Plans or "the program" are tentative here in Africa. I have come to greatly appreciate this over time, but for the new visitor is can be jarring at first. A common misconception Americans have of Africans is they are lazy. Africans believe Americans are consumed by busyness which for some isn't too far from the truth. What can be perceived as laziness to some is in fact a strong sense of the importance of space in one's life and the freedom to be available. The title of this post is one of many of Simon's famous quotes. For Andrea and I it has been at times just what we've needed to be reminded of.
We have experienced much over the past several days. So much that I fear a rushed post at the internet cafe will not do it justice. I suspect I will expand upon this post later. Our time at St. Peter's on Friday was bittersweet for me. Time spent away from here has caused me to at time lose sight of the vision my Ugandan friends have for high-quality rural education here in Pallisa. Andrea and I sat in Lawrence's (headmasters) office for several hours in the morning while students were taking exams. We talked about the blessings and challenges of the school. One of the blessings is that has just received official licensing from the Ministry of Education! With this has come a name change from St. Peter's College to St. Peter's Secondary School. The Ministry of Education is not recognizing secondary schools as colleges. Lawrence shared the news with students as they gathered to greet us after exams. He assured them this would not change anything and gave the example of parents giving a baby their name at birth. "It is not our job to give our name, the Ministry of Education does." In the afternoon we taught some of the YL campaigner kids at the school to play the game signs and they taught Andrea a couple songs that they sing at Club here. Andrea is working on her Swahili and will master "Jambo Rafiki" before we leave next weekend.
If there is one thing my African friends like to do is to always keep me on my toes and surprise me. So when Lawrence and Deo arrived at the hotel and told us we were going on a tour, I truly did not know where we would end up. Although I had my suspicions. We climbed into the car and Simon told us, "Anything can happen in Young Life!" as we drove off. We drove out past Agule and headed toward the rocks. These are beautiful outcrops that jut above the villages and give a spectacular 360 view of the countryside. I had done this previously, but not the particular set of rocks out near Nyagu Lake. We first stopped at the lake and chatted with local fisherman; many were young boys. They casually sat in their boats among the papyrus and Andrea captured the scene with her camera. We were then off to climb the rocks...in our skirts and "rugged" sandals! Remember we didn't know we were going to do some serious climbing. We started off and before too long we had many village children trailing behind and some leading the way. In short there were many "underfoot" and the thought of tripping over them caused considerable anxiety, but the view was worth it. Words cannot express what we saw. Pictures will come once we get back stateside.
Yesterday, we hooked up with some other American friends that are here working at the clinic in Agule. We met at the orphanage behind our hotel (To Africa with Love) and the children led us to church. It was children's Sunday and many of the children were involved in leading songs, skits, and reciting memory verses. The sermon was given by their Sunday school teacher, Loi. One thing I forgot to mention to Andrea was how long church goes in Africa. It is not uncommon for it to be a 3 or 4 hour endeavor. At about 4 hours I was ushered to the side of the church by Marci from the orphanage, "Someone is here for you." Sure enough it was our tour guides Lawrence and Deo ready for another adventure. This time they had brought along James, a YL staff member and we were to travel to Kumi to visit a relatively new Club there. Of course, they had spent an hour looking for us. Even though I had told them our plans the evening before. We had a good laugh over their hunt for the Mzungus. I teased that they feared we had headed back to the U.S.
As soon as we walked into the youth hall where Club was being held the kids burst into song and we were drawn into dancing and singing along. This was the 3rd Club ever held in Kumi town and about 20 kids had gathered which was so encouraging to see. Simon and Pious are the leaders their and are excited to be taking a group of these kids to camp in early August in Mbale. Afterwards we chatted with kids outside before heading back to Pallisa. For many this was their first Club EVER and were excited to come again. It was a marathon Sunday, but we returned to the hotel encouraged and lighthearted. "For blessed are the flexible for they will not break."
We have experienced much over the past several days. So much that I fear a rushed post at the internet cafe will not do it justice. I suspect I will expand upon this post later. Our time at St. Peter's on Friday was bittersweet for me. Time spent away from here has caused me to at time lose sight of the vision my Ugandan friends have for high-quality rural education here in Pallisa. Andrea and I sat in Lawrence's (headmasters) office for several hours in the morning while students were taking exams. We talked about the blessings and challenges of the school. One of the blessings is that has just received official licensing from the Ministry of Education! With this has come a name change from St. Peter's College to St. Peter's Secondary School. The Ministry of Education is not recognizing secondary schools as colleges. Lawrence shared the news with students as they gathered to greet us after exams. He assured them this would not change anything and gave the example of parents giving a baby their name at birth. "It is not our job to give our name, the Ministry of Education does." In the afternoon we taught some of the YL campaigner kids at the school to play the game signs and they taught Andrea a couple songs that they sing at Club here. Andrea is working on her Swahili and will master "Jambo Rafiki" before we leave next weekend.
If there is one thing my African friends like to do is to always keep me on my toes and surprise me. So when Lawrence and Deo arrived at the hotel and told us we were going on a tour, I truly did not know where we would end up. Although I had my suspicions. We climbed into the car and Simon told us, "Anything can happen in Young Life!" as we drove off. We drove out past Agule and headed toward the rocks. These are beautiful outcrops that jut above the villages and give a spectacular 360 view of the countryside. I had done this previously, but not the particular set of rocks out near Nyagu Lake. We first stopped at the lake and chatted with local fisherman; many were young boys. They casually sat in their boats among the papyrus and Andrea captured the scene with her camera. We were then off to climb the rocks...in our skirts and "rugged" sandals! Remember we didn't know we were going to do some serious climbing. We started off and before too long we had many village children trailing behind and some leading the way. In short there were many "underfoot" and the thought of tripping over them caused considerable anxiety, but the view was worth it. Words cannot express what we saw. Pictures will come once we get back stateside.
Yesterday, we hooked up with some other American friends that are here working at the clinic in Agule. We met at the orphanage behind our hotel (To Africa with Love) and the children led us to church. It was children's Sunday and many of the children were involved in leading songs, skits, and reciting memory verses. The sermon was given by their Sunday school teacher, Loi. One thing I forgot to mention to Andrea was how long church goes in Africa. It is not uncommon for it to be a 3 or 4 hour endeavor. At about 4 hours I was ushered to the side of the church by Marci from the orphanage, "Someone is here for you." Sure enough it was our tour guides Lawrence and Deo ready for another adventure. This time they had brought along James, a YL staff member and we were to travel to Kumi to visit a relatively new Club there. Of course, they had spent an hour looking for us. Even though I had told them our plans the evening before. We had a good laugh over their hunt for the Mzungus. I teased that they feared we had headed back to the U.S.
As soon as we walked into the youth hall where Club was being held the kids burst into song and we were drawn into dancing and singing along. This was the 3rd Club ever held in Kumi town and about 20 kids had gathered which was so encouraging to see. Simon and Pious are the leaders their and are excited to be taking a group of these kids to camp in early August in Mbale. Afterwards we chatted with kids outside before heading back to Pallisa. For many this was their first Club EVER and were excited to come again. It was a marathon Sunday, but we returned to the hotel encouraged and lighthearted. "For blessed are the flexible for they will not break."
I can't wait for pictures! This sounds so magical, and I'm so excited to hear more.
ReplyDelete