The Amazing Adventures of Becca Elwardt

A few days to go

2008-04-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

Well we have started the debriefing process and the realization that I have to go back to the states is setting in. My time here has been amazing. I have learned so much, and the lord has pretty much rocked my world. I have realized how HUGE the lord is, and how SMALL I am. He has a plan for my life, and I patiently await what he has in store... it better be big because I don't think after this experience I can have a normal American life. I realize I will not be content unless my future job includes feeding and clothing those who need it... or at least being apart of the process.
I realize it has been hard being in Africa as a STUDENT... it was not the typical mission experience where you are "doing good" or have the "spiritual high". It was LIVING in Africa, and going to school. We were not changing things but mostly learning of things. It was hard to be in that position knowing there was so much to be done... but that was not what I went to do. Not that I sat around and did nothing... I am proud of the things I have done. Of helping the communities get sponsored...But I also learned that is was not me at all. I am literally one of the biggest sinners in the world... and it is only because of the Christ in me that any good could be done.... I also learned to wrestle with things.... to wrestle with poverty. I don't have a solution, but i am not ignoring it. How does one draw the line between causing dependency and giving to the poor? And how can we become OK with passing those in need on the street.
So many things i am going to have to continue to ponder and develop once i go home...
I am excited to come home and see JUST HOW MUCH the lord has rocked my life... I am also excited to see where the lord Leads me... HE is truly teaching me trust.... learning to Trust in him to lead me to what is next... because I am oblivious to the future.

This is a funny picture I saw on the road...IF ONLY AMERICANS HAD THIS WANT

Life Goes on....

2008-04-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that time has flown so fast. In less then two weeks we embark on our quest home. The past month here in Kampala has been a lot of fun. Lots of work, and lots of play. I will miss my house mates here a lot when I return. So lets see... lets talk about the high lights of the past month.
One... There was a strike in the taxi park. The government decided that only new taxi's could run in the city. So all the old taxi's decided to strike, and they threw rocks and began a riot. There were fires, and people died. We were not allowed to go down town for a while...
Second... I learned that the only reason there is poverty is due to corruption in government. We have learned all the ways to eradicate it... and the only reason that it is not happening, is due to corruption.
Third... inspired by the office (the TV show)... we are having GO ED Olympics... the opening ceremonies started yesterday.... every one is way more into them they they should be!! haha.. there are consumes, events EVERY day.... etc... Bruce the man in charge of Go-Ed even wore a toga and had a torch run. We almost burnt ourselves. Then we went to eat at the Beijing restaurant down the street to kick start a fun week of events. I feel like I am at summer camp.
Fourth....Sam from Rwanda came to visit/work... so thats pretty exciting.
Well... time is rappin up... and its almost time to go home....

Safari

2008-04-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well... I had one of the most amazing weekends ever. We went to Queen Elizabeth's National Park on the way back to Uganda...We stayed in Hostels on the Game park (where Hippos would stalk our houses) We saw some of the most amazing animals in the world. I have never been so close to some of the most Majestic creatures ever. We went on 5 drives, and we saw Lions, Leopard, hogs, water buck, water buffalo, elephants, hippos, crocks, mongoose, and many more... it was one of the coolest things I have ever done, and also one of the most beautiful. It was humorous, because we went on these safaris on essentially a charter bus.... so on the way home today our bus over heated, probably because buses were not made to go offloading... but (TIA- this is Africa). So due to the over heating, it took us 12 hours to drive back to UGANDA.... so that was a little INTENSE To say the least. But we are now back in Uganda... back to the amazing cooks, and guards that i loved and missed. On the way here we stopped at the equator which was really cool. Did you know that on one hemisphere the water goes down one way, and on the other it goes the opposite... and ON the equator it goes STRAIT.... and this all can happen in a few feet... WEIRD huh....I am glad to be Back... but i do miss Rwanda...We did however go to the chao chao tonight, had the ice cream i craved, and visited the cat who lives in the grocery store... who is still alive and well, just a little smelly! It is nice to come back to somewhere I know... We also have a new addition to our "family"... there was a man from the embassy who went back home.. and left us his puppy!! so we have a new golden retriever named jack... we are very excited about him! he is Me and Leah's new running partner!!

Well... enjoy these pictures... they are from an amazing SAFARI!

Last night in Kigali...

2008-03-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well... sadly... tonight is my last night in Kigali... I am going to miss it here... two months have FLOWN by... I have made so many friends... and met so many random people, had so many random experiences...I am actually really sad to leave... but I am sure I will enjoy my last month in Kampala... SERIOUSLY this semester is FLYING by and needs to slow down a little....
tonight... we are "kareoking" at the Mille Collines again... and this weekend.. SAFARI... we have a lot of fun things coming up.... but I am truly going to miss it here...
Good Bye Kigali... I hope we meet again

EASTER weekend!

2008-03-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

Well i definatly had one of the funnest weekends i have ever had in my life.... lets start with friday night... me and Leah and Jordon went to the Mille Collines for dinner.... and then after we went to this bar next door where they have music every friday and saturday night... when the people went up we thought it was karaoke.... so we asked if we could sing... of cource, they let us... we sucked it up to the MAX... and after we were done we realized no one else sang... that it wasnt actually Karaoke... but it was a concert, that we butted in on and sang... HILARIOUS... it was really fun... but a little imbarrassing

Then Saturday morning we left for our trip, we went to Kubuye.. where we stayed in a hotel right on Lake Victoria... it was beautiful! one of the prettiest places ever! the Next morning (easter) we went to church where we sang (they really like the white people to prefrom here) And then after lunch we went on an adventure... we took a boat out on the lake and stopped at a few islands. The first one was Bat Island, and they dont call it that for no reason. There were thousands of Bats flying all around, it was INSAINE... i have never seen so many bats in my life. We hiked the mountian on that island and it was BEAUTIFUL.

After that we took the Boat and went to another Island called PEACE island... here they had a volley ball court, and a place to swim. So we drank coke, and swam, and played volley ball, and also PLAYED WITH THE MONKEY that lived on the Island... seriously one of the coolest places i have ever been to in my life. It was beautiful, and sereal almost that i am in AFRICA!

It was truly a relazing Easter, and it was super fun. Definatly something we needed after this intense class on Genocide!

