Inside the Tukel

I’ve had lots of inquiries about my tukel, so here are some pics of the inside for all those curious:

This is the view in from the door. Notice the thatched roof, mosquito net (which aids mostly in keeping creepy-crawlers from falling on me from the thatched ceiling as I sleep – mosquitoes actually aren’t bad here right now), kerosene lamp/candles (no electricity), shelves with all the belongings I’ve been able to bring up thus far! It’s amazing what little you can live with, you know? The bed is alright, it’s a pretty hard foam mattress, about 6 inches thick or so.



Then, as you walk in the door & look to the right – another bed. Currently I am alone in my tukel, but if we have any Medair visitors I would share my tukel!



And, from the back looking forward – have you noticed how bare the walls are? I didn’t bring much with me to decorate with & so I’ve decided to leave this up to you. What would you like to see on Jennie’s tukel wall? I’ll take suggestions, but I’d love to take any cards, pictures, beautiful creations that you might like to send my way (email me for an address if you are inspired)! I’ll update here with pictures as the wall fills up!

The tukel is about 12 feet across (diameter) I think, so its spacious for me. In other news, I have successfully learned to drive the manual & have a lot of fun with the landcruisers! The roads here are so bad, its really like you're off-roading all the time! Today we went for a hike nearby and ended up on a not-really road, and actually had to push the landcruiser out of the mud at one point (I was pushing, not driving). Luckily we made it out before the rain began, as we really might have been stuck at that point! I'll post some pictures of our hike later - some beautiful views of the area.

And here’s just a bit of a laugh to pass along to you…Tracey posted this on her tukel door, did you know Kaabong kitties can read? Yeah, well Jack is learning quite slowly actually.

It says “ NOTICE FOR JACK – Not this tukel, try the other 2!”

There's No Place Like Home

My English vocabulary is limited - I tend to use words that are somewhat vague, such as 'great', 'nice', 'really', and I often wish I could articulate myself better.

Last night I was trying to capture how I was feeling & what came out was simply, "I miss my friends." The word 'miss' is not even getting close to the point of how I feel, though. How else can I put it? I came up with this - I'm "grieving the absence of"...

I 'miss'...

• dark chocolate (hint, hint!)
• ice cream
• blending in
• hot showers

I'm grieving the absence of...

• friends
• family
• my church & community
• uninterrupted walks
• ok, maybe dark chocolate :)

Does that make sense? Don't get me wrong, I'm doing ok here & enjoying the new friendships and experiences I'm having. But this last week was a bit more challenging as I started feeling the loss of my Denver community and 'easy access' to people who know and care for me.

So feel free to drop me a line! I think I'm doing pretty well thus far at responding to my emails & comments. And also feel free to pray, its just going to take some time for me to feel truly at home here - God and I are conversing about that regularly.

Rich towards God

Our team meets every morning from 8:00-8:30am for a time of reading/reflecting on a Bible passage & then praying together. It could be seen as really burdensome to those who aren't so spiritually inclined & even to those who are, spending every morning doing 'church' can be a bit much. That's where I often find myself, in the latter group. But I have to admit that there is something about starting your day out recognizing that the work we're about & life in general is less about me and more about joining God in His work for justice here on earth.

We've been working our way through Luke and the most recent passages have been the commonly quoted ones about storing up treasure in heaven. Literally, not allowing material possessions both to be your goal in life and to be your source of worry and anxiety. That all we gain here on earth can pass away in an instant, what truly matters when all of that is swept away is our soul and how we live the life we've been given.

It's interesting sitting and talking through these truths with people who have such a different culture, but add to that the society of surplus that I come from as opposed to the scarcity here. Material wealth takes on a whole new meaning in this context for me. It's less about deciding to purchase a sedan or an SUV and more about how to pay for a bus ticket to get to the next big city to stand in line for hours to turn in paperwork to receive a card that shows you're registered in the country and can therefore receive a salary & will then pay taxes on your salary which will all take at least 3 days which includes lodging and food which cost money...you see where I'm going? I sat across from one of the guys on our staff today who explained to me that the document I need for our files that allow us to pay him will require all that I said above & therefore he needs a salary advance to pay for such a trip. This isn't about saving & thinking ahead, this is about survival. This man doesn't go out and drink every night - he's a very hard worker and so dedicated. Yet, he wouldn't have the money to pay for that 'simple' trip until he receives the wages we'll pay him...

Yet, in our conversations, my friends seem to get it, maybe better than I do. Its about valuing God & His ways above the things of this world. Being "rich towards God" - I hope to learn more about this as I get to know the hearts of His people here. My prayer is that though I stick out as white, therefore RICH, here that my wealth will be known as love.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Lord, provide food, shelter, clothing, health and PEACE to your people.

Settling In

I wish I had some amazing stories to pass along to you, but so far things have been rather quiet as I’ve begun to take on some responsibilities around the base here. Let me give you the highlights since I arrived about 12 days ago…

• I have successfully managed to not crash the server in our office, but instead lock all the users off of it
• hire 2 relief guards for our base
• be almost fluent in the radio alphabet & in correct radio lingo – roger that
• prove myself to the ladies in our community by joining in their traditional dances
• workout to 80s Kathy Smith aerobics
• learned to count to 10 & greet people in the Karamajong language – repeat after me, Ee-jock, yes that means hello!
  

Some pictures & some thoughts:

A cutie on the way to fill her little jerrycan at the borehole.

Trace & I took a walk one day that came with an entourage!

