Prayer Update

Dear Praying Friends, As usual, this plea comes with a sense of desperation, and a realization that I have failed to ask for the prayer that we know we need. Thankfully I do know that many people pray anyway! God put two verses on my heart this week: So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:19-20) For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jer2:13) The connection is this: our God is a fountain, unpredictable, unquenchable, uncontrollable. I need to listen to Him and not use words, manipulation, anger, sheer force of will and effort to make this world work out the way I think it should, to take care of myself and my family and protect us, to fix the world into the form I prefer. This image of the water cistern is so vivid for us, because we have water tanks that are fed by a gravity flow system from a mountain stream. The Ngite is our source—powerful, sometimes destructive even, but never dry. We prefer the convenience though of a nice measurable amount of still water, horded, right by our house, under out control. But though I try to make sure I have enough, my shored up walls that are meant to contain the water sometimes leak and slowly are empty. This is a leaky time. There is a lot going on, and I want to patch the leaks and be sure the water is enough. I’ve been quick to anger over frustrating situations, and quick to tears. Please pray for us to instead turn to the Source in faith, real faith, the kind of faith that listens and trusts and does not despair. Here are some specifics: Malaria. Malaria kills more Africans than AIDS by far. The rains this year never let up. The mosquitoes are abundant. The pediatric ward’s 25 beds are full and overflowing, 38 inpatients when I left yesterday, many mats on the floor, a number with very high malaria parasite counts and severe anemia. As soon as I got home I got a call from Amina, the secretary of Christ School, to come and get her, I’ve been treating her for malaria for the last two days and she felt worse. While she was lying on my couch trying to keep some popcorn and soda down, Pat arrived with Pauline, one of the three agriculture/veterinary extension workers hired by our nutrition program, looking extremely ill, shaking with chills and fever. She also had malaria, a bad case, made worse by the fact that she grew up in a less endemic area of Uganda, and by the fact that her initial blood smear a week ago was negative so it has been building for days. Amy, Savannah, and I have all had it in the last month too, though for years our team was almost never affected. Pray for relief, for good treatment, for adequate supplies of medicine and blood. Pray for our health center staff to have patience and stamina with their hard work load. Pray for Pauline, Amina, and others to recover. Kwejuna. Just when it seemed this project was going to wrap up and be fully in the hands of the district . . . The Elizabeth Glaser Foundation asked Scott to write a new grant to expand services on the ARV Treatment side of things over the next two years. He’s spent hours and hours this week on a formulating a budget and new proposal. Meanwhile Pamela, and Pat, are helping host two major training seminars for staff this month and one next month. New families are diagnosed every week, children start on life-extending treatments, Stephanie labors to get them nutritionally boosted to improve their immunity, we facilitate support groups and people hear the gospel. Good stuff, a lot of work, we all need prayer. Christ School. The Pierces are faithfully presenting the vision of the school and the needs in America this Fall, and we have a proposal in to a potential donor for serious funding. But the school continues to run at a deficit, trying to stay affordable to the poor. As the school year draws to a close, pray for adequate funds to pay teachers and feed students. And do pray for the major exam period. O-level students (Senior 4), including Luke, sit for about twenty half-day exam papers from mid October to mid November. Then A level students (senior six) take their finals, about a dozen half-day papers, in the second half of November to early December. We have students in both groups. A CSB teacher has again been selected by the district to monitor and coordinate exams for all participating test centers. Pray for fairness, protection from corruption, and for the students to do their best. CHURCH. Rick had an invitation last week to train lay leaders in the major protestant denomination (Anglican) here, the Church of Uganda. He’s thankful for the open door, and the building trust. Please keep praying for authentic indigenous worship. SIL is sending two people next week to record Lubwisi music. A church in Bundibugyo town just launched a singing group. Pray for the Spirit to move creatively and passionately here! TEAM. Ashley and Sarah are already so much a part of team life it feels like they’ve been here a year instead of a month! Praise God that Scott Will, a Physician Assistant who interned here before, arrived this week for another two months. He’s an example of God responding in His own way to issue number 1—we need the help!! And he was a specific answer to prayer for a room mate for Scott Ickes, left alone after the departure of summer interns. Another PA named Rachel Locker will also join us for a 3 week internship in October. Meanwhile the Pierces could use prayer for resolution of nagging health issues and God’s provision for the school in order to get them back here to Uganda soon. And the biggest news of the week: the WHM board approved Sudan as a new field and the Massos as the team leaders. The Masso family is in the US for at least a few months, and will be staging their entry to Sudan after they return to Bundibugyo in 2008. We trust God the powerful fountain who has chosen to use our team to launch this new field, but I confess I’d rather hew as cistern right here and keep the Massos (and others who are pursuing joining them) close by. God’s moving here is bittersweet, and our joy in seeing Him make this happen is mixed with grief over the personal losses to our community. So prayer for us to have faith and perseverance in the midst of transition will be an ongoing theme for the next year, perhaps forever! Leadership. Would you please pray specifically for me, and for Scott, to be leaders who listen to the Lord and to our team mates, who speak slowly and with grace, who wait for God’s work to produce the “setting this world to rights” actions that we long to see. Thanks for your partnership in prayer. With gratefulness, for the whole team, Jennifer

