well the atrocities which happened 15 years ago. People in Rwanda are peaceful and are still healing. The government seems to be trying hard to unify its people. The Kigali memorial was powerful. There have been too many genocides in the past 100 years. Let me rephrase that, there have been too many human beings killing other human beings, in mass amounts, in the last 100 years.
I met a man named John. He is 33 years old and Tutsi. He was in secondary school at the time of the Genocide. He lost 5 brothers. He is a wonderful man but you know his heart hurts. He said he can’t see the memorials…it would be too hard.
I went to a village near Lake Kivu where in 1994 every 9 out of 10 Tutsi’s were slaughtered. At the time they were 20% of that village’s population.
Rwanda was beautiful. It rained. I saw a large body of water (Lake Kivu). Lots of hills (it’s the land of 1,000 hills...they aren’t joking). I experienced Genocide memorials.
It was surreal being in Kigali and surrounding areas knowing quite well the atrocities which happened 15 years ago. People in Rwanda are peaceful and are still healing. The government seems to be trying hard to unify its people. The Kigali memorial was powerful. There have been too many genocides in the past 100 years. Let me rephrase that, there have been too many human beings killing other human beings, in mass amounts, in the last 100 years.
I met a man named John. He is 33 years old and Tutsi. He was in secondary school at the time of the Genocide. He lost 5 brothers. He is a wonderful man but you know his heart hurts. He said he can’t see the memorials…it would be too hard.
I went to a village near Lake Kivu where in 1994 every 9 out of 10 Tutsi’s were slaughtered. At the time they were 20% of that village’s population.
25.09.09
I have not updated in a little over a month. I haven’t had the words. I still don’t know if I really do. But I will try.
This past week has been challenging. I have been living by myself and I don’t like it. I like living life with people. I am in a wonderful community with great people but living in the corner of the village by my-self is not my most favorite thing. Today I saw a truck and on the back it said, “Don’t walk alone.” Seeing that really hit me. I have been feeling like I have been walking alone for some time now. This has been a huge challenge for me, which I am trying to think through and work through.
Steve was living with me for the past month but now he is back in Zimbabwe. Lewis is supposed to be returning from Zimbabwe but his return to Chamwino has been delayed due to his family stuff.
So, what have I been up to???
Every Tuesday and Thursday a man named Ezra teaches me Kiswahili in the morning and then in the evening I help him teach Secondary and Pre-form 1 students at a nearby primary school. I was helping with debate/discussion and now I am helping with some mathematics. This is turning out to be a good trade off for the both of us.
I am still working with the same group as before in the mornings and most evenings. The trade-off I just talked about changed things a little bit but not much. I have also been trying to remain available to help with the construction project when needed. At this point they have been working on the plastering of the toilets. I believe the completion of everything is expected to be done around the beginning of November.
When it comes to learning languages I have noticed the biggest difference between me learning Kiswahili and the locals learning English is resources. I have about 4 books to teach me Swahili but the people of Chamwino lack these materials. It would be extremely helpful if they had books in Swahili which would be teaching them English. I haven’t seen any. Also, I am speaking Swahili every day. I am learning more every day. It is hard for the people here to speak English more frequently because communication is easier in Swahili. Don’t get me wrong, people ARE trying and they ARE learning, but it’s harder for them because of these reasons. Because of this I made a 3 page document, for starters, and passed it around to many people. This will allow them to practice at home, like I do. The information is pretty much all the initial things I wanted to learn when I first started learning Swahili. The document is in Kiswahili and in English; this will help them see the patterns in things like greetings.
A little over a week ago Steve and I headed to Dar. He was getting ready to head back to Zimbabwe and I just needed a little time to regroup. We decided to make a trip to Zanzibar. We went for 3 days and it was nice. It was a little too touristy in the main areas but overall the island was beautiful. We were there during Ramadan so many of the shops were closed but it was good we didn’t have to mess with the craziness of daily life. It made it peaceful. The first night we stayed in Stone town and then the following morning we headed to the north of the island to an area called Kendwa. The island of Zanzibar has white powdery sand and clear blue water. The day before we left we took a boat trip to a coral reef and did a little snorkeling. I uploaded some pictures on Facebook. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=2087386&id=39204366&ref=nf. (sorry I use FB to show photos. I know not all people have it but it is the easiest way for me to do it.)
Next Saturday I am leaving the country of Tanzania, BUT NOT FOR GOOD. My visa requires me to leave every 3 months even though my visa is a year. It’s crazy, I know. October 6th is already the 3 months mark. So, the 3rd of October I will take a bus journey to Rwanda. The bus ride will be 2 days both ways and I think I will stay in Kigali for at most 1 week. I chose Rwanda because they don’t require me to get a visa and I have someone I know there who said I can stay for free. This helps keep cost down a lot!
When I return to Chamwino Lewis will be here and so will two visitors from the states. It will be nice to have people in the house.
