Training Wheels

“Be careful of week 3.” They said, “It always seems to be when the culture shock will hit you” Well I stand here (ok, I’m actually sitting) at exactly a month in and I’ve survived. Maybe I’m still just in the honeymoon stage with the newness of it all, but stuff seems to be getting better and more exciting as things go on. This last weekend was maybe my favorite weekend so far. No, I didn’t go on any adventures. I didn’t get carried on another human’s shoulders, I didn’t make a music video with some awesome guys, and I didn’t drive a few hours out into the sticks to go hiking at a waterfall. I worked. I know, it doesn’t sound like it would top my other weekends I’ve had, but hear me out. The VP of Restore International, Danny Dewalt, and one of his great friends Jason came out last Friday afternoon and stayed until Tuesday. Having them out gave me a renewed vision and excitement lending itself the opportunity to answer some of the questions I’ve been thinking about while I’ve been here. Why am I here? Can I actually be used here in a way that will actually make a difference? Do people understand my nerdy jokes and dumb sense of humor?  Is this where the Lord wants me? Will I get to put any of my weird engineering ideas into action? How long will I be here? Do they even want me to stick around for a while?

            I had been warned that Danny and Jason were the real “go-getter” types and we were going to be working really hard when they were here, and then we’d be exhausted and need a few days break once they left. For me, their trip had just about the opposite effect. They are two amazing men who have so much love and passion for this school and to see excellence from these students and for these students. Yeah, we did work hard and got quite a bit accomplished but as they leave I feel that we have a very clear sense of direction for what the next several months are going to look like for the school. We talked about roles of all the team members and about some of my crazy engineering ideas. I even got a job title! As of now, I’ll be the accountant and lead material systems engineer. Alright, so maybe they just said material engineer, but I figure the more words you add to your job title, the more important you sound, right?  We also worked out dimensions for a soccer field and track, figured out how we can get these buildings built more efficiently and effectively, and my personal favorite, worked on getting to know each other.

Sunday afternoon we were advised that we were going to have a meeting from 3-10. Back in the states, I would be stoked for a meeting that long because that would mean they would pay me to sit in a room and listen to people for 7 hours. But I really had no idea what our team could possibly talk about for 7 hours. They ended up pushing the start time until 5, but that still meant a 5 hour meeting. We all meet up at this conference room at the top of their hotel and chowed down on some pizza with soda and some beer. Not a bad meeting so far. It turns out that Danny, our VP, wanted to bless us with a meal, set up an intentional time with our team getting to know each other better, and to affirm different characteristics we saw in others. It started just as many first dates would, with some easy questions about yourself… “What is your favorite movie? What is your favorite meal? Who is your favorite character in the bible?” (Jesus, duh. Nailed that one) and other general questions. But then we switched it up and everyone got a piece of paper with someone else’s name on it and we had to answer questions about the other person. “If this person was a type of car, what kind would they be? If you could describe this person as a natural disaster, which one would they be? How do you think God made this person and what do you see them doing best?” and other awesome, thought provoking and probing questions. We all shared, we laughed – sometimes with and sometimes at the other people. There was a lot of laughing at me, but I’m used to it. It always helps me to remember that cowgirls don’t cry. Those few hours we spent together were encouraging at the core of my being, especially coming from people who I had only spend a couple days with, but Danny and Jason are two guys who are truly gifted at looking past the surface and getting to truly know people and aren’t afraid of encouraging you. Instead of feeling exhausted after our 5 hour meeting, I left with pizza, soda and encouragement filling my soul. It was really interesting to hear what sort of vibe I give off to people as I get to know them, especially in comparison to how I view myself. One thing that I’ve found is consistent between all the people who get to know me is that I’m nerdy, but I am more than ok with this and am glad that I don’t hide that part of my personality. Gotta stay true to my roots. (CBEE, whaddup! Love and miss you all, and I’m way proud of you all).

