Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin leading worship
Some of my friends
Jennie, Dorothy, and I
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Passion Conference Kampala
Last weekend I attended Passion-Kampala, a conference aimed to inspire University students to live for glory of God. Thousands of students attended the two day conference held on the sports field on the campus of Makerere University, the largest university in Uganda. Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, and Charlie Hall led us in some amazing worship. It was awesome to see so many young people singing their hearts out and dancing before the Lord. Louie Giglio and Francis Chan spoke to the crowd, challenging us to say, “Yes, Lord,” in every area of our lives, to remember that God designed us with a purpose in mind, to be wholly devoted to serving Jesus, and to realize how big God is, how small we are, and how awesome it is that God knows our name and wants to use us.
Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin leading worship
Some of my friends
Jennie, Dorothy, and I
Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin leading worship
Some of my friends
Jennie, Dorothy, and I
Coaching
Over the holiday I also met with students twice a week for coaching (tutoring) classes. I always enjoy working with small groups of students. It is exciting to see them catch on and understand concepts and ideas they have been struggling with.
The Primary students
me with Lillian, the second grader I’ve been working with
Some of the secondary coaching students
The Primary students
me with Lillian, the second grader I’ve been working with
Some of the secondary coaching students
Breakaway
The students had four weeks of holiday during the month of May; the break between first and second term. Holidays are always busy, but fun, because we get to see the kids a lot more. For Breakaway this time, we wanted to do some new things and not just follow the same pattern we have been. We were able to take the kids on several outings.
(1) Our first trip was to visit our new office. It is located in Naguru, an area close to where many of our students live. They loved exploring the place! We enjoyed some cookies, played games, and watched a movie while we were there.
Relaxing on the lawn outside the office
Playing games
(2)For out next outing, we went to a park: Kiwatule Recreation Center. Parks are rare here. Kiwatule is privately owned and costs a fee to enter. There are several areas for people to gather in. The main places of attraction for the students were the play equipment, the swimming pool, and the field. It was neat to see how much even the older students enjoyed doing things like swinging on the swings, going on the teeter totter and merry-go-round, etc. The park even featured a train ride which circled the premises twice.
Sofia, Brian, and Phiona on the swings
Fun on the Merry-go-round
Eddie, Prossy, Sheilla, Charles, Sofia, Paula, Ruth, and Safari posing with the frog
Train Ride!
Our Group
(3) We stayed at the church for our next meeting and did a couple of fun activities: tower building with spaghetti noodles and toothpicks (to illustrate how we as believers are being built into a spiritual house and that we are all important and interdependent on one another) and we also made cards using banana leaf fibers.
Asedri, Denis, Charles, Andrew, and Megan proudly showing off their tower
Making Cards
(4) Next we had a photo scavenger hunt. The students were split into 3 different groups and were given a list of 10 things they had to get photos of…Here are some of the things my group had to do…
crammed into an ATM booth
With a picture of President Museveni
Pumping Petrol
With the Uganda Flag
(5) Our last trip was to take a tour of the Coca Cola Factory—the largest one in Uganda. It was neat to see the huge conveyor belts full of bottles at every step of the process: getting washed, being filled with coke, putting the cap on, etc. Cameras weren’t allowed on the premises (I actually had to turn mine in to security before I could go in), so I only got one group picture of us all:
(1) Our first trip was to visit our new office. It is located in Naguru, an area close to where many of our students live. They loved exploring the place! We enjoyed some cookies, played games, and watched a movie while we were there.
Relaxing on the lawn outside the office
Playing games
(2)For out next outing, we went to a park: Kiwatule Recreation Center. Parks are rare here. Kiwatule is privately owned and costs a fee to enter. There are several areas for people to gather in. The main places of attraction for the students were the play equipment, the swimming pool, and the field. It was neat to see how much even the older students enjoyed doing things like swinging on the swings, going on the teeter totter and merry-go-round, etc. The park even featured a train ride which circled the premises twice.
Sofia, Brian, and Phiona on the swings
Fun on the Merry-go-round
Eddie, Prossy, Sheilla, Charles, Sofia, Paula, Ruth, and Safari posing with the frog
Train Ride!
Our Group
(3) We stayed at the church for our next meeting and did a couple of fun activities: tower building with spaghetti noodles and toothpicks (to illustrate how we as believers are being built into a spiritual house and that we are all important and interdependent on one another) and we also made cards using banana leaf fibers.
