Some old entries....

Thursday, November 26, 2009

I received my first mail item today! It was a card from my mommy and Ron. It made me soooooo happy. YAY!!!

I am thankful for my family. I was able to talk a long time with my cousin, Krystin, aka Lil’Putz. It was awesome. She is the best! I love her lots. I really wish she could come here, visit and teach for a little bit…she would really like it her.

Talking to my bro and Noah was awesome. I am still amazed that kid knows me! (Noah that is) It would break my heart for him to not know me. Apparently now after praying he says amen!! Oh I can’t wait to hear that in person!!!

If I could ask for prayer on my health that would be great. I get these random headaches, feel tired and little bit of dehydration feeling going on. I think it is due to all of the driving I’ve been doing and not really having a day of rest the past few weeks with all of the Anena drama. I really don’t want malaria…luckily I found a clinic I would go to, but still, it would be nice if it was just exhaustion.

Speaking of health, today we found a little boy Okumu Reagan who was having a seizure at school. We couldn’t find his parents to take him to town (we didn’t know this boy – he is not one of our sponsored children) and the clinic in the village couldn’t help. Stayed with him a bit to make sure he would be ok….then drove him home. Pray for him and what we should do. He apparently gets a few a week. I am telling you, I need to be a nurse. This is ridiculous that I don’t know what to do!

Words of wisdom – if you are planning on going to the field become a nurse first. Get all the medical training you can – YOU WILL NEED IT!!!

We got the door and windows measured and ready to go. Put a deposit down. School started getting the rocks for the floors. We are spending money and getting things done for the library! Simon and I were talking on the way back to the village how excited we are and how God is just blessing the socks off of us! We envision so much for the village of Tegot it is unreal. We were just talking and getting so excited about how the LORD is working! It is so much fun to work with someone who knows the LORD and loves Him so much as well…it makes the work we do painless because it is like minded people working together. I think we added like 3 more phases to our Tegot Resettlement Development Project!!

I just have to share this. Little Ayello Sharon cracks me up. I could also spend hours being with her cuz she is just that adorable. Most days she is very quiet and doesn’t really talk to me. But then there are days like today where she will grab my hand, talk, skip and lead me places. She will also talk up a storm to me in Acholi – I sometimes get an idea of what she is talking about sometimes I just fake it. I somehow always answer correctly to her. Pak Rwot (Praise God!) It’s like she has no clue I am from a different place that speaks a different language…she acts like I know everything she says. She is just a doll. Boy do I love her lots!
Well, my official Thanksgiving dinner was at home…Home Care Restaurant that is….and they had my favorite: boo and posho!! YUM! I actually crave that stuff. It wasn’t anything official because we are celebrating tomorrow…but still, we had a dinner.

Best mangoes are ones you get to pick yourself from the bush. Seriously, best stuff ever. Just get stock in dental floss because you end up with some serious mango hair in your teeth.

Odong James is doing better – Pak Rwot! Anena was complaining her leg was sore today…but I think she just wanted attention…it is getting soooooooo much better!

Oh, I finally forked over 65,000shilings for a new phone. I caved in when people were telling me they were calling me and I didn’t hear it. Grrr. So I have a brand new EXACTLY the same phone. Sigh. I need to not be a putz with my phone.

Ants drive me nuts. I want to throw a party for the geckos in our yard to come and eat them…cuz I have had enough! Thankyouverymuch.

God is really amazing with His patience. I am amazed and reminded of it…all day today, in fact. I have felt like my patience has been short lately, partially due to how I have been feeling, but mostly because I am stubborn. (bet you didn’t know that!) It humbles me to know that God is patient with me during the times I should be reprimanded and scolded for thinking such things in my heart. It isn’t “bad” in worldly standards, but as a follower and servant of Christ, I should respond and love the way He has called me to be…not to be picky because things aren’t going my way or isn’t done the way I would or even how I would communicate. That every follower of His is just as precious as the next…meaning: continue having patience with children but extend that to the adults too, S. Ha.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Two bars of chocolate and some peanut butter….ya, that is the kinda day I had.

Thanksgiving lasted until 1 am today. I have to say fellowship on a holiday with people I didn’t even know existed a few months ago is pretty kick butt awesome. I met the turkey – Apwoyo (Thank you; Hello in Acholi) and then saw her being eaten. Gross. I don’t know how people can do that but as long as I don’t I am ok with it.

Our stuffing tasted JUST like stuffing at home…but not normal ingredients. A little posho goes a long way. Anyways, Jill did a time of prayer on Psalm 134. We prayed through it and it was great to be able to thank God for everything. PG. PG for Melissa, Sarah, Jill and Jeff – what a lovely holiday! I do have to say it was good that I slept all day. (Thanks to all of you who prayed for my health – I was dealing with a lot of dizziness, nausea, and weakness…I went to the clinic to get tested for malaria. It came back negative so I just slept ALL day..literally. Have to say I believe it was sheer exhaustion.)

Today was stressful, wonderful, frustrating and a blessing. How can all these things smoosh together like that? Well, have a day like I did.
Peko lost the front bumper. Who knows what happened but it was held on by two pieces of welded metal – 16 bolts were missing. WHAT?! We did a very putzy job of using whatever ropes we could find to tie it up until we got to Tegot; then we just took the railing part of the bumper off and tied it to the top of Peko. Yup. Definitely a Putz Mobile. It was ridiculous.

We passed out mosquito nets to the families…hopefully it will cut down the malaria incidents that seem to be popping up everywhere. I think families were grateful. I hope so.

Then we celebrated Melissa and Sarah’s last day. Fun! Balloons, games, and just time to hangout. Kids cried, adults cried…people cried. But it all worked out. I can’t even imagine what these two are feeling in their hearts…I really don’t think I could leave these kids.

