In Case You'd Forgotten...

In Case You'd Forgotten...

In case you've become too comfortable with living in a third world country...

In case you had found it easy to live in northern Uganda where very few US dollars can still afford you a very affluent lifestyle in comparison to the majority of the population.

In case you'd forgotten that the country you are in has only recently come out of a 20 year war led by a mad man by the name of Joseph Kony...

These were the thoughts that went through my mind a few days ago when I heard. You see my team is very fortunate in the big scheme of things. Though in America we are college-aged students living on tight budgets, in Uganda we do pretty ok. You see I can eat all three meals in a day for less than $2.00. I can eat good food that includes flavor and protein, meat and veggies for less than $5.00. Even in Lira, Uganda, I have running water. I have a shower. I have a bed. And I have a mosquito net. So basically, though I am living with minimal comforts in comparison to my American lifestyle, I have got it pretty good here in this third world country.

Because of that, it is easy for me to become comfortable. It is easy for me to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and play with street children and orphans because my biggest concern in a day is whether or not I remembered to take my malaria preventative. Oh yeah, that reminds me, another one of the luxuries I can afford because of my American affluence is that I am able to buy and take malaria preventative in the form of an inexpensive antibiotic.

In case you'd forgotten that you are in a world that needs more help than you can provide...

A young boy at the age of thirteen was killed a few days ago when he stepped on a landmine left behind by the Lords Resistance Army not even a mile from where I am living. In fact, I heard the explosion. It sounded a little like a car backfiring from where I was sitting in my bed in my room. I did not know this boy. I know a child who was friends with him, but I had never met him. I don't know his story. I don't know his parents. And I can't imagine the hurt that his family must be going through.

In case you'd forgotten that you are in a world that needs more help than you can provide...

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." -John 10:10

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." -John 16:33

"When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thrist, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them." -Isaiah 41:17

"Is not this the fast that I choose; to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard...If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;  you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in." -Isaiah 58:6-12

'Some Few' Photos

 For some words about my week, go to http://uganda.adventures.org!

 Our instruments of praise...yes, those are water bottles!

God's precious Gift came to see me at Church for Easter!

GIFTEE!

Some of the kids love to tag along as we leave the church grounds!

My ministry team!

 The hut I lived in while I had malaria.

 My beautiful leaders.

Doreen looking fabulous at her introduction! Her wedding is this Saturday.

At a worship seminar we led!

Me with Winnie at the seminar!

Baby Caleb!

One of those days...

So today I was struggling trying to think about what to write. I encourage you, if you are interested in reading about my day to day activities, to check out my other blog which is posted on my team's blog site at http://uganda.adventures.org. I managed to write out a post about visiting the hospital this Monday. But when thinking about what to write on this page I kept coming up blank. Then I remembered that I had yet to check and see if there was an update to my favorite blog written by Katie Davis. I opened up her website and my spirit was instantly lifted as I began to read her words. If you've not heard of Katie Davis and the beautiful story of our Savior that He is telling through her life, check out her blog http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com or her book Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis. She is a girl, my age (22), living in Uganda. She has adopted 13 Ugandan girls. Did I mention that she is my age?

Don't get me wrong. There are many beautiful stories I could tell you of life in Uganda. There are words I could share with you from our Savior. Words He has been sharing with me on this journey. But sometimes no matter how good the days are, or how busy, or how enthralling, sometimes you just have a day where you feel disconnected. Today was one of those days. My focus is off. My energy is down, and on top of that this is the only day that I have to communicate back home. Communicating back home from Uganda is an exhausting process in itself with frequent power outages, internet failures, and the fact that I'm communicating with the very people I miss the most.

Enter Katie's blog. Those of you who know me, know that her story has been a huge influence in my life. Let's face it, part of the reason that I am in Africa and not Thailand right now is because a dear friend of mine introduced me to her blog back in August of last year. Today, I don't have much to say but I'd like to share some encouragement with you. These words are not mine, they are Katie's, and I think if you asked her, she would tell you the same thing, "these words are not my own." Today, these words spoke to me and I hope that they encourage you.

"I know that I can find joy here, too. Because God is in the days that go as planned. And God is in the days that don’t.

Today there was breath in the chest of a little boy who I thought may die in the night. Today there were hugs and picked flowers and sweet notes from kiddos who knew mama was tired. There were big sisters who helped little sisters and a biggest sister who organized the house cleaning. There were 130 painted toenails, all colors. There were boxes of cookies sent from friends in the states and medicine and food sent over from friends around the corner. There were hands to help and even more that offered to help, and there were voices lifted in prayer.

