Well, here we are almost at the end of our trip. Today was a sad day because we had to say good bye to all our friends we had been spending almost every waking hour of the last two weeks with. It is also a challenging time because we are now leaving the gospel, the faith studies, and the mission for the kingdom in their hands – and for myself that involves a lot of trust. But I also have faith that these students were trained the way that Christ wanted them to be trained and I know God will be faithful.
So we went on the bumpy road (something a lot of us will not miss) on to Kampala, the capital city. We arrived at “Mill Hill”, which is a very beautiful mission house. This is where we are going to spend out last nights in Uganda. We set ourselves up, relaxed, and changed into the traditional clothes we had bought because we were off to our friend Stella's “Introduction”. She is part of the Bugunda tribe and in Bugandan culture the Introduction is where the fiancé is introduced to the family. Unlike in Canada where the engagement is official right away, in Uganda a couple could be engaged for almost a year before the fiancé is introduced.
We went to the introduction and it was an amazing expierence, first to see Stella and Fred so happy, but also because we are able to expierence a truly Ugandian expierence. Four and a half hours of glorious Ugandan experience. This is not a normal, touristy thing, believe me, we were the only Muzungus there. The ceremony was all in Lugunda (Bugandan language) so we had to have interpreters, and the most amusing part of the event was when Fred (the fiancé) had to bring the dowry and gifts for her family. This included a fridge, a live goat, a live chicken he had to hold for 10 minutes or so, copious amounts of pop, and around fifty baskets of food. To bring all the gifts up took around 10-15 minutes of ten people carrying things in. Pretty cool.
After the Introduction we went back to Mill Hill where we had a relaxing night just talking and shareing with each other, which quickly evolved into a spontaneous affirmation/confirmation session where the Holy Spirit was clearly moving in each of us. We talked about how we felt about everything that had happened over the past three weeks. From this night people were healed, lifted up and just became closer as a team. It was a great way to end our last night in Uganda. We will all miss this country – a part of our hearts are here.
Pray for all the students we leave behind with the mission to proclaim the gospel and build other multiplying missionaries on their campuses
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Day 22: Final Day on Campus
Friday found us waking up to the shouts of Ben and Andre's whooping and cheering and hollaring at each other as they decided to brave the very cold morning showers. This, of course, woke everyone up, but we had to be at mass for 7am anyway so it wasn't a big deal - the last mass with everyone we had come to know and love during the past three weeks. It's a different sort of feeling, having to leave behind a ministry that we've built into, and where we have no idea what the outcome will be. Complete trust and faith in another person to pass along the message - so hard but so amazing. I kept thinking that this is how St.Paul must have felt while he was spreading the gospel. All he had was trust and faith that the people he built into would be able to carry on the message and overcome struggles, persevering in hope that they would "get it right".
Accordingly, Friday was probably one of our busiest days. In the midst of having to say our final farewells we still had to sit down and plan a propsal of what the future of CCO in Uganda could look like, plan a prayer meeting, schedule our last one-on-one discpleship meetings, figure out who our executive team for CCO on campus would be, pray for the movement on campus...and pack! It was wild! But such an incredibly blessed time.
One highlight was getting together for supper with everyone who had helped us, and just talking and sharing stories about what has been going on. It felt like the last supper, saying goodbye, affirming one another and building each other up to send out - them to their peers on campus and us back to Canada. But in asking them how they felt about us leaving, their response was incredible - "It'll be hard, but we will do it!" seemed to be the common message - no second guessing, just a commitment to pass on the message!
The day ended with a prayer meeting put on by the UMU students. It started with Praise and Worship, then a talk given by one of the NETers, Peter, and ended with a time of praying over those students who attended. Such a powerful night and the best way to end our time of ministry!
It's definitely hard to say goodbye - these students have become a part of our lives - and as much as we came to teach them, they have taught us so much. Please continue to pray for our students at UMU that God may grant them the graces to carry out the message and mission!
Accordingly, Friday was probably one of our busiest days. In the midst of having to say our final farewells we still had to sit down and plan a propsal of what the future of CCO in Uganda could look like, plan a prayer meeting, schedule our last one-on-one discpleship meetings, figure out who our executive team for CCO on campus would be, pray for the movement on campus...and pack! It was wild! But such an incredibly blessed time.
