Finding Joy in Unexpected Places

SO here is the promised blog.  This past week, I was on my outreach in the village of Mutai.  It was the best experience ever.  Where to begin.  On our drive to the village, which is usually a 30 minute drive, took us around 2 hours.  Why you may ask… well that would be due to the riots that were on the main road.  We literally almost drove straight into one if we weren't warned about what was occurring..  The people of the villages along the main road were protesting the governments refusal to pave the road( after driving on it , I'm not surprised as to why, the road was terrible!) and so every car that drove on the road, they would throw bricks at.  You would think hearing this that it would be something that would scare you away , but it just made the adventure have an epic beginning!!  

So, we arrived at the compound in which we were staying at, and the compound was off of a little road and not blatantly in the middle of the village.  I then noticed our sleeping accommodations. This was a tent.  I was super stoked about sleeping in a tent in africa none the less.  And it was enjoyable.  Except for the rocky surface in which our bodies would try to find comfort in at night, that would have to be the downside to sleeping there.  I could not have asked for a better group of people to be with at this time.  After settling in ( which wasn't that hard), we went out and went to do a school ministry( in the top 2 of my favorite ministries).  When we got there, ALL the attention was on us. Not a joke. The students that were in class all turned their heads towards us, and those who were already outside started swarming the car that we were in. ( it's our entourage).  We couldn't manage to get our generator to work, so we had no sound system aka no music/dancing… we had to improvise.  This involved us getting all the students to form a huge circle around us and then having us essentially yell when we would be sharing.  I was told I was going to share for this time. I was nervous.  Judith ( my roommate) prayed over me when she could sense my nerves.  I then felt so empowered by God, saying "Have peace, for I will speak through you." It was crazy how true that was. I felt so comfortable going out in front of all of them, I even started walking while I was sharing ( big deal for me, I usually just stay put) and the words just flowed out of my mouth.  I felt the attention of the students( aged 7- 19) all on me, but it didn't freak me out. After i finished, i got a well done handshake from members of my team, nice touch. Then, since we were unable to perform the dances or sing, we conducted what i like to call "strength exercises".  What this entails is where my leader ( Masiu) and his brother ( Leki) do certain things that show the kids that these can only be done when you have peoples faith and God is the one who can give you the strength.  These demonstrations would be having two iron bars duct taped together, with a towel in the center to not hurt your head. And then you placing your arms at both end and trying to bend the bars into the 'fish' shape. It blows me away each time they do it.  When they did this, the kids were blown away by it ( as anyone would be).  After that we would conclude and then depart in our separate ways. Then we would go back to where we were staying and relax until around 7, which is when the village dance party would begin.  Literally, people of all ages would come to where we were staying and we would play music ( VERY LOUD) up until around 11pm. yikes! but the skill level of some of these kids and adults is ridiculous. After a while of dancing, we would receive our dinner at around 9pm, still playing the music I might add. It was a really fun time.

Every day would start out with us having our breakfast ( brown porridge and g-nuts… usually) and then getting ready for door to door ministry ( not my favorite).  What door to door is, is when we break off into small groups and literally go house to house and preach to them about the Word of God.  It is a very interesting experience you can only fully understand, once you have gone through it.  We would do door to door for about 3 and a half hours. ( in the scorching sun) and then come back for lunch.  After lunch we would get ready to go to a school to do our ministry. Same thing would occur at the schools as before but we would do our dances and skits when we had the generator working.  I thoroughly enjoy going to the schools.  At one of the trips to the schools, I absolutely fell in love with this little girl named Joann.  I first met her when we were trying to distract the kids from noticing the fact that we couldn't get the generators to work.  What better way to get their attention than by having a muzungu trying to African dance right?! Well that was me.  I was in the middle of a huuuuuuge crowd of kids, they would sometimes come one by one and have a duel with me. ( they usually won, but I had a positive attitude :) ) I was trying my very very best to shake my hips like these little girls, and I am getting pretty darn good at it, i might add. Joann was one the little girls who has the most sincere faces I have seen, she is down right beautiful. She would smile at me through the crowd and then came and danced with me.  Then we returned to the same school, and I saw her again and told her to come over to where I was.  The first thing she did when she got there was she got down on one knee to show respect.  Then I got her on my lap and she got the biggest smile. I held her for about half an hour before we had to leave.  She stayed by the car until we couldn't see her anymore. Ah my heart soared. 

Another instance when my heart soared was when we met a man named Geoffreys.  Geoffreys was a man who was 25 years of age and would come and eat food where we ate. Geoffreys has the most joy out of everyone we have encountered.   Geoffreys had very bad malaria at one point and it affected his mental state.  Also, he has jiggers. For those of you who don't know what jiggers is ( I didn't), it is an insect the crawls into your skin and drinks your blood.  They are usually found in dusty,dirty places.  He had so many in his feet, legs,arms and hands. Well, on our last day in Mutai we decided to dedicate a day to helping Geoffreys.  We went to where he stays and was blown away by the condition of his house.  He shares a house with his founder brother (22 years) , but his brother is currently going to University and is unable to be around to help for the most part.  So when we entered his house, it had a stench that was crazy.  So we went and sprayed anti pesticides in his room and hallway to get rid of any pest that would live there.  We also saw his mattress, which you could tell was secondhand, then me and masiu went to the nearby town to go and buy him a new mattress. When we returned with a new mattress, his smile was the biggest ever.  Then, the two other guys on our team, Leki and Gad, went to bathe him and clean him up.  This involved taking out the jiggers.   I have not seen God shine through two guys so much as He did through them.  Their spirits whilst cleaning him was so amazing. I was in awe.  While they were cutting his nails and taking out the jiggers, Gad asked Geoffreys if he was feeling pain and Geoffreys response was "yes, but I know that God is going to heal me" when I heard this is made me cry. We then brought him new clothes that actually fit him, and then we prayed over him.  Nearly everyone in our group of 7 was crying.  Geoffreys had touched each of our hearts in a way we didn't know how to express.  I felt changed by this experience, seeing how someone going through so much in his life, can have more joy than someone who is 100% healthy and has money.  Such a different perspective.  

