Feeling Better

Another Month has gone by and I haven't posted a new blog. Sorry about that. Let me start out by saying last week sucked. I was sick the whole week. When I get sick, it is definitely a production with a lot of groaning and complaining and everyone telling me that 'I'm not going to die, it's just a cold, suck it up,' but seriously last week I thought I was going to die. It started Sunday when I started getting a sore throat. Monday I went home in the middle of the day feeling a little tired, achey, and sore throat intesifying. Tuesday I spent most of the day in bed except for when I went to the doctor to see if I had strep. Diagnosis: no strep, just a little virus, suck it up. Wednesday I was feeling a little better so I went up to the project site(which is pictured below) and helped with a little site work. I was suppose to stay up there until Friday but I was up the whole night Wednesday with a migrane, body aches, fever, and sore throat. Thursday I headed back to town and did a self examination of my throat and it was definitely full blown strep. The project directors wife called her friend who is a nurse and told me what I needed to get, so I went to the pharmacy and got the drugs. No prescription necessary. Huh, a month without writing and that is what I have to talk about. Well that only fills two of three categories I hope to cover with each blog posting. I can check off mind numbing and irrelevant. Now I just need something that is mildly offensive. Here it is- I can't stand it when people are rude to people in the service industry, as well as when mzungus(white people) are rude to Ugandans. So, I told a Canadian who was being rude to some Ugandan wait staff at a restaurant that I like to refer to her country as America's hat. She was not happy. Mission accomplished.

Now on to some worthwhile happenings-

I have been reading 'Unveiling Islam' which is written by two former Muslim brothers who are now Christian. There are mosques all around Jinja, hence a lot of Muslims as well. Even the Mayor is Muslim. If there was ever a chance to speak with one of them, I wanted to know a little more about why they believe what they believe and I also wanted to be a little less ignorant. last Sunday before I became ill I went to the Jinja Hospital with some people from church and Jeremy(fellow intern) to pray for the patients. We went to the accident ward which was its own building. I wouldn't even know where to start to describe this place, but there is one room for the men and one room for the women. Each room has 10'x10' 'cubicles' that were separated by 4 foot high walls. Each cubicle had about 4 patients in it on a metal spring bed with an old mattress. Each patient had a few family members there, and some slept underneath the patient's bed. The hospital doesn't really provide food for the patients, so family members have to bring them food. If someone doesn't have family members there, the hospital will sometimes feed them. We actually went to a village after we left the hospital to look for the family of a young woman who was there alone. We smuggled in some food for her(if they found out mzungus brought her food they might stop feeding her completely because they think that she will be taken care of all the time.) Unfortunately we didn't find her family on that trip, but they eventually were found. The only staff member I saw in the hospital was a nurse who was as pleasant as a root canal, Lord bless her, because even though she had this hardened exterior, the fact that she was there helping these people without much other help or supplies was pretty incredible. To the hospitals credit, the stitches/burns/injuries and wound dressings all seemed to be surprisingly clean(maybe to a nurse or a doctor it would be a different story.) A lot of the accidents were motorcycle accidents and most people were passengers when a car hit the motorcycle they were on. There was one boy there who's arm had been amputated for other reasons though. He actually had cancer in his arm. His family was with him, and they showed us pictures of the boy with his arm before it was amputated. In the photo he was wearing Muslim clothes, and I was wondering if they would let us pray for them. The people we were with did most of the talking just to make it easier to not have to translate everything. They asked the family if we could pray for the boy. The family was very nice and seemed grateful to have us pray for him. Someone in the group asked me if I would pray for him, so I said yes, put my hand on my shoulder, and closed my eyes. Even though they had no idea what I was praying for(but it was mostly for the boy to experience Jesus as well as his family) I hope they could feel the difference between praying to God, who desperately wants to have a relationship with all of us, including this family, than to the god that they have been praying to. We went to another 'cubicle' and prayed for another man who was Muslim. He was very friendly and his wife and baby daughter were there as well. He was in a mutatu(minivan sized bus they use here for public transportation) accident where he was the lone survivor. He had the number 318 written on the wall beside his bed because he has been in the hospital for 3 months and 18 days. He was talking about his chance at a second life. These two experiences helped develop a new heart in me for people of the Muslim faith. It was great to see how open they were to us(which is not a mandate in their teachings). It is also funny how I happened to personally meet people of the Muslim faith so soon after starting a book about how to talk with them, but all I did was pray with them.