One highlight was getting together for supper with everyone who had helped us, and just talking and sharing stories about what has been going on. It felt like the last supper, saying goodbye, affirming one another and building each other up to send out - them to their peers on campus and us back to Canada. But in asking them how they felt about us leaving, their response was incredible - "It'll be hard, but we will do it!" seemed to be the common message - no second guessing, just a commitment to pass on the message!
The day ended with a prayer meeting put on by the UMU students. It started with Praise and Worship, then a talk given by one of the NETers, Peter, and ended with a time of praying over those students who attended. Such a powerful night and the best way to end our time of ministry!
It's definitely hard to say goodbye - these students have become a part of our lives - and as much as we came to teach them, they have taught us so much. Please continue to pray for our students at UMU that God may grant them the graces to carry out the message and mission!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Day 21: Happy Birthday, Daniel John Pettipas!
When it is somebody's birthday, the Ugandans we had been hanging out with thought it fitting to pour water on the head of whomever the celebrations were for. After Mass in the morning lots of water was aimed at Daniel's floppy locks while mischevious smiles were plastered on the beaming faces of the perpetrators.
The day, however, had much focus as we had two events to organize for the students at UMU; this would be the first time we would have the new students to ourselves in a classroom setting. Great opportunity! Before this point we had spent much of our time sharing the Ultimate Relationship and had spiritual conversations over meal times, and we Canadians had been focusing our attention on the leaders we had trained the week before, ensuring they were comfortable leading their faith studies. Knowing we were have an audience allowed for greater cooperation between everybody involved in the mission: Canadians, NETers and UMU students. We had two events planned, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The afternoon session saw Andre give a talk that brought the dead to life, as many students were falling asleep but paid special attention to the Westerners in their midst. We also had all the Canadians and four of the UMU students share quick 45 second testimonies. The students that atended this session were impacted and responded.
The evening session was a “fun night” which turned out to be full of surprises. There is a storehouse of freedom in executing evengs here in Uganda, it seems, and this tendency towards 'improvisation' took advantage of us tonight. Eloisa's Co-MC disappeared a couple of times with no warning, we had an impromptu 15 minute testimony shared by one of the students, and a lot of singing took place at random junctures during the evening. The funniest thing about it all was in the fact that it worked: people really enjoyed themselves and took the testimonies shared by Megan and Sylvia (her disciple) to heart. It was a night only a Ugandan could truly understand – in other words, what would have been a disaster in Canada was taken all in good fun here.
Pray that this freedom translates to the faith studies the students will be leading over the next six weeks!
The day, however, had much focus as we had two events to organize for the students at UMU; this would be the first time we would have the new students to ourselves in a classroom setting. Great opportunity! Before this point we had spent much of our time sharing the Ultimate Relationship and had spiritual conversations over meal times, and we Canadians had been focusing our attention on the leaders we had trained the week before, ensuring they were comfortable leading their faith studies. Knowing we were have an audience allowed for greater cooperation between everybody involved in the mission: Canadians, NETers and UMU students. We had two events planned, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The afternoon session saw Andre give a talk that brought the dead to life, as many students were falling asleep but paid special attention to the Westerners in their midst. We also had all the Canadians and four of the UMU students share quick 45 second testimonies. The students that atended this session were impacted and responded.
The evening session was a “fun night” which turned out to be full of surprises. There is a storehouse of freedom in executing evengs here in Uganda, it seems, and this tendency towards 'improvisation' took advantage of us tonight. Eloisa's Co-MC disappeared a couple of times with no warning, we had an impromptu 15 minute testimony shared by one of the students, and a lot of singing took place at random junctures during the evening. The funniest thing about it all was in the fact that it worked: people really enjoyed themselves and took the testimonies shared by Megan and Sylvia (her disciple) to heart. It was a night only a Ugandan could truly understand – in other words, what would have been a disaster in Canada was taken all in good fun here.
Pray that this freedom translates to the faith studies the students will be leading over the next six weeks!