And today, there was a Savior who paid my ransom with His blood, and it was enough.
It is always enough. Could I just remember? Could I just remember whose I am? Could I just remember the price He paid to live in me? And if Christ is in me, then can’t I find Him in all of these things too - the measles and the vomit, the flowers and the forgiveness and the toenails? Knowing that in all circumstances He is enough and He is working to draw me closer to Him, I praise Him for the good in the hardest of days.
Jesus, you are enough.

You were enough to atone for this ugly sin that wanted to separate. You are enough to fill in the gaps, fill all my holes, make up my lack. My flesh screams, “I can’t go on, I don’t have enough! Not enough strength, not enough patience, not enough…” And I wouldn’t, but I have You. And in You, I have enough and more than enough, Father of abundance, Giver of endless blessings.

I can pour out because I know you fill up. I drink from a well that never runs dry. You are abundantly available to me, ever drawing me closer. You call me into communion with you and I am filled with your life over flowing even in the driest, hardest of seasons. You exchange my lack for your abundance, Christ in me the only hope of glory. Christ in me is enough. Christ with me is enough. Christ on that cross and risen for me is enough. You are enough, Jesus.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His GLORY, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. From His fullness, we have all received grace upon grace. John 1:14,16"

--I do not own these words. They were written by Katie Davis at http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com.

This image, however, is mine. I took it on the long ride coming home from Kenya. Isn't God amazing?! I can't even describe the beauty we saw that day. This photo simply doesn't do it justice!

For a long time I've been thinking about writing this blog post. Because of the more personal nature of some of the information I have hesitated putting it out for all to see. Especially since the personal matters are not my own to share. But still, I've felt like there was something important for you to know in hearing their stories, and so I'm choosing to write this. With respect for my teammates I am leaving the individuals names out of this post.

It has now been a little more than two months that this team has been living together in community, and in that time we have learned a lot about each other's lives. What I'm about to tell you is a story, not of failures, but of God's grace. These are not our stories, but they are all a part of God's story. I am blessed to be serving alongside these 12 other individuals and I'm thankful each day for the way that God has knit us together as family. What has given me the courage to finally sit down and put my thoughts on this page? Well, that's easy. This past weekend I got malaria. Yup. Malaria. The parasite that mosquitoes carry. The one that infects your blood stream and that makes you feel absolutely miserable. The parasite that is not only treatable, but it is also preventable, and still thousands will die each day all over the world because of it. (A statistic that needs to change. Remember, its PREVENTABLE) Thankfully, we caught it quickly and it was handled with great care by those responsible for my team. I'm happy to report that I am on the mend.

Having malaria in a third world country has further opened my eyes to a few things about this amazing community I find myself living in. So here's the thing, I didn't just get malaria in a third world country. I got malaria on the one weekend my team chose to live in the village, eliminating from our lives even more conveniences than we already had by coming to Africa. Now not only were we living without air conditioning and sometimes without electricity, we were living in mud huts, without running water, zero electricity, and, my personal favorite, squatty potties. Don't get me wrong, this experience was an amazing opportunity to truly see how the "other half" lives. But malaria brought a whole new stuggle to the forefront, a struggle of being completely reliant on someone other than myself. This is where I will begin...

In this eye opening weekend of adventure I was loaned clothing, shoes, pillows, soap, and many more items without any hesitation from my team members. Many of them sacrificed sleep to sit up with me at my lowest points, to go outside in the pitch black night when I needed to get out of the stuffy hut for some cool night air, and even to make the trek with me in the early morning hours to the squatty. Even since returning to Alpha, they have not once neglected to offer to get my bags or to make me a plate of potatoes for dinner. All of these things they have done without grumbling or complaining (Phillipians 2:14).

Now I want to tell you a few things about this group of people. The lives of these individuals are pretty amazing and I hope that hearing where they come from is blessing to you and your situation. On my team there is someone who survived leukemia, someone who was healed of a brain tumor, two individuals who have suffered with eating disorders, others who have dealt with doubts about believing in God, there are members from broken homes, and there are those who have lost parents to cancer. They aren't perfect people. They've been through their ups and downs. Some on this team have spent time not knowing their worth and looking for it in all of the wrong places. Still, God has redeemed every situation in their lives and He continues to work in and through them.