The view from a court room and a mass grave

2008-03-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Kigali is transforming before my eyes... a beautiful country is turning out to have a lot of hidden hurt and secrets underneath its surface. The beggers without hands or feet, the people with huge scars on their backs or face are no longer unfortunate events, but they are the result of a Genocide....

Yesterday we visited the Guchacha courts. It was an odd experience to be a few feet away from someone convicted of murdering. The court was a lot different then the courts in America. We came in and sat on two benches. Every time the panel of judges came in, we would stand to show respect to them. We also stood for a minute to respect all the deaths from the Genocide. There was a panel of judges that all wore sashes with the Rwandan flag colors on them. The first man that was accused was accused by a lady of killing her husband. Everything was hear say, it was her word against his. The witnesses would say things like “I have seen him carrying a spear, so he must be guilty”, or “I heard from a lot of people that he killed that man”. The man would then respond with things like “I was in my house with my wife, and I heard the shots out side, but I did not kill him”. It was one persons word against another, and it seemed like nothing could be solved from the evidence given, because nothing held up, new evidence kept coming into the story, people would lie and then their lie would be discovered. It was hard to know what to think about this man. The second case was accusing a man of sending people to the road blocks. It was the same thing though, one persons word against another. It was a weird experience being there. I am reading a book from the perspective of the killers of the genocide, and it was weird to read these stories, and then be in the same room of people convicted of these crimes. The criminals wore pink of they were accused but did not admit to the crime, and orange if they did admit to the crimes. There was a man in orange in the room, and it was a very odd experience to be in the same room as these men. I did not know weather to be mad at them, feel sorry for them, or pray for them.

This experience was also very frustrating. I was frustrated by the way the hearing was going. I was mad that it was all people saying what they thought, or heard. It was one person’s word against another, and I didn’t think that there was enough evidence to be putting people in jail, or to be sentencing people for something that they really don’t have enough to judge on. I also we amazed by the fact that it is fourteen years after the Genocide, and these people are just now getting a trial. I know that there are so many people accused of crimes, and that if they all went as long as they went yesterday there is no way that it could have been done in less time, but I think of the one man who was tried. He had already spent 12 years in jail, and he was pleading innocent. All evidence was what people said, or thought, nothing concrete. What if this man was innocent and 14 years later he had his trial, and with no evidence they set him free. 12 years of his life were wasted in jail because of what people said. Also, how concrete can evidence be after 14 years? These courts are good, and it is a good way to try to obtain justice, and I know that one court can’t do all the trials, but it seems almost ineffective. How can you know what people did 14 years ago by people differing stories? Do these people really want justice? Or do they just want to feel like the crime paid on their loved ones has been rectified. It was very interesting though, and neat to see the way the courts work here.

So then today we went to the Nyamata Memorial site. It was a very hard thing to see. I am reading a book right now called “A Time for Machetes”, which is about the killers of this area. A man goes and interviews them about the genocide, and talk about killing in this church, so going to this church where I heave been reading about what these men did was a little difficult. We walked up to this church, and they are doing a lot of re building and beautifying (i.e. planting flowers, making a path, etc) this building, which was a little nuts. It has already been 14 years, and they are just starting now to beatify this building. We walked into this church, the door way was blown in, and the man told us that that was how they got into the church by blowing out the door. There were tons of holes in the ceiling as well from the effects of the bomb. There was over 10,000 people hiding in this church, a place where they thought they could find refuge. It was a church, it was supposed to be a safe place, but even the house of God meant nothing to the killers of the genocide. Out of the 10,000 people, two children survived. There was gun holes all over the church, doors looked like they had been ripped open very harshly. When we walked in, to the left was a broken door, and inside was all the cloths of the people that died. I felt a little ever whelmed looking at this room full of cloths; it was almost from the ceiling to the floor, piles and piles of cloths. We then walked down stairs where there was a case of bones and skulls, as well as a grave at the bottom. The man told us, the woman in the grave was a woman who fell in a well, and because she fell in the well, it is the only in tact body that was not completely mutilated by a machete. He then took us outside to the mass graves. We were allowed to go into these graves. The first one was just coffins with many bones in each. The second one was bones. There was hundreds and hundreds of skulls, thousands of bones. From the ceiling to the floor on every wall there were bones. You could see the way these people died, holes in the skulls, faces completely missing, huge crushed places where the machete had blown. You could smell the death in that room. You could see the thousands of people who had died. There were just so many skulls, with no race, gender, age, just a human skull with teeth, skulls that were once humans hiding in a church thinking that they might be saved. I have seen skulls before, in science, or in a book, but always for learning purposes, bones given after the death for the sake of learning and research. These skulls in this mass grave were not given after the fact for the sake of learning. They were lives forcibly taken for no good reason and rest in a mass grave because there were too many deaths, and people were in too many pieces to have their own graves. This memorial was a little hard for me. It was more then just reading, and hearing people’s stories. I was in the church these people died in; I was in the grave these people will spend the rest of their existence in. So many lives were taken during the genocide. I still cannot understand how people could hate one another so much.

