Niclette

2 million people have fled their homes in Central & East Africa for other countries or regions. Maybe they left because of war, or a high threat of violence or rape. Maybe they left because of famine or drought. Probably they left family members behind. Loved ones, just like your loves ones, just like my loved ones. Just a statistic. Just a statistic, until you hear about how her father died in Congo a week ago. The money isn't there, though, for going home to be with her family. The money wasn't there a week ago to buy airtime to talk with her father. The money wasn't there a month ago to send for him to get medical treatment. The money isn't there, so she sits on the cement floor and weeps.

USA, deaths per live births, 4 out of every 1000. East Africa, deaths per live births, 30 out of every 1000. Just some numbers. Just some numbers, until you sit on a plastic chair in a crowded corner of a tiny one-room shack down a narrow dirt ally of a noisy slum. Just numbers until you watch the tiny, lifeless bundle being laid on a towel in another corner. Just numbers until you see silent tears roll down the cheek of a broken mother, robbed of the day's joy, rewarded for a difficult night of labor with nothing but grief and heartache. She sits on the cement floor and weeps.

Actions speak louder than words. Just a saying. Just a saying, until you hear that her husband is a Muslim. He watched, a week ago, as his wife received a phone call from Congo and sank to the floor. Just a saying, until you hear how he watched as none of his Muslim friends came to grieve with her, but her friends from church came and sat with her for three days. Just a saying, until you hear how he watched helplessly as his wife and newborn child were rushed to the hospital on a motorcycle taxi. How again, his Muslim friends were absent but followers of Jesus surrounded his wife from the moment something went wrong. He sees how they care for each other, and take care of each other, and sacrifice for each other. He follows the Muslim tradition of burying the baby the same day, but he refuses to let the burial proceed until the Christian pastor arrives to lead the service. How beautiful it is when the Body of Christ acts like the Body of Christ. How beautiful it is when His children love each other, and love others even though they might be different from us.

God could have revealed His glory that day by miraculously healing a baby. He didn't do it that way this time. But I know that He somehow used a tragedy to reveal a little bit more of His love to a man who might come to know Jesus one day soon.

Please pray for Niclette – for comfort and peace as she has lost so much in just a few days. Please pray for her husband – also for comfort, and that He would come to know Jesus.

If I had blogged in July...

...I would have blogged about being stolen from. Our security guard entered our house one night while no one was home and stole $500 from my room. John wasn't just our security guard...I thought he was also my friend. I've been stolen from before, but by a stranger. It's a completely different feeling when someone you trust totally betrays the relationship. In addition, this is not a good place to have a crime committed against yourself, as many of the police are rather corrupt. We had to bribe them to even come and take fingerprints. If you want them to try to find the thief, you have to pay them some “appreciation” each time they do something. As bad as the betrayal felt, and as inconvenient as it was to lose $500, and as frustrating as it was to try to get the police to do something (they still haven't caught him), I still have so much to be thankful for. When the money was taken from my desk, it was right next to my laptop. My external disk drive was also there. My camera was also there. My ipod was also there. None of it was taken. I could have lost a lot more “material” things which are special to me, and a lot of work, photos, and files on my laptop. Yes, they are just things, but they have more value to me than dollars. I thank God that He spared me from losing any of those things. If you think of John, please pray for him. He had professed faith in Jesus and was being discipled by another missionary. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would minister in his life. Thank you!

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On a happier note...

4^th of July was fun. A local cafe which is owned by an American had a 4^th of July celebration, complete with hotdogs, sweet corn, onion rings, potato salad, and watermelon. Over 50 Americans gathered to enjoy American food and watch Independence Day, which I had never seen before. Thank you Sankofa!

I was there with some friends from the house church I attend (Pancakes & Podcasts). Here I am with my great friend Kristin! We were so excited for the meal!

In the month of July we had two short term volunteers. As the resident “long-term” volunteer in the Zion guesthouse, I get to welcome the short term volunteers and help them learn their way around Zion and Gulu Town. I really enjoy it. Bailey was here for a whole month, and we had a blast! She taught the girls tons of new songs and is still a daily topic of conversation at the girls' house. Martha was here for 2 weeks and I really enjoyed having her here as well. She is a teacher, so the girls really benefited from time with her, especially Anita who is in her first year of school at age 11. While Bailey & Martha were here, a couple of highlights included doing a 3 day VBS with the girls on Esther, Hannah, and Ruth & Naomi, as well as having the first annual Zion Girls Joint Birthday Party (complete with party hats thanks to Auntie Bailey!)

At the end of July it was time for Bailey to go home, so I went with her halfway to Kampala to a place called Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where you can track wild rhinos on foot! Rhino footprint:

Of course I have seen rhinos before in the zoo, but a rhino with no fence between you is a totally different animal. The first thing the guide tells you before you head out is that if a rhino decides to charge, you should immediately climb the nearest tree. Now, I'm not known for my tree-climbing ability so this was a bit concerning. The second option, if you can't get to a tree, is to “get behind a shrubbery that the rhino can't pass through.” This was also concerning, as rhinos are rather large and very strong and through the whole treck I never saw a shrubbery that looked like it would be able to withstand the force of a charging rhino (and believe me, I was looking for them). Thankfully we didn't have to worry, as rhinos like to sleep during the day and even the ones that were standing up were kind of drowsy and not too inclined to charge. I learned a lot about rhinos that day but one interesting fact is that they have terrible vision, but excellent hearing. We could see this clearly as the momma rhino kept close tabs on our where-abouts, not by turning her head to watch us, but by constantly moving her ears to catch every sound we made. As a results of this, though, we were instructed to be very very quiet, as a rhino will charge after a threatening sound without waiting to “see” what caused it.

One ear to the front, one to the back:

Our guide pointed out some ants that were behind us as we were rhino-watching. They were big ants, and I can't remember what they were called but they eat termites. They had carried their eggs up out of the nest to “get fresh air,” which I didn't know ants did. The guide told us that soon they would smell us and start carrying the eggs back into the ground to protect them from us, and that's exactly what happened. The ants quickly changed from lazily wandering around near the pile of eggs to frantically carrying them back into the nest as fast as their little legs could move. It was so cool to see two of God's creatures, especially with the contrast in their size, and to learn about the things He has equipped them with for survival.