Redwall in the Rain

Julia’s Bday was a Redwall Abby feast, based on a serises of books our kids love by Brian Jaques.  Our game team members willingly entering into the imaginary world of the medieval abbey populated by animals, entertained by riddles, quests, poetry and most importantly the FEAST.  Scott and Pat made large Bundibugyo batches of “spicy hot root soup” (a specialty of the otters, I’m told) to go with Scotticus’ scones, and Wendy even went on line to find a recipe for “pasties”.  Sweet meadow cream was provided by our cow in the form of two large batches of ice cream.  Joe and Ivan even wrote special original poems, and Jack spent hours drawing about 20 pictures of various Redwall characters for putting on people’s backs so they could guess who they were.  Ashley spent most of the day helping with the kids.  In short it was a whole-team effort to celebrate with Julia.  And I needed it, because when the spectacular sun dimmed and then an ominous storm blew in, swirling shades of gray clouds and driving rain which persisted in a depressing drizzle, it was pretty chaotic.  We had 37 people hanging out, which is really only possible in our life if the party is mainly outdoors.  It was probably a pretty unusual 11 year old  birthday mix of adults and kids from 7 countries . . . It happened to be the day that a plane of visitors came from MAF to tour our mission and spend the night, and we’ve recently had a young German international exchange student joining us for some team events (he was assigned to a local family, which has been challenging for him to say the least), plus a half dozen or so Bundibugyo friends Julia wanted to invite.  Julia enjoyed herself and sensed our love, which I can now put into perspective were the essential elements of the evening, in spite of my discouragement over the rain.  I suppose it rained on festivals in medieval times too, and they probably had a much less entitled and demanding expectation of God’s favors than I do.

Julia, our 11 year old Jewel!

Here she is, the birthday girl, adorned in the contents of a package from Grammy! Thanks! She is truly a precious jewel, God’s good gift.

Slow to Anger

My verse of the week, maybe of the year: be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath (James 1:19). How? By leaning on the righteousness of God at work in this world, not having to fix it myself. Here are some glimpses of a few things set right. Makuni went home today. He was hospitalized for two months, and slowly but surely a little boy emerged from the swollen scabby pile of pitifulness that I found sitting on his dad’s lap on the floor the first day. He smiled at the piece of candy he unwrapped and bounced his green ball from Pamela while we sorted out his TB therapy and vitamins and supplemental milk for going back to Congo (see the before and after pictures above). Here is another: Kabajungu Margaret after 8 courses of chemotherapy, wholesome and smiling, and we hope cancer-free (yet to be seen). And yet one more: Asta, a baby with malaria parasites too numerous to count, nearly dead from anemia, her articulate father pressing me to do something and my heart plunging towards wrath at the whole tottering medical system (both Nyahuka and Bundibugyo Blood Banks empty, and the man in Fort Portal telling me he could not send any for two days). Then we broke Uganda government policy and collected blood from her mother and transfused her. Today she is much better. Little steps towards putting the world right. I’m grateful for the resources (milk, transport money, malaria medicine, the blood typing and anticoagulant bag) all made possible by sacrificial giving. Thankful that many others are swift to listen to the needs of children in Africa, and swift to respond. But I need prayer, feeling the edginess of grief so close to the surface, feeling the wrath rising up so quickly, these small battles turning on so slim a margin. Prayer to be a listener and a lover.

Who's Who?

Ever confused by the myriad members of the Bundibugyo Team?
Check out the link on the right hand sidebar to a link to a FlickR set showing the entire Bundibugyo Team roster. Watch the slideshow and sort it out...

Graduation?

Last night we attended the “candidates’ dinner”, a last celebration for the Senior Four (O level) and Senior Six (A level) students who are about to enter into their season of exams.  Since the students have some electives, not all take the same exams, so the finish will be staggered and anti-climactic, hence the “graduation” type meal PRIOR to the beginning of exams.  The students themselves set up the assembly area with desks as tables in a long oblong, a curtain draping the background, some tinsel and balloon remnants of Parents’ Day.  It was dusk, when the shabbiness of reality fades into the romance of candlelight.  Many of the girls were wearing dresses that could have graced a formal dance, garnered from the used clothes piles at the market.  Numerous speeches were interspersed with musical numbers that showcased the fact that hip-hop music videos have penetrated even this sheltered backwater.  In short, it was something like an event anywhere for teenagers who are exploring their way out into the world.  

