02.20.09

today marks the halfway point of my time here in uganda (close enough). it doesn't feel like i've been here a month and a half, yet it feels like i've been doing this forever. i love being here ... even on bad days. especially on bad days. i'm thankful every morning. i've noticed some improvements in the classes i've been involved with. though they are far apart in age, the preschool class and the P5 class are at the same level in some ways ... speaking english during school, listening and understanding instruction, becoming better accustomed to the structure and flow of this school. it seems the majority of the first term is just getting them used to school and teachers. after i griped and griped so much about teaching that P1 class, i hunkered down and prepared to teach for the week. of course, monday morning, teacher cissy was back and hasn't been gone since. ok, God, i hear ya.

this week we have been preparing for a visit from home office (the bosses) next week. this has meant getting ready for class presentations and doing some spiffing up around the campus. i am putting together the 4 year old presentation ... they are singing a special song that i think you will recognize and enjoy. :) the housemates are gone this week on safari and i'm looking forward to having the place to myself for a few days. i've been lucky to have roommates that i've become friends with. these college-faced whippersnappers keep me young.

our less than spectacular visit to the equator.
i was expecting more of a "south of the border" ambiance.

i don't touch very much on the changes within me or what i am seeing God do in uganda in this blog. let me just say that plenty of that is going on and i'm seeing and experiencing it and i hope to share it with you. (like, that i'm recognizing that i was being prepared for this trip way before i had even heard of rafiki.) but the intentions of this blog are mostly for information sake. and that's intentional. i need time to mull over and understand these "God moments" that i'm in the midst of. (or "mid-est of", as it is pronounced here.)

my new favorite author, and possibly all-around human being, is elisabeth elliot. her first husband, jim elliot, was one of the five missionaries killed in ecuador in 1956. soon after jim's death, she picked up where he left off and continued his work with the deadly acua tribe, living with them for two years. while her conditions and those she was serving were much more primitive than mine, she sums up *perfectly* my feelings about my time and purpose in uganda in one of her books:

my speculations concerning the acuas' attitudes toward outsiders,
the reasons for their former behavior, their nature and character proved to be quite wrong. ideas i had about how to approach them were turned upside down, and my perspective on my own society was changed. i felt in many ways that i knew less, after living with the acuas, than i had known when i went in. my hammock by the fire became an ivory tower. i was isolated from my own people by distance, from the acuas by being a foreigner. unable to communicate, i was forced to reflect.

and i did take some pictures. i made notes on what i saw. it is my hope that these will convey some idea of who the acuas are, how they live, how we lived with them, and some of the problems we faced. perhaps the contemplation of this society may give a new perspective on our own and help us to know what it is that really matters.

the word "missionary" may call to mind preaching, teaching, church-building (and even this often means merely a physical plant, rather than a spiritual building), medical work, baptizing, catechizing, social improvement -- almost any form of philanthropy. i found myself quite unable to undertake any one of these activities. a strange position for one who was called a missionary. i began to search my Guidebook to learn whether my definition had been an accurate one. the word "missionary" does not occur in the Bible. but the word "witness" does. i found many passages indicating that i was supposed to be a witness. one in particular arrested me. it stated that to be a witness to God is, above all, to know, believe, and understand Him (isaiah 43:10). all that He asks us to do is but means to an end. he will go to any lenghts to teach us, and His manipulation of the movements of men - acuas, missionaries, whomever - is never accidental. those movements may be incidental to the one thing toward which He goads us: the recognition of Christ.

from the savage my kinsman by elisabeth elliot

T.G.I.F.

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY. what a week this has been. let me start by saying that God is good, and i wouldn't have gotten through this week without God's mercy and guidance. i know what you're thinking, what happened?! civil unrest? monsoon? typhoid? nope, none of those. worse ....... first graders.

i've been carrying on my "usual" routine - assist preschool in the mornings and two computer/independent study classes in the afternoon. i like that schedule. it's solid. and allows me enough time to plan because not much happens after dinner during the week besides me falling asleep reading a book. one of the national (local) teachers missed a couple days last week and i filled in. no biggie. i can wing it for two classes. well, this week she was out every day and me being the "wonderfully flexible" person i am (flattery has gotten them everywhere), was asked to substitute. usually, i'm informed of this at morning assembly right before school starts ... not much time to prepare. no lesson plan, at least not one that i can decipher, and a room full of wiggly six year olds. being unprepared is not my favorite position to be in. i just knew by friday she would be back or that someone would relieve me of this duty. that didn't happen. and coupled with other challenges and frustrations in the classrooms this week, it was too much for me to bear. there are language and cultural barriers that add to the ordinary obstacles of teaching. i felt overwhelmed and confused and had to leave my preschool class early to get myself together. after an intense cry-it-out-pray-it-out session in my bedroom, i powered through and the rest of the day went better than i expected.

my word for 2009 is confidence. this recent string of "put teacher laura in that classroom, she'll do it" has been my first test ... i asked for it, i got it. instead of fleeing the scene as is my per usual response, i'm trying to remember to use my talents and to treat each day here as a precious gift. (plus, where am i going to go, right?) i actually put some creative effort in my P4 class this afternoon and it went great. they may have actually learned something! ahh!

*it will not be you speaking, but the spirit of your Father speaking through you." - matthew 10:20

with all the rain lately (that is MUCH needed), i've been cooped up on campus ... no one wants to drive these roads in bad weather. thankfully there are some games set up for tomorrow, so we'll get to play and take lots of pictures. sunday, i'll ride to church with a couple of the families. it's pretty great to pile into a taxi and sing old hymns with twenty or so children dressed in their sunday best. as long as the windows open.

i hope my sporadic blogs are satisfying your need for updates. finding the time and energy and consistent internet connection to do these is not always easy. never fear, i am keeping a journal of my adventures. despite some eek! moments, things are going great here and i am thankful every day that i have the opportunity to serve in this beautiful place that is a constant reminder of despair AND of hope.

some of my favorite quotes of the week:
"tit tis well (tit tis well), with my soul (with my soul)" - preschool 4's class

"sula bulungi teacha!" - moses, age 3 from across the playground
(sula bulungi = good night)

"teacher laura? i want you to teach me spanish." - thomas, age 10
(that was so random and, knowing thomas, so funny)

"good job, guys. good job, girls." - john, age 4 ... when it was his turn to help teach the alphabet to his classmates

"twinkle, twinkle little star how i wonder what you are. bah, bah, bah the world so high like a diamond in the sky." - harriet, age 4

"kwata auntie." - what the mamas or carolyn say to the smallest children. literally means "take" or "hold" auntie ... my hand. or my skirt, depending their height. :)