10 Days in Kapturwa, Uganda

In approaching the topic of my time spent in Kapturwa, Uganda, I am a bit overwhelmed with how to even begin.  I wish I could just take you there and show you the majesty of the mountains and the beauty of its close-knit community of farmers, but I can't...and so I guess I will have to try to explain it to you in words.  

  I took a six hour bus ride from Mukono, Uganda, a pretty busy, urban setting, to Kapturwa, Uganda, a beautiful rural setting of mountains and rivers filled with more animals than farmers.  Driving up to my house for the next week, I was met not with the dire poverty of shacks filled with little kids running around, but instead with a white cottage surrounded by the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life.  The house was right on the front edge of a mountain, overlooking the entire valley of Kapturwa.  Behind the house was a chicken coop, outside cooking hut, and everything that goes along with a farm – roaming chickens, cows and goats.  Farther along you could see their own land full of coffee, matoke, exotic fruit, and potatoes that they grew themselves.  What made this even better was that just the day before, I had come to the insane realization that after 20 years of not liking coffee, I may have possibly just enjoyed a cup of coffee.  I think I still like tea more…but I have to admit, its not bad, especially when its fresh African coffee!  In seeing the breathtaking, beautiful home that I was about to live in, an utter retreat of refreshment and rejuvenation  I almost cried with joy.  I could not believe how much God loved me that He would see my tiredness and need of a peaceful get-away - and then give all of that to me and more! 

The family I stayed with was just as refreshing – they welcomed me into their family with such love and joy, giving me more food than I have ever eaten in my life and making me feel truly like one of them.   I lived with my wise and beautiful Mamma Judith and my caring and respected father, David, as well as my cousin Sarah, who was pretty much like family.  Then there were Isaac and Joshua, the two helpers at the house who I saw herding goats, cutting wood, feeding the cows, and doing things that I guess farmers do!  Then there was Collins, a lively 19 year old guy who brought my friends who lived near by me, and I – hiking!  We went to the famous crack in a rock where we crossed over and saw a breathtaking view, hiked down through bushes and thorns to stand behind a waterfall, and the next day went to a cave in which we sang worship songs and ate chapateis while sitting in the dark.  It was a lot of walking and a lot of sun…but very fun and brought a lot of great pictures!  Oh, and did I mention that I did all of that in my mokosins?  They had told me it was just a little walk...which I guess it was for them:)

When not hiking, my sister and I were walking through their village, meeting all of her many neighbors and greeting them in Kupsabe, the language that they speak there.  I found that knowing how to say, Takwenyo (how are you) and Yeko (good) opened up a whole new world to me!  When hearing me speak their language, immediately either huge grins, or laughter of the surprise of a white person speaking their language followed.  Unlike in Mukono, many of the people I had met had never interacted with a white person.  The kids would touch my skin to see what it felt like, the old ladies would shake my hand for five minutes, and my mom would stare in amazement at the black marks on my face that dirt would create.  I had become the ambassador of America, answering questions from my family from everything of what crops grew in America, how dish washers worked, to how we survived economically when it was so cold that it snowed!  Their life was one in which everyone did everything with their own hands – whether it was fetching water from a well, digging potatoes and planting and grinding coffee to make a living, or washing their clothes and dishes outside in buckets of water.  It was like I had gone back in time and found a valley hidden away, filled with the beauty and simplicity of a community of farmers just living together.  Walking through the streets, I found that my cousin/sister knew absolutely everyone, all whom we stopped to greet and find out how they were doing.  While our destination was bringing tea to her 103 year old grandparents, we ended up stopping at quite a few houses along the way to of course sit down and be given something to eat or drink.  All of them were so happy to see me, many of which asked if I could come back to visit with them longer.  I can truly say that those walks along the road, hand in hand with Sarah who become like an African soul-mate to me even if it was for a week, were the best part of the week.  Yah, taking showers under the sky, learning how to milk a cow for the first time (harder than you think!), and cracking gnuts with my mom while listening to my cousins whistle and sing as they worked were pretty awe-inspiring, but I’d have to say those road trips were pretty special.  And did I say I ground my own coffee beans with a big stick that I pounded into a tall wooden container?