Kids are pretty neat when you don't think about how dirty they are

I know the title of this blog is horrible, but if you read on I think I can redeem myself. Last week Some of us from EMI volunteered to do some activities with a school that is on an Island in Lake Victoria. Getting to the island was half the fun. We got into a narrow wooden boat and they gave us life jackets to put on. Some of the life jackets still had the straps and buckles. Mine didn't so I mostly just wore mine for style, since it was early 90's looking with fluorescent colors. When we got to the island, we took the kids outside and did what we thought would be simple games, but instructions got a little skewed during translation and we basically just ended up having kids run around. Then at the end, the kids brought out drums and sang and danced. If it didn't take 3 months to upload video from here, I would love to put it on my blog.

On kind of a bummer of a note, the old duplex that Jeremy and I stayed at when we were in Kampala, and where one of the EMI volunteers(Christoph) still lives was broken into this week. It actually happened in the middle of the night when Christoph was home. They took a laptop that belonged to EMI, a cellphone, and Christoph's shoes. What kind of hurts is we always joked about how if our house was ever broken into, it would be by our sketchy guard. To break into one of the houses in the compound, the guard made a long pole by attaching his baton to a stick with a hook at the end and poked that through a window to pick up keys that were sitting on a table. He left the pole apparatus with his baton behind, which made Christoph 50% sure it was the guard.

Now for a more uplifting story, Today I visited an orphanage to get ideas for the one we will be working on. There was an orphan who was found in a pit latrine around Christmas named Emmanuel. When the orphanage first received him, they put him on antibiotics, but he was taken off too soon. His brain started to swell and the doctors thought he was going to have brain damage. The people at the orphanage continued to take care of him and pray for him. He is now a healthy baby without any brain damage. The doctors were surprised at his condition. It was a pretty incredible feeling to just watch him sleep and to see him be at such peace. Kind of makes you wonder what plans God must have for him.

Not a picture of Emmanuel, but still precious

Ninja In Jinja

My time here in the Kampala office is coming to a close(actually within minutes, I am trying to get this blog out before I leave). Jeremy and I will be heading off to Jinja to finish our time here in Uganda. Kampala has been good, and I will miss working with the others in the Kampala office, but I am looking forward to what the Lord has planned for me in Jinja.

Jeremy and I will be helping out an organization called Arise Africa International, and I am pretty sure I will be working on an orphange. I am not exactly sure what the living situation will be or many of the details just yet; maybe I will be living in the bush hunting for food and wearing nothing but a loin cloth!! I'll be sure to send pics.

For the past few weeks I have been busy trying to finish my part of the theological school we are designing. Then Last week a good buddy of mine came to visit and we were able to do some touring of Uganda. It was a nice mid-point break and we met some great people who were working for other NGO's which was encouraging.

There is a lot I would like to write, especially since I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately after realizing that I have hit the mid-point of my time here in Africa. I have done a lot of reading about the condition of Africa and why it continues to be consumed with problems, and I would like to share some of what I have learned/thought about later. Actually I might have a few minutes for some thoughts, actually more of a rant. I know my title says that there would probably be some rants in my blog, and Chad in the office has been disapointed that I haven't had any yet. I usually rant about non important stuff, but this rant will probably be a little heavy. So here it goes.

It is so easy to get discouraged/angry/saddened/overwhelmed when studying about Africa and I can't imagine how anyone could possibly come here without having the hope that God restores lives. I know that there is nothing I can do in my own strength to make a dent in Africa's problems. The leadership in Africa is plagued with power hungry corrupt leaders who stay in office too long. What can I do? It is also hard to be so close to a genocide and not be able to do anything about it. They built a museum for the Jewish hollocaust so that people will remember and so that it hopefully won't happen again. They did the same for Rwanda. And soon there will be another museum in Darfur. It isn't until its too late and the dust settles and the photos of mass graves are printed that we are appauled. The world will embrace the olympics which have been built by China and corporate sponsors giving money for oil/energy to Sudan's government which in turn buys weapons with this money for the militia that has killed/is killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. Participation in the Olympics will be glorified, and the world will be glued to their tv's this summer having Nike and Coca Cola advertizing the beauty of the world coming 'together' and how this can all happen by playing sports, wearing Nike, and drinking Coke. It seems like there is a bigger cause we can all come together for, but then again, the Olympics makes money.

