The Bicycle Rediscovered... among other things

Arghghgh!!!! Dear friends and family, I am so sorry that I have neglected updating you over the past few weeks. It might sound like a lame excuse, but, quite frankly, I have been extremely busy over the past few weeks.

Quite a lot has happened since the college team left back in June. Nate, my fellow intern and I have been teaching and leading discipleship groups at the orphanage (SMK) outside Kampala. While mentoring the children has been an incredibly rewarding experience, there are many frustrations inherent to our work at SMK. These kids, who have next to nothing in life, poor family environments, and little prospects for the future, are being further handicapped by a poor, meager education. SMK, like most Ugandan schools, teaches purely by means of rote memorization and repetition. Thus, the children study an overwhelming amount of facts, figures, and definitions - without understanding or comprehending their significance! Nate and I have been trying to remedy this mode of teaching with many direct questions and problem-solving exercises... but it is difficult to affect such change in such a short span of time. Teaching Social Studies has been especially interesting... and frustrating. The curriculum that I was assigned to teach deals with Ugandan ethnic groups - a touchy subject, to say the least! The children have very deep seated mistrust and prejudice towards other groups, and it can cause problems at school (which has a rather diverse student body). I can only pray that I was able to deconstruct some of the extensive stereotypes and jealousies.

About 2 weeks ago, Nate and I went on a weekend excursion to Rwanda to visit the Cyimbili Coffee plantation - which is partly supported by Jacksonville Chapel's "Hope for a Thousand Hills" ministry. What an incredible experience! When ever I get the time (and good internet connection) I will post some of the breathtaking pictures from the region - full of terraced hills, towering volcanoes, incredibly hazardous roads, and deep blue lakes! The coffee was great - the community was greater! [The buses, on the other hand, were not so great...]

As I write this, I am in an internet cafe in Gulu town, Northern Uganda. I will be staying up here in Gulu, living in the village of Adak, for another month. In a few days, Nate will be joining me, along with the TTW GUTS summer team. I am loving village life, and I am finally working on the project which I have so long anticipated - mapping and surveying the Adak countryside! Touring the countryside on bicycle, consulting with the many villagers I meet, I am using GPS to make a map of this "mapless" countryside. In the days to come, I will partner with translators and local friends to survey and interview the many households in the area... in the hope that their ideas and words might teach us how to rebuild the community together! More Details to follow!