The thing that encouraged me the most while they were here was the feeling of being wanted and feeling like I had a role. Not to say that I didn’t have that feeling before they came, but it was affirmed to a whole new level after their trip. The week I spent in Europe before I came here was awesome, but I also felt like the Enemy was planting lies into my mind, especially attacking the idea that I’m not needed over here and that there wouldn’t be anything for me to do. I had originally switched from the Peace Corps thinking I was going to be teaching in a classroom setting with Restore, and so when my vision changed from that to doing something else, it brought some doubts into my mind. I started wishing I still had that structure that the Peace Corps had offered rather than this open invitation that God had laid out for me. One thing I’ve learned is that God wants us to trust him with our plans rather than inviting him as an afterthought. I used to be a big planner, not so much anymore. One question that comes up in conversations with anyone new here is asking how long we’ll be here for. I’ve become very ok just saying, “I don’t know. Whenever I try to plan stuff, God seems to have a different idea than I do, so I’m just going to leave it up to him” And I say this not because it’s the good Christian thing to say and so that I get people to let me into their Christian club, but because it’s how I’m trying to operate. I’m far from being perfect at it, but more and more it’s so obvious trusting in God for the big plan is how we’re supposed to operate.

The support I’ve had from you all back home has been so great. You guys are so encouraging and the prayers are what have made this time so amazing so far. Two common questions I’ve been getting are regarding prayer request and what God is teaching me right now. So if you’d like to know, here’s my FAQ section of the blog. Who knows, maybe this will turn into a thing. Feel free to email me any specific questions and I can answer them next time!

Q: What can I be praying for you for?

A: Just be praising the Lord with me right now. This time has been beyond amazing so far, and the community I’ve been blessed with here is so awesome and it is so encouraging to be serving with an awesome group like I am. Be praying for humility as I step into my leadership role in construction, but also to know where and when to push these workers and how to be respectful of the culture while trying to lead them.

Q: What has God been teaching you in your time?

A: Lots. It’s been such a humbling experience as a whole. Being in this new culture and being reliant on people to get the most basic information, directions, or even having to ask really basic questions about moving building blocks around to different buildings. Let’s just say I’ve been humbled more and more each day and that is a really healthy thing for me. I’ve felt really encouraged by the Lord, and I think the best way I can describe it is with the analogy of riding a bike. I feel like I’ve been riding with training wheels in my faith, riding comfortably without the risk of falling, but not able to fully utilize the bike for what it’s made for. This transition has been God taking off the training wheels. He’s been running behind the bike pushing it forward and letting me get up to speed. I’m pedaling slowly, but it’s really just his push that is sustaining my momentum. I don’t quite realize the point where he stops pushing, but he’s now running alongside of me, cheering me on as I’m wavering back and forth, trying to get my balance. I’m focusing all my effort on keeping my balance, pedaling, and enjoying the whimsy of riding a bike for the first time while He is standing right behind me with a big grin on his face. Together we get to experience the joy of learning to using the bike in the way it was meant to be used: without training wheels. Yes, it’s way riskier and chances are good that I’m going to fall at some point when I lose track of where I’m going, hit a patch of gravel, or try to push my skills and go off-roading. But I know that my Father is going to be running right behind me mending my scraped knees, encouraging me, helping me get back on the bike, and keep on riding. 

And if you've read this whole post, here's your reward! A music video that we made with the Join The Lights crew! The password to watch the video (top secret, right?!) is behumbleandwonder. Hope you enjoy watching us look like a bunch of goofballs in HD. And I was being serious about the FAQ section of the blog so shoot me some questions you may have for me! Much love friends and family!