This past week has been challenging. I have been living by myself and I don’t like it. I like living life with people. I am in a wonderful community with great people but living in the corner of the village by my-self is not my most favorite thing. Today I saw a truck and on the back it said, “Don’t walk alone.” Seeing that really hit me. I have been feeling like I have been walking alone for some time now. This has been a huge challenge for me, which I am trying to think through and work through.
Steve was living with me for the past month but now he is back in Zimbabwe. Lewis is supposed to be returning from Zimbabwe but his return to Chamwino has been delayed due to his family stuff.
So, what have I been up to???
Every Tuesday and Thursday a man named Ezra teaches me Kiswahili in the morning and then in the evening I help him teach Secondary and Pre-form 1 students at a nearby primary school. I was helping with debate/discussion and now I am helping with some mathematics. This is turning out to be a good trade off for the both of us.
I am still working with the same group as before in the mornings and most evenings. The trade-off I just talked about changed things a little bit but not much. I have also been trying to remain available to help with the construction project when needed. At this point they have been working on the plastering of the toilets. I believe the completion of everything is expected to be done around the beginning of November.
When it comes to learning languages I have noticed the biggest difference between me learning Kiswahili and the locals learning English is resources. I have about 4 books to teach me Swahili but the people of Chamwino lack these materials. It would be extremely helpful if they had books in Swahili which would be teaching them English. I haven’t seen any. Also, I am speaking Swahili every day. I am learning more every day. It is hard for the people here to speak English more frequently because communication is easier in Swahili. Don’t get me wrong, people ARE trying and they ARE learning, but it’s harder for them because of these reasons. Because of this I made a 3 page document, for starters, and passed it around to many people. This will allow them to practice at home, like I do. The information is pretty much all the initial things I wanted to learn when I first started learning Swahili. The document is in Kiswahili and in English; this will help them see the patterns in things like greetings.
A little over a week ago Steve and I headed to Dar. He was getting ready to head back to Zimbabwe and I just needed a little time to regroup. We decided to make a trip to Zanzibar. We went for 3 days and it was nice. It was a little too touristy in the main areas but overall the island was beautiful. We were there during Ramadan so many of the shops were closed but it was good we didn’t have to mess with the craziness of daily life. It made it peaceful. The first night we stayed in Stone town and then the following morning we headed to the north of the island to an area called Kendwa. The island of Zanzibar has white powdery sand and clear blue water. The day before we left we took a boat trip to a coral reef and did a little snorkeling. I uploaded some pictures on Facebook. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=2087386&id=39204366&ref=nf. (sorry I use FB to show photos. I know not all people have it but it is the easiest way for me to do it.)
Next Saturday I am leaving the country of Tanzania, BUT NOT FOR GOOD. My visa requires me to leave every 3 months even though my visa is a year. It’s crazy, I know. October 6th is already the 3 months mark. So, the 3rd of October I will take a bus journey to Rwanda. The bus ride will be 2 days both ways and I think I will stay in Kigali for at most 1 week. I chose Rwanda because they don’t require me to get a visa and I have someone I know there who said I can stay for free. This helps keep cost down a lot!
When I return to Chamwino Lewis will be here and so will two visitors from the states. It will be nice to have people in the house.
Chamwino update 19.08.09
Things here in Chamwino are well. Everyday has been sunny, windy, and quite peaceful. I have not seen a drop of rain or even a cloud which looked like it had a rain drop in it. This area of Tanzania does not see rain until usually late November. It is extremely dry and sandy. When the winds come so does the sand. The other day I walked by a guest house and in the courtyard I saw a patch of grass. I stopped and thought to myself, “is that grass?” People here rely on their water taps for water and it’s a good thing water follows regularly; otherwise I don’t know what we would do.
Lately I have been helping with the current construction project and I have also been doing a few English lessons. Time has been a challenge. I have constructed a schedule where I devout certain time to people and often they are late. They don’t understand that their time is then cut short because I may have another group to meet with after. I am trying to find the best way through this but it is taking time.
Every evening there is a large group of kids hanging around the house. If I bring out the soccer ball you will soon find about 20 kids kicking the ball around. Many of the kids are too young for school so during the day they are hanging around playing in the sand. (I have attached some pictures of the kids)
Swahili is coming along very slow. I am picking up a little day by day.
Lately I have been helping with the current construction project and I have also been doing a few English lessons. Time has been a challenge. I have constructed a schedule where I devout certain time to people and often they are late. They don’t understand that their time is then cut short because I may have another group to meet with after. I am trying to find the best way through this but it is taking time.
Every evening there is a large group of kids hanging around the house. If I bring out the soccer ball you will soon find about 20 kids kicking the ball around. Many of the kids are too young for school so during the day they are hanging around playing in the sand. (I have attached some pictures of the kids)
Swahili is coming along very slow. I am picking up a little day by day.