Dealing with Genocide

2008-03-11T05:40:00.001-07:00

“Human nature is for man to be a killer” is what our tour guide told us today. We went to the genocide memorial today. It was an intense experience. To have been here for a month already and still in some ways be so ignorant of the things that have happened here. The memorial was more of a walk though, with pictures, videos, testimonies. Upstairs there was a little section of all the genocides that have gone on around the world. There have been so many, in Europe, Africa, and China. It is hard to believe there can be so much hate towards people just because of a race. On the lower level we heard the history of why the genocide in Rwanda happened, as well as stories from people that went through it, saved people, and killed people. It was a lot of information, and a lot to process. The history of it all happened with the Belgians (surprise surprise it was an outsider trying to do something in a culture not their own). They brought their technology, and health products to Rwanda, divided them into three groups (Hutu, Tutsi, and twa… the twa were the pygmies) and they also decided that they would put the Tutsi’s in power because they were the minority, but they were the better race. This act that happened so many years ago started the resentment of the Tutsi people. This people that were once all united as Rwandans were now all divided. They brain washed these people with propaganda, they had articles on how the Tutsis were bad, and they were cockroaches, making them sick. They had the “10 Hutu Commandments” that talked about how if they married, or partnered, or did business with a Tutsi, that they were considered a Traitor. Eventually, after separations, beatings, small killings, when the president died, Genocide was born. They already had lists made up of the first people they were going to kill. They killed these people with clubs, machetes, and guns. It is not like the Tutsi’s looked any different, they knew the people. They taught children to kill their friends, neighbors were killing neighbors. One lady in the memorial said she once saw a baby, breast feeding from her dead mother. There was a whole section of children, what their favorite things were, how they were killed. The Hutus smashed babies against walls, machete them in their mother’s arms, shot them in the head. Children, how could any one do that to a child?!? We saw tons of skulls with holes through them, as well as machete lines. Broken bones, tattered cloths. There was one room with pictures from family members. So many faces, so many young people. The man told us there were 250,000 people buried in mass graves here. This happened just 14 short years ago, how could this happen? The government enforced a killing of an entire people group, and the people learned to be killers. This country stank of murder because the streets were littered with bodies. And no one did anything to stop it. The UN in fact pulled out. Thousands and thousands of people were getting brutally murdered as we in the states sat back and had a latte. It’s hard to be here and to be surrounded with people with this ghost of a past. The movie said every Rwandan was affected, by either knowing someone who died, or someone who murdered. They are sill going through trials because there are so many people. This country seems too developed now, so strong, yet you can tell there is quietness. I can’t imagine this place, and these people going to war on each other, hacking each other to death with farming tools. Neighbors killing neighbors, kids killing friends. People killing children and mothers over everyone else because they are the future of the Tutsi’s. How can people be so evil, so sick? How can a human be viewed as nothing the way the Tutsi’s were. And how after knowing, seeing a place like this, can we allow things like Darfur to still be happening? There will be more conflicts, and we just sit there and do nothing? We let thousands of people die brutal deaths, and sit back doing nothing? I can’t understand this mind set. I feel frustrated at my own people for doing nothing, I feel frustrated at the killers for being so evil, and I feel frustrated at myself for being ignorant for so long. I am still processing this, it is hard to process the deaths of thousands of people for absolutely nothing, as well as the fact that these things still occur and no one seems to help.

(The pictures are of the mass graves and names of people killed in the Genocide taken outside of the Memorial, cameras were not allowed inside)

as life continues in Rwanda....

2008-03-01T00:55:00.000-08:00

It is officially month three…. On the culture shock scale… this is the month that you are a little sick of things… don’t get me wrong… I love being here… but things like… not being able to get places, walking everywhere…people seeing a price tag on my forehead…telling MUZNGU all the time… asking for money… OVER charging for everything… these are the things that today… I am a little sick of…. BUT… I still love it here and in no means ready to go home….so here is some news…I am officially an American movie star… well according to the man at burbon who I told…. I told him we were American movie stars and he believed me and told me if I brought in my movie or poster he would hang it up and promote it. Im pretty sure he gave us extra internet time due to our “status”. We brought our guard Alfonze with us to the coffee shop today… he thought it was great… It fun to have the tennessee people here all week! we did alot of hanging at burbon... exploring down town.... going out here is much different then at home... but it is still fun to have friends and pretend you are a normal 21 year old....I had an interesting week though. I went up north again… but this time with a short term team. I think I am convinced that short term teams are a waste of money. There was this team of 6 people… they kicked teachers out of their house so that they had a place to stay, and it seemed like FH was just trying to find something for them to do. They were only slowing down the process of building the house (which I helped build VIA hoeing and digging, and haling water…ect.) The Africans are much more effective then the Americans, and they can do it much faster. The funds they used to come could have built tons of houses in stead of one…but… what can ya do. So we ended up walking water up and down this hill carrying jugs water to make the bricks (also kind of a waste seeing as we had a car… but we walked it so it felt like they were doing something). The team was so gung ho about it too… they just wanted to go go go go go… do do do do do…no breaks…. They couldn’t just BE… they needed to be doing. I am sure they are going to hit a wall soon. They want to live rugged and African… they don’t want to wash their cloths, or have any kind of modern conveniences. When actuality… it is rude to be dirty, Rwandans are very clean, and there are people to wash their cloths, so not washing them is just being silly really. So all in all… I felt frustrated with this team… and the money and time they spent to come here…but at the same time these trips are reasons that people learn about poverty, what it means to own it….missions…. ect… trips can really change people and teach them more about who they are in Christ… But at the same time…. Is it a good thing for the community? It it a good use of money? It just seems silly to have people spend thousands of dollars to do something less effective, or walk water up and down a hill when a car could do it 10x faster… is it worth the things the few westerners that go learn??? I just don’t know… it was very strange to be on the other side of things though… to be the person who is living there, helping the short term team… I have been here for 2 months now… and Rwanda is starting to feel like home… I really do love Africa….Im going to have a lot to process though… it will be hard to come home… humm… well… here’s to another week… my last week of practicum!

Good Shephard Community Church and Mount Kibuye

2008-02-24T03:46:00.000-08:00

Well, i have had quite the weekend... Friday was girls night... me and Jenny went to beckys house with cherle, and we did manicures and watched a cindarella story, and ate ice cream, and played with their puppy... who i fell in love with (pictured above)...Saturday i went hiking up Mount Kibuye, which was one of the most intense hikes of my life.... i am very sore today.... it was fun... lots of Africans accompanied us up the mountain... although i got a migraine on the way home and ended up throwing up in the car...no fun!! but i feel good this morning. Me and jenny went to good shephard community church (the one that Camelback Bible is funding the Project (the progress is shown on the 2nd picture.) the Edwards were there visiting, as well as mrs ryan who was my preschool teacher, so that was pretty fun! now we are at burbon, enjoying the best coffee in Rwanda and trying to relax for the comming weekend. Our friends from the Nile come in tomarrow, and julie comes to Visit on thursday, so it should be a fun week! (the top two pictures are of the Church, and the bottom two are from the hike which is of me, becky, sam, and jenny!