The Intern

Wow. So it's been two weeks already. That's pretty unbelievable since it's flown by so quickly, but in a good way. I apologize for not doing an update sooner, but I've been helping a crew of three guys from a non-profit called Join The Lights who are making a movie for Restore International. It's going to be super legit, so check it out when it gets finished! They claimed that since they found me the first day I was in Gulu, they own me as their intern. Sounds pretty fair to me. My two week internship with them has been pretty awesome. Davis, Tim and Kevin are three super talented dudes and are a ton of fun to be around which has made the transition much easier than I expected. I've also spend quite some time with two other Restore volunteers, Hoke and Emma, and also Emma's mom Julie. We've had quite a crew, and nearly all of us have been working on this film with them, along with some fun adventures along the way. It's been such a blessing being surrounded by this many amazing people who love the Lord so much and are dedicated to following hard after His will. Along with that crew, I've met quite a few other volunteers in Gulu who are working with other organizations and have been able to play some Ultimate Frisbee or have a taco night at one of their apartments. There's a lot of people doing some awesome things here and I feel encouraged to see it, and humbled to think God may use me in some way to further his kingdom.  

The school is awesome, and I love being out there and seeing and hearing the vision for how it'll be expanded and continue to be used to give these kids a safe and encouraging place where they can learn, play sports in the wide open fields, be fed daily and also learn about God's love for them. I've gotten to play some frisbee, soccer and basketball with random students, and it's been a really cool way to get to know them and cross the language barrier by getting nutmeg'd (getting the ball kicked through my legs - a sign of shame in soccer) like 10 times while being the monkey in the middle. The majority of people in Gulu speak Acholi, so I'm trying to pick up on some of the phrases. I think I have about 10 down so far, but at the same time they often teasingly laugh at me when I try to speak Acholi, so maybe I don't actually have those 10 phrases down... The students are so grateful to being able to go to school which is so refreshing to hear compared to how we view education in America, and they work really hard to show their appreciation. Their school goes from 7-5 during the week and they have a half day on Saturday! I got to sit in on a chemistry class while we were filming it, and naturally started nerding out and looking at all the chemicals and paying attention to the teacher's lecture. I barely noticed when the film crew left the room without me, but I really needed to find out what the mystery chemical they were trying to identify was! We walked outside and Hoke and Emma gave me a rundown of how the construction process works and what each of the crews is doing out there. Currently there are 5 crews and over 100 workers out there, so things are really moving! I think I'll be helping out with some of the construction management sort of things which I'm pretty excited about. The school is also needing some accounting/organization help so I'll probably be doing some of that too! Not exactly what I was expecting when I came over, but I didn't expect a whole lot and it's been amazing so far! I also might be able to help doing some engineering design for some of the water systems that we're installing, so that could be a lot of fun! 

This last Easter weekend there seemed to be a mass exodus from Gulu and all the mzungus (white people) went down to Kampala (capitol city) or an area nearby. Our crew (minus Emma and Julie) went off to one of the Ssese islands on Lake Victora and went camping. It was a pretty crazy adventure. Our travels on Friday started at 6:00 in the morning where we got on the 6 hour bus ride to Kampala on a packed bus, but luckily our crew filled up the back of the bus, just like cool kids in middle school. We then overpack a 7 seater car with 9 people and all of our gear. Let's just say it got cozy. There was a point where the car scraped, or rather got high centered and we had to get our fat butts out of there and walk the rest of the way to the hotel Emma and Julie were staying at. We all felt terrible about our weight and decided to skip lunch. The rest of us 6 passengers then ride to the beach on Lake Victoria and walk down to the shore. We missed the ferry we were aiming to catch so we had to take a public boat, which no one quite understood what that encompassed before we see them. They are boats, maybe about 40 feet long, with lots of cargo being shipped to the islands, and they are anchored maybe 15 feet out in the water. So my thought is that they will pull the boat into shore and we'll use a ladder and climb on up. I forgot that I was in Africa. I turn around to talk to the group about our plan, when I see Tim with a Ugandan sticking his head under Tim's legs and lifting him and all his gear and walking into the water. Alright, so this is happening. I spread my legs and get lifted up on this guy's shoulders and he heads towards the boat. I look down in the water it is completely green with billions of these floating particles all over the place, maybe some sort of algae? Regardless of what it is, I would prefer to not be in it. I hold on tight to my carrier's head and he drops me off on the boat. Not so bad, barely got wet! He tries getting 10,000/- out of me but I negotiate him down to 2,000. He was fine with this rate, and the other carriers settle for 2,500. Except for Tim's. Tim's carrier was not happy at all and a couple minutes after dropping him off he comes back and starts yelling at Tim for more money. I legitimately thought he was going to climb up onto the boat and pull Tim in. Eventually he settles for the 2,500 and we are set! I step around the cartons of eggs, produce, sleeping people, and 40 chickens and get up to the front of the boat. It's a pretty full crew. Two other friends get kidnapped and put onto the boat and finally we head out. Kevin put the experience the best when he described it like this: "You know, before I was worried about my stuff being stolen. But after being picked up against my will and carried onto the boat, now I'm afraid of myself being stolen". Well said Kevin. 

