Little by Little

“fere fere,” or little by little, is a phrase often used to describe my language learning. much like building relationships. it’s small, but it’s there and takes time. in fact, they go hand in hand. any opportunity to visit with a friend is an opportunity for language, and in the process of learning language, i’m gaining a friend. 

just this week, i was visiting ava, a young lady that attends our english class. as i walked my bike past the borehole pump and to her house, her children started screaming in moru, "ndi nwa (that's me) is here. ndi nwa is here!" they were jumping all around and chanting with excitement. i felt like a mistaken celebrity.

ava, busying herself with sweeping and making a fire for tea, urged me to sit down under the mango tree. her three children quickly gathered around me. unis, the oldest, sat on the mat below me, contented to play with the small beads at the bottom of my skirt. martin, the only boy, ran around us steering the metal rim of a wheel with a stick. and the ever vivacious, foto, sat in my lap and simply giggled.  

since ava’s english is limited and my moru is still in the beginners phase, our conversation wasn’t exactly easy flowing. we both seemed to know that speaking slowly, repeating, and gesturing were the keys to our communication. we would often come to a point where we would not understand the other, and resolve to laughing. after a while, my language skills tend to run dry, and i begin to dig deep for phrases or vocabulary to try out... i ask her when the mangos would be ready to eat and comment on the hot sun. i ask the children what they are doing, they laugh. and when all else fails, i begin pointing and practicing my favorite moru phrase, “what is this?”

my sentences often come out as a muddled up mess of nouns, verbs and pronouns, incorrectly ordered and omitting words i don’t know. one of three responses usually follow. a blank stare, a laugh followed by an encouraging lie “good moru!”, or a rephrasing of what i meant to say in the right order. 

it’s days like this that i look forward to. laughing and learning together. everyone is genuinely encouraging and excited for the small moru i am learning. just as much as i am reaching out for friendship here, i feel it reciprocated. and that’s enough to give me patience in the process and hope for what God is doing through me here, little by little. 

Something to Talk About

monday, i headed to mary's house expecting to have a simple moru lesson. what i got was so much more.

greeting me with her larger than life smile, she hugged and welcomed me as a friend. we sat side by side under the shade of the mango tree, and she began by teaching me some basic vocabulary for fruits, vegetables, and some animals. i learned important phrases like "give me a mango" and "i want 5 goats." no doubt that will come in handy someday.

mary lives next to the borehole, a gathering place for women collecting water. so several times during our lesson, someone we knew would walk over and greet us or mary would shout for them to come over. they were all ladies from our english class, and all showed enthusiasm for my learning moru. an hour passed, and my language teachers were now 6 in number, each wanting to teach me something new.

then i pulled out a small photo album with a few pictures of my family. now that gave us something to talk about! the pictures proved to be a big hit and fueled our conversation for another hour. they loved seeing my family, and especially loved seeing my lezo (twin). they have nicknamed me "Ndi nwa" which is a name they give to the firstborn twin. i learned how to say "this is the baby of my sister" and "my twin sister is pregnant."

they passed around my pictures a few more times, with big smiles, gesturing and commenting on how beautiful my mother was. we laughed and talked some more, and they shared about their own family.

what a sweet moment. i felt God's care washing over me, like a refreshing rain on a hot sudan day. he knew just what i needed. i often feel the distance of home, and the ones i love seem a world away. and yet, as i sat there sharing this huge piece of me with these women, i tasted the comfort of home.

mary and i ended our time singing moru hymns together. the words to "blessed assurance" echoed in my head as i biked home.

i am thankful for deeper connections, and a very tangible reminder that God knows my every desire and meets my every need. for now, at least, home doesn't seem so far away.

Right as Rain

after months of dry, sunny, blistering hot days, it rains in mundri. oh the bliss! we all ran outside at once, jumping and hollering as though gold was falling from the sky. we caught raindrops on our tongue and splashed in miniature puddles. somehow we squeezed 5 bodies in the hammock, and just laid there motionless in pure contentment. 

and then it hit me...RAIN is to AFRICA as SNOW is to FLORIDA

rare. incredible. simply satisfying. 

Ring of Fire

we spent our valentine's afternoon fighting off a fire at our compound. after a week in uganda, caleb and i had just landed back in mundri a few hours before. as we unpacked and settled in, we could hear fire crackling nearby. its not unusual to see fires around here, especially in the dry season, but this seemed close. we walked outside to see a wall of fire at our neighbors compound, dangerously close to their two tukuls. in our attempts to help, we filled buckets with water and headed toward the blaze. thankfully, the huts were not burned. but, the fire was still not under control and was quickly spreading toward our houses.

with the help of some neighbors, we managed to stop the fire from spreading to other compounds. but it was a stubborn fire and continued on toward the river, burning up everything in its path. what was once our beautiful prayer walk trail is now gloomy, desolate, and covered in ash.

firefighting is exhausting. and hot. i have the utmost respect for those who brave the flames as a career. after the drama came to an end, we all slouched on our couch for a breather, surveying the burn marks on our flip flops and comparing our blackened feet. smoke seemed to linger in the air for hours, leaving us all with a mild case of smoker's cough.

though not exactly a near death experience, it was slightly thrilling to fight my first fire and live to tell about it. never a dull moment around here.

Teacher Training

bethany and i completed our first teacher training last week. 20 teachers were selected to attend the 3 day training, all representing various christian primary schools surrounding mundri.

this was our first overnight