The north

2008-02-21T22:02:00.001-08:00

Well... It has been another week... and i went too 3 communities in the past 2 days... The poverty still doesn't stop shocking me... which i think is a good thing.... The fact that these people are drinking brown water that the animals drink is still shocking to me! They also are holding school under trees... one school has 2400 students... 40 teachers and only 16 classrooms... can you imagine?? we did 16 interviews in two days... it was intense... in one of the interviews, we were in the head masters office and there were 21 wasp nests, there were bees flying in and out, and there were several spiders on the sealing... it was a bit much for me... we also stayed in a hotel that was probably the most beat down place ever.. haha.. welcome to Africa... there was broken pipes.. and bees in my room... it was amazing! and we paid 20 dollars to stay there!! ha... but it was a good trip and we got a lot of information for our packets. It was encouraging to see also some of the communities working for themselves to get things accomplished. I am getting a bit tired though.. i am working 66 hour weeks, and i have to write about one article every half hour next week... so that will be interesting to see if i can get it all done.... we are going hiking this Saturday and it should be a lot of fun! also our friends from Tennessee are coming next week. President Bush came last week too... it is funny because he comes and we shut down all the roads, and turn off all the internet so he could send things to the US... so that is probably the closest i have ever been to our president!! Exciting huh! so when we were in the community the kids sang us a song that says "English is the best....".... i was wondering where they learned that because that seems to be a little... WRONG?.. ha… who teaches kids these things?? It is a struggle to make people see us as equal and not treat us different since we are white… it is funny though because if we ever walk any where people are SHOCKED because they don’t think white people walk… they think they DRIVE… and they never think we can make it anywhere, that we will get to tired. It is humorous. So pray for me that I don’t get to tired, that I finish all I need to, and that Gods will is done!

Things in Rwanda are never Boring...

2008-02-15T04:17:00.000-08:00

well... as my title says... things here are never boring! it has been quite the adventure the past few days....lets start with this morning and then move backwards.... there was an earthquake... it was from the congo (a 5.5)... so we just felt about 30 seconds of shaking... but still.. a little nuts... i have never experienced that before... So this morning we get on the Mutatu to go to work and it runs out of gas... the men get out and push us to a taxi stop we get out and a man gets us a special hire... now what happens in the special hire... we get in an accident... a huge truck with Africans that work for the American Embassy (ironically)
side swipes us... so we pull over.. we stand around of a very long time... and eventually we get to work... it was QUITE the experience....But this week i went to the north.. up by Gitirama... we went into communities and interviewed Cell leaders (leaders of the tribe)... church leaders...head masters... families.. and then the FH workers in the community... it was a very interesting job and i got alot of good pictures... it was a very harsh reality the lives some of these people were living...they walk an hour to get water.. and 3 hours to get to the Hospital... These realities became a little more real to us as well when a mother came running up to us asking us

If we would take her son who had just been severely burned by boiling water on his hear , head, and arm.. to the hospital... if we had not been there, the mother would have had to walk 3 hours to get her son to the hospital... it was crazy to see and think about.... The country is beautiful though... there is really nothing like the rural areas of Rwanda.. and these people have no idea that they have the most gorgeous view in the WORLD!! seriously one of the most beautiful places i have EVER been in my life... so a little about some of the pictures... the one on top is a lady we interviewed and she insisted on giving me 3 eggs... she was one of the cutest ladies ever

The children with me are children from one of the villages we went to... and then look carefully at the picture at the bottom with the Eye... if you look closely.. you can see me taking the picture in it... its a pretty Sweet Photo! :) So, valentines was last night... and an intern from last semester (sam) who got a job with FH in Rwanda invited me to go out with some of his friends... we went with a girl from Holland, a boy from Scotland, and an American that apparently knows Erick to a pizza place... it was alot of fun to get out of the house and do something fun... the pizza was also amazing... it has also been fun to get to know
Missionaries from the UK... like when we were in Guitirama we had dinner at two Englishmen's house.... it has been fun to see us all serving... but from different countries as well... it is fun to have friends ALL over the world!

Well... slowly i am getting used to Rwanda... it has been quite the adventure living here... i am looking forward to my project... i have been editing Photos, and working on templates all day... but the time has flown, and i hope i am able to compete this project before my practicum is over!!!

Visuals....

2008-02-10T04:03:00.000-08:00

This is our house in Rwanda!!! and below it is our view and my room!! yeh... amazing i know... its a lot nicer outside though.... but i do have my own room... and it is super fun to have this huge house to ourselves... in a few weeks we are having a short term team stay with us in the house...and then the day they leave the interns come... i am excited about it! today we went to church... it was... alright... they were very..."televangelists" telling the people to give money and if they were going to to come up front and tell every one how much you were giving... isn't there the whole give

in secret thing.... humm....
and then....we got home and down town (where i am now) all by ourselves... 2 days!! 2 days and i
know how to get around... that is an amazing feeling... it took a good 2 weeks to get to know Kampala.... and we are now in the most amazing.. and most overpriced coffee shop ever! i love it... me and Jenny decided to make this our Sunday ritual.... tomorrow we start work... and Wednesday is my first trip out to a village to get pictures and stories... so that should be exciting!It really is beautiful here... and it is great to feel like i know how to get myself around here! The picture at the bottom is the picture from the hotel...It still is weird to think about the

Genocide.... i am excited to learn more about it... there are men that work on the streets wearing pink suits... these are men that have committed crimes during the Genocide... it is weird to see them and think of the realities that these men lived through and the crimes they committed... as well in church today they were talking about leaving the past and all the crime and war that happened and move forward to a future where that will never happen again... as beautiful and organized as this country is... it has so much pain and hurt underneath it...it will be neat to lean and see that more...

Welcome to Rwanda...

2008-02-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

I am here! in Rwanda... sorry i have no pictures.... we found out when we got here... there is no internet at the guest house... so we will have to make due for now in an internet cafe...it is a weird feelin being here... instead of missing home... i actually miss uganda... haha... i really do miss the other students... and the guards that speak english... and grace our cook.... i love them so much...but it is neat here... everything is clean... and more organized... i do like it... and it will be much easier to find my way around... so all is well.... things are so diffrent here... they speak french to start out... and they drive on the amreican side of the road....to get in a taxi... you JUST push... and every man for himself who ever makes it first gets the seat... it is an interesting system... but it makes everything an adventure...
i really like the people who have been showing us around... (becky and sam).. they were both interns last semester and got jobs...pretty rad.
I WENT TO Hotel Mill Collines today.... it is wierd to see the places i have seen in movies and hear about... this place was in a genocide... weird to thnk
things are so stable here it seems!
i really cannot even imagine a genocide here...
but we went around town as to try to get us aquainted... compared to Kampala it is cake :)
our guest house is pretty nice...not as nice as kampala... but you CANT beat the amazing view

i start work on....monday... so i am excited about that... the girl i am working with seems really cool! i am excited to get into it and start to see what it is like to work here... there are many trips planned too... so it will be a neat experience!