Well, it is time for me to go home to my family now, so I guess I'll have to finish my story sometime soon.  I am truly missing you all.  While it is still great here, I am excited to be home and with you all.  Love you guys!!

Pictures!!

Here are some pics!  

This is my room.

 This is the moon outside my house amidst mango trees.

 This is the front gate into my house.

 The outdoor ledge that I always talk about...which we sit and cook on:)

 Outside the house - chicken coop, water tower, mango trees!

 Dinner!

My birthday cake

 Birthday with my aunt and sister

The front of my house

My Ugandan Birthday

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special and for making me feel so loved!  It was truly a birthday to remember – my first summer birthday, my first Ugandan birthday, and my first birthday in which I was in the slums of Kampala, singing, dancing, and being tickled and hugged by a swarm of kids.  

The morning was pretty normal - I had my bread and tea for breakfast, went to early classes, and did a bit of hw. However, what followed was pretty awesome:) I went to the canteen (an awesome little restraunt on campus) with my cousin Prudence and another friend, where I got a rollex (best thing ever - egg wrapped in a chapatei), smoothie, and some type of pound cake.  Then I was off to Off-Tu, my practicum site in Kampala, a city with not only malls and traffic, but also great poverty.  It was truly an afternoon to remember as I held the hands of a beautiful little girl with big brown eyes and danced with her, held her in my lap, and later was given the sweetest card by.  She didn’t know it was my birthday…and yet it was the first card I had received that day, saying that she loved me with the three English words she knew in every possible order.  It made my day.  That afternoon we were also able to teach the kids on hygiene – how one should wash their hands, go to the bathroom in a toilet etc.  We were then able to wash their hands, and I was in charge of the soapJ  By the end of the afternoon, after having walked through the slums with the kids, it was time for good-bye.   Literally 15 of them crowded around me and began hugging me and fighting over holding my hand...and then it turned into a tickle war in which I couldn't help but really laugh.  I think I felt almost too loved:)   I wouldn’t have traded that afternoon for anything else…so cool to be doing what I wanted to do with my life, on my birthday.

I then got home around 7, and was greeted by countless happy birthdays and hugs, and to my surprise, a mysterious box of my favorite chocolate cake in the whole world, on my bed!  It took me a few days to figure out who it was from, but I’m pretty sure I know nowJ Since it was Tuesday, it was then time for prayer.  It was a really convicting and worshipful time, a perfect way to end the day.  But the day wasn’t over!  My mom had lovingly made a delicious meal of insanely good chicken and chips (fries), followed by a surprise party of chocolate cake and strawberry fanta soda!  The day was then perfectly ended by receiving a call from home…and then talking for a good 2 hours with my mom and dad.  During that call, I found out that my story from living in Camden that past summer had been read in chapel that day at my high school.  Crazy to think that the topic of loving the least of these, coupled with my story, had been spoken about on my birthday as I was loving and being loved by kids in the slums.   

And the celebration continued...two days later, my friend Ashley and I decided to celebrate at an american restraunt about a mile away from school.  I had chips and a BLT...pretty delicious.  As we were walking home, it started drizzling...and then pouring...and then seriously hailing, so that soon, we were drenched to the bone and laughing hysterically at being caught in a hailstorm in the middle of the summer.  All the people on the road had run to shelter and were beckoning us to follow, but at that point we were as wet as we could get, so we decided to just keep walking and enjoy the moment.  It was awesome...we even saw two cows jump up onto higher ground with an insane vertical, I don't know how they did it...but I guess rain can send anyone running to safety.  About 15 minutes later we arrived back at the school, drenched, and with a class happening in 20 minutes...I'm sure we looked pretty awesome at that point:)

And then on Friday it was my sister's birthday, and so my aunt and I decided to go into Kampala to surprise her by taking her out to eat.  After buying some food, trying to find her in her dorm, and then going through some pretty dense traffic, we arrived at a small little restraunt on the side of the road, which turned out to make the best burgers I have ever tried in my life.  They didn't believe me...but it was so thick and so full of spice...I couldn't get over it!  So good:)  It did take about an hour to be served though, and so the big liter of fanta, icecream, and bananas came out on that table to the dismay of the waiters:)  It was a fun night.

