A Day Like No Other

Update on my upturned life:

My friend James has had so many challenges in the last week. The books we donated are being held in Mombasa port, his nephew’s death and the pain of that, and problems with his US immigration. Due to those immigration problems, James left for the US on Wednesday. So, the Lord has once again changed my plans. I woke up Thursday morning and went into town to the Kenyan Airways counter. I changed my airline ticket and will now be flying to Uganda on Friday. I then went to the Ugandan embassy to check if my visa was still okay as it had the May 5th date on it. To the grace of God I got that worked out. Then it took me a better part of two hours to find a phone that worked so I could call Corner Stone to tell them that I was coming two weeks early. Did anyone see Blood Diamond---TIA!! I will update everyone once I get settled in Uganda. I am definitely on a journey of lifetime, but that is okay, I know the one who is scripting this journey and he is faithful!! Please keep praying for me!

I have not posted this yet, so I will add to my ever-changing story, by telling everyone that I am now in Uganda staying at Corner Stone. It is a very simple hostel and I am not sure I can live 35 days here, but I know I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

When I finally got to Corner Stone, it was getting dark and I wanted to start making dinner, so I said good bye to Simon’s friends. The kitchen is communal which is new for me. All night I heard the security coming in for tea. Anyway, back to my dinner experience. First I tried to turn on the lights—they didn’t work. The security guard told me that there was some electrical problem with those lights, so I turned on the lights in the neighboring room and used my flashlight. Then I got out the ingredients and began to look for cooking pots, pans and utensils. The cupboards were bare. There was nothing. I mean nothing except for a fork, two butter knives, 6 mugs and 6 plates. All the dishes had little bugs crawling on them, so I chose to hold my sandwich and eat a banana. Then I went to bed. I just lay there wondering how I was going to live here for 35 days until Simon came back. I am hoping to stay with Veronica, a World Vision friend, if I can. I know how American this sounds to be thrown by this evening experience, but I guess we all have our breaking points.

Much to my great surprise and delight, I got a hold of Veronica and she came to pick me up at Corner Stone. In fact I was walking along the road in Kampala when I heard a man say, “Hey Baby.” Startled, I turned around to see Jon Good and Veronica! I was so shocked but so excited. Jon was there with a team from Church of the Open Door. I got to see Steve Hanson too. What a treat! Then Veronica took me to her home where I will live with her until Simon returns. What an incredible hostess!! Johnson came over and had lunch with us yesterday. I am so proud of him!! It was an all around good day!

Today I will meet with Corner Stone to find out what I will be doing while I am here. I had a fabulous time at the World Vision chapel this morning I am trying to get settled, but it seems this journey is about change not about settling. I do love Uganda though. It is a tropical paradise and the Corner Stone staff was been incredibly welcoming and helpful. More to come later.

Please read on….here is a fabulous story of one of the students CPC supports at Daystar.


A Day Like No Other

A couple of nights ago I was sitting quietly in the main room of my town house at Daystar enjoying the African night sounds—the soft buzz of mosquitoes, the sharp squawk of a passing bird, the wind blowing softly through the palm trees. It was beautifully peaceful. It was a good place to be alone. Suddenly, a loud ringing coming from the front door startled me. As I stood up to answer the buzzer, I remembered that in Africa one is never alone for long. When I opened the door, Damena Yiima greeted me. He had a broad smile that seemed to glow in the dark and eyes that sparkled. I quickly invited him to join me for some Kenyan tea.

Damena came from Ethiopia with his wife and children four years ago to study at Daystar University. He has now completed his coursework and will graduate in June. He had come to see me because I represent the church that has made his dream of a college education possible. Christ Presbyterian Church sponsored Damena during his time at Daystar. It was an incredibly wise investment. It was so thrilling to sit across from this passionate follower of Jesus who is now equipped to go back to Ethiopia and create new social, financial and spiritual development.

Damena excitedly explained the programs he had developed and visioned for his community in Ethiopia. He is passionate about helping the poor in his country. He has spent the last 4 years studying and analyzing different ways to create positive change in his home country. He has dreamed of the day when every Ethiopian will know the power and love and Jesus. He has dreamed of the day when the hungry of his community will be fed, when the lonely will be comforted, when each family will have an adequate shelter. His eyes seem to blaze with emotion when he talks about his beloved homeland. Like I said, it is a wise investment.