Scott was expected to come as Chairman of the Board, and Luke as an S4 student.  But I was surprised and pleased to get a very elaborately worded invitation addressed to me as a special guest, signed by two of the boys we have sponsored (one in S4 and one in S6), so we took the bold family step of leaving Caleb home alone in charge of dinner and a video for Julia and Jack.  They were fine, and I was thankful to see this little slice of culture, nostalgic too, that this could be as close as my own son gets to a high school graduation event.  Luke is under the weather with a viral sort of rashy illness but came under duress, once again too young and too different to really fit in as a peer with his class.  Sigh.

The teachers exhorted the students with numerous analogies and Bible verses, emphasizing that they were ready, that they could focus and succeed.  I have come to care about some of these kids a lot, as Luke’s friends, as girls who were in my cell group for years, as boys whom we have known since they were skinny little 8 year olds.  Christ School has given them the best boost for life that is available here.  Will it be enough?  My maternal heart flutters at the thought of all they face, not just exams, but the struggle which continues as they overcome their disadvantaged backgrounds.  But last night in the warm glow of candles and lanterns, their own optimism was infectious, and I had hope.

Links and Racing

Just to remind you that we have links on the side bar to team mates’ blogs.  The James passage I wrote about in my last post includes the image of the crown, which is the laurel wreath rewarding the race finisher. This image carries more meaning for us since Scott Ickes began the cross country team!  The kids ran their hearts out and legs off for Parents’ Day yesterday, but some stumbled near the finish because our “track” us just the rutted grass around the playing field at school.  He’s trying to raise money to level it out and put in a simple gravel/marrum track (another Biblical image, make straight the highway . . .).  See his post if you’re interested.  Annelise writes in hers this weekend about number fatigue, the tension we feel when confronted with too many needy people and question the value of helping even one.  Bethany has a thought provoking piece on change and death and the longing for constancy.  Pamela’s down-loadable prayer letter gives a good overview of the summer, and she writes on the nutrition blog about Makuni’s first smile.  Kim has posted pictures of Juba, the new capital of Southern Sudan.  JD and Ashley both describe some of the less appreciated nature found around our homes.  Last but not least, Scott uploaded a new family picture from our team retreat in Jinja, at the bottom.  It’s a long way to scroll down but worth it if you want to see how much TALLER Luke is than I!!

Thoughts on Joy and Teeth Gritting

“Joy has not to do with the trial itself, but in the use to which God intends to put it. He’s saying set your sights on what going through he trial will add up to (count) because God is in the business of making sure it adds up to our benefit and God’s glory. “

This week the team Bible study leading fell to me, and as always as the leader and preparer I’m sure I got more out of the first chapter of James than I would have just listening. It cuts right to the crux of life. Count it joy, not because life is one fun thing after another, but because suffering exercises our faith, builds our trust, refines and purifies us to be like Jesus. As a team we are plonked down here in a place where suffering abounds. Mostly it is others who suffer more than we do, so we look on with vague guilt and mixed pity, as soon as one child is discharged improved another fills the bed or spot on the floor, scabby and desperate. Sometimes it is our own kids. Savannah had malaria this week, caught early, but she looked tremblingly hot and mentally distant, a feeling I know well from a few weeks ago. Yesterday was Parents’ Day at CSB, a day that celebrates the school, but this year left me mourning the disconnect my kids feel as they try to be part of it but really aren’t fully part of anything. This morning I said goodbye to Karen and Michael on the phone, as they boarded the plane that will take them from Uganda, another hole in the fabric of our life here.

In all this the message I hear is faint, but true: HOLD ON. The lifeline image of the hovering helicopter still vivid. Because joy is not found in removing ourselves from all pain, nor do we hold on by gritting our teeth and stoically marching through. No, we hold on to Jesus’ hand, the one who walked the valley of the shadow of death and now tenderly leads us through it to, to the table of bountiful goodness. More and more I see that the springs are in the desert, the table is in the midst of enemies, the joy is in the context of suffering. Just like we can’t reach the Sabbath rest without the six days of work, we can’t fully grasp joy and peace unless we are in the context of the brokenness of the world.

So we will dance on in the dirt.

As the World Turns . . .

