Dale's Posts

The end of the trip has all but arrived, and we spent a good deal of time saying our goodbyes both today and on Friday. Something I thought would be meaningful would be to have the kids (well, several of them), come into the office and sign their names on the drum-head of my djembe. One girl named Irene came in – a little bashful (though she is normally very energetic and flirty) – and looked over my drum. As it turns out, she didn’t know how to write her name, so I ended up writing it on her fore-arm and holding her hand as she struggled through the signature. I’ll definitely have a lot of memories associated with that drum.

On a different note, the other day a boy named Sekatawa disappeared from STAO. He had grown attached to the members of our team, especially Jessica. Many at STAO kept claiming he would show up ‘tomorrow’, but to no avail. So Jessica began to inquire about his whereabouts. She was led to a small village across the street from STAO, and found out from a neighbor that Sekatawa was actually in another village with a different relative. After all this confusion, Jessica and Victor pursued the boy and were reunited! Shawna commented that it was like the parable of the lost sheep or lost coin; stories implying that God pursues us relentlessly.

Anyways, this may be the last post before the team leaves for SEATTLE. I personally will be on a different return flight (because I came with Ethiopian Airlines), and will arrive in Seattle on Tuesday (a day later than the rest of the team). Things are a little sketchy with that though, as I tried to call their customer service and they couldn’t find my reservation (although maybe its lost in translation? Even though I spent 2 months there, I had trouble understanding the English with thick Amharic accent). Pray that everything works out smoothly.

Well, this is Tusubira Trip07, signing out. You have all been amazing in your support, generosity, and thoughts. See you soon!

PS: For those interested, Jamie’s presentation in Austria went really well. Props!

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Hello!  I feel a bit of pressure to post an exceedingly profound, vivid blog entry right now, because so many things have happened lately.  My apologies to the team and to you readers if I can’t give an adequate account.  *Note: most exciting news will be at the END of this post.

I’ll start by listing a few things our team has been involved in lately, and then I’ll write about a couple things in more detail.

• Healthcare team finished writing a new 3-page questionnaire to conduct in Mafubira
• Pigs arrived at the sty!  There are SIX, and one is pregnant.
• We “performed” at an Acquire the Fire youth conference.
• HIV Testing of the kids at STAO and surrounding area.
• Brandon traveled back to Entebbe – he will leave for the States on Friday, I believe.

Regarding the performance at the youth conference, we arrived at a large, dome-like building and immediately felt the energy of the room.  A sizeable group was singing and moving with such soul and excitement that we knew we were going to dampen the mood.  Let me give a little context; we found out about our 30-minute stage slot only the night before, and thus we had little planned… basically just a song order (not to discredit Rachel, who did an awesome job mobilizing us).  It was time.  We were motioned to come up and I heard something about “Mzungu” this or that.  Everyone on the team exchanged anxious glances and sauntered up on stage.  All in all, our singing went well, the crowd seemed to like us because we were well… trying… to offer something. 

After our descent from stage, it definitely got a bit awkward.  Jamie, Sam, Kate, and I were summoned back up to serve as a Q&A panel.  The MC basically presented us as filthy rich, intelligent, pious Americans: “If you saw their houses in America, you would feel lucky to sleep in their washroom!”  Ughh… then I fielded a question about my views on pre-marital sex.  Being in a room saturated with Christian conservatism, let’s just say I tried to play it “safe” (no pun intended).   

On to the big news, we began HIV-testing with the kids today.  This involved grouping them together, sending a child into the makeshift doctor’s office one at a time, comforting him/her as the needle pricked a finger, and then giving them a lollipop as a minor consolation.  Given that many of these kids are orphans due to their parents having HIV/AIDS, we as a team braced ourselves for the life-threatening results.  Could we handle it emotionally and spiritually to see these beautiful kids wrestle with such sobering news?

We tested 96 kids today.  Number of HIV-Positive cases: ZERO. 

Hallelujah!  Ameen-ah!  It is true that some may have the virus in its dormant stage, but… honestly, this is good news.  It was soul-warming experience for our team, as many have been fasting and praying intensely.  Please continue to thank God in your prayers for these results, and pray for the children who have not yet been tested (perhaps over 100 more).  I remember during the testing, a small girl began screaming in terror and pain as the doctor pricked her finger.  Weighted down by the despondency of that situation, I found myself outside the office door on my knees.  A slow, desperate prayer was uttered amidst the swarm of STAO kids running around.  I wanted to see the kingdom of God manifested somehow, and, now I think I’ve seen it.  

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We are officially getting settled into our house located by Jinja, Uganda. Eleven college-age students sharing 3 rooms and 1 bathroom - probably a thoroughly exhausted recipe for a reality show, but with our mix of people I’m really feeling excited about this trip. After crossing the Nile River this morning, we ventured over to the STAO (Save the Aids Orphans) orphanage in Mafubira today, immediately being surrounded by screaming kids. Even with 11 of us, our plates were full of playing small games, singing songs, giving hugs, and taking pictures (taking pictures is easy; displaying the results to dozens of onlookers is the tough part).

Albeit with obvious contextual differences, this reminds me much of the AHOPE orphanage I volunteered at in Ethiopia. The kids are around the same ages, oozing with energy and fascinated by our foreigner status. One of the kids goes by the alias, “George W. Bush” – and another prefers a more patriotic title, “President Museveni.” As I learn about the current needs and projects of STAO, I am encouraged that there is push toward self-sustainability. Pastor Nelson voiced his distaste at having to send letters asking for money, though the stakes are high – so many parent-less kids (some of whom are infected with HIV) are benefiting from his work.

The team is now pretty exhausted and covered in Uganda’s characteristic red dirt. And it’s only been one full day! Prayer would definitely be appreciated to sustain our physical strength (we can’t even move around sometimes without the added weight of two or three kids) and good spirits. Having been in Africa for over two months now, I personally find myself with a unique attitude – I am constantly amazed at the manifestations of God’s work and human compassion, yet I wrestle with feeling numb to the problems myself, and feeling hopeless to change lives in the long run. I am no George W. Bush or President Museveni…

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Just wanted to let you know about my other blog: http://djterasaki.wordpress.com

I am still figuring out which one to post on.

-Dale (currently in Ethiopia)

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