Went to Mama Concy’s for a thank you meal, Kwo-Tek’s home for a family visit and then…

We went to Mama Concy’s HOME. Yes, her home…not camp home…but home, home. The ots’ walls are up. It needs to be sealed and a roof, but the land is cleared and two ot’s are up. As we went there I just felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I was so thrilled to be standing next to the ots and on HER homeland. She showed us where Concy was born (or “produced” as they say here) and pointed over to where her husband was buried. It was very moving. Then Anena ran over to the site. It was cool to see their home. It is on beautiful land tucked in the bush. Gorgeous scenery. I hugged Margaret and was so excited for her!

Then Satan showed up.

We saw the ots and then we wanted to pay what we agreed upon with the builders. The lead builder for that site then got mad and tried to tell us that he charged twice the amount. We already agreed on a price with the head builder and refused to pay more. The man was upset and rude. We called the head builder and he said the price we agreed on was the one we said. This man was trying to cheat us. Simon dealt with it mostly. It was horrible for Mama Concy and the children to witness. Want to know what the main cause of it was? My skin color.

Because he saw that a muzungu was there he figured he could get more money even though we already agreed on a price. He figured that Simon was getting paid more and then he was contracting out to this guy – WRONG! But still, he wanted more strictly because he saw me and thought that I had money. Instead of being grateful for a job and being honest about his pay and then get more work after we saw the good job he had done, he tried to scam more and now has lost all opportunities to work for us. It really bothered all of us. Especially Simon. It hurt his heart. It made me mad. Simon even said that it would probably be best if I didn’t show up to any type of pay out times. MADNESS!! I know he is right, but it still upset me. I AM NOT A WHITE PERSON!! I am Christine Sliwinski. I do not believe in handouts, but when the bible tells us to take care of the orphans and widows, we as the Church need to take care of them. We got the bricks made and put up…the families just need to seal the walls, make a floor and roof….we help where they can’t do it themselves, but what they can do themselves it is expected for them to do it.

I am going to have to battle this race fight Satan has positioned against me to defeat what God wants to do through me. I know though that God is glorious and His rule reigns….nothing can stand against the Almighty and He will prevail. No harm can come to those who love and obey Him. I remember the fight I had to fight when I was at the Y and then at PCLA. It was hard, especially the first years for both. Proving that you love people over and over while they completely disrespect you is sooo hard. I don’t want to do it, but I have the experience to do it and succeed. That’s what is comforting me right now. I was upset and processed a bit with Melissa, but now as I am typing I am realizing I need to buck up and fight. I didn’t come here for a play date; I came here to be a soldier of God’s to fight this battle Satan has been trying to win but is so close to losing with God’s power and might. God is shining through and Satan will work harder. But God will win…get over it Satan. God has equipped me and I must use the equipment He has given me. No weapon formed against me will prevail!

Amen!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Today is the end of November. I still can’t believe it.
I have to first apologize to Sarah and Tory for not being online today…internet was acting up at the office so I went to Larem only to find out their internet was not working…so I went home.

And now I am surviving my first power outage in the house. It is very dark in the village. The thunder sounds magnificent…it is all you can hear…everyone is in their homes.

I have to admit this here otherwise I would not be honest in my experience here:
I am so tired of being a white person. I am tired of being called munu by babies and adults. I am tired of people thinking I am someone I am not. I am tired of being looked at as a cash cow. I am tired that I can’t genuinely trust people (except for Mary, Simon and I am learning Pato). I am tired of prices being higher because my skin color is lighter. It is very discouraging and frustrating. I can’t go anywhere, do anything or say anything without my skin making some sort of difference. I hated that I couldn’t trust a man who came up to talk to me on the road walking to the office because I just didn’t want to be asked for something. I don’t like feeling like I can’t love people to the fullest and them see my skin as money rather my heart for Him. This is not fun people.

I have not been to Tegot since the incident on Saturday.

I want to go back…but Peko isn’t allowing us to. Is it better so they get the feeling that we will not be treated this way? Are the people of Tegot now afraid that we are not coming back because we have not been there for two whole days (considering we were going there almost every day that is crazy big now). Will they repent in their hearts for what they have done? Will we repent in our anger towards them for their behavior.

I tried to talk/type it out with Sarah a bit. I felt kind of dumb talking about it. I am feeling very discouraged and ready to just complain…but then I feel a tug at my elbow, turn around and see Jesus standing there telling me again, “It isn’t a party…it is a war.” Where did I think this would be easy? Why did I think that because I have worked in predominantly African-American cultures it would just be easy to do this here in Africa? I mean it isn’t horrible, but this VERY accepted culture of looking at whites the way they do is so different than anything I have ever experienced.

I still love the people…Tegot is still home in my heart and I don’t and will not give up. I can take the crap from the city people, but the people of Tegot it stings my heart still.

I know that things won’t just change on my part. For it to change, I will have to rely heavily…no, ALL, on Christ and be moved in the Holy Spirit at all times. I understand it greatly and I want the staff I work with to as well. They get hurt by this as well but get angry and frustrated and claim that is the way it is….to change it would be to change Africa. Well, Jesus probably thought the same thing with the world....we were born sinners and will remain sinners….but He didn’t let that stop Him. He knew that in order for the world to know His Father intimately, He would have to reach and save not just a few, the Jews, or only those who wanted it…He would have to change the world. And He did. And He can with this mentality. I can’t change the world but I can change the sphere of influence I do have by His grace.
That’s what I gotta hold on to.

Pray together with me that I will surrender my life and ways to Him so that He may be able to change the world for His Glory. For me to be a witness of Jesus’ power in my life so that I may be able to pour out onto others to be a witness for Him on what He has done for them.

Amen.