Joseph & Tracey monitoring a borehole - this is the point of our work here, to ensure the boreholes around the Kaabong District are working well. The process involves training Water User Committees (WUCs), groups of about 10 people in the communities on hygiene & sanitation and to encourage them to raise a portion of money to put towards a subsidized repair, should their borehole need it. It's really fantastic to see how empowering with education & ownership can bring about a number of benefits for these communities!

Jacob, Georgia, me, Tracey & Jakob
You'll read about Tracey & Jakob, I'm sure, they are my co-workers here - I get along very well with both of them!
Jacob & Georgia are baptist missionaries from Texas who live just down the road from us & are such a joy to have near. They stayed over Saturday night & on Sunday morning our conversation somehow turned into a competition. Around Karamoja you can easily hand a letter to someone & it will get passed on & on until it reaches the person it was intended for. Why couldn't that work with a letter to our homes, too? So, we wrote letters to our families & have to hand it to someone in town & have them pass it along in hopes that within a few months one of our letters may arrive at our homes! I'll let you know the outcome of that one, if there is one!

Home Sweet Kaabong

Breathtaking - that's how I describe the landscape here. It's quite green, rolling a bit & with random outcroppings of rocky hills & huge boulders. Of course, I haven't experienced the dry season yet & when the green-ness fades here, will I still feel the same? And of course, the African sky - never in the world have I found a sky that captures so much glory in every direction...it never ceases to amaze me!

Here are just a few glimpses of our view & the base:

looking to the east from inside our base

our house/office

my tukul - right in the middle! Isn't it cozy? That's where I sleep, it's quite nice actually!


And I was very pleased to make friends with our resident PCM (Pest Control Manager) - his name is Jack!

Nat, doesn't this look familiar? Yep, feeling right at home here.

Kampala & driving in Africa

I flew into Entebbe, Uganda at around 7am on Monday morning. That’s about 10pm Sunday night for you Denver folk & midnight on eastern US time. After successfully maneuvering through the tiny airport - where the customs, immigration and baggage claim are all one room only separated by some rope – and being met by all 3 of my checked bags (yay!) I was met outside of the secure area (which is a very long walk out in the elements) by Jimmy & Phyllis from Medair. I was so very happy to see their smiling faces!

Similar to last year when we arrived in Uganda, I was met by a beautifully soft sunrise and Lake Victoria as we drove into the city of Kampala. I was determined to give this city another chance – it didn’t leave the greatest impression on me last year – and I’m glad I did. We arrived at the Medair base, which is in a nice area of the city. But what I was so shocked to notice from the view at the base & subsequent walks around the area is that Kampala is actually a city built on several rolling hills – it is beautiful! That is a look from afar, however. It is still a developing city: traffic is unlike anything we know in the US, the roads are atrocious with potholes the size of small cars and are barely paved, “very nice areas” of town would be considered the ghetto in America – very different standards of living. Ok, so I don’t LOVE Kampala, but I can handle it.

I’m supposed to take a driving test tomorrow & though I’ve explained I don’t drive manual and therefore shouldn’t be allowed on the road (desperately hoping they’ll forbid me from driving) I still must go & drive an automatic. With the skills I learned from my one manual lesson before I left (thanks Wayne!), I’ll learn to drive manual while in Kaabong, a very less hectic area of the country, perhaps even on the airstrip!

Surprises since I’ve been here…eating homemade sushi which was quite delicious, thanks to Jo here at the Kampala Medair base, eating gelato with Fanny at an Italian market down the street, having my own private room, and getting an extra 2-3kgs of space to pack stuff onto the plane with me on Friday! (Did I mention I can only take 15kgs with me on my first trip up there? That’s about 33 lbs…)

There’s my glance at the last few days. I’m glad to be here & getting to know the Kampala staff, but am very excited to head to Kaabong where my team is waiting to welcome me “home”!

Thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement! I miss you all & send much love.

***Update since I took my driving test: all went well, driving on the British side of the car/road is quite interesting, but easy to get the hang of since you're clearly trying to stay away from the cars coming at you from the other direction! I successfully navigated downtown Kampala & still have the wits about me to tell you - wow. I never would have thought to attempt driving here...I'll let you know how it goes if I ever venture out on my own (probably won't!).

Feeling Life

but i dont want medication
just give me liberation
even if it cuts my legs right out from underneath
dont give me medication
i want the real sensation
even when living feels just like death to me
- Derek Webb

Today was an emotional day for me. I think it finally hit me in full force the reality of leaving all that I know & hold dear. That my community, my family, that I've invested in & found a safe place in, will be half way around the world. I won't know the day in & out joys & troubles of my closest friends, it just isn't possible. What am I thinking? Why am I doing this?

And so the tears came, multiple times, and at first I felt like I was in such a pit. I hate this, why would I put myself through this? But in the midst of the streaming tears I heard the Truth - this is what my life is about & these emotions are good & real & raw. They prove the depth of relationship I've been blessed with the past few years. I believe that to truly love deeply, you have to be willing to grieve just as deep - that's the cost. But its worth it. I wouldn't trade it for anything & I want to feel this depth even if I cry all the tears right out of me!

I hope to be this brokenhearted when I end my time in Africa - I hope to have friendships and memories so rooted in who I am that it tears me up to leave. That's the life I want to live - not dull, subdued, isolated - but full, exciting, with community! I refuse anything less! I really think I needed to enter into this truth before getting on that plane. It's going to be a challenge to balance relationships from here with life & relationships there. But I'll just have to figure it out as I go, may the bumps & bruises along the way prove to be avenues to Life!