Asedri, Denis, Charles, Andrew, and Megan proudly showing off their tower
Making Cards
(4) Next we had a photo scavenger hunt. The students were split into 3 different groups and were given a list of 10 things they had to get photos of…Here are some of the things my group had to do…
crammed into an ATM booth
With a picture of President Museveni
Pumping Petrol
With the Uganda Flag
(5) Our last trip was to take a tour of the Coca Cola Factory—the largest one in Uganda. It was neat to see the huge conveyor belts full of bottles at every step of the process: getting washed, being filled with coke, putting the cap on, etc. Cameras weren’t allowed on the premises (I actually had to turn mine in to security before I could go in), so I only got one group picture of us all:
Meet "!"
I would like to introduce everyone to my fish. His name is “!” (You pronounce “!” by inhaling a quick breath, like you’re surprised.) I call him Muchomo for short. He is a goldfish, and has lived for 5 weeks already! (My track record with fish is not the best, so I’m pretty excited that he’s lasted for over a month). “!” is a happy fish, swimming around both night and day.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Hope Alive! Talent Show
Three foundational beliefs of Hope Alive! are
1) Every person is uniquely created
There is no one else like you…ever. God thought about you before he created the foundation of the world.
2) Every person is deeply loved in Jesus
It is impossible to be loved more deeply than we are already loved right now.
3) Every person is specifically gifted
God gives us gifts—things we are specifically good at and enjoy doing.
Last Saturday, we put on a Talent Show. This was in celebration of the end of the school term, but also was an opportunity to showcase the talents that God has given our students. The day was filled with fun, excitement, and activity. The show was a complete success! The students wow-ed us all with their amazing acting, speaking, singing, and dancing abilities.
Here are a few pictures of some of the things the students did:
puppet show
karate demonstration
skits
singing groups
traditional dance
And even a fashion show!
It was a great show. We all had a good time. I am so proud of these kids!
1) Every person is uniquely created
There is no one else like you…ever. God thought about you before he created the foundation of the world.
2) Every person is deeply loved in Jesus
It is impossible to be loved more deeply than we are already loved right now.
3) Every person is specifically gifted
God gives us gifts—things we are specifically good at and enjoy doing.
Last Saturday, we put on a Talent Show. This was in celebration of the end of the school term, but also was an opportunity to showcase the talents that God has given our students. The day was filled with fun, excitement, and activity. The show was a complete success! The students wow-ed us all with their amazing acting, speaking, singing, and dancing abilities.
Here are a few pictures of some of the things the students did:
puppet show
karate demonstration
skits
singing groups
traditional dance
And even a fashion show!
It was a great show. We all had a good time. I am so proud of these kids!
Fish Feast
A few days ago I was in Masaka, a city 2 1/2 hours to the southeast of Kampala. HOPE ALIVE! has a site there, and my colleagues and I were putting on a 2 day mentor training. We had a great time together, getting to know one another better and learning about communicating with children, what mentorship is all about, how God views children, etc.
On our way back to Kampala, my roommates and I decided to engage in an adventure.
Along the road between Kampala and Masaka are shacks that sell fish. The people that sell the fish stand there waving fish out onto the road, trying to attract customers. It is not unusual to see a cars with fish tied to the front, pass you by.
So, Megan, Holly, and I stopped at one of these stands and bargained for some fish. We bought two talapia for 22,000/= (about $15 or so). The men then tied them to the front of the hood.
The fish produced a powerful odor, so we were careful to keep the air circulation coming only from within the car :)
The drive home was mostly uneventful. One funny thing that happened, however, was that when we got into Kampala, we were pulled over by a policeman. As we were stopping, we noticed that the guy was laughing. He told us that he pulled us over because our front license plate was hidden by the fish, but we think that he just wanted a chance to talk to some mzungus (white people) and that he thought it was pretty funny that we had fish attached to the front.
Well, none of us really knew what to do with the fish, so when we got home, we asked our gate keeper, Biaggo, to help us. He scaled it for us and cut it up into big chunks. It was a nasty job because every fly in the city was attracted to us. Swarms of flies surrounded us and made piles on every piece of the fish entrails that it could.
Our neighbor, Brad, has a grill, so we "invited" him to dinner (and asked if he would grill the fish!). This turned out to be more work that we anticipated, as the fish kept falling apart on the grill.
Brad and his brother Grant grilling the fish.
In the end, we were had a wonderful fish feast, and we enjoyed our adventure!
Holly, Brad, Megan, and Grant enjoying the meal
On our way back to Kampala, my roommates and I decided to engage in an adventure.
