Leslie's Lenten Reflection

Just before Ash Wednesday, Leslie sent out the following email to some family and friends.  I thought the rest of you would enjoy reading it as well:

With Ash Wednesday fast approaching, I had to come up with a plan quick!  So, for Lent this year I am giving up:  ice cream, chocolate, Chick-fil-A, chips & queso, margaritas, Shiner Bock, going to the movies, electricity, marshmallows, dairy, fajitas, haircut at the salon, TV, running water, antibacterial foam soap, and salmon.  (Random, I know.) 

What...?

Travis just informed me that Lent is about giving up things by choice... or even adding something to help you focus on Jesus more!!!  Well, I guess that changes my list then... I think I will add something after all... I'll start with a grateful heart.  Here's the real scoop about life in Uganda -- the things missionaries don't want you to know about... our secret lives in Africa... are you ready for it???

I only do dishes on the weekends -- every other day of the week someone else washes my dishes and cleans my house top to bottom.  Lunch is cooked for us 3 times a week.  Someone washes our car (inside and out) once a week.  I don't do laundry at all any more -- my house helpers wash (and iron!!!!) all our clothes (they even wash shoes). The weather is beautiful every day.The view from our front porch is astounding every day.  I never worry about getting pulled over for a traffic violation... might is right, you just push your way on thru and keep 'er going --  try not to run over any bicyclists.  You haven't tasted pineapple until you've had a Ugandan pineapple!  A lot of communication is non-verbal -- note the power of the raised eyebrows -- brilliant for an introvert -- less words!!!!  The land is lush and fertile -- year round gardening... if you provide the seeds, they will plant it and it will grow!!

So, those are just a few of the things I am grateful for this Lent, I'm also thankful for people who love us both near and far!

Stay tuned for Leslie's next post:  "So what DO I do all day?"

Cathedral Service

Photo by Nicola Swann, a visitor to Uganda

It's 7:45 Sunday morning, and I'm trudging through a downpour with my vestments slung over my back and an umbrella held above my head.  I look down the muddy road and smile; a neighbor  is coming toward me is dressed for church, and holds a huge banana tree leaf over her head for protection.  The rain is so loud we don't even try to speak, but we smile a greeting to each other as we pass, and we're thinking the same thing:  "Mukama Asiimwe!  Asiimwe Munonga!"  (Praise the Lord! Praise him a lot!)

At least, that's what I think was thinking.  It's a common greeting here, especially on a Sunday.  One thing we have learned, however, is that if you think you've got it figured out, think again; you probably don't.  This particular rainy Sunday is a good example.

Rev. Joshua, one of the wonderful Associate Subdeans

As most of you know, I was ordained a priest just this past December 2010 here in Kabale at St. Peter's Cathedral on Rugarama, the hill where we live and where BBUC is located.  Before my ordination, Bishop George Katwesigye wisely and graciously directed me to join the cathedral staff so I could begin learning about ministering in the (Anglican) Church of Uganda.  After December, I took a break from the cathedral as our family began to work out what our life would look like once my teaching began and kids returned to school.  It became evident fairly quickly that it was important for me to continue assisting at the cathedral.  I have much to learn about what it means to be a priest full stop, much less a priest in Uganda!  Also, the connection it provides us with the community and the diocese outside the university community is invaluable.  And it's where the Bishop wants me!

So Sunday mornings I walk three minutes to the cathedral to assist in the English service.  Until the rainy Sunday under discussion, I've mostly just put on my vestments and processed to the front and sat with the other three priests (Subdean Amos, and Associate Subdeans Obed and Joshua). Even though the liturgy is a bit different from what I'm used to, I love being present to its rhythm, joining in the worship with the small congregation of a smattering of students (from primary through university), teachers from the local schools, a few neighbors, and an occasional visitor from the West.
  The cathedral is a large structure, rather dark and very cool in the mornings (I'm grateful for the added warmth of my cassock and surplice) and filled with wooden pews and plastic chairs.  The space doesn't quite succeed in swallowing up the voices, voices which grow in number within the first 40 minutes of the service.  The music is always led by the youth, so it is consistently lively and often a bit long.  We move into reading the Scriptures and prayers, always punctuated by more singing. The welcome follows, then come announcements, then we're on to the creed and intercessions (with more singing along the way).  The sermon comes next (always preceded by a song), usually delivered by a lay person from the Rugarama community.  We then sing the preacher out of the pulpit, then one of the subdeans summarizes the sermon, and leads us into the offertory.  We conclude with a prayer and a blessing, and recess to the vestry to a final hymn.

