Subjectivity

Well it is finished.  Our time in Uganda with YWAM is over.  (We’ve actually been gone from there since the end of June.)  But I feel the need to post one more time to help bring closure to this chapter of my life.  Call it therapy.

Some would say I didn’t ‘finish well’, others might disagree.  Subjectivity…

I think to those eight young men who were students of the vocational school, and such a big part of our lives there – arguably the reason I was there – I ‘finished well’.  But to some of our fellow staff, especially those in leadership, and probably even to Beth, I didn’t ‘finish well’.  To them, the ‘anger, bitterness, and resentment’ which I displayed were not signs of ‘finishing well’.

So what is this ‘finishing well’ I write of?  Several months prior to ending our time at Hopeland there was another couple there also from the west.  We had met them on our first visit, and this was their third extended stay, and they were very familiar with the challenges faced there.  They also recognized the struggles I was having dealing with some of those challenges.  Their advice was that no matter what, I needed to ‘finish well’.  Meaning mending broken fences, healing wounds, fixing broken relationships.  Forgiving.

Using those things as the parameters to measure my final months at Hopeland, I didn’t ‘finish well’.  At some point I will find a way to forgive, but forgive what?  Incompetence, ineptness, corruption, apathy, immorality…  Sin.  Sin, we all struggle with it, yet in the leadership at Hopeland these things seemed to be an acceptable way of doing business.  And I struggled with that, I couldn’t get past it, and I allowed that to keep me from ‘finishing well’.

Obviously my experience wasn’t what I expected or hoped for.  I was disappointed, the picture I had in my mind wasn’t reality.  People are human and will disappoint other people.  Put me on both sides of that.  I guess I just expected more from Christian leaders in a Christian organization.  Apparently what I experienced had a bigger (negative) impact on who I am than I want to admit.  Just ask those around me, the ones I’m ‘close to’.

So, I left Uganda somewhat more cynical, skeptical, and a little jaded. I realize there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people wherever you are.  ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ works, too.  But ‘good’ and ‘bad’ can be matters of subjectivity…

   

Happy spring time

On our visit to Uganda we heard some school children reciting: “There are two seasons; the wet season and the dry season.”  As I type this it is pouring rain, and we’ve begun another wet season.  Readers may tire of my weather reports, sorry, but I feel I must tell of the passing seasons…

We are finishing a week’s break between vocational school terms.  We are trying to follow established school patterns, but since we’re pioneering this school we are able to take liberties with curriculum, format, and schedules.  Okay, really it’s mostly me doing this thing, and ‘I’m wingin’ it’.

During the break Beth and I were able to take a few days of needed R&R.  We went one night to an institution founded for training young people in many areas including a primary school, vocational school, hotel management, and others.  It’s German run, and done very well, making it very nice for guests.  We then went the other direction to a place called Sipi Falls where we spent two days relaxing at a guest lodge.  Transportation was a combination of buses, taxis, bodas (motorcycle), and special hire private vehicle.  It’s not always convenient, but we’re getting more adept at moving around.

The construction project of the vocational school is progressing.  The walls were nearly completed as we reached the term break, and as we resume this week we will begin with the roof.  Rainy season may not be the best time to start, but we have no choice.  The things which are in the kitchen now will be exposed as we remove the old roof, so hopefully we can add the new one quickly.  If I’ve learned anything here, though, it’s that things don’t happen quickly.  Especially while training.  Once the roof is in place, the remaining tasks should be more enjoyable.  Did I mention I’m afraid of heights?

Beth has obtained her uniform and special cap, and will start volunteering in the children’s section of the government hospital this week.  They are excited to have her, and she is excited to begin.  I’m sure there will be many interesting stories coming from her experiences there…

Some of our students have been working very diligently in a garden to grow some vegetables which they hope to sell ‘to raise money for graduation’.  They have put in many hours in their ‘spare time’, and the work is really paying off.  Their garden has become the envy of many, including the staff and students of the agriculture school which is underway, and whose own gardens don’t look near as nice.  And we’re hoping that since our students have a head start on the growing season they will be able to reap some early rewards.

While many things can become frustrating here, seeing and reflecting on what our students are accomplishing is one of our rewards...

Vocational Building

People have asked why there have been no recent posts.  I even ask myself, or at least tell myself that I really should post something.  But I don’t want to sound like a whiner, and right now the things I have to say about this place (Hopeland, not Uganda) would mostly be perceived as whining.  I’ll just say that we have been frustrated, discouraged, disillusioned, disappointed, angry, and much more by the leadership here.  But God is bigger, and there are changes for the better underway.  So let me try to update.

We went home for the holidays.  It was a great time spent with family and friends which passed too quickly.  We returned the first week of January, just in time to attend the graduation of the most recent DTS.  We had grown very close to some of the students, and we were thankful we were able to be there for the event.

We also quickly resumed the vocational school, but were challenged with what direction to go.  Ultimately it was decided that we would work entirely within our own department and expand the vocational school kitchen.  When the girl’s school is running they find it difficult to work in the area they have, and even now the space is being used for another program running during the week.  So we have begun work to double the size of the existing 16’x30’ building.  I have contracted with a local builder to work with the students twice a week for the concrete and bricklaying phase.  The three days he has been here have been very helpful, and we have nearly completed the brick foundation walls.  It has also given me a chance to work on some other things, including beginning the process of getting the plans for this and previous base construction sorted out with the local building department.  Interesting so far, and I’ve just begun…

Today is national election day in Uganda.  The months leading up to it have been filled with rallies, rumors, speculation, prayer, and a sense of instability.  We’ve constantly been warned of the potential for violence, and cautioned to stay away from the cities and towns until it’s all over.  Most schools have delayed their term break re-opening by more than three weeks because of anticipated unrest.  Other than the noise from truck mounted speakers and associated crowds, we’ve really not been affected.  Depending on the results, things should be back to normal next week
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Beth was recently able to bring all the necessary documentation to the capitol, Kampala, and received her license to practice nursing in Uganda.  Bureaucracy here can be daunting, but because she had everything together the first time, it went very smoothly for her, requiring just two trips.  The first to drop everything off, the second to pick up the license.  Those trips became an opportunity to experience some very enjoyable dining in some of the ‘western’ restaurants in Kampala, as well as a relaxing weekend away from the base.  Next week, after the election furor, she will seek out opportunities to use her skills away from Hopeland.  (She sees several ‘patients’ a week seeking diagnosis and treatment for their ailments, nearly always perceived to be, but never really malaria.)

Israel is one of our students.  He has a heart of gold, is a hard worker, and we brought him here for the school from western Uganda after getting to know him last year.  He’s somewhat soft spoken, and sometimes things get lost in translation… Two recent conversations:

Good morning… may I sit down… I have some sad news…  The son of Grace has died during the night.

What!  You mean Lemeck?

Yes, we don’t know what happened, but we found him dead this morning…

It took a while, but I eventually realized that he hadn’t said ‘the son of Grace’, but rather, ‘this hen of Grace’.  He was so proud of, and committed to his two chickens brought from the village which he was caring for along with Grace’s hen, and was very upset by the death.  Another:

staging bricks

Karim providing instruction

The other members (students) want you to talk with us about VD, they want to know what’s happening here on the base.

Have they heard something?  Are they concerned? 

Yes, they’ve heard some things, and they want to know about it…

Back and forth we went until I agreed to talk to them, but clarified they wanted to know about STI’s, sexually transmitted infections.

Oh no!  VD is visitation day; we want to know when that’s going to be.  But you can talk to us about the other, maybe it’s God…