Have you heard of the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"? I'm sure most of you have as it's a beloved children's book. It's actually quite funny, but on Thursday when the title of the book reflected my day perfectly I was not amused. It was one of those days when I clearly should have stayed in bed. From the moment I woke up, nothing seemed to go right and it was actually carrying over from the previous night. The previous night there were a few simple annoyances, like no electricity and then when I went to cook dinner on my gas stove... the gas ran out so my dinner was half-cooked. I went to bed annoyed at the thought of having to run out and get a new gas tank. On top of that I have guests here who had just arrived hours before the gas went out who weren't able to cook anything for themselves for dinner. AND the drinking water was empty, but I couldn't go get new water because... my car battery was dead, again, and I had to charge it before I could go to worship that evening and then hope it started after or I'd be walking home in the dark.
So anyways, back to Thursday. When I woke up I went over my to-do list in my head. The first item was to get fuel in the car and a new gas tank, then I would head to town to have the car battery changed. So after my morning routine of bandage changes, hot compresses (due to the "surgery" mentioned in the previous post), and showering I headed out the door and got in my car... which didn't start. So after not being able to eat breakfast because of no electricity and no gas, I was a bit frustrated to have to sit and wait to charge the battery yet again when I had just done it the night before. As I waited for the car to charge I dealt with someone asking for money and then I still had time, so I cut the dog's hair. Normally she sits nice and lets me do it, but for some reason Thursday was different and she did not cooperate very well. About 30 minutes later the battery was charged enough to start and I headed off to get fuel, a gas tank, a new battery, and clean drinking water. About 5 minutes after I began my journey I was stopped by the police in a speed trap, where there are no posted speed limits. It didn't matter to the officer who was yelling in my face that the speeds are not posted any where, he just continued to yell at me and fine me 100,000/=. There's no use arguing as a guest in this country, apparently you should just know the speed limits everywhere. So I headed off to the petrol station, fueled up my vehicle and got a new gas tank. I then headed to get clean drinking water and to John and Beth's house because I decided I wanted John to come figure out the battery with me. They weren't yet home when I arrived so I sat for about 20 minutes and waited for them.
By this point I was furious. Furious at the stupidity of the past 15 hours. I kept thinking if I had been in America, none of this would have happened. However just that simple thought broke my heart. I hate being annoyed at a place that I love so dearly. After thinking for a few minutes about my anger and disappointment, all emotions turned to sadness. There is no where in the world that I would rather be right now, but I allowed a few bad experiences to taint my heart. In reality none of those things are enough to keep me away from here. Even though we've been without electricity pretty much all week and even though a police officer was yelling at me for 20 minutes about something that I did unknowingly, it doesn't change that I love Uganda and I love Africa.
When Beth came home and saw the look on my face she asked me what happened and I told her all of my frustrations and grievances from the day. She told me it took her a couple of terms to no longer get annoyed at things and frustrated with Africa. I told her I hated that I was so upset by this and she said it was normal and eventually these little things don't bother you anymore. You just go with the flow and remember that you're not in America.
So John checked my batteries out (yes, there are two in my little diesel engine), he found that they were dry. We went and bought battery water, filled them up, and let it run. The battery couldn't hold charge without water in it and I didn't know to be checking to make sure it was there. So $2 later, the battery was fixed (so far so good) and I was on my way to class at the Centre of Hope. My visitors came with me and helped paint a mural on a wall there while I taught my class. My class was so good that day and we had a lot of fun. The lesson went well and I was blessed by the number of students who continually show up to my class. After class I took my guests home and went to hang out with Lino, Angelo, Saudi, and Francis. I really wanted to just chill and be with people who didn't frustrate me and who would remind me why I love being here. After a few very chill hours hanging with the guys and also having my own space, I was refreshed and renewed. I love being able to go there and make myself at home. Lino was sleeping in the tv room, Angelo was listening to music in his room, Saudi was studying and then watching the Cosby Show with me, and Francis came and watched for a bit too. They left me alone when I needed to be alone and made me laugh when I needed to laugh. I'm so grateful for them. :)
On Friday I went with my roommate to visit the home some of our students from the Centre of Hope. These students are some of the sweetest people I've ever known in my life. You may recall that I've mentioned them before, but they're a very large refugee family from an African country that's at war right now. Their religious background and culture, much different from my own has been interesting to learn about this year. I've learned a lot about SOM culture and we've had a blast sharing with each other. If you're on facebook you can look at my album from Women's Day in March. There are many lovely photos of the family in there. Anyways we arrived at were greeted with many kisses on the cheek as is the norm, even in class, we removed our shoes, and went into the house. We were promptly given seats and the hosting began.
First we were given juice, then we sat and chatted for a bit with everyone as more came home and the greetings continued. After a while a meal was served and it was grand. SOM food is filled with lots of yummy spices and it was very tasty. They had slaughtered a goat for us, so along with rice and veggies we ate lots of goat meat. Also, apparently goat stomach is a delicacy and it was prepared a bit differently from the meat. It was cooked with sauteed vegetables and served separately from the rest of the meat. Now as most of you know (if you've ever eaten a meal with me) that I have a major problem with textures. Anything that jiggles in the slightest or is slimy is a no no and makes me gag. Well the goat stomach was quite jiggly and they kept putting more and more on our plates (to show respect, no doubt), and let me tell you, I struggled. I began to pray for Jesus to help me just swallow and not gag or vomit in their living room. I'm sure you know, it's rude not to eat what you're served and thankfully Jesus helped me stomach the stomach. :) I wasn't able to eat a ton of it, but at least I was able to eat some and not offend anyone. They had been cooking and preparing all day and it was evident.
We continued to chat and they talked a lot about the current state of their home country. We met their little cousin who had just arrived with a gun shot wound to the stomach. She is only 11 years old and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She's now had 4 surgeries and is on lots of medication. They had her show us her belly and it's not only swollen as though she's swallowed a watermelon, she also has huge scars and part of her insides are outside because she can't use the bathroom. It was horrible to see and to know that she is one of thousands who are victims of war. It becomes very real when a child is standing before, not speaking English, but showing you her pain. The desperation in her eyes was gut wrenching and the pain was clear. They are traveling to Nairobi with her today to try to get better medical attention with the very little money that her mom has. She has been in this sick state for 7 months now and there's no end in sight. The evil of war strikes again and will continue until Jesus comes back. Come Lord, Jesus, come!
It was an honor to be invited and I know it was an honor for them to host us. They were just at our house a few weeks ago and we had a blast (photos are on facebook). Hopefully more photos of this visit will be up soon. Please pray for their lives, which are always in danger because of a terrorist group, pray for the little girl, pray for their souls to be saved.
Africa is amazing and beautiful, and it's broken and bleeding. When I think about it, it's not much different than America except it's broken in a different way. The people here blow my mind and I adore them so much! This continent with it's many, many different cultures and ways of life is phenomenal and awe-inspiring, thanks be to God. My hope is that even if you don't ever get to come and live here and experience the things that I've been able to, that you get a good picture of it through the honest words of my heart. Much love to you all.
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