Day 20: Rest and a Bonfire!
After two and a half weeks of going and going we finally planned a day for rest. Most of us still got up for 7am Mass, and then had breakfast in the dining hall. Breakfast consisted of really, really sweet tea and a piece of bread. We then had a break were most of us went back to sleep or attempted to use the internet in the library. Catching up on Facebook and email proved to be difficult because it wouldn't let us send any messages (or blogs!) until we could find a way around it.
Mid-morning we met with the student leaders and the NETers for intercession. We prayed for the campus and the students through praise and worship. Yet again we were amazed by the intensity and the conviction of their prayers through music.
The afternoon was free, and many of us didn't know what to do with ourselves. Free time? What's that? Most of us ended up congregating in one room listening to Andre while eating fresh pineapple and passionfruit from the market. That's right: passionfruit – yum. He offered us words of wisdom and advice on life and mission.
That night the school had a big campfire, full with lots of music and soda. We tried to show off all the new dance moves we had learned...and I'm sure all the students had a good laugh. It was a great night to hang out with the student leaders and get to know many of the first years. By the end of the night, though, we were all exhausted from dancing and in the end I'm not so sure how restful our “day of rest” was.
Please pray for the first year students and the rest of the students coming next week that their would be open to hearing the Gospel.
Mid-morning we met with the student leaders and the NETers for intercession. We prayed for the campus and the students through praise and worship. Yet again we were amazed by the intensity and the conviction of their prayers through music.
The afternoon was free, and many of us didn't know what to do with ourselves. Free time? What's that? Most of us ended up congregating in one room listening to Andre while eating fresh pineapple and passionfruit from the market. That's right: passionfruit – yum. He offered us words of wisdom and advice on life and mission.
That night the school had a big campfire, full with lots of music and soda. We tried to show off all the new dance moves we had learned...and I'm sure all the students had a good laugh. It was a great night to hang out with the student leaders and get to know many of the first years. By the end of the night, though, we were all exhausted from dancing and in the end I'm not so sure how restful our “day of rest” was.
Please pray for the first year students and the rest of the students coming next week that their would be open to hearing the Gospel.
Day 19: Roles for the Week
The first night at Ugandan Martyrs University (UMU) was marked by a distinct lack of mosquito netting, but luckily we picked the most mosquito-less time of the year to be missionary in Uganda. And a part of being missionary is, of course, finding our expectations always a little off from the reality. Meaning, we had thought that we'd be able to go to a noontime mass for the duration of the week, but in fact there was 7am mass again. This was a fairly regular time for people to go to mass through the country, so it didn't come as a surprise when it was the case on campus as well. After mass, the mission team and the various student leaders all gathered in one of the classrooms for a strategic meeting. We were outlining our plan for the week.
We realized that we were in three distinct groups: the Canadians, the UMU students, and the NET team. The NETers joined us from Masaka, both the 2010-2011 team and part of the 2009-2010 team. We knew that for our mission to reach its goal we all needed to take up our group roles and play them to the fullest. The Canadians were to build into the seven UMU students who were present at last weeks conference, and assist in bridging the gap between the ideas shared last week and the faith studies that will be led this semester. The UMU students were to think of different peers, both leaders new students, to bring together into one or two faith study groups. The NET team members were in charge of going out through all the campus and share the kerygmatic gospel using tools gained the previous week (the Ultimate Relationship book, three minute testimonies, etc), a role which they took up with incredible fervour.
With the roles divided up, the different groups left the meeting with a renewed sense of the mission we have this week. As part of the Canadian group, we each took initiative for one or two UMU students and began meeting with them for discipleship meetings today and on Thursday. During the evening we were planning to have a group event for the first-years, but the leadership decided it would be best to have a night off to rest and prepare for the rest of the week.
Pray that the work we do this week with the UMU students will develop into strong faith study groups for the fall semester!
