The "Unknown Visitor" gets Baptized

A few Sundays ago, Patrick invited our family to his church on the day his son was getting baptized. This was the "unknown visitor" I wrote about in January.

I also remember telling you about the time we drove out to Patrick's, and I was amazed that he biked the distance between his house and mine nearly every day whether in rain, cold, heat, or mud.

So, here we go.

He told us to be there at 9am. So we planned to leave the house at 8:30am. At 8:25am, Patrick called to tell us that it was starting at 8:30.

Oh well.

Why do I ever worry about time here?

This continent runs on a different clock.

It's called "no clock."

Of course, we arrived at 9am, and it hadn't started.

The church was full, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the service was held off for us, but I didn't ask.

We drove up, and someone walked out to meet us and lead us in. We didn't know him, but he knew us.

We entered in a side door and he led us....

to the front.

Like "the stage" the front.

Like "behind where the preacher preaches" the front.


See... proof. That's the preacher, and I'm behind him (sneaking photos).

Of course, in our hurry to leave the house, I forgot my Lugbara liturgy book, so I couldn't participate in a lot of the readings, but I did know when the baptism process started because...

everyone turned around and faced the BACK of the church.

Well, I'm not shy. I shuttled on down the aisle and sat myself down (with three kids following me) on the "new" front row. Doug stayed behind and manned the stage.

These little kids were sitting on a mat in the back (the new front).

When Patrick's son's name was called, Patrick came up and joined his wife with the rest of the family members. Part of the tradition here is that everyone in the family has to hold the baby for a small time, so they passed him around to 6 or 7 people before the reverend took him.

And with foreigners now in the back of the church, more kids started crawling in.

Kids with kids on their backs.

'

After all the children had been baptized, I scooted on back down to the stage.

At about the 2 1/2 hour mark, they took up the offering.

Part of the custom here is for each individual to bring their offering to the front.

I got such a kick out of Caleb at this point, and I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud.

He took his offering, and he got stuck in a mass of people and couldn't get out. I shouldn't laugh, I know, but it was so funny watching his face.

Another normal thing you see here is people bringing part of their harvest as their offering to God. I guess for us Americans, we could equate it to people paying Doc Baker with apples and corn for his services on "Little House on the Prairie"

This is a bowl of cassava that was brought.

After church, we were guided outside.

I took a picture of the church parking lot for you.

This is an adugu. A popular instrument made around here.

Beautiful sound.

This was our view outside.

Basically, it's a group of kids who stood in front of us and just stared, because...

someone got chairs out of the church and lined them up for my family to sit in the shade of the building.

Do I have to tell you that this was a tad bit awkward?

It didn't last long because lunch was being served.

We were ushered into a hut and seated next to the pastor.

The big thing for my kids is eating food in the village. They have really gotten good at trying everything, and I'm so proud of them. This day, especially, they did a great job (of course, grasshoppers and termites were not on the menu).

After eating and being at the church several hours, we knew we had to get back for Doug's bible study with the baseball team, but we wanted to get pictures of Patrick's family first.

I love developing pictures and handing them out to people. It gives them and me such great joy.

Here is the boy I named Michael and they named Aitasi.

I'm thinking the white lady is scaring him, what do you think?

His older son cried the last time he met us and didn't want his picture taken. So even though he has his hands in his mouth and he's not smiling, this was a big step.

Ok. I like you now.

Time to go back to the car (the only vehicle in the "parking lot" pasture).

If you ever come here, you will feel like a movie star. Everyone wants to touch you, stare at you, and talk to you.

Here is a picture of the paparazzi following our car.

And Aitasi's first car ride.

Good day at Vurra.

The Arua Librarian

Well, not really. That title was for my friend Stefanie, but I do love to read!

During elections, I sent Patrick to town each day to buy a newspaper, so I would know what was going on. Since I was teaching school in the morning, I always told him he could read it first.

One morning, I looked out the back door, and saw him reading the newspaper to a group of people on the other side of the fence.

It really stirred my heart. So many people here can’t read, and they just rely on radio or friends. And if it’s on the radio or your friend tells you, they believe it as truth (thank goodness Charles Stanley and Family Life are both on the radio).

Here is an example of someone saying something and another taking it as truth: weather

“It can’t rain if it’s windy, because the wind will chase the rain away.”

Someone sometime said it, and they ALL believe it.

Anyway...I went to the bookshelf and got an array of books.

I wasn’t sure if he would like these,

But they were easy readers, and I thought I would try.

I also gave him two old Reader’s Digests from 2008 that someone gave me, an Encyclopedia Brown, a Choose your Own Adventure, and a book about the geography of the world.

I really wasn’t sure where his reading level was, so I tried a bunch of different levels.

He first picked up the geography book. He and the family next door enjoyed looking at the maps and pictures of different places around the globe.

Then he started “The Count of Monte Cristo.” He read the rest of the day. He came back two days later, and he read again. He was almost finished, and asked if he could take it home to finish.

When he returned, he had finished, and we talked about the amazing twist in the story.

He then read “Treasure Island,” and later finished “Heidi.” He really liked “Heidi.”

He must still be working on “Oliver Twist,” because he hasn’t given that one back yet..

By the way, I know you are thinking it's weird that I'm "tracking" him, but he reads under a tree outside my kitchen window (I promise), so while I cook, I can see him.

It's not like I've got some binoculars out and I'm perched in a tree taking notes all day like Marty McFly in "Back to the Future." (but I did take a picture through the screen)

He had already read the Reader’s Digests, and he wasn’t starting anything, so I gave him “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” I saw him reading it.

He soon put it down and started “Encyclopedia Brown.” He would glance off from his book sometimes, and I could tell that neither of these books were good for him.

I quickly went to Kylie’s second grade readers from last year and pulled out 6 books that were short chapter books plus a book of facts about the Bible and a book called "Dinosaurs and the Bible" that gives a very clear picture of the Gospel message.

He picked up the dinosaur book first, and he went through it quickly. I think the reading level was above him. Next he went to the “Big Book of Facts.” He left at the end of the day, so I don’t know what he will read when he comes next time.

This is fun for me, and I enjoy talking about the books with him. I’m guessing he’s like on a second or third grade level, but I’m out of those classics, so I’m going to keep looking for things. Maybe I can find an easier version of the Bible to give him to read.

Talk about some good stories and exciting adventures!

It’s the story of the Great Rescue - the greatest of all time!

Trash Pit

Don't gross out, okay. This is just life here.

Our trash pit in the backyard, where we put all trash except food, became quite full, even with all the burning that takes place every day.

A few weeks ago, Patrick decided to dig it out. Most of the pile is ashes from all the days of burning, so he decided to distribute the ashes over the backyard.

Caleb watched intently.

It wasn't long before he had a stick in his hand, pretending he was doing the same thing as Patrick.

Then next thing I knew, Caleb and Karis were both out there with tools, digging and carrying piles of ashes to the wheelbarrow.

This picture doesn't do justice to the amount of dirt that was
actually on them, but you get the idea…

Caleb may or may not have been sick for a day (probably from licking his lips), but we won't talk about that. We're all good, and they had a good time.