Happy Rainy Day From Uganda! April 15, 2022
Very happy to have cooler rainy weather helping the class along in both the planted personal gardens and Balala field project. And, help us be able to sleep and live a bit more comfortably. Only down side is that getting laundry dry on the lines can be a challenge with the humidity rising daily, and the mold count is rising quickly causing allergies to rise. Another challenge is the increase in mosquitos with more cases of malaria plus several bad cases of Typhoid and H Pyloric ulcers in the class. We usually plan on 1 or 2 cases a month but we have steadily had that each week, causing students to get behind in class work. The staff has stayed mostly healthy for which we are thankful and Gene and I have been fine.
My nutrition teaching went really well and quite smooth! The students were very involved in asking questions and wanting information on how they can improve their diets. By now they had come to recognize their cultural beliefs about food, ( women and children can’t eat chicken, one egg a week brings all the protein you need, eggs are bad for kids, greens must be boiled for a long time to get rid of the chemicals, etc ) were all worldview issues not nutritional truths, and they were exposing the lies themselves. Their use of sugar is unbelievable and I’m not sure I made much headway on that. Aaron has told me he has cut down from 7 TABLESPOONS (!!!) Of sugar in his cup of tea to 5. He did say he will try to cut down to 3 and maybe even one eventually. Eeesshh.
The end of the week brought about some disturbing discussion on meat. There is very little meat served here because of price. Refrigeration is rare and meat is most often sold on open tables in the heat with flies. The very small portions we do get in the sauces in the base food is very well cooked so should be safe but is mostly gristle and extremely tough so we often don’t eat it or give it away. During class discussion they told of arrests of butchers who inject formaldehyde into the meat they sell to keep it from rotting and allowing it remain longer on the tables. Yikes! They struggle with who they can trust to buy meat from and few could identify any known safe suppliers. Sad. Then there was the discussion about 2 clans within 2 tribes in Uganda and one tribe right across the border in Congo who are still cannibals. Our minds receive this in disbelief as they discuss it so matter of factly. Was glad the discussion was cut short by the ring of the dinner bell, but definitely did not have much appetite.
Then there was the discussion about 2 clans within 2 tribes in Uganda and one tribe right across the border in Congo who are still cannibals. Our minds receive this in disbelief as they discuss it so matter of factly.
We had another fun birthday celebration for the April birthdays. Victoria is a fairly serious young lady from South Sudan. In the class photo she is the unsmiling one in the center.
She has a beautiful smile but they are rare. As they drenched her with water (washing the birthday baby), hoisted her in a chair parading her while singing and cheering, and then prayed over her, she was smiling and laughing as I have never seen her before.
After lunch, she came to me and told me that this is the very first time she has ever celebrated her birthday and the first time anyone had told her she was special. Imagine… for 25 years she has never been told she is a gift to her family. We’ve experienced several of these over the years and each time it breaks my heart for them, yet in turn gives me much joy to be able to tell them what a gift they are.
One of our staff, Martin, celebrated his 31st birthday on a Sunday. He was by our apartment on his birthday and I was cooking a special meal (here) for us of chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans so invited him for a birthday lunch. He said he had things he needed to do in town, so we gave him some shillings to grab a birthday lunch as he was running errands. He returned later, and I asked him if he enjoyed his lunch and he said it was amazing! He had been craving good goat offal and it was such a treat to be able to enjoy. What a time we gave him that he turned down my chicken dinner for a goat stomach!! We got a great laugh that lasted for days of teasing between us.
Gene followed the next week on livestock. He always divides them into their tribal groups to discuss and expose the lies about animals that are believed within the tribes. The first couple times I was shocked at how they treat animals and their beliefs about animal behavior, feed and water needs and spiritual attachments they believe they have. Now I am not so shocked. I was grateful to see this class starting to question their own views as they reported their finds comparing scriptures on God’s views of the care of animals and bringing them out in discussion. Gene spends much time on the unique design of the digestive tract of each species which determines their nutritional needs. We never tire of their ah-ha moments when they realize that the reason the pigs are skinny and sick is because of the feed they are feeding them is barely enough to survive on. Or, the reason the guard dogs kill their livestock and poultry is due to the belief (and practice) that a dog can live on dry bones and in reality they are hungry!