Back in December I led the service once in a rather bumbling manner, and after that point I've either led the time of intercession, or have given the blessing at the end.  This particular Sunday, however, I slogged into the vestry with 10 minutes left before the service began, and quickly began putting on my vestments.  The subdeans entered with their characteristic energy and joviality, gathered us together to pray, and mentioned almost as an aside that I was the one leading the service!  A quick prayer, and out the door we go, with no more words of direction for me than that.  That's the way the Ugandan ball bounces, my friend.  I had no idea what the readings were, what songs would be sung, who the many visitors that day were, why for the first time ever there was a projector, screen, and computer set up, why a white guy was sitting in the choir with a guitar, who was preaching, who was reading...!

And it was wonderful.

I was free to lead as I felt led. I won't recount the whole service, but I enjoyed the opportunity to weave together the readings, songs, prayers, and the sermon (one of the best, incidentally, that I've heard since coming to Uganda), and to give occasional explanations of the liturgy.  All along the way I had the subdeans behind me, ready with a whispered re-direction, an encouraging nod and smile, and a quick answer to any question I had.  Learning on the job!

The following Monday I dropped by the offices of the subdeans to ask for feedback on how I led the service.  They were surprised and pleased I asked, and mostly gave me encouragement, in addition to critiquing gently my decision to cut two portions of the liturgy for the sake of time.  Their main counsel regarding handling the order of service, however was this: "When you lead, you are the order!"

Georgia, Jesse, Lucy on the way to school

Serving at the cathedral has been and will continue to be a great joy.  Right now it's mainly a place of learning for me, but we also anticipate it becoming our family's main place of worship.  Jesse, Georgia, and Lucy joined me at the most recent service, and I was so proud and happy as I looked out over the congregation and saw the three of them sitting there. They were comfortable and attentive, and all three said they were ready to come back to the cathedral.  This was very encouraging to me, as it is one of the places where I feel most at home, and a time when I remember why we came and whom we serve.

Prayer for Strength and Purpose

I just thought I would share with y'all a prayer I found and prayed today in a collection of prayers given to me by a dear departing missionary (er...departing as in leaving Uganda, not as in leaving life):

Lord of the world,
We pray thee master these our weak and vacillating wills,
With thine almighty, clear-discerning will.
We would have working through our ineffectiveness
     thy quiet strength,
Through our blind folly thy clear-eyed discernment,
Through our changing impulses thy one direct
     and steady determination,
Through our indecision thine unswerving judgment.
Transform us therefore by thine own presence within us,
That so, being mastered and possessed by thee,
We may find liberty of our wills in entire subjection to thy will;
      through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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

The Teaching Begins...

Ergh.  I can't believe it has already been three weeks since our last post!  And, like you, often so much happens in so little time, it is hard to sit down and recount what has happened in the days that have passed.  A picture is worth a thousand words, of course, but unfortunately our camera is not working properly, so words are all I have.  Here are two vignettes:

Teaching
Love it.

Love it, love it, love it.  I hope my students love my teaching as much as I do.  I love it.  I feel that at last doing I am doing what I was made to do.  I have two courses this semester: Introduction to the New Testament, and the Gospel of Mark and the Acts of the Apostles (two books, one course).  I have fourteen students in the former course, and ten in the latter.  Most of them are from Uganda, but a few are from Rwanda.  They range in age from late twenties to early sixties, and their experience in ministry extends from two years to thirty four years.  Some speak English fluently, most are proficient, many are struggling, and all find my American accent difficult to understand.  (My greatest challenge is one fellow who speaks halting English and is deaf in one ear!)  Lectures take far longer to deliver as I have to speak very slowly, then restate certain concepts in other ways in an attempt to ensure understanding.