I don't know what you are going through today. Cancer in your body, cancer in a loved one, the loss of someone close to you, doubts, or even malaria, but I do know a Savior who loves you enough to come and give His life on a cross for you. If that sounds to difficult to imagine, you're not alone. I don't really understand it either. The part that I don't understand, that's called love. It's an unconditional love that I have a hard time comprehending because it isn't found in any place on this earth. Jesus is more than faithful and He is more than able to heal, to provide, to be patient with your doubts, and more than He is able to do those things, He desires to do those things for you. He created you. He designed you. When He thought about you before you were born, He thought of a purpose for your life. His thoughts of you gave Him joy and so He created you. Then I believe He saw that "it was good."

In the past week I have relied on my teammates. More than them, I have relied on God. And I haven't been disappointed. He is my healer and my provider. He has surrounded me with 12 other amazing people and I am so very thankful for them. God is good!

Blessings to you and yours!

Washing and Polishing

Recently my team spent the day at one of Victory Outreach's branch churches, VOC North. We will be spending one day a week in that community attempting to build relationships with the people there, to introduce them to Jesus, and to meet some of their physical and emotional needs. We spent the morning doing door-to-door ministry. In America, door-to-door ministry has a very negative connotation, but in Africa it is not only extremely effective, it is also a lot of fun. You meet some pretty amazing people and you hear stories that would almost be impossible to imagine if it weren't for the reality that lives behind the eyes of the person recounting their history to you.

One such story I heard on our first visit to the area was told to me by a young woman, 20 years old, named Judice. She was never able to finish the Ugandan equivalent to high school because her father was killed by the LRA rebels. Her family was living in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Camp in 2004. They lived in the camp for 3-4 years, and if you know anything about the conditions in an IDP camp, you know how difficult that must have been for her family constantly depending on the generosity of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), often not having enough food to eat even one meal everyday, living in extremely close quarters, constant outbreaks of disease and sickness due to unsanitary living conditions, etc. And to compound the horrible conditions of the camp, there was a constant fear that if you left the impossible situation of surving in the IDP camp, you risked an even more unimaginable fate at the hands of the LRA rebels. The reality of this fear was felt by Judice's family one day in 2004 when her father left the camp to gather food from their family home. He was captured and killed by the rebels along with three of their neighbors in such a gruesome way, I won't mention it here. I really felt a connection with Judice. She is a catholic woman who prays at the Cathedral here in Lira, and I'm hoping to continue getting to know her better.

I didn't originally intend for this post  to be about such a difficult topic, in fact, I wanted this to be an uplifting post drawn from the amazing afternoon I spent at VOC North. I'll get to that now, but I hope this gives you a feel for the way my days are spent here in Uganda. I meet many people and hear many stories like Judice's on a regular basis. I met and prayed with her in the morning, went to other homes, had lunch, and then experienced a wonderful afternoon with some amazing women. Everyday here is so full, it's hard for me to believe it all fits into one day. It is only by the grace of God that my team stays sane!

This all occured last Thursday on the day that just happened to be a national holiday. It was Women's Day in the country of Uganda. It is a day to honor women and celebrate their rights. Women's rights are much newer here than they are in America, and in my opinion, they are still struggling for many of the basic freedoms that American women take for granted. But on this day, our team leader, Brittany, (who loves polishing nails) decided that offering to wash women's feet and polishing their toenails would be her ministry of choice to show the women, many of them widows, that someone out there cared for them. Mary and I decided to join her in the afternoon.

Before we knew it, many women had shown up to have their toenails polished. Let me put this into some perspective for you. We were sitting on the dirt floor on a ripped plastic tarp in the middle of a mud-brick and cement building covered by a tin roof with square holes in the walls for windows and air circulation (remember, no a/c). We were surrounded by women and children who speak a language we don't speak, many of the women were widows, all of them were impoverished and had likely never experienced a kindness of the level we were about to provide them with. Many of the women, in fact, were amazed when we told them that we were going to wash their feet. African feet. Feet that have rarely seen so much as a flip-flop made from re-used rubber from tires. Feet that, barefoot, had walked more miles and ran from more horrors than I could ever dream of. Some of the women had had their nails polished before but none of them had ever had someone else wash their feet and massage them with lotion - add to that the fact that all of this was being done by mzungus. We're close to royalty around here, and the norm when a mzungu visits is to offer them the last of your food and the only chair you own because they being foreign and white deserve the chair while you sit on the floor. (Happens all the time...) Needless to say, this was one of my favorite ministries we've done! Happy Women's Day!