We then returned home to people greeting us and saying "welcome back" a thousand times over.  That will never get old.  It is our family that we are coming back to and when you leave your family they will miss you.  We all were on such a high the day we returned.  Would go on another outreach like that in a heartbeat.  

but fun fact!!!!!…. my parents come and visit in exactly 18 days!!!! ( that is the day that I will first see them) So excited!

Well I don't really know who all is still listening to my blog but yea, it feels so freeing to put all of this down on paper regardless of it people are reading it or not. 

Love you all,

Tess 

p.s. The picture is of me and Joann

Bwana Yesu Asifiwe!

Hello all,
Still loving Uganda!! I have started my placement, in other words my work.  It has changed from what I had set out to do, to what I have actually chosen to do. What I am doing is 3 different programs ( I know busy busy ) but the first one is the Evangelism Team.  This is by far my favorite thing to be a part of.  What we do is visit prisons,hospitals ( I don't do that one) , schools and street ministries. Oh my goodness, it has caught my heart.  I wasn't planning on doing any of this but I had nothing to do one day and asked the Leader Masui ( Matthew in Muzungu talk) , if i could come with them to the Prison.  He said of course but that I would have to prepare a 15min preach. For some reason this didn't stress me out that bad.  I had all the preparation one could need to preaching whilst I was on Outreach. So the following day we went to the prison and split up into 2 groups, one to the women's prison and the other to the mens side.  I breathed a sigh of relief when he said the 1. he was going in my group and 2. that we were going to the women's side.   It was so inspiring to walk in and see the women prisoners come in( some with children) in their yellow jumpers. I felt so at peace and knew this was something I was supposed to do while I was here. When I left I asked the leader, Masui, if I could join the team full time and he responded with "Yes! we have been praying for more people to join the team." That was just more clarification on this was the right choice. Then the following week, We went to the mens side. This is by far my favorite, which is ironic because being the only white,blonde girl in miles of the prison, you would think I would feel so uneasy, but it as the exact opposite. I walked in through the multiple gates to go through the courtyard.  Yes, I noticed them staring but didn't care. As we walked up the stairs to the hallway where they host the church service, I was just soaking in what an amazing experience this is for me.  afterwards I was still blown away by how in love I was with this ministry.  And just this past monday ( yesterday) a group of four of us went back to the prison, but this time we went to the condemned area, aka Death row.  Besides the color of their uniform you would not know that these men were in this area.  The way that they worshipped the LORD, is so inspiring. They are 110% in love with the LORD. It made me get God chills.  We danced with them, sang with them, and prayed with them.  I shared a word God had put on my heart.  And then after it was all finished I got to know some of the men.  Wow! That is the only word I have to say about it all. So glad I am doing this.  But also, being a part of the Evangelism team entails going into different communities and preaching the Word of the Lord to those who have never heard it before.  So, that is what we are doing the week of the 13th, we are going into the town of Mutai and having a week long outreach there.. Before we leave , we have to prepare and by prepare I mean get skits and dances ready for us to perform for all of the people.  Oh my goodness, I have not enjoyed learning a dance that makes me look funky more in my life. I will try and video it so you guys can see what I am talking about :)
      The 2nd program I am working with is called VTS ( Vocational Training School), which is where we enroll girls who were unable to complete their school because of reasons beyond their control.  In most cases, that is not enough money for their school fees. We are going to be teaching them practical skills such as sewing, baking, planting etc. I am going to be running the sports program and helping with the baking program. which I am excited for because that means proper cooking such as cakes,cookies,pies,burgers and pizzas! ah so good!
       hmmm I am trying to think of what has happened that you guys would enjoy hearing about.... o0o0 fun fact my parents come out in exactly 4 weeks and 4 days, which is exactly 32 days, but who is counting right??  I cannot put into words how excited I am! It is going to be the best 2 weeks ever, I cannot wait to show off my parents :)
     That is all I can think about at the moment... but that doesn't mean that nothing is happening because things are definitely occurring on a daily basis BUT nothing blog worthy...catch my drift??  I will post another in about a week or so with new and exciting adventures. ie. my outreach in mutai o0o0

until next time,
Tess
p.s. my title is 'Praise God' in Kiswahili
p.p.s. I am trying to organize a type of fundraiser to raise money for Kiswahili Bibles. When I was at the mens prison, I looked around while sitting amongst the men, I noticed that so many of them didn't have a Bible to read. These men could further their faith so much more if they had access to Swahili Bibles so that they are able to read in their native tongue. If any of you feel from God that is right for you to donate money so that we could provide Bibles for these men, please contact my father, Russell Jones, who is the one who can directly put money into my account for these Bibles. The bibles themselves are about $10 each bible. Thank you so much! love you all.