Back home in Uganda(feels weird to say that)

For the past two weeks I was in Tanzania with a team to help design a master plan and a handful of buildings for a theological school and university. The school had some great people working for them and were a pleasure to get to know. One of the administrators was on Idi Amin's hit list during his reign and had to flee Uganda. He had a great outlook on life and had a great sense of humor. There were also volunteers from The States who came to help us with this project. There was Stew and Jess who are a young couple from Colorado and just plain great people, Willie who enjoyed every moment in Africa good or bad, Glenn who had great insight and enjoyed doing sudoku puzzles during down time, and Richael who was a straight shooter that never left you guessing where you stood with him. The team worked well together and we got a lot done in the short amount of time we had. It was actually pretty fun and by God's grace that 11 people could eat, work, and sleep in a four bedroom house for over a week working on a project. Living in community is great. I could probably write more about the specifics of the project, but if you are like me you skim blogs for the good stuff(or just look at the pictures.)
When we finished the final presentation we went on a safari at Ngorongoro Crater. It was alright I guess. Actually, it was pretty amazing. Ngorongoro crater is an old volcanic crater where the top collapsed and formed a huge opening. In the crater were lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, zebras and a lot of other animals which I am sure are special in God's eyes, but weren't as seeked out for as the big ones. The next day we went to another park and saw baboons, monkeys, impalas and giraffe(s)(I am not sure if Giraffe is plural already) which are pretty fascinating. Seeing the great range of animals from the bizarre to the amazing, up close and some only a few feet away, as well as the trees and different landscapes, and then at night, staring up at the stars and seeing the milky way and constellations, I was thrown back by God's creation and in some odd way it deepened my appreciation of Him and life. It also made me envious of the incredible faith one must have to believe that all of the balance of the universe and complexity of life could have came from an explosion and a single celled organism. (Sorry, I had to make a sarcastic remark at my former beliefs created by public education and not questioning it. That's right kids, question authority. It is scary what you will believe when you don't.)

Now, quickly on to less controversial topics. One of my favorite memories of Tanzania would probably be the night before we had to leave. A few of us went to a local market for something to do. A student from the University that we worked on showed us around. The market went all through the village and we went down a maze of alley ways and ended up in market square pretty far into the village. It was nice not to be in a tourist trap and instead get a real feel of African life. At the market I bought some sandals that the Maasai people wear(RE:picture above to get an idea of who the Maasai are.) The sandals are made of used tires, which I guess are eco-friendly and good for the earth, but they sure are hell on my feet. A lot of the people in the market got a kick out of seeing me with these sandals on. One Maasai came up to me and pointed to my sandals and gave me a nod of approval. I mentioned to him that I liked the bracelet he had on his ankle(i guess that would be an anklet) so he offered to sell it to me. I don't know if it was a legitimate offer, or if he was being nice, but it was a fair price. It's interesting to think of how many miles this anklet has traveled by foot on the Maasai and how those travels are now brought to a screeching halt since I sit at a desk most days.

Below are more photos from the safari.... if you can't read the van it says

'pimp my ride' and 'Go to church.'
Hillarious

Architecture 101

This week I was asked to speak to an art class at an international school about architecture. I don't know who I have more respect for, teachers who teach inner city kids, or teachers who teach missionary kids. It wasn't that bad and to be fair, I was told that 99% of the kids at that school aren't as out of control, and I must have just had a rambunctious class. My instructions from a fellow intern was that I would need to give a little talk about how architecture and art are related, and how one becomes an architect. I thought to myself that this would be fun and I wouldn't really need to do any prep work to talk about that stuff. So I got up in front of the class and the teacher asked me to tell the kids about the history of architecture beginning with the pyramids. I don't remember if I asked out loud or in my head if she was kidding me, but I think the look I gave her said enough. To start I told the kids that the Pyramids were built in 1984 for the Olympics and is considered by many to be Frank Lloyd Wrights finest work. No I didn't really say that, but I may or may not have made up a bunch of stuff almost as absurd to fill the time allotted. Even though I will probably never be asked to be a guest speaker at that school again, I actually did have fun.

Just a Random Photo that has nothing to do with my blog.

Earlier in the week I went on a site visit with the director of eMi East Africa(Chad) and a civil engineer Intern(Heather). We were looking at a piece of property for a ministry that wants to develop a theological school, as well as a primary and secondary school for the community. It was pretty deep in the middle of no where, and we passed a lot of mud huts and small brick homes. As we passed by a mother and her two children just outside their home, Shannon, who is the person we are working with from the ministry, went up and talked them. He noticed one of the kids who was a little girl about 4 years old had some type of cloth in her ear that was there to catch drainage coming from her ear. Shannon, with the help of a translator asked If he could take the girl to a doctor and he would bring her back in couple of days when he comes back to the site. The mother was very thankful and gladly let her child go with a bunch of white folk back to the city. The little girls brother also came along. I was thrown back seeing someone take a child and get them the help they need(as well as a mother letting their children go with complete strangers). If it was just me, I probably would have just waved and passed by this family and would have never noticed that this little girl needed help. It was absolutely convicting and I hope to learn to not be afraid to go up and at least greet people instead of just waving and walking by and thinking I was doing my part. It definitely brought home the parable about the Samaritan who helped the man in trouble and the priest and Levite who both avoided him and went to the other side of the road to pass him. It's kind of hard to judge them for walking on by now.