Chamwino update 28.7.09
A little over a week ago I arrived in Chamwino, the village I will be living in, and opened the door to my nice house but had one slight problem…IT WAS EMPTY! (I have included a picture of our kitchen and a picture of our view from the front door) Haha, to be honest I knew this was going to be the case but I didn’t know they REALLY meant it. After a week I headed back to Dar es Salaam to buy house supplies. (Kedmon, you will be happy when you return home…thanks again for letting me stay in your house.)
Yesterday I returned to Chamwino and now it is time to start “living.” Today I made a trip to Dodoma town on the daladala to finish up my house supplies shopping. The house still looks fairly bare because I am only getting what I need. It is funny to have guests over and they are surprised I don’t have much! They seem to have all the things for daily life around the house and I don’t. They laughed at me because I only had ceramic mugs for both water and coffee/tea. Good times…
Chamwino is much different then what I expected. I think I had a mixed vision from my past trips to Uganda. Chamwino is 2 km’s off the main road. It is small but spread out. The President has a state house, which he seems to never use, and there is also roughly 10 gated houses (nice houses) for his entourage and these houses are also vacant because the President is never here. It is strange to see this in a village where people mainly survive off their farm crops.
Right now it is very dry and in the village there isn’t many crops growing. June, July and August from my understanding does not have rain. Rainfall usually starts late November/early December and then continues until about March. January usually sees the most rain but even that is less than 8 inches for the whole month! The rains came late this year and now the crops are suffering and there is a lack of water.
During the night it gets really cold. The first week I had a sheet and I woke up at 3am freezing my butt off! I now have a blanket.
Yesterday I met with the Head Mistress of Chamwino Secondary School. This school had about 575 students and only 8 teachers (they should have 14-17 teachers…). At some point down the road I will begin tutoring during free periods and after school and maybe even help with coaching soccer.
For now I will begin living life here on a regular basis, becoming more familiar how things work and better my Swahili. I am going to start working one on one with a few specific people who are involved in the partnership. They have been working on increasing their English and now they need more time talking. I am excited to see how they respond through time. The community seems to be looking forward to me teaching English and assisting with other tasks.
Chamwino life is slow and I was told this front the get-go. I experienced this the first time I was in Gulu. The thing I like best thus far is the lack of cars. Most people walk around the village or use bicycles. Sometimes when I walk I feel like I am going to fall over because I am walking that slowly but I think about it and just laugh. Being late doesn’t seem like too much of a problem…that is always a challenge for us because we are always time conscious but in the end it always seems to work out.
The people here are WONDERFUL and I think I am going to enjoy living here. Tomorrow I am washing my clothes. I don’t think I can go any longer wearing dirty clothes. Haha.
Hope all is well and sorry this is long.
Yesterday I returned to Chamwino and now it is time to start “living.” Today I made a trip to Dodoma town on the daladala to finish up my house supplies shopping. The house still looks fairly bare because I am only getting what I need. It is funny to have guests over and they are surprised I don’t have much! They seem to have all the things for daily life around the house and I don’t. They laughed at me because I only had ceramic mugs for both water and coffee/tea. Good times…
Chamwino is much different then what I expected. I think I had a mixed vision from my past trips to Uganda. Chamwino is 2 km’s off the main road. It is small but spread out. The President has a state house, which he seems to never use, and there is also roughly 10 gated houses (nice houses) for his entourage and these houses are also vacant because the President is never here. It is strange to see this in a village where people mainly survive off their farm crops.
Right now it is very dry and in the village there isn’t many crops growing. June, July and August from my understanding does not have rain. Rainfall usually starts late November/early December and then continues until about March. January usually sees the most rain but even that is less than 8 inches for the whole month! The rains came late this year and now the crops are suffering and there is a lack of water.
During the night it gets really cold. The first week I had a sheet and I woke up at 3am freezing my butt off! I now have a blanket.
Yesterday I met with the Head Mistress of Chamwino Secondary School. This school had about 575 students and only 8 teachers (they should have 14-17 teachers…). At some point down the road I will begin tutoring during free periods and after school and maybe even help with coaching soccer.
For now I will begin living life here on a regular basis, becoming more familiar how things work and better my Swahili. I am going to start working one on one with a few specific people who are involved in the partnership. They have been working on increasing their English and now they need more time talking. I am excited to see how they respond through time. The community seems to be looking forward to me teaching English and assisting with other tasks.
Chamwino life is slow and I was told this front the get-go. I experienced this the first time I was in Gulu. The thing I like best thus far is the lack of cars. Most people walk around the village or use bicycles. Sometimes when I walk I feel like I am going to fall over because I am walking that slowly but I think about it and just laugh. Being late doesn’t seem like too much of a problem…that is always a challenge for us because we are always time conscious but in the end it always seems to work out.
The people here are WONDERFUL and I think I am going to enjoy living here. Tomorrow I am washing my clothes. I don’t think I can go any longer wearing dirty clothes. Haha.
Hope all is well and sorry this is long.
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