Nevertheless, these students are a joy to teach.  You can imagine the wealth of knowledge, experience, and insights they bring into the class.  (Following the lead of the Dean/President of Trinity -- my seminary alma mater and previous place of employment -- I call myself the "senior student" of the class, acknowledging that all of them have things to teach me as well.)  Here at the beginning, it is challenging to get the discussion rolling, but once their tongues loosen, it is well worth listening.  In some ways, it has been an easy beginning.  I'm using essentially the same material for both courses here at the beginning of the semester as I lay the foundation and establish the framework for how we approach Scripture.  Also, at this it's material I've studied, taught, and reflected on many, many times.  Even so, getting to teach it again, and watching as understanding is gained, connections are made, and new insights (for all of us!) are shared....  Love it!

The mechanics of teaching are a definite challenge.  I did not know the schedule of classes until the day classes began, and the schedule has already changed four times in the past two weeks.  In fact, Thursday night there I answered a knock on my door, and was told that my one of my classes (for which I had not yet prepared) had been moved to the following morning at 8:30!  I was grateful to be informed, because last Friday my class had been cancelled completely, but no one had mentioned that fact to me.

Also, rooms are not assigned.  They are on a first come, first serve basis.  If, however, you have more students than the lecturer currently occupying the room, you can bump that class out and take over.  The rooms have no electricity, and the chairs are scattered and dusty.  The blackboards have not been washed since 1952, and at times the chalk dust on the ledge is over a half inch thick.  My first part of every class is to gather off the floor the largest pieces of chalk I can find.  These are so brittle that even the smallest pieces disintegrate when I press them against the blackboard.  The eraser is a paper towel left over from the previous term.  By the end of the class my black clergy shirt is almost entirely white,  and I won't describe what I sneeze into my kleenex as I leave the room.

"Leave the room."  That reminds me -- I was puzzled at the end of the first several sessions.  I would close a class with prayer, then bid the students farewell and start writing down notes and adjustments to my lecture.  Glancing up, I would see the students still sitting quietly.  I would tell them they could leave, but it would take two or three times before they actually exited the classroom.  Finally, at the end of my third class, I said, "Okay, friends.  We've been talking about different worldviews and the clash of cultures.  Here's an immediate example.  I say the class is over, and you are free to go, but you don't go.  What is happening?  What am I missing?"  One student responded,  "Reverend, we cannot leave the room until you leave the room!"  I immediately turned on my heel and ran out of the room.  There was a moment of silence, followed by loud laughter.  I reentered and said, "Okay, I've left.  Now will you go?"  They laughed and filed out of the room.  Since then, I do immediately walk out of the room after each class (and they still laugh), and the students follow close behind, which in turn has given me the opportunity to have more discussions with my students!

Visitors
In my first week of teaching, we also enjoyed a wonderful visit from Tina Lockett and Martha Giltinan, former colleagues and current friends from Trinity.  The lugged along a suitcase with 40 pounds of goodies for our family.  Not only were there M&M's galore, but also nail polish for Leslie and the girls, word puzzles and other gifts for Jesse, and a wonderful travel communion set made of pottery (an ordination gift from my parents).  Martha and Tina, of course, were the real treasures.  The kids could not get enough time with them, and Martha and Tina loved on them as if they were their own children.  With these ladies come much laughter, storytelling, flashes of theological insight, updates from the world we left behind, sweet prayers, and fun companionship.  I enjoyed in particular getting to watch them in action with the students of BBUC.  Both Martha and Tina preached while they were here, and Martha also gave a brief and powerful teaching on theological reflection with the Trinity.  Each day they met with students in a variety of settings, and connected with several of the staff of the university.  You could see from the way the students sought them out, as well as in their responses after the services, that Martha and Tina impacted several lives in their brief time here.  We were sad to hug them goodbye, but so glad to have shared our lives with them for a brief time.