By the way- the internet is running super slow and I can't do spell check or spell many words, so sorry for any errors.

I totally just got schooled in soccer by a bunch of 8 year olds

I'm not proud to admit that I got schooled, but I was pretty proud of myself that I actually had the nerves to play soccer with the kids this time. The first time I was going to play I started walking towards the field when I passed by and noticed them playing, but when I saw how good these kids were, I stealthfully changed direction and walked quickly pass the field hoping the kids wouldn't notice my retreat. This time, another EMI-er, Jeremy, was with me so it wasn't as frightening to play with the kids. At first they would always look for us to pass the ball to, even if we weren't open, but when they figured out that I have no motor skills, the novelty of passing the ball to the mzungu(white person) quickly wore off. I think the most entertaining part was that they have learned to fake injuries like professional soccer players. The first time it happened, I thought one of the kids broke a bone, but I soon picked up on what was going on and we would just play around a kid laying in the middle of the field.


I do actually do some work while I'm here. I'll try not to bore anyone with details, but I do have a story just so you can get the feel of how constructions works here. We went to a job site last week, and the Director of EMI left me and another volunteer, Christoph, without food or water to do construction management, while he went back to the office(Just kidding Chad, it wasn't that bad) We were helping explain how the coursing of the bricks needed to be laid out for a buildng, and so we started laying out the first row. (By the way, the bricks delivered weren't the size that was specified by the maufacturer, but that didn't matter anyway since the concrete slab wasn't poured to the right dimensions anyway). They had a string and a level to "make sure" the bricks would be level. Then Christoph and I checked the level of the last two corners of the building and noticed things didn't seem right. When we went back to check the first two corners, it turns out the local workers didn't even try to get the bricks close to level. We decided they would need to level out the slab with concrete, but when we went back a couple of days later they just poured a small part and started laying the bricks. Some bricks have about 5 inches of mortar underneath, while others don't have any mortar. It was definitely a learning experience of communication and just realizing how things are done here. At least now they have a local engineer on site, but I still wish I wouldn't have had seen what I did. I don't know if that makes me responsible.

Happy birthday Josh and Dad.

Rafting the Nile and other stuff

I was hoping to write a blog earlier, but between power outtages, internet issues, and just being tired, I haven't been able to post to it until now.

The first week at EMI was pretty intense, but I learned a lot and met a lot of great people. We had training/orientation in Colorado Springs where EMI is based. They bring all the interns that will be serving in every EMI office(Uganda, India, Costa Rica, Colorado Springs, and Canada) together to learn about other cultures and being culturally sensitive, EMI as an organization, building practices in the developing world, team building, and theological teachings like what is a believers responsibility to help and serve the poor and to fight injustice. I met so many incredible people and was really encouraged hearing peoples stories.

Jeremy, Heather, Liz, Christoph, Greg,

Me, Jill, stephanie- Hope you are all ok that I posted this photo.

After the orientation in Colorado Springs we left for Uganda. We arrived Wednesday. The past few day have been mostly getting oriented with Kampala and the office, how things work here, and what projects we will be working on. On Saturday, for kind of a 'finished with orientation/new intern initiation' we went white water rafting on The Nile River. This was one of the coolest things I have ever done. The rapids were intense, and our raft flipped over many times. They have kyakers that follow the raft to pick up all the people who end up floating down the river after the raft flips over, so it's perfectly safe. For those who are thinking of coming over to visit, I will totally go again with you guys.

The rapid I almost died on (just kidding mom)

Sunday I went to church in a building with a dirt floor and just openings for windows. We sang and danced and then began to dance going in a circle to the beat of African drums and a keyboard(well, the Ugandans were dancing, I think you would call what I was doing was more shaking around.) Anyway, it was a great first experience of Ugandan church culture and to see people with not much more than salvation truly appreciate that that is reason enough to celebrate, worship, and enjoy life.

Sorry I haven't sent many personal emails out, but please keep in touch and I will do my best to respond.

I hope everyone is doing well, and I miss everyone a lot.

Zach