It's about 3:00 when we take off into the middle of Lake Victoria and to be honest don't know how long the ride will be, or even if we're going to the right island. Luckily we're a pretty easy-going bunch for the most part. Turns out after 4 hours we arrive at the wrong island, but our target island is just another 20 minute boat ride away. We transfer all of our stuff to the next boat and situate ourselves. At this point in the day, I've ridden a motorcycle, a crazily driven bus, a packed taxi, a human, and two boats. It's been quite a long day of travelling, especially without eating all day. The boat driver hands me his baby to hold for the duration of the ride and we take off and see a hippo on our way out of the harbor. The 20-minute ride was pretty surreal. The sun had just gone down, the stars burst forth in what reminds me of the clear nights out at Wildhorse, we had just seen a hippo, I have some stranger's baby asleep in my arms, and I'm on a boat packed with some new and awesome friends in the middle of a lake in Uganda. It's times like these that it "hits me". I often have to recite what's going on out loud to make it feel real. People are probably annoyed of me saying crap like, "Guys, we're in the middle of Africa right now hiking to a waterfall", but it just doesn't seem real. Andrew, our Australian host, welcomes us to the island and I return the baby to the driver's wife, who was sitting diagonal from me the whole time. I'm not sure why she didn't take her baby during the ride, but maybe she thought it was funny to watch me. I don't blame her.  

The whole weekend was really relaxing, which was very necessary for everyone else because they've all been working really hard. For me, it just seemed to be a continuation of this awesome trip I've been blessed to be on. I can't lie, it was a nice taste of home to play some beach volleyball, Settlers of Catan, frisbee and other card games. If only I had brought Spikeball! It was raining that night, and not like the Africa torrential downpour rain, but more like Oregon's constant rain. The combination of the rain and sleeping in a tent made me feel like I was back in the Northwest for a bit. That morning we had our own little Easter service on Sunday where we worshiped together, read the resurrection story, and shared stories of how God has used "death" to bring about "resurrection" in our lives. It was a pretty special Easter. We boarded a much faster boat for the trip home, and it only took 2 hours this time and we didn't even have to ride a person to get off. We meet up with Emma and Julie and then have a sending-off party for Julie at the airport. I think all of us guys would agree it was nice having a mother figure around and it was sad to watch her go. 

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by these amazing people I now call my friends. They are so encouraging and I'm pumped to be hanging with them for however long it ends up being. I'll be transitioning from my Join the Lights internship to working with Restore this week and am looking forward to getting involved more with the school. I appreciate all of you for reading this and especially for those of you who have been praying. God has really been comforting me in times where I've most needed it. One morning he put Joshua 1:5-9 on my heart, which to sum it up is God calling Joshua to be strong and courageous. So in my times where I'm feeling homesick, lost, confused, or just plain tired, God's call for us to be strong and courageous has been giving me continual comfort. And that is my prayer for you all, that you would be strong and courageous throughout your days, whether that means being bold and sticking up for your faith, for following after God's calling in your life, finishing school, pursuing the person of your dreams or working your job . Be strong and courageous my friends! 

I'll be posting pictures to my Instagram account (I know, I'm so hipster) along with some on Facebook, and if you have the smartphone app called Viber, contact me for my number and message me so I can allow us to chat/text!