Hope God is blessing all of your lives! i will be praying for ya!

The Nile...

2008-02-04T06:49:00.001-08:00

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The most amazing experience of my life...probably one of the most intense things EVER... rafting down the nile.... the constant feeling like you are going to DIE.... the insane waves you didn't know people went down for fun! The crocodiles and snakes staring at you in your rubber raft... AHH! what an amazing experience! The trip was amazing... going down level 5 rapids.... every time you fell out you felt like you couldn't get air... you could not find the top... and then when u finally did... it sucked you right back under... you go down this one... where because of the damn... 90 percent of the water is going down this pass... it is a 5.5 rapid... after it you go to an island for lunch where they have a paramedic bandaging every one up because you WILL get hurt... we then went back out to this one pass that was too high to go down the waterfall... so we tried to go around it... but... did not make it... we fell down the waterfall and our boat got suck under the waterfall, another raft had to throw a line to us to pulls us out... i seriously thought that it was going to suck us under and we were all going to die... there were many other rapids... and flips.... times where i thought i might die....and then we came to the last rapid... it was called "the bad place"... 100% tipping...grade 6.... i decided i had enough tipping and wussed out...
it was AMAZING though... i loved it.... i rafted down the NILE...ahh.. AMAZING

A movie i made...

2008-02-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

Frusterations

2008-01-28T06:28:00.001-08:00

I dont know if i told you all... but Henrys parents died because of the lords resistance up north... his job is also to work with boys who escaped or were part of the whole child soldier thing...we were talking this weekend and he told us that all the money and effort put forth in the US for "child soldiers"...was all to make awareness... none of it got back here to Africa... he says that is the case with most campaigns like that.... this frustrated me a lot... another thing that frustrated me is all the things we are learning about... all of the white missionaries that come here and bring their "culture"... they forget to detaching their culture from their religion and end up ruining tribes and people and traditions here... or churches like the one i went to that just want money to bring western buildings and teach these people that being a Christian is being a number and bringing in numbers and forgetting the relationship... FORGETTING CHRIST... I feel frustrated... and i am wondering if i should really be another American coming to a foreign land to screw things up... i have felt this deep pull twards missions till now.. where i dont know what God has for me... does he want me in a forgin land that i dont know bringing the gospel and possibly messing it up as so many have.... or should i be on the other side of things? working in my country and in my culture... perhaps helping others see the mistakes i have seen?? These questions have been weighing on my heart a lot lately... I am not sure my place in this culture... im not sure i have one...

Rural Visit

2008-01-27T07:40:00.000-08:00

How can i write a blog about this weekend?? there is just so much information...We went to a house in the village and stayed with the Family... it was a broken family... not the traditional african family (a man with many wives) these were three generations of women who were rejected by their husbands and their kids. The brother of the middle lady came and stayed with us. His name was edward.. he was the person that showed us around the most... it is hard for me to digest everything i experienced. To live in poverty like that and then really understand and own the poverty i saw. Or to really understand the way they treat the women. They are basically glorified servants. They do dont come out when we eat... they spend all day cooking. They do not have the rights most do, and the only reason why i did was becuase i was white... that is a hard concept for me to come to grips with. So i guess i will just lay out the weekend.
We got there and immidietly were served food (matoke (smashed bananas), beef, and rice)... i am pretty sure i chewed on one piece of beef for a good 20 minutes... i almost threw up. HA... And then we went on a walk... saw there water well where they get all their water, we also went on a monkey hunt. After that we came back and had tea and bread. We then sat for a long time, and then we had dinner and went to bed. The next morning we woke up and had tea, and we went out and killed a chicken. We watched them pluck all the feathers off, and cut its throat. And then we picked potatoes for dinner, and got the yams. After that we went to a funeral. It was really weird being at a funeral that we didn't know who died. We also kinda stole the show because we were white. I felt a little weird about it. And then they had us eat inside because we were guests for the meal that proceeded. which was weird too, because only special guests got to do that. After that we came home and rested, and then went on a hike up a mountain. It was a really fun hike. There were aunt hills up their bigger then me (picture of me and edward standing on a hill is of us STANDING ON A AUNT HILL)... it was nuts. We then came back... had tea...and dinner... and then went to bed. This morning we went to church... which started 1 hour and 10 minutes late (welcome to Africa)... the matatus tried to rip us off (we ended up getting in one with 20 people!! WOW...they are supposed to fit 14) as well because we were white...After that we went back.. had lunch... gave presents.. received presents.. and then waited for the matatu to come... it took about an hour to finally get a matatu to pick us up... so now i am home... trying to process the poverty i was in... the dirt home... with a hole in the ground for a toilet... no electricity...no running water... i crazy experience that i would never take back... but one that i defiantly need to process...

Feild Trip!

2008-01-23T06:19:00.001-08:00

er

Today was a fun day! Field trip day! we went to the shrines of Martyrs. There was about 10 men who were trying to share Christ, and they were killed. They tortured them and then bound them up with sticks and burned them from the feet up (the picture here is of the shrine made of the men). They died singing praise songs. It is amazing what these men went through for the sake of the Gospel... should make us all wonder if we are that willing to go as far as death for the sake of the Gospel.
After that we went to these waterfalls. They were beautiful. We got to climb up to the top of them and then go around to all sides of it so we could see every angle! it was one of the most amazing views ever! God really is an amazing creator!! These waterfalls are more then just falls to the people though. They come and there are shrines all around the waterfall, and they give money and gifts to these shrines so that they can get power, good luck, or other gifts from the falls. People really believe in this stuff... There are Gods in almost everything, every natural thing (mountain, hill, waterfall, ect. ) is worshiped because it is believe to be a God. After that we walked around and visited with some of the people in the community. We also got stampeded by wild cows! ha...
When we were walking, me and leah went off by our selves, and we walked by this family. They all started at us, and when we walked back they all were hitting this one girl. So this girl came up to us, her chest was hanging out of her shirt, and she looked as if she might have had some sort of mental disability, it looked like she wanted to shake Leah's hand. But we were wrong. She grabbed leahs water bottle and started yelling MAMMA MAMMA... we we didn't know what to do...so we said ok... you cane have it, and ran away! haha... it was quite humorous, and also the first time i have gotten robbed (knock on wood)...
African culture is so interesting. And i love being able to see all the things we are learning about!
We go on Rural Visit this weekend and have a meeting tonight on what to expect! it should be fun to be living in a rural area and get to experience life as an african in a rural setting for a weekend!
This last picture was just something funny i saw at the mechanic. They love Saddam Husain here, so... here is a humorous picture for all of you :)

A Mzungu in Uganda....