All of this got me to thinking about what it means to put someone else above you. To truly serve like Jesus served (remember He washed a few feet in His days on earth, too...John 13:5-20) Jesus washes us clean from our sins and then takes time through our relationship with Him to polish us to look more like Him. He says in John 13:15-16 "for I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." Jesus is constantly polishing me and my team in our time here in Uganda. I just pray that you  take the time to examine the ways in your own life that you could allow him to polish you as well. Consider for a moment that may mean you will wash a few feet.

Jubilee then Peace!

Jubilee then Peace!

My first Saturday at Compassion's Center Day I met God's beautiful gift, Giftee. She and I spent the day dancing and laughing together. Then about midday she fell asleep in my lap. I sang over her the song my mum used to sing over me, In the Garden. It stands out as one of my favorite days. Since then, Giftee runs to find me whenever she and her mom  come to Victory. The day I met her mom she was very pregnant. She told me she was due in March, and because we are in a 3rd world country, she did not know if she was having a boy or a girl. I remember praying then that maybe Harriet (Gift's mom) would let me name her new baby. *Which is not impossible. Our team has given many names to babies and even to a young girl who converted to Christianity from Islam.

Giftee!

This Saturday I inquired to some of the Compassion staff about Harriet's condition because I had not seen her for two weeks. Turns out she had just given birth 3 days before to twin girls! I don't think I could have been more excited! I was told that the birth went very well, and that Harriet was ready to receive visitors. (Which I realize now was a funny question to ask as I found out later that after giving birth on Wednesday to twin girls, she WALKED home on Thursday with the twins in tow!) Unfortunately, I was delayed in seeing her for three more days.

Two days ago, my roommates, Carrie-Anne and Marissa, and I went walking around Lira in the hopes of finding where Giftee and her family lived, but we had also been given the task to minister in the ways Jesus did in the gospels. So, we set out praying for direction because we had NO idea where Gifteee lived.
We found ourselves in a market area we had never been to before and we were a little discouraged because we didn't know who we were supposed to talk to. Finally we just stopped on a random corner at a random shop and talked with a random yound man who runs that little stand. His name is Jasper and his music name is Greedy (We're gonna talk with him about that..haha!) He is a musician and he writes Reggae and Hip Hop songs. Gospel songs, in fact, because he loves Jesus! We asked him the location of Samaritan's Purse because we were told Giftee lived near their buidling. Turns out, it was very close to where we were. Jasper offered to take us, but we needed to return to Victory to work in the Compassion office. We promised to
return.

That brings me to yesterday! We returned to Jasper's stand; this time with Brittany, one of our team leaders. Jasper offered again to take us to Samaritan's Purse, and this time we accepted. On the way we stopped to greet Jasper's mom. Her name is Molly and she runs another little shop/stand nearby. Get this!...As we are greeting her, she tells us, without any prompting from us, "I am the Aunt of Gift"...that's Giftee! HA! God is so amazing! Let's recap: We randomy began walking through Lira praying that we might randomly stumble upon Samaritan's Purse to find Giftee's home. Then, while discouraged, we randomly stop and talk to a random young and joyful shop owner, and it randomly turns out that he is Giftee's cousin! Really?! What are the odds?! God is SO VERY GOOD!

But just wait, this is the best part of the story. When we arrived at Giftee's home many members of her family were there. We asked Harriet what she had named the twins and she said that she had not, she was waiting for us to come and name them! In case you haven't figured it out, the names we chose are the title of this blog. When holding baby Apio (a last name given to the first-born of twins here in Uganda, and currently what we were calling baby #1) I thought only of the word joy. My teammates chose Jubilee! Naming baby Acen (same as above, only for the second born) took a little bit longer. I was thinking Grace or Peace and while holding her I was leaning towards Peace. We talked about MANY names. Finally the baby's grandmother said Peace! I was thrilled! So we put four names to Harriet for her to decide. She picked Peace! So Giftee's sisters are now called Apio Jubilee and Acen Peace. (Last names are written and spoken first in Uganda.) We all agreed Peace would be a good, hopefully prophetic name for the little one as Giftee is quite a handful and her sister's name is Jubilee. Harriet could use a little peace and quiet on occassion. Though don't underestimate her; she is African strong. When we arrived she was doing laundry. Which in Uganda means standing and bending over a bucket to wash every item by hand. Note that this was six days after giving birth to the twins.

