DAY 50!!!

Day 50. Ooph. That’s a long time. In fact, 36 days longer than I have ever been out of the country consecutively before. Q: Has it been hard not seeing your friends and family for that long? A: Oh yeah, at times…crazy hard. Q: Are you enjoying it, though? A: I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

I have found that I have had to go through this Q&A every once and awhile. It has been on this trip that I realize how much I value my relationships with you all back home. In fact, it’s a big deal to me whether I am growing with you all or not. It’s not just that I miss quoting Star Wars with Elliot & Grant, or throwing a disc around with some Fusion folk, or chilling with awesome people at ORU. I miss making mistakes with you all, I miss screwing up and talking about it, I miss finding this awesome verse and pouring over it with you guys. I miss having a core community that I follow Christ with.

Not to say that I don’t have some of that here. I love getting to discuss things through with my new friends and family here. And I definitely appreciate having Drew by my side to share struggles with and pour out with, but I don’t know, it’s not the same.

Ok, I’m good now. Thanks for letting me just let go of that.

I kinda wanted to talk about classes for a little bit. What all I am taking and what I am learning/struggling with in each of them specifically. So here we go!

Faith & Action: This class is essentially all encompassing of a North American (we have to throw in the North for the 2 Canadians in our group…) student’s experience in Uganda, Africa. How does it work? Basically we read a butt-load of reading, which can include but is not limited to: missions, studying in Africa, stereotypes, life, etc. Then we meet in class and talk about it. And when I say talk, what I mean to say is full-blown discuss it. And if the subject happens to be slightly controversial…well, lets just say thoughts are clearly expressed, and you better be able to support what you think. This class has been excellent so far and incredibly challenging. For the first time in quite awhile I have to really struggle with theological ideas and cultural ideas and not only come to some sort of conclusion about them but really look for supportive evidence, basically since Mr. Doyle’s Bible class (when we had to do those blog things on Ecclesiolae (sp?)…). Right now we are reading The Primal Vision by John Taylor, which talks about how Westerners treat Africa, and how we really should treat Africa both religiously and socially. I really like it, but it was written in the 50s, I think, so it’s been tough trying to find out how much has changed since then.

IMME Practicum: So this is pretty much like Faith & Action, but it only consists of the ME group (Missions Emphasis for those who are just now tuning in). Also, it pretty much just focuses in on the missions part, imagine that. Once again, massive discussions result from this class. Plus, since it’s a smaller group, we are able to circle up and look into each other’s faces…something about that just makes you want to debate more (oh wait, I’m supposed to use the word “discuss”). For instance, we recently read this article, “Karl Rahner’s Concept of ‘Anonymous Christians’: An Inclusivist View of Religions” by Norman Wong. Woah boy. It basically brought up the discussion of what salvation means and how we are saved, including this question: can non-Christians end up in heaven through their receiving the grace of Christ “without their realizing it[?]” (25). Let’s just say that was an intense “discussion.”

African Traditional Religions, Islam, & Christianity in Contemporary Uganda: Yeah, long name, we call it ATR for short. This class discusses how ATR, Islam, and Christianity are present in Uganda and their affects as well as their dialogue with each other. I really enjoy this class, not only does the professor put a lot of effort into it, but I’m learning so much about the culture and beginning to understand why people act the way they do here. For instance, there really is no discrepancy between actions and belief here. When someone does something or names something or says something…it’s very much influenced by and supports their belief. We have just begun to really dive into what ATR is and its different aspects throughout Uganda, and I’m really excited about it. I’ve been really thinking a lot lately about the language of myth and its importance in our life. Very cool stuff.

African Literature: Hands down, my favorite class. A) The teacher is absolutely hilarious and just plain enjoyable to be around. B) Once you get past the muzungu (white-man) bashing, the literature is incredible. So far we have just done poetry and a little bit of short stories, but the style is very unique to anything I have read before. The local culture just bleeds through their writing. You know how I was saying that there is no discrepancy between actions and belief earlier? Same is true with their literature. I really feel that I am learning the most about the culture through this class.

Survey of New Testament: So this is my only pure Ugandan class. The others consist of only North American students, but ATR and Lit have Ugandan profs. This course, however, is a gen ed here, so that means that Phil, Kelley, and I are the only USP (Uganda Studies Program) students in the class. I really enjoy the fact that we are immersed in an actual Ugandan class, and it is interesting to see how they learn and work, but the class itself is somewhat boring. I mean I’m learning a bit about NT history and such, and it’s forcing me to really study the NT which I enjoy, but I mean…it’s your basic gen ed…enough said.

So those are my classes. For the most part, I really enjoy them. They keep me pretty busy though. Each class comes with a huge reading packet, and often I have to check out books from the University Libraries. Apparently, the supposed idea is an average of 50 pages a week, but I have yet to read that little. Typically, I’m reading around 70-80. I definitely enjoy it though. It’s just a lot, and to be ready to discuss them all is a little rough and tiring.

As a side note, I encourage you all to read Migrant, Tourist, Pilgrim, Monk: Mobility and Identity in a Global Age by William Cavanaugh, maybe even just the Pilgrim section (pages 349-353). I have yet to read the rest, though I am certainly going to. It really encompasses what I have been feeling lately, this struggle between being a tourist: a consumer of experiences and sights individually or a pilgrim: one who engages in experiences and cultures communally. Very cool stuff, and something I’m really taking to heart.

Oh yeah, I’m also reading Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller right now, and though I haven’t really read anything “new” I am loving how vulnerable he is and just how he reveres this beautiful God of ours.

Hey, and don’t be afraid to comment…it’s kind of discouraging writing all of this and then not getting responses…so comment on Drew’s too…love you guys.

Well that’s quite enough for now. Thank you for your prayers. Peace be with you, my friends.