MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 02-21-2012

Greetings! The rains have returned to Mbarara. It rained all weekend, torrential and constant. When we arose on Saturday morning to begin preparing to head to Nakivale and the first day of our VBS, it was pouring outside. It is always a drag to travel in the rain, because the roads turn to muddy gravy, and you have to fight to keep the vehicle from being sucked into the ditch. This is exacerbated by the legion of dubiously qualified truck drivers hauling goods out to Kabingo. The road is narrow, and it is difficult to pass these guys in good conditions. The danger increases of course on these axel grease roads, but pass them we must, since their motors have been beat to death over successive years of substandard maintenance and they always travel at a snail’s pace. Inevitably, we pass the Bell beer truck on Sundays, hauling beer out to “those ends”, because if there’s one thing impoverished refugees struggling to feed their families need, it’s more alcoholism.

Then there’s the matoke-guys. These are 1-speed steel bicycles, which are never ridden but are used as two-wheeled carts to carry heavy loads, in this case, 6 or 7 stalks of matoke (cooking bananas) 40 to 50 pounds each. As you travel out to Nakivale, there are several large banana farms, growing the staple food here: matoke. It’s sort of like potatoes in the States. They hire these local guys to haul the produce into distribution points, where they are loaded onto trucks and delivered to the towns. The vegetable truck owners buy them from the farmers, and re-sell them at a profit. This is how the rural farmer makes money from his crop. A banana-bike loaded down is as wide as a small car, and as fast as a toddler pushing a walnut up a hill with his nose. So they have to be passed, unless you’re planning on driving at slower than walking speed. This again necessitates trying to keep from being devoured by the mud-filled ditches. What’s really bad is when, inevitably, you need to pass so you don’t have to either run them over or slam on the brakes to keep from running them over, but you meet a vehicle coming the other way. Now you have to simultaneously avoid hitting the knucklehead pushing a bicycle (hitting pedestrians, even though they have no business being in the road, no matter how reckless or idiotic they might be, is automatically the driver’s fault and usually carries a huge fine from their extended family and possibly a jail sentence), getting into a head on collision, and being sucked into the ditch. It’s the vehicular equivalent of juggling chainsaws.

The rain was finally tapering off by the time we reached our destination, so I was able to persuade our translator and fellow Pastor Djuna to make the trip on his boda (motorbike) out to the first stop at Juru. He translates well from English to Swahili, the primary language at that preaching point. There are lots of languages at Nakivale, including Runyankore, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda. I am working on Runyankore, but still need translating, sometimes into all three. We had 150 kids at Juru on the first day, and 54 on Sunday (it was raining, and people here do not like to travel when it’s raining, even in a light rain). It went very well. We handed out some cookies, sang some songs, taught a Bible lesson, colored pictures, and had a review game afterwards which gave them a chance to get candy if they knew the answers. It was great fun. We did the same thing out at Ngarama, where we had 40 the first day and 58 on Sunday. The Bassett’s were out at Sangano and Kabazano (the newest church plant), where they also had lots of kids. Dividing up the points in this way means we can spend more time at each, but not have to spend eight hours doing it.

We gave them the Gospel, some good Bible instruction, and some tasty treats. We are working on teaching them how to sit and listen quietly, a necessary skill when they go to school, and not to mob people trying to give them things (the refugee mentality). Treats have to be earned, and only those who have actually worked to get them may have them (teaching merit-based rewards, rather than everyone expecting to get something simply because they showed up – the tribal mentality). These children are often ignored, and are treated like mongrels. No one has any expectations for them, so they just sort of do whatever they want to. We are attempting to show them some love, positive attention, and teach them useful things in the process.

We do this again next weekend. Once they have their Easter break in April, we can do a standard three-day gig without having to break up the classes. We had to accommodate the school schedule this time, which the government arbitrarily altered.

Pray for the VBS, for the salvation of those who need it, in particular those who don’t typically come to church, or don’t attend a church which preaches the Gospel. Pray for our safety as we travel, and our health. Pray for the translators who help us get the message into multiple languages for the children. Pray the kids will understand and enjoy the Bible clubs.

God bless you!