We realized that we were in three distinct groups: the Canadians, the UMU students, and the NET team. The NETers joined us from Masaka, both the 2010-2011 team and part of the 2009-2010 team. We knew that for our mission to reach its goal we all needed to take up our group roles and play them to the fullest. The Canadians were to build into the seven UMU students who were present at last weeks conference, and assist in bridging the gap between the ideas shared last week and the faith studies that will be led this semester. The UMU students were to think of different peers, both leaders new students, to bring together into one or two faith study groups. The NET team members were in charge of going out through all the campus and share the kerygmatic gospel using tools gained the previous week (the Ultimate Relationship book, three minute testimonies, etc), a role which they took up with incredible fervour.
With the roles divided up, the different groups left the meeting with a renewed sense of the mission we have this week. As part of the Canadian group, we each took initiative for one or two UMU students and began meeting with them for discipleship meetings today and on Thursday. During the evening we were planning to have a group event for the first-years, but the leadership decided it would be best to have a night off to rest and prepare for the rest of the week.
Pray that the work we do this week with the UMU students will develop into strong faith study groups for the fall semester!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Day 18: Down a Bumpy Road
After a restful sleep and the last chance for a warm shower, we left Kasese to head to Ugandan Martyrs University in Nkozi where we will be working with the students we trained last week to help them get started with their campus ministry. The drive was like no other. As soon as we left the town, we encountered a large family of baboons on the side of the road. We stopped to feed them bananas and take their pictures. We even got a video of a baby baboon hanging off his mama (videos coming soon on Facebook). The epic nature of the drive didn't end there. A few minutes later we saw another family of elephants just on the side of the road. As we continued, we passed through many small towns filled with cows in the middle of the road, houses painted with full-scale advertisements, palm trees covered in dust, and cute little children. Then we stopped by the town of Mbarera for lunch, which was your typical Ugandan meal consisting of matoke, g-nut sauce, posho, and rice. We were tempted by the pirated DVD store downstairs – but we controlled ourselves. Once we left Mbarera the road seemed to worsen. It became a gravel surface filled with potholes and speedbumps every couple minutes. It is rare to see a paved highway in Uganda.
We took a break from the bumpy road with a stop in Masaka to pick up our luggage and reunite with the rest of the NETers. We had taken three members of this past year's NET team, but would be joined by all eight of next years team at the university. After a brief hello we headed back onto the road which, surprise surprise, was even bumpier and dustier. Finally, after seven and a half total hours of driving (which in Canada would have taken about four hours) we arrived on campus.
Relieving our sore bums from the long drive, we stood outside our van to find out some news that changed our entire plans. The previous plan was that Andre was going to give a talk to the administration of the university, and throughout the week we would be working with the students during the evening – meaning that we'd have our daytimes free with the exception of mass at noon. Well, that changed as we found out that we had to pull together a thirty minute presentation of CCO in front of 400 freshmen and that our days would be way different than what we expected...no mass at noon! It was at 7am each day! We quickly settled down in our dorm rooms, freshened up a bit (praise the Lord), and had a meeting with the student leaders we trained in the previous week. After dinner, the team gathered to discuss our plan for our presentation.
The presentation went well. Daniel, Ben, Megan and Eloisa attempted to show off the traditional Ugandan dances. It gave the crowd a laugh. Then the rest of the team joined in to teach the 400 freshmen the Chicken Dance. It went OK – freshmen are shy, after all. After introducing ourselves, Andre explained what CCO was to the students. After our presentation, the student council made the freshmen sing the UMU (Ugandan Martyrs University) anthem over and over and go over some university policies. This whole orientation made us all realize that we are now in the real world...ahh!
Pray for us!!
We took a break from the bumpy road with a stop in Masaka to pick up our luggage and reunite with the rest of the NETers. We had taken three members of this past year's NET team, but would be joined by all eight of next years team at the university. After a brief hello we headed back onto the road which, surprise surprise, was even bumpier and dustier. Finally, after seven and a half total hours of driving (which in Canada would have taken about four hours) we arrived on campus.
Relieving our sore bums from the long drive, we stood outside our van to find out some news that changed our entire plans. The previous plan was that Andre was going to give a talk to the administration of the university, and throughout the week we would be working with the students during the evening – meaning that we'd have our daytimes free with the exception of mass at noon. Well, that changed as we found out that we had to pull together a thirty minute presentation of CCO in front of 400 freshmen and that our days would be way different than what we expected...no mass at noon! It was at 7am each day! We quickly settled down in our dorm rooms, freshened up a bit (praise the Lord), and had a meeting with the student leaders we trained in the previous week. After dinner, the team gathered to discuss our plan for our presentation.
