Dear Friends, March 12, 2022
Pondering the past two weeks, I realized it was full of highs and lows, so this post will give you a peek on just a few of those.
Gene got really sick with a 48 hour bug or food poisoning last week. No one else got it so we aren’t sure of the source. He spent 24 hours asleep, another 24 moving slow but is back to full speed. Staff and students are still struggling with sicknesses and we have had one lose his brother and another a cousin in these past two weeks. Sadly funerals are nearly an every day occurrence here.
A distressing low for us was discovering bedbugs. We had a few bites right after we got here but there are so many bugs around we didn’t think much about it. Evidently we gave them enough blood to multiply and started waking up with many intensely itchy bites. It has been quite the process to get rid of them, buying a new mattress and mosquito net, treating the bed frame first with an insecticide and when that didn’t work, poured boiling water over every crack and cranny and washing EVERYTHING numerous times and drying in the sun. It was a many day process around the class schedule, but so far we are bite free. How did we get them? Well, after we bought the new mattress, the old, bug infested, very worn out mattress was put into a storeroom for later use. Hmmmm. Don’t think they worry much about it.
In the last update we communicated that we were trying to work into the nearby deaf community. It turned out to be a bust with disappointments all the way around. Herbert (our former student) tried hard to mobilize the community but most were only concerned with what could he brought to them by the ‘muzungu’ that had taught Herbert. The staff finally had to make the decision to find a new community that had more interest and commitment . One of the sign language interpreters, Moses, is from a town about 45 minutes away and told us his community, including the deaf were very keen on having a team come. We sent our staff, Martin, last Sunday to meet with them and it is a go! They had their first class Friday and the report was very positive. They are welcoming to our American girl, Grace, who is on this team. Martin reported that she did the first teaching (through translation), presented extremely well and was well received. A definite high after a difficult start for that team.
Another team is working in a predominately Muslim community where the the need for food is extremely high. A major industry there is breaking rocks into decorative white gravel with hammers. They get around 2000 shillings ( 56 cents). a day for the work. The need for food is extreme and we have recently found out that Emmanuel and Denis (two of the students) have relatives and connections in that community. Much prayer and planning is going into that community by the team as they have assessed the needs.
A high – we have had some rain!! The cool breeze and cooling rains have brought much relief from the heat and we especially appreciate the evening and night rain as it helps with being able to sleep. But, we had forgotten that every time it rains or a wind blows with a storm in the area, the electricity goes out for 1-30 hours. Right now it is surging on and off so we unplug and wait for it to normalize. Creates the routine to remind ourselves the need to keep everything charged to stay ready for the frequent and sometimes extensive power outages.
Another high was a visit to the class by a former student.
Isubo James was a student in the 2019 school. He came to us with a degree in agriculture/ forestry and an MBA. He was teaching agriculture and business in a local university so we were puzzled why he applied to the school. He told us he did everything he had been taught in university and his farm was becoming worse on yields and less profitable and more dependent on outside inputs than ever. His mother in law is a friend of ours and she encouraged him to consider learning more sustainable ways, so he chose to come to the school. It changed his life.
He talked to our students for over an hour telling of his experience in the school, his questions, his awakening to new ideas, his implementing over the past two years of the pandemic, and how he now never worries about food because his home is a food forest where he can get up in the morning and go gather his breakfast as he meets with God in the garden. His stories enthralled and entertained the students and when we told them he was coming back to teach the week on agroforestry, they erupted in cheers. Being such a learner, Isubo began researching more and has implemented many ways of making his place more sustainable including composting latrines, bio gas production for his cooking and raising poultry. His visit was very timely as we were facing the usual skepticism that the new regenerative methods we are teaching will work. His testimony of how his farm has changed since he quit digging and burning, implemented more regenerative ways and the process of becoming more sustainable, presented with a blend of serious challenges and much humor kept the students on the edge of their seats.
Last week the students were all given a garden plot with instructions to raise a minimum of 8 different crops using the new form of gardening we had taught. We have all spent hours out coaching, correcting problems and answering questions and much of their time from now on will be spent either in their personal gardens or the big plot farm.
This week and next we are covering a method of large plot farming with a program called Farming God’s Way (FGW). Pioneered by Brian Oldrieve in Zimbabwe in the 1980’s, it is an excellent program that has impacted many African farmers. The foundations are based on one man’s observation of God’s garden (the forest) and recognizing how far our agricultural practices are from what works. Coupled with Biblical keys, they stress NO burning, NO digging and plowing, farming with a hoe and learning the keys of being on time, to high standard with minimal wastage. It is a very exact measurement based program which is very contrary to the African culture, but when they realize the impact and see the reasons and results many will embrace it. Many of our former students have thrived on plots of land from 1-100 acres to raise rice, corn, market vegetables, grain amaranth, beans and other crops. It works, but takes a great deal of coaching to change the way they see the hoe, from triple deep digging and using much muscle to shaving the top and only minimally digging planting stations or shallow furrows. Our staff is doing much of the teaching from their experience and using videos from the program to reinforce the teachings. We are at the same time implementing on the large plot at Balala land nearby. Yes, we spend hours in the field with them as they learn, talk and laugh.
One of my favorite things to do in the field is to eavesdrop and sometimes enter conversations as they work. As long as they are speaking English, I learn a lot about their lives, ideas, and how their thoughts are changing. They are becoming more and more free about sharing around me and I am enjoying getting to know the ‘real’ them. Today, JP, James and Lextion were in a discussion about the differences in this class and the ag classes they have had before. John and Victoria were talking about music, Grace, Moses and Charles joking and laughing, and Aaron was singing most of the time with the others going in and out of the various conversations. Fun.
Enough for now.
Gretchen and Gene
Prayer points:
- AGAIN – health!!! So much sickness! Stomach issues, fevers, headaches, various pains. We are trying to keep them drinking filtered water but many don’t want to make the trip to the filter so drink the tap water which I suspect is part of the problem. Malaria is only going to get worse with the rainy season soon here. We haven’t had a full day with all the staff and students present to get a class photo!
- Our staff – They work really hard and have such a heart to disciple students and serve us. Martin’s wife is pregnant and has malaria and his little boy has malaria and measles. He traveled to them last night to probably put the boy into the hospital on a drip IV to keep him hydrated through it. Julius’s wife, Franca, also a student, is having much pain from her cesarean incision from 3 months ago. Trying to figure that out is a challenge. Buroha, Charles, and Steven round out the team and all have recently had challenges, either health, family or finances.
- Our Friday teams going into community. They always learn so much when they are teaching and working in community and we want the experience to both be positive and a good learning environment.
- One of our students, Alfred. His educational level is very low and he is really struggling to keep up and understand concepts. Our staff is losing patience when he repeatedly does things contrary to how they are coaching. They aren’t sure if he is not understanding or he is being stubborn and no one seems to be able to figure it out.