Since the 2019 school, Martin has become quite experienced in raising pigs using a deep litter method with IMO’s for healthy pigs that grow very well with no smell in the piggery. Julius has also been quite successful raising healthy chickens, pigs, turkeys and goats. As both of them shared experiences, the students are furiously writing notes and engaging them in questions and discussion. SO grateful for our experienced and capable staff who have practiced and proved methods to be able to train and teach many. They are a gift to us!
Speaking of gifts, we have had more visits from former students! One was Moses who was in the 2016 school. He was only 17 and had quite an attitude during the school. His family situation was very difficult and he carried much anger. Caleb, one of our staff, spent many hours walking with him through conflicts and mentoring him. At the end of the school we were unsure of how much impact the school had made though we knew he had much to think on. We have heard nothing over the years so we were shocked when he showed up unexpectedly having heard we were in Arua from an aunt and uncle who was staying in the apartment next to us.
We were at a fun night bonfire and this man grabbed us and kept hugging us and exclaiming how he never thought he would ever see us again to thank us for how his life was changed through the time he spent in the school.
It took us a bit to recognize him as a grown man now and then eagerly heard some of his journey in the 6 years since then. He is married with twins and now has a good job at a large farm in Central Uganda helping them transition to organic production working with a man who is trained in Korean Natural Farming methods. We met the owner who is also wanting to turn the farm into a training center for others. We were so excited to see how he has grown and changed and how happy and content he seemed.
Cyrus, one of our South Sudanese from the 2019 school, came and talked to the students for over an hour, encouraging and challenging them in vision and developing a strategy to move forward with in faith. The impact this man has made in communities and now in the country of South Sudan is incredible. He is a man of high capacity and is being chased by several governmental and NGO groups because they see his influence, confidence and capacity. He is an amazing practitioner and trainer and already impacted many since the 2019 school in the refugee camps. Recently he has gone back to South Sudan ( leaving his family in the refugee camp for safety) to reclaim his farm and train. His work has caught attention and he has had several job offers without even applying for them. He has chosen to work with an organization to become their agricultural trainer and already has many seminars and trainings in progress. We feel honored to know this man and am sure that God will use him in tremendous ways to bring healing to South Sudan people and land.
Another young man, Benjamin, came and spent two hours taking the students through strategic visionary planning. The students were entranced with his story of his chicken project and he primed them well for upcoming teachings on enterprise business planning.
We are now in Entebbe waiting for our flights tonight back to Colorado. It is always hard to leave but we also know the importance for us to step back and let the team take the full leadership for a time. Culturally it is very difficult for the staff to take the lead over us. Certain things, like logistics they will take, but everything else will be deferred to us out of respect for our age and status as founders. We see much more growth in them if we leave them with ALL the responsibilities, finances, decisions, conflict resolutions, and day to day life. We will continue regular updates after the Sunday afternoon staff meetings, but we will let them take the lead and make the decisions. The school sent us off with prayers, hugs and many expressions of how they will miss us but they all have good relationships with the staff so we are confident that they will move forward positively. The teachings ahead In our absence are all so good and much to look forward to: Bees, Natural Medicines with anamed, Post harvest handling, Leadership Development and Agroforestry along with a school break this next week.
Our trip back will be full, but we would be more than glad and even relish time to share with any of you more stories and details over what we share in the letters. Phone calls are welcome! Visits even more so, especially shared over a tasty good meal! Good food is something we are excited to return to along with hot water showers and a washing machine.
I have a surgery scheduled April 28. Our prayer is that a 2+ year health struggle with 8 doctors being puzzled as to what was happening with me will be ended. The 8th doctor finally sent me to the right specialist and he is sure that a 2 hour sinus surgery will end the journey. He put me on meds to control symptoms these past 3 months but they are ending their effectiveness (which he warned would happen) so I am more than ready for the surgery.
We have many more decisions to make to figure out our life in Colorado which we hope will move forward while we are back. We have tickets booked and return to Uganda May 29 to finish the school in July. As our staff communicates with us I will be updating you as I hear more for prayer requests. Sorry this has been a long one. You cannot imagine how hard it is to keep cutting out stories!
Love,
Gretchen (and Gene)
Prayer requests:
- For the staff to move forward together in unity and not revert to the top down harsh leadership they have had modeled to them most of their lives.
- For the school to follow their leadership.
- We are at the stage where personality conflicts are arising. Pray the staff and students are wise in how they handle it. They have had much coaching and mentoring in it, now we will see how they will respond. When Caleb was on staff, he was our pastoral person, so we will see who rises to take that position from our staff.
- For my surgery.
- For us to be refreshed to return and finish well!