The soap opera I was vaguely aware of from childhood had a name like that, and sometimes it seems like we’re living in a local African version.  This is our first time through the courtship process as parents . . . And we can laugh at ourselves some days and feel put upon and frustrated other days. Who would have thought that our first sponsored student, who has been such a part of our lives over the years, would fall in love with someone rather out of his league?  An orphan who barely graduated from high school courting one of the few Babwisi women to graduate from university?  As some staff discussing the matter put it, you have to have a “strong family” to “buy a graduate”. . . That is literally how people think of the process of acquiring a wife.  And who would have predicted that the “blood brother” her absent father (who is a high ranking police officer posted in Arua) would appoint to handle the matter would be the Director of District Health services, the very man whose authority we are obligated to professionally respect, yet whose obscure management so often leaves us despairing?  The initial letter of introduction was carried by the prospective fiancee’s aunt to Dr. S. yesterday.  Rumor has it that her reception was positive.  Everything is very indirect, mediated through underlings . . . Stay tuned for the next episode.  

The darker side of the drama exists here too.  We found out yesterday that one of the health center staff, an older lady “H”, was arrested.  She is a wily character who was transferred here some years ago from Bundibugyo hospital, to work as a theatre assistant, dressing wounds and cleaning the operating rooms.  This is the kind of “on the job training” position that is being phased out as real training programs become available, but we still had the old school version.  It seems that she was sometimes using the equipment and theatre after hours to perform illegal abortions, and the whole thing blew up a few days ago when she botched the procedure on a 15 year old girl.  The baby was developed enough to tell the sex (he was a boy) so probably 20 weeks or more, possibly viable.  When the girl developed bleeding complications and had to be admitted later to the hospital the story came out.  We, and Jonah, are incensed.  Dangerous, immoral, and illegal in this country, not to mention a waste of operating theatre scarce resources like gloves and guaze.  AND to make it even worse, corrupt:  H was CHARGING money under the table to do it.  All around a bad scene.  Sadly probably only the tip of the iceberg.  I knew that illegal abortions occurred “in the bush” but hoped they were rare, then to find out it has been happening right under our noses is frightening.

I suppose the two dramas are connected:  without proper family support a girl does not feel valued enough to wait for marriage, a boy does not feel responsible for the consequences of his passions.  And the final outcome is usually not abortion but a neglected and pitiful child, an abusive “marriage”, a string of broken relationships.  Those abound.  But to end on a happier note, Makuni, whose two years have been a hungry misery of just such a situation, is waking up.  The little person that he truly is is finally emerging from the nearly corpse-like shell of his body.  His swelling is gone, his eyes are open, his skin is nearly whole except for the still serious burn-like wound on his foot.  I find him most mornings actually playing with two blocks, or holding his own cup to drink.  But the big news is that today, I saw him smile.  Pamela brought him a little green ball which he loves.  On rounds one of the nurses reached down to play a game with him and the ball and I witnessed the corners of his little mouth spontaneously drawing back and up, a real smile.  I’m hoping his episode will have a happy ending.

A Day with Stephanie

. . . Is tiring but worthwhile! We started our day early because Jonah had called an emergency staff meeting, which incredibly dragged on for 2 1/2 hours. The main issues for discussion were: what time should staff be expected to arrive for work, and can we all commit to coming at that time? What should be done about staff who miss shifts consistently, or who are difficult to find when on call? Who decides how the hospital vehicle can be used? And can our underpaid “sweepers” keep this expanding facility clean? Africans are very skilled at discussing, everyone gets their say, and these meetings are an opportunity for nurses to politely and indirectly express their frustration with their superiors, or for those who are shirking their responsibilities to be warned. Meanwhile the staff meeting was occurring in the very spot we hold nutrition clinics on Tuesdays, so Stephanie politely tried to work around it. As soon as the meeting was over she rushed to finish distributing food and I rushed to see the rest of the inpatients so we could spend the afternoon together going to a small health unit for nutrition education.

We biked uphill all the way to Busunga where about twenty people awaited their afternoon of teaching, sitting on benches under a breezy veranda. Some are community health workers like TBAs, others work in the government health center as nursing assitants, while others are volunteers from a local church. First they reported on their homework assignment, counseling a breast feeding mother, dealing with lactation problems and encouraging exclusive breast feeding. Then they reviewed more of their previous teaching before launching into today’s topics: responsive feeding, the idea that the environment and manner of offering food is equally important to the quality of the food offered. Stephanie played a 1 year old in a hilarious skit contrasting two family meal scenes. There were brightly colored learning aids drawn on sugar sacks, on how to make a nutritious porridge. They grappled with some scientific concepts like calories and carbohydrates and frequency distributions for weight for height . . . All translated into very concrete and simple language since some of the older TBA ladies could not even hold a written paper right-side-up, or sign their names to the registry! The last order of business was to sample a nutritious snack of a boiled egg and a banana/cassava pancake.

This is the kind of energy and time intensive public health effort that must be done bit by bit, week after week, with small groups of people, to see real change in community beliefs and behaviours. So Stephanie will continue to slog through the river and pump up the hills, continue to patiently answer questions and creatively design lessons, continue to pray that her efforts translate into healthier children in Bundibugyo.