Along the road between Kampala and Masaka are shacks that sell fish. The people that sell the fish stand there waving fish out onto the road, trying to attract customers. It is not unusual to see a cars with fish tied to the front, pass you by.
So, Megan, Holly, and I stopped at one of these stands and bargained for some fish. We bought two talapia for 22,000/= (about $15 or so). The men then tied them to the front of the hood.
The fish produced a powerful odor, so we were careful to keep the air circulation coming only from within the car :)
The drive home was mostly uneventful. One funny thing that happened, however, was that when we got into Kampala, we were pulled over by a policeman. As we were stopping, we noticed that the guy was laughing. He told us that he pulled us over because our front license plate was hidden by the fish, but we think that he just wanted a chance to talk to some mzungus (white people) and that he thought it was pretty funny that we had fish attached to the front.
Well, none of us really knew what to do with the fish, so when we got home, we asked our gate keeper, Biaggo, to help us. He scaled it for us and cut it up into big chunks. It was a nasty job because every fly in the city was attracted to us. Swarms of flies surrounded us and made piles on every piece of the fish entrails that it could.
Our neighbor, Brad, has a grill, so we "invited" him to dinner (and asked if he would grill the fish!). This turned out to be more work that we anticipated, as the fish kept falling apart on the grill.
Brad and his brother Grant grilling the fish.
In the end, we were had a wonderful fish feast, and we enjoyed our adventure!
Holly, Brad, Megan, and Grant enjoying the meal
Cooking with Friends
Last week my roommates and I invited some of our Ugandan friends over to have a cultural cooking exchange. We have been wanting to learn how to make Ugandan food, and they like to learn how to make American food, so it seemed like a good trade.
After everyone arrived, we got right to business. All of us pitched in and took part in making the different food items, so we could all have the experience.
For our meal we made:
*chapatti (similar to a tortilla)
*pilau rice (rice with pilau masala seasoning and other things)
*beef stew (which is really pieces of beef cooked in a broth)
*kalo (a dish made by tribes from the north; it is made by mixing
millet flour into boiling water)
Cutting up vegetables
Me, rolling out my chapatti
Holly stirring the beef stew
Kate pouring the millet flour for the kalo
Megan stirring the kalo
Cooking and hanging out together was a lot of fun, full of laughter. When everything was ready we sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor, and boy was it tasty!
For dessert, we taught them how to make Apple Pie (can you get more American than that?). It turned out nicely too.
Dorothy, Shammah, and Holly putting together the apple pie
Some things I learned about the Ugandan cooking style that differs from Americans.
*Ugandans usually cook using a charcoal stove
*Ugandans cook wearing a wrap around skirt they call a “lesu” –this is specifically a work skirt.
*They don’t use recipes that are written down. They have the ingredients and measurements all up in their head, learned from experience.
*American measuring devices (1/2 cup, teaspoon, tablespoon, etc.) don’t match with Ugandan, so we used regular spoons and drinking cups to measure things out.
*Ugandan recipes are never call for exact amounts; they just eye things and add in more as needed.
Me, Kate, Dorothy, Miriam, Megan, Shammah, Holly
After everyone arrived, we got right to business. All of us pitched in and took part in making the different food items, so we could all have the experience.
For our meal we made:
*chapatti (similar to a tortilla)
*pilau rice (rice with pilau masala seasoning and other things)
*beef stew (which is really pieces of beef cooked in a broth)
*kalo (a dish made by tribes from the north; it is made by mixing
millet flour into boiling water)
Cutting up vegetables
Me, rolling out my chapatti
Holly stirring the beef stew
Kate pouring the millet flour for the kalo
Megan stirring the kalo
Cooking and hanging out together was a lot of fun, full of laughter. When everything was ready we sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor, and boy was it tasty!
For dessert, we taught them how to make Apple Pie (can you get more American than that?). It turned out nicely too.
Dorothy, Shammah, and Holly putting together the apple pie
Some things I learned about the Ugandan cooking style that differs from Americans.
*Ugandans usually cook using a charcoal stove
*Ugandans cook wearing a wrap around skirt they call a “lesu” –this is specifically a work skirt.
*They don’t use recipes that are written down. They have the ingredients and measurements all up in their head, learned from experience.
*American measuring devices (1/2 cup, teaspoon, tablespoon, etc.) don’t match with Ugandan, so we used regular spoons and drinking cups to measure things out.
*Ugandan recipes are never call for exact amounts; they just eye things and add in more as needed.
Me, Kate, Dorothy, Miriam, Megan, Shammah, Holly
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