As we sipped our tea and our conversation came to a close, Damena asked if I would grant him one more request. He asked if he could host me for lunch the next day. Without hesitation, I said that I would be delighted.

He arrived the next day in the early afternoon and set off for his home on the other end of Nairobi. We took public transportation, which was an experience of epic proportions. The buses and mutatu’s (small vans that should have long since be put out to the junkyard) drive very fast, very reckless and could just as easily run you over. The moment we got near the bus stop, my heart started beating and my hands started sweating. Damea just quietly reached over and told me to hold his hand. In his quiet gentle way, he told me not to worry because God had us in his hand. He would navigate a safe journey for us. This was all the reassurance I needed. My heart settled and I felt my body relax.

The bus weaved in and out of traffic. It was crowded with very little personal space, but Damena continually looked in my eyes and repeated his earlier encouragement. After transferring to an older mutatu and realizing that I was indeed the only westerner in this part of town, we reached our final destination. As I exited the mutatu, I stepped through the floorboards of the van. It was bizarre to see my foot dangling down towards the street through the floorboard. Then we walked for a while towards a supermarket down the street. As we approached the market, Damena explained that it was his son, Kidus, birthday today. He wanted to check the price of a small cake. The cake would be the only present this little 6 year old would receive that day. As we approached the bakery, I noticed that the cakes were not cheap. It is a luxury item, not a necessity. At that moment, I heard that little whisper buy the cake. I smiled and thought how wonderful it is to be able to do something loving for someone else. I asked if I could give a gift to his family and buy the birthday cake. After some protesting, he agreed. We even had the bakery write Happy 6th Birthday Kidus. Then we got some birthday candles. We both couldn’t wait to see his little face all covered in frosting.

After a short walk, we entered a locked gate where several families had single room concrete homes. Damena’s home is a 6’ by 6’ room with two beds, two small tables and a stool. They cook over a fire out side the home and wash behind the home in a tub. It is no bigger than a backyard shed. As I approached the house the two boys came running out to greet their father. He hugged them and they smiled just a big as he did. His beautiful wife greeted me with a hug inviting me into the home where their 3 year old was napping on one of the beds. I sat down inches away from this little sleeping angel. Their daughter had just been discharged from the hospital. She had been playing near a pot of boiling water and been badly burned. They were grateful that she was alive and slowly recovering.

Immediately a large bowl was put before us. It contained a thin doughy bread that is covered with spicy goat meat and potatoes. It was a traditional Ethiopian dish. After we blessed our meal, we all put our hands in the bowl tearing the bread and scooping up the meat and potatoes. It tasted very good, but on a couple of occasions I think steam must have come out of my ears. It was SPICY! Towards the end of this communal meal, I thought about unity. Eating like this seemed like an experiential way to tangibly know unity—being together as one—sharing food with each other equally. There was tremendous beauty in that moment. As I was laughing, sharing and eating, Damena brought out the most special part of the meal—the meaty goat bone. He proudly told me I could eat it all. Oh boy! I bravely began to suck the meat off the bone while the whole family watched laughing. They loved seeing this muzungu suck goat meat off the bone. Actually, it was quite good.

After this exquisite meal, the time came for the cake. Damena unwrapped the cake and called Kidus to read what it said. The boy’s eyes lit up and he began to giggle. It was such a beautiful sound. Then we sang happy birthday and he made several attempts to blow out the candles. Then we cut the cake and everyone laughed as frosting seemed to get everywhere. It was on Kidus’ shoulder, his mouth, his hair, his knees, and his fingers. He was swimming in it. Damena had his daughter on his lap and was feeding her cake and then kissing her getting frosting all over his face. Then they would all laugh. It was the sound of pure joy!

All too soon, the time came for me to head back to that quiet town house in Daystar. We walked back to the bus; we walked through the city and finally caught a muatatu to Daystar. We relived the afternoon’s highlights. I was so grateful that he allowed me into his home, into his life, into his family. My heart felt so full. As we parted, I gave Damena some money that had been gifted to me and told him that God wanted to bless him with it. We both were overjoyed. I was delighted to be the messenger of God’s blessings and he was delighted to receive what God had for him. Unity. God’s children were sharing. We were giving each other what we had to offer. We both gave and we both received. We were unified and it was indeed beautiful.