2008-01-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Life continues and i am getting more used to everything and i am able to get around on my own now. I can officially get a mutatu down town... find places and get one back...all by myself... this is a feat not many of my teammates have achieved. This weekend we went with out internet, and as annoying as that was, it was refreshing to be away from everything and fully submerged in Africa. This weekend was really fun, i went down town as i said, and then we went to a play that evening. The pay was really good, it was about a family in a village and all their beliefs in Gods and stuff. It was at the international play house though, and the props probably were as good as a elementary school play. But it was still really fun! After the play we got to watch a complimentary concert....I have NEVER laughed harder in my life. I couldn't believe what was happening and the only reason i believe it now is because i have video of it. the lady's of the play came out, there was a foil back ground, and they had ridiculous outfits on and they were basically Brittney spears dancing. And they were dead serious about it. It was sad in the sense that it was obvious that it was totally western culture that brought this on. In a culture that is very modest, they are looked down upon alot, but at the same time... it was really funny.
Sunday i went to a pentecostal church. I was appalled by it. It was a church of about a thousand. they had more high tech technology then my church does. And to top it all off they are raising money to build a more western church with a coffee shop in front. In a country that 8% is using electricity, and that is suffering from poverty... a westernized church with a coffee shop is the last thing they need. It was also sad because it was completely a numbers game. They guilt ed the people the whole time to come to Christ using hell, and then guilt ed them to bring more people. I saw about 40 people claim to accept Christ. It breaks my heart that people come down here with good intentions and all they give these people is a church to go to.... this is not stopping poverty, spiritually or physically.
That night we went to a dance. It was a dinner theater type thing where we got to see dances from a lot of different cultures. It was really cool, and a complete contrast to the concert we went to the day before.
I am beginning to like some Ugandan food. Samosas are delicious, and so is Matoke (their banana dish).... although i still appreciate Graces cooking and look forward to her westernized cooking every night as lame as that is.
We started Economics today. We went to the university which was really cool to be in a university in Uganda. It was pretty interesting. We then went to about 7 different little businesses to see how the Majority of Ugandans get their money. Most of them are in the automotive industry. It is actually amazing what they do. They take beat up cars, and using very little tools, pound out all the bends, weld all the cracks, and paint the thing and it looks basically new. This provides a lot of income for the city of Uganda.

Ok last thing... we applied for our Practicums, the one i want is a job doing photography and getting stories to send back to the states to raise awareness and support to the communities in Rwanda. It sounds like a Rad Job, so pray that i would get it... and if Not that God would send me where he wants me!

2008-01-17T07:45:00.001-08:00

I have learned more in the past two days then i learned all last semester... i am exhausted from taking in a different culture... tons of information, getting to know different people, food, etc...But it is all so great! i really think it is going to be hard to leave! I am growing quite attached to my team, and i seriously love this culture and people!
Yesterday we did two really cool things... first we went to the tombs of the dead kings, also the biggest hut in the WORLD!... it seriously was a LEGIT hut... i would want to live in it! Our tour guide was the next inline to the throne, and he knew so much about the kinds, and all of the strange beliefs that when people die they are still alive.... They have the 85 wifes of the king still taking care of the tomb and no one is allowed past this line, because they believe you will disappear. It was an amazing experience.
After that we went to the US embassy and spent about 2 hours talking to a rep who had so much knowledge, i wish that i knew all that he knew about all of the things going on in our world!! i learned so much about conflicts going on, and all of the misplaced peoples, and what is going on to get them a home... it really is amazing, and it was really refreshing to hear someone in a political position who actually gives a rip about what is going on and trying to do something about it!
Today we Had religion again and learned about how most of Africa really believes in one God... they just believe that there are other deities that are closer to God so they pray to them so they can intercede on behalf of the person to Get to God.... Our teacher was telling us that we get caught up in the fact that they are wrong, and sometimes forget to look at their culture, and maybe like in Acts with the people with the unknown God, they do believe in God, they just don't know how to correctly worship him.... These are things missionaries need to bring to the people, instead of telling them that all their culture and religion is wrong... you need to be relate able, being all things to all people in order to minister effectively.... it is a really good concept to think about!
We have more Lugandan tonight... i am really picking up on the language i think... and it is fun to use it out side...
we are a little spoiled here in Uganda... almost everyone knows English...
but it is still fun to use Lugandan and have the people point and laugh at the Muzungu trying to speak Lugandan!
tomorrow we pick our practicum sights... Pray that the Lord would place me in the right place... a place where i can minister effectively, and just learn the Most!

I love and Miss you all!!

becca

(the picture is me and Leah.... she is pretty much amazing!)

Taxi cabs and Orphanages

2008-01-15T06:07:00.000-08:00

Oli Otya? (Hi how are you)
Our Assistant is teaching us to use the Mutatus (The taxi cabs). So we went on an adventure to the City where there is a taxi park with thousands of taxi's going to thousands of different places, and they want us to learn how to do this on our own! it is a little overwhelming, but i think i could get from our house to the Taxi park, downtown, and home. There are quite a few legit places in town, for coffee, and stuff... a little piece of home if we start missing it. I constantly feel like i am going to be hit by a Boda (motorcycle) or a Mutatu... they drive like crazy men, and we cross the street all the time and its like playing frogger, but we are the frogs. They are a little more gracious to us though becuase we are Muzungus (white men) which means we dont know the rules "Muzungu Muzungu". We stick out like sore thumbs.
Our First class today was on African religions. It was very interesting. unlike alot of cultures in Africa, Uganda actually praises and thinks Twins are a blessing. Our teacher, who actually wrote one of the books we are reading, and is a native Ugandan, is teaching us about how Christianity's has come to Uganda, and how in a lot of cases it has failed. It all comes back to not rejecting their culture and way of life and trading it for western Christianity, but embracing them and who they are, and bringing Jesus without being caught up in legalism.
After that we went to the Jordan House Orphanage. They were more then happy to see us, and all hugged us and gave us the tour around. There are about 25 kids to one room, and two bathrooms between all of the kids. They eat beans and chunky potatoes, and yet they were some of the happiest kids you would ever see. They sang us about 15 songs, and then begged us to sing back to them, which of course we were terrible at, because White people just cant sing and dance the way Africans can! we are pretty lame :)
We hope to continue a relationship with this orphanage the whole time we are here and just go back and love on these Children!
Tonight we have language class and then we go to bed early because we are visiting the tomb of the kings of Uganda to help us put images with the things we are learning in religion! so that should be a very interesting trip!I am really excited to really dig deap into these peoples lives and culture yet i feel like it is already going by so fast.

