Heart Squelches and Doing Math with Pens

(Before I begin, a small announcement.  The kids are starting their own blog called HinesKids (http://hineskids.wordpress.com/).  They'll begin to post their experiences in their own words.  The first post is introducing them.  Next week, the real blogging will begin.)

We are three weeks into the kids' school year, six weeks into the BBUC term, and six months into our first year of living in Uganda.  There is an ongoing pulse of stress-and-peace, hard-and-good, pain-and-ease.  Some days the kids come home with bright eyes and fun stories, some days they tumble into the van with weariness and tears.  Some days my classes flash brightly with clear understanding and new insights, some days they clunk through hours of clouds and dullness.  Some days it is clear we are living the dream, other days we are slogging through...not a nightmare, but one of those lifeless, early morning dreams out of which you're happy to wake, but which drag you down for the rest of the day.

Sounds a lot like regular life, doesn't it?  On one of my recent Facebook updates I lamented leaving Georgia and Lucy in tears at school.  A stateside friend commented, "I've had to do that too many times myself."  In reading that comment I realized that, in many ways, we're simply living life here, a life not that different from what you're living back home.  We would experience the same (mostly) ups and downs in Texas or PA that we experience here.  Undoubtedly, living life in a different culture often pushes those experiences to the extreme, and in that extreme, what squelches up to the surface are hidden wounds and sinful attitudes of the heart. The evidence is in the actions -- lost tempers, muttered swear words (What?! Missionaries use bad language?!), unexpected tears, depression, irritability, judgmental attitudes -- and they point to the unsurprising roots: insecurity, fear, pride, loss, grief. We are learning that the mark of  "successful missionary life" is not shiny, happy people, but humility of heart, and a willingness to have our motives realigned and purified. All of this is true regardless of our cultural location.

Sunset seen from our front porch

Present with us is God himself and the beauty of what he has given us.  I preached recently on Psalm 16, and verses 5 and 6 echo still in my mind: "The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."  My temptation, whether in Ambridge or in Africa, is to assume today will be stressful and frustrating, and to wish my life were different.  The truth is, however, that the "the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places," or, as in another translation, "my boundaries enclose a pleasant land."  When I seek refuge in God (verse 1) I am reoriented to the reality that God himself is my portion and my cup, and my life is realigned with him and his future (verses 9-11).  I begin again to see clearly.  We are in a pleasant place, both literally and metaphorically.  I do agree with Wesley in The Princess Bride: "Life is pain, highness.  Anyone who tells you different is selling something."  But I also stand firm on the words of God through David: "You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore."

Enough reflection.  Some stories:

Aine' Mbabazi -- God's Grace 

Hines/Morrow kids entering school

Georgia and Emma Shae in school uniforms

That's the appropriate name of the new school where Jesse, Georgia, Lucy, and our teammates' kids now attend.  It has been a very, very good move.  The school is much smaller than their previous one, and both the students and staff have been wonderfully receptive of our children.  For the first time since we arrived, all of our kids are coming home talking about the fun they've had playing with Ugandan friends.  Jesse tells of his "best Ugandan friends" named Old (twin brother of "Young" - no kidding!) and Emma (short for Emmanuel).  Jesse, Micah, Old and Emma save seats for each other  eat together, organize games of tag together, and roll tires around the gravel playground.  Georgia relates stories of games with the girls in which their pencils are babies who travel in buses (the pencil cases), and they care for them throughout the day.  Lucy talks about how she, Mallory, and Bethany (the one other white girl) have formed "Team Kabale" on the playground, and they dance for the other kids' entertainment.  The classrooms are well organized and calm, and the headmistress is wonderful. 

There are still challenges, of course.  The kids are still witness to discipline measures that sadden or anger them.  Beginning in Jesse's grade, apparently, kids are no longer allowed to use pencils, a real frustration when it comes to math.  Georgia is required to drink all of her water before she begins to eat lunch, leaving her full at the start and thirsty at the end of the meal.  And the day is looooong.  They leave home about 7:30am, and return about 5:30pm!  They all complain of too little time to play.  We're talking with the headmistress about all these issues (and more), and she is responding well.

Teaching at BBUC
 

My Mark-Acts students

BBUC.  I still love teaching.  It is the highlight of my week.  The schedule has finally settled into a set routine, and I've worked out a way to avoid competing for a classroom every time we meet.  The Mark-Acts class is the most invigorating; God's word speaks for itself!  I've designed this class to be an exegitical study of these books, and each week we study and apply a different "exegetical tool" as we look at different portions of the text.  An encouraging moment for me was when a student gave me the following feedback after class one day:

"Until now when we preach, we use just one verse, or even one or two words, then talk about whatever we want.  We have been giving uncooked words!  Now we are seeing that these verses are part of a bigger context that tell us what the message is."  I can die happy.

My Intro to the NT students

My Introduction to the New Testament course has been more challenging, but not because of the students.  My original design of the course is not working -- I'm trying to say too much in too little time, relying on others' course notes rather than on my own.  Just this week, however, I think I've finally found a method of presenting the material to the students that is clear to them, faithful to my own style and understanding, and still have some room for discussion.



Home Life

Leslie and Julia with Jeremiah

Six months, and we're still getting settled.  Leslie has transformed our living room and dining room with covered cushions and bright curtains, and I have an actual desk in our study.  A fun surprise came when one of our carpenters made a chair for us out of left over lumber.  It is a gift from him because of the love we have shown him, his wife, and son, Jeremiah.  "It is through my hands, but from Jeremiah because of how you love him."  We call it the "Jeremiah Chair," and it sits on the front porch welcoming anyone who wants a quiet space.  Nevertheless, we still live out of trunks, Julia sleeps in a pack-n-play that is too small for her, most of my books remain in boxes that we fear now house a family (families?) of mice, and we have no shelves or places to hang towels in the bathroom.  Not the greatest of hardships, surely, but how we would love to put clothes in drawers, books on shelves, towels on racks!

In December we received a wonderfully strong response to a request from our supporters for additional funds to finish acquiring furniture, build a rain collecting tank, and purchase a generator.  (We're writing much belated thank you notes this week!)  The rain tank is near completion, and we'll be able to purchase a generator soon from Kampala.  It will greatly simplify our life to have a close source of water (over Christmas, we went 4 weeks without running water in the house) and a reliable source of electricity (there can be days with no power).

I'll end with a few more photos:

Lucy and Julia

Lucy with Tabea and Mallory

Georgia and Emma Shae, Tea Time in the Garden

Leslie and the Rose