So that was my Ugandan birthday!  I am now officially 20, which in Uganda, is the year of adulthood...of responsibility.  Pretty crazy!  Life goes fast.

Love you all!!!

<3 Jess

Experiencing Christ's presence in Uganda

This past week…there is truly too much to say.  As I haven’t said much about my classes, I guess I’ll first say a few things that I’ve learned in them.  In Faith and Action, I’ve come to the realization that God is present within every culture, and even in other religions.  He is not just a God of America, but rather an all-encompassing God who meets each person within their own culture.  Here in Uganda, I have found that He speaks through stories and myths, through the victory that He has over the evil powers that are so much more visible here, through his presence here with us, (not just above in the sky), and through unity in Christ that dissolves all tribal differences.

 I have found the African view of God and life to be really beautiful and so full of truth.  Rather than saying, “I think therefore I am”, they say, “I am because I participate.”  All of life is about relationships and being presence with each other – even if it’s in silence.  This translates to their relationship with God – for no longer is it an individual relationship between just you and God, but it’s a communal thing.  Every Sunday in church, we hold hands with our neighbors in prayer, even if, to my astonishment, we didn’t know them at all! Telling each other our needs and prayer requests, we then as a whole church body lift up each other up in prayer, filling the room with the noise of passionate cries to God.  I definitely think the whole church could learn a lot from them.

I have also begun learning about how we should respond to poverty, and what the role of “rich Americans” is.  What I have found is that we are all poor and broken, and it is only when we realize this that we can begin to bring healing to others.  I am learning that poverty isn’t just physical, but so much more – it is the sense of hopelessness, despair, and lack of purpose that physical poverty brings, as well as the broken relationships that we have with ourselves, others and God.  No longer is it something that Americans can just “fix”, because now, we are among the poor too. 

Ooh this is pretty heavy stuff…but this week has also been amazing as well.  I have experienced God’s presence like never before.  As I have begun learning and practicing spiritual disciplines, such as praying, meditating, and fasting, I have found that when I constantly am listening to God and praying His will, crazy things happen!  And it always happens when you are the most weak too.  I tried a prayer walk, in which I prayed joy and God’s presence over each person I passed, and it was in that 10 minute walk that I struck up conversations with strangers and received huge smiles from the guard at the gate, an old lady, and other people on the street.  When before I was constantly trying to figure out how I was to engage with my community and what I should do, suddenly doors were being open for me and things just started happening.  Walking to my gate and finding no one home to open the door for me, I decided to walk down to the crafts market and just see what happened.  At first this venture began as an awkward explanation that I just wanted to sit and watch a girl weave a mat, but then it turned into meeting the whole street of artists.  I talked for almost an hour with an amazingly talented local artist who painted and carved exquisite artwork, and then sat and learned how to make a drum from a boy about my age.  It was amazing…and I was invited to come back from the old lady who wove mats and the boy who wanted to continue teaching me how to make a drum. 

This week has been full of freedom and joy in surrender and being in his presence.  It’s so easy to be caught up with the distractions and busyness of the days, but when you do get away and decide to be still and listen, the rest of your day is transformed into one with purpose and joy. 

Well, I hope you all are doing well!  February is a pretty exciting month for me, for first of all, it is the month of birthdays.  Yesterday was my aunts birthday, tomorrow is mine, and then three days after that is my sisters.  We are planning on doing a huge barbeque at the end of the month, which I’m pretty excited aboutJ  It is also the time of my rural homestay, which will last for a week with another new family!!  And today officially marks 1 month of being in Uganda…and yet it feels like I’ve been here so much longer!  School has also started up for the rest of my family, and so, sadly, I had to wave goodbye to my brother and sister who were off to university.  My sister left this morning at 6 am for her school – one that I have found is super different from American schools, as they have 15 subjects at a time, are graded for the semester from only 3 tests and, as you can see by the time – start verrrry early!! 

Love you all, and do miss you!!