Getting integrated

2008-01-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been here a few days, and i am falling in love with the culture one day at a time. The team keeps growing closer, and we continue to get more used to being here. We met yesterday with our cornerstone advisers (who are the people who help us get integrated with African society, as well as the people we stay with on our rural visit). My adviser is Henry, and he is great. My group is me kelly, and chris. (The pictures are of the City and of our Group). I think it is a pretty fun group and i have enjoyed being with them! I have learned much about the culture, a few things that stuck out is that if one is under dressed in the city, like wearing to skanky of cloths, the people will just rip off there cloths till they are naked to shame them so that they wont ever wear cloths like that again! I thought that was pretty interesting. Henry tells us we are going to catch, cook and eat squirrel when we go on our rural visit, i am pretty excited about that! Another of the groups are going to see a 19 year olds circumcision in which the adviser is a little animate about Justin participating.... is it a Joke? not sure... but we hope so!! haha! i have really appreciated the humor and the sarcasm of every one here, it has made things way fun, and every one seems to jell better with it. We went to the Hospital yesterday to see the place we would go and also to get some advice on how to stay alive, and the doctor was hilarious....

I have loved my time here SO much, and i am glad i get to spend four months here!
my first class on African Religion starts today at 8:30, so i am excited to see how that Goes!

i miss you all so much!
Praise God that the Luggage came yesterday! so we officially have it all!!

Keep praying for our relationships, and pray that we will continue to serve the best we can!

Finally there

2008-01-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

So i am here, in Uganda Africa, after almost 3 days of traveling. We are all Exhausted and not adjusting to the time quite yet, but we will get there! The guest house is Fabulous, i am rooming with 3 other girls, and we have a bathroom to ourselves with 2 showers....we are not yet roughing it. The team is gelling quite well also, we are all getting along, and ready to spend this semester together. It has not yet hit that we are going to be here for so long... but i am ready for it, i am ready for the adventure.

We ended up getting all of our bags but two, which was a lot better then last year, unfortunately it was all of one girls luggage, so you can be praying for her and her sitch.... we have all been willing to share with her though.

So far all we have done is move in and exchange money, and eat a few meals...We are going out to ice cream tonight together, so i am excited about that! Tomorrow we are going to a pentecostal church in town, so that will be an interesting experience!

i appreciate all your prayers! I love and miss you all! make sure to write me and keep in touch!

Departure

2008-01-10T16:46:00.000-08:00

I am in the airport.... this adventure is real... this trip that has been in the planning for so long is finally happening. I am excited, and yet also a little nervous... i never thought about the classes and training has hard, but word on the street from orientation that learning African Economics is going to kick my butt.... so i am a little nervous about it. But i am excited for the adventure, i am excited for my new friends! i am already getting along with them so well and it is day too! I have loved meeting the people that participate in the Food for the Hungry things, we are all so like minded, in the passion and will to help and stop social justice, and to spread the gospel to the nations!
PLEASE pray that all our luggage gets there, Teresa has told us there has never been a trip where all the luggage has gotten there, so please please please pray for that!... what an easier trip it will be if all our supplies are there!
also pray we will make the most of our time there, we will love on each other and the community and have the most amazing semester of our lives!
i love and miss you all!!
i will up date you soon!

A New Adventure

2008-01-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

In one week from today i will be leaving for Uganda. Four months away from home, four months in Africa. Four months of crazy food, and a crazy culture, and a ton of people i have never met before. I am excited for the amazing things the lord is going to do through and in me... i am going to learn so much and hopefully come home a changed person for the best! So here starts my blog.... let this amazing adventure begin!

Home sweet home

2007-07-10T02:32:00.000-07:00

well.... 3 days later... i am home! and right like that real life starts... i feel like i havent been gone! my trip was amazing! i met some of the most encouraging people ever and i hope i stay life long friends with them! i also fell in love with Africa! i loved being there! i loved the ministry we were able to do! i loved BEING there... being is what it is all about! its not what i do that these people will remember... but me being there makes the difference! the lord is teaching me to fall in love with him in new ways... and it has been an amazing experience! i am excited to return to Africa... Thank you so much for your prayers!! thank you for reading this, and being apart of my life!! God is at work in Mozambique... we did very little of the continuing work!! i miss the missionaries there!! they were seriously the coolest ever!! well... back home, safe and WARM in AZ... Thank you all for your support!

Some more tidbits...

2007-07-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

I have a little time... on my last day here in Mozambique... so i thought i would write a little more...
we just got back from Sofala, where we had debreifing... it was seriously the most beautiful place i have ever been!! it was amazing... and God was just TRULY there. I dont think you can feel closer to God then when you are right there smack dab in the middle of his creation!! he is SO SO good!!
i am so thankful for two reasons... ONE... I have not had to eat red meat yet... I AM SO SICK OF CHICKEN though... and two... only 4 of us have gotten diarea... so we so far have been pretty healthy!!
I think i could have stayed for longer... africa is so eazy for me to accumulate to... but i am ready to come home... to have a bed without bugs, to have something differnt then chicken...

So... i think i am going to explaine the craziest day we had in Gorongosa...

It started with prayer, we prayed so hard for the spiritual war fare before we went into the community. Then we had meetings with the people. I got to go with the group with the ladies. We got to ask so many questions. These ladys are so strong, have been through so much. They all have lost at least 2 children. They can be divorced if they dont have enough children... 8 is average. The men here all have at least 2 wives. And they hate it... we asked and it was something not wanting to be discussed..in fear of what would happen. they are plegued with fear of spirits... Sex is for purification... for example.. if someone dies... sex needs to be had in the hosue to appease the spirits... if someone in murdered... a spirit will posess the murderer and the murderer will have to give the spirit a woman or cow or something. If they give it a woman, she is married to the spirit... and if she marries agian.. the spirit rules the marriage..and dictates with sex is ok or not...
its crazy what these people believe and what Governs their lives...
after that we were dropping off a kid and he lived across from the witch dr... we decided to stop in... i was expecting this crazy man with paint and a robe.... and rolled back eyes.... not at all... this man was dressed nicely..and he looked like bill cosby... it is true that evil things come in beautiful packages... he was joaking with us... he gave us 8 pineapples... (he has way more land then any man should have)... it was a trippy experience...
after that we dropped of a kid who is 11 and is as tall as a 5 year old...
we learned it was becuase he is from a tribe of pigmese... a group of people who live up the mountian and dont talk or associate with any other people in africa... they are truly unreached... and it is crazy that in a place like this...up a mountian are people who have never heared the Gospel...

That was an insane day... another amazing thing was on the way to my sponser childs house.... she walkes over 3 miles every day to school.. through a river... it was insane going to her house... but so interesting to see what they go through every day

Pray for Africa... Pray that God will reach these people

thats all for now.. i am excited to come home starting tomarow and share more of the amazing things the lord has done here!

SO much info....

2007-07-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

How do u go and discribe the past 2 weeks! there has been SO much... and i have learned so much!! i love africa, i really do. So... here is my brief summery of what it was like. We went to gorongosa...a 4 hour drive. We stayed at FH head quarters. They were nice little rotundas...full of ants... but very nice... we actually had cemement floors, and we have toilets... still buckt baths though. We then worked in Mucudzo a town about 10 minutes in really rough roads. The Basics of what we did was.... we vaccinated 600 kids from worms as wella s gave them vitamins. We then did all CDP stuff ( got the plac ready for child sponsership)... this is a new place FH is coming.. there is really has been not alot of other contact with FH other then this. We then did a VBS... we got to share the gospel with 600 kids!! SO awesome! and we had skits, we taught them to brush their teeth with sticks (odd... but its all they have). WE also taught them to wash their hands... which is a forign concept.... why do that.. whater is so far.... and picture a bathroom that is literally just sticks in a square with rocks on the ground. They all live in mud huts... and they drink oput of broken beer bottles, and other forign objects.
Their culture... INTENSE.... they marry for convenence...no children is a means for divoce... and they cut themselves for beauty... TEHRE IS so much more... but time is limited...
the spiritual warfare was insane.... i could feel it when i gopt there... i felt bogged down almost the whole time. Gorongosa (meaning dangerous mountian) is the home one one of the biggest witch Doctors in all of africa... we got to meet him (a story to long to tell here..) but these peopel are trapped by evil things!! we had many prayer tiems over this...
all in all i fell in love with my team, and we had an amazing time. we have 2 days left in which we will debrief from our fun time!!
God has taught me so much! and i know he wanted me here!! we spread his world to gorongosa!! HOW AMAZING!
i miss you all and cant wait to see you all in a week!!

Africa

2007-06-25T02:23:00.001-07:00

well...3 days and 24 hours in air, i have made it to Africa!! it is so beautiful! the ride went fast! i slept for 8 hours one flight (tylonal PM is amazing!!) i also got interviewed on one flight and will be on an irish radio station!! funny!! but we are here, in Beira. It is beautiful! other then the spiders in my bed and on my walls, and the cocroaches crawling up the toilet, the hosue we are staying at is beautiful, and it is very comfortable! we have running water! (which wont be the case when we go to Gorongosa). Last night we went to this resuraunt on the beach. It was a little hut, and the food was good, but the view was AMAZING! biera is SO beautiful!! today was independence day. There have been prades and rallys all morning! it has been really interesting! my team has melded great so far! they are all great, and i am excited to get to know them more, and to grow with them, and serve with them... ALSO!! all of our luggage got here!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! so things are awesome! and the lord has been so good. WE are at the missionaries hose now for lunch. We will eat and then head to the beach for team building. Tommaorow we head for Gorongosa. There probably wont be any internet there, so this will prolly be my last post till i get back from Goronogosa, but who knows!!
keep praying, and im praying for you!!
the lord is good!!!

18 hours to go

2007-06-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

In 18 hours i head to Mozambique! This is both exciting and scary!! i am so grateful for everyone that has supported me! This is going to be an adventure of a life time! i will be doing just a little of the much work Food for the hungry is doing! i am simply growing seeds. Hoping to bring together a community and show them Christ!

There are a few things you can pray for me about as i approach my time!
pray for safety, in travel as well as in country!
pray for health.
Pray for a quickness of melding for me and my team who will be meeting tomorrow.
Pray that all our luggage will get there. We have 6 flights till i get to Biera Mozambique, and so thats a lot of opportunities for lost luggage.
And most importantly pray for the people of Gorongosa, pray that God is preparing their hearts now. Don't underestimate the power of Prayer and how much your prayers can affect our ministry! God is huge, and he works through our prayers!

Thank you all for being apart of my journeys!! please keep me in your prayers! you will all be in mine!!

In office...

2007-06-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

Not much to say yet. I got this for Mozambique, which i leave for in 8 days!! so soon! and i am SO ready. The Lord is teaching me so much..even just sitting in an office... lets restart....
Last Monday i started my internship at Food for the Hungry. Orientation was awesome! and i love the other interns! This is them....

So anyways, im working in an office with Josh Kienzle who is super fun and cool! it has been a blast. I am doing a project of making a new hand out for the short term teams. Specifically i am making the country specific guides, full of information as well as missionary bios and the work FH does in the country.
It is boring at times, i am not gonna lie, but being in the office is fun. I love the people here and i love doing something that makes a difference.
ALSO going to orientation and hearing all about Africa, and hearing from the interns who are in fact in Africa, makes me so excited to go!
i pray God makes it evidently clear what he wants me to do in my life!
i also pray he will bless my time here and on the feild!
i know he is exactly where he wants me RIGHT now, and thats an awesome feeling to have!!