The presentation went well. Daniel, Ben, Megan and Eloisa attempted to show off the traditional Ugandan dances. It gave the crowd a laugh. Then the rest of the team joined in to teach the 400 freshmen the Chicken Dance. It went OK – freshmen are shy, after all. After introducing ourselves, Andre explained what CCO was to the students. After our presentation, the student council made the freshmen sing the UMU (Ugandan Martyrs University) anthem over and over and go over some university policies. This whole orientation made us all realize that we are now in the real world...ahh!
Pray for us!!
Day 17: LIONS! Or...not...
Our day started early hoping to catch the lions before they slept. Last night we had the chance to see lots of different animals on our boat cruise, like hippos, elephants, buffalo, crocodiles, and others – but we were definetly wanting to glimpse the big cats. But alas – we did not get to see them; but we did see a herd of elephants cross the road right in front of us. Epic was the only word to describe the experience.
The disappointment of not seeing the lions was overshadowed by the opportunity (and great joy) to go to mass at a small country parish INSIDE THE NATIONAL PARK. This had been a struggle for us, because we thought we'd have to leave the park early for mass and then get back for a quick tour before leaving. In addition to serving the visiting tourists, this parish catered to the locals who lived inside the park. Yes, there were people who shared the space with the hippos, elephants, et all...and the proceeds from the park went to them in part. They were very happy to see us, especially the priest who had traveled a long way to say mass. He shared how the night before he was speaking to a fellow priest about the disouragement he was feeling that very few white tourists take the time to go to mass. He was very encouraged and invited us up to introduce ourselves and explain what we were doing in Uganda. There were only fifteen locals at mass but they sang and danced as if it was filled with people. You could feel their deep faith and joy.
We spend the afternoon enjoying a much-needed nap from which we woke up energized for an evening of singing and dancing and lots of laughter. Africa has changed the way we Canadians see “freedom” to be who we are and not worry about what others are thinking. It was very beautiful to see all of us growing so close. As one of us said, it was hard to feel sad or mad for any length of time when we were being surrounded by the authentic love and care of others. The explanation given for this love and unity was our commitment to a shared mission. We were being drawn together because our hearts were one.
Pray that the rest we experinced will give us the necessary energy to enter into our last week of mission. The upcoming week is very important for the establishment and contintuation of CCO-style ministry at Ugandan Martyrs University, which is becoming one of the leading universties in Uganda.
The disappointment of not seeing the lions was overshadowed by the opportunity (and great joy) to go to mass at a small country parish INSIDE THE NATIONAL PARK. This had been a struggle for us, because we thought we'd have to leave the park early for mass and then get back for a quick tour before leaving. In addition to serving the visiting tourists, this parish catered to the locals who lived inside the park. Yes, there were people who shared the space with the hippos, elephants, et all...and the proceeds from the park went to them in part. They were very happy to see us, especially the priest who had traveled a long way to say mass. He shared how the night before he was speaking to a fellow priest about the disouragement he was feeling that very few white tourists take the time to go to mass. He was very encouraged and invited us up to introduce ourselves and explain what we were doing in Uganda. There were only fifteen locals at mass but they sang and danced as if it was filled with people. You could feel their deep faith and joy.
We spend the afternoon enjoying a much-needed nap from which we woke up energized for an evening of singing and dancing and lots of laughter. Africa has changed the way we Canadians see “freedom” to be who we are and not worry about what others are thinking. It was very beautiful to see all of us growing so close. As one of us said, it was hard to feel sad or mad for any length of time when we were being surrounded by the authentic love and care of others. The explanation given for this love and unity was our commitment to a shared mission. We were being drawn together because our hearts were one.
Pray that the rest we experinced will give us the necessary energy to enter into our last week of mission. The upcoming week is very important for the establishment and contintuation of CCO-style ministry at Ugandan Martyrs University, which is becoming one of the leading universties in Uganda.
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