So yesterday, I helped to name to precious baby girls! I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!


With great joy and peace,

Somer

What I'm Learning

When thinking about what I wanted to say in this post, I kept coming up blank. There are just too many amazing stories I could tell. There are too many daily occurrences that I think to myself when they happen "oh, file that away for later." There is just too much! But really it is just enough.

It is just enough to open my eyes to the serious needs all around me.  Women, men, and children are struggling with HIV/AIDS when there are medicines available that could prolong their lives. There are women who get their medications only to have their drunk husbands take it from them, or beat them because they had to spend 3 days in the hospital just to qualify to receive it. Children want so badly to go to school, but their families can't afford it, or they live in a home where their father refuses to pay and their mother can't work hard enough to feed the family of 9 and afford school fees for 7. Then there are the rare families that somehow pinch out just enough to cover the cost of a child's school fees, uniform fees, and supply fees for a year, but that child receives an education that would shut down an American school for its ineffectiveness.

It is just enough for me to understand, not because I have read, but because I have experienced the harder way of life here. There is no such thing as air conditioning. Power outages happen daily, often multiple times a day, and sometimes for 4+ hours at a time. Washing machines exist, somewhere...I think. All of my laundry is done in a bucket with my own two hands. Food is cooked outside over a charcoal fire. Red dirt/dust gets everywhere (not an exaggeration). Bugs get everywhere. Refrigeration is rare. Red lights don't exist, nor do sidewalks, nor do stop signs, but there are lots of speed bumps. Most roads are dirt though, so it really wouldn't make a difference. There is a severe shortage of trained medical personnel. Water comes out of a well...I hope you live close to one, because a 2 mile walk in this heat without water is excruciating (For us Americans water comes from a bottle. We have to watch out for bacteria and parasites that our immune systems aren't used to.) This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I would not even pretend to understand fully why life is hard here as a Ugandan. But I have witnessed many things that I would like to attempt to relay to you.

Hospitals here are not places of comfort where one can trust that someone will know what is wrong and be able to fix it. Instead they are overcrowded, hot, and very heavy/sad places. In the children's ward there are no beautiful murals of trees and giraffes, in their place are red dirt walls with chipped paint and spiders.

I don't say all of this to write yet another story of an East Africa country that is desperate for relief. This shouldn't be another essay that makes you cry or feel bad for people living in 3rd World nations. I'm just trying to put into perspective that there is another world out there. Outside of our air-conditioned, cable ready, Wi-fi connected lives. And amazingly enough, the people here have almost NO IDEA! They don't think of their lives in comparison to the lives of 1st worlders. They are happy, beautiful, joyful people who simply get up every morning in a different situation than you found yourself in when your alarm clock woke you up this morning. And what is even more amazing? God loves these people as much as He loves us. His desire for them is that they live full lives for His glory. Odd, isn't that the same thing He desires for me and you? I know that I write a lot on the many reasons you should drop what you're doing and head to a foreign country, but I really can't help it. With what I'm learning, the only response I have is to write to the world that they should come and experience this too.

I'm learning a new language. I'm learning a new style of song. I'm learning a new diet. I'm learning a new way to carry things (on my head). I'm learning how to do things in a more primitive, yet strangely more effective way. I'm learning a new culture. I'm learning to say yes with my eyebrows. I'm learning not to ask what's in the food. I'm learning compassion. I'm learning about helplessness. I'm learning that I can't fix everything. I'm learning that I don't know everything. I'm learning that life in Uganda for an uneducated girl means that they need to find a husband, no matter what he is like. I'm learning that children sometimes were never taught to smile. Sometimes they've never been hugged or have never heard the words "I love you." I'm learning that when they are smiled at, waved at, hugged, and told "I love you" by a mzungu (me), that it means the world to them and instantly makes me their new best friend. I'm learning that God is the only thing getting me through the day. I'm learning that depending on Him for everything I need is scary, hard, and very frustrating, but SO WORTH IT!

What I'm learning in pictures...

Sweet Giftee who fell asleep in my arms. The doctors aren't sure what is wrong with her, but she is sick all the time and has thick joints. She is truly a gift!

Mary is going to be a nurse and so I let her do my malaria test. Notice which one of us freaked out...

 

We made Valentine's cards to hand out in town. This was Logan's reaction to my Valentine! 

 

This is Susan, the woman who prepares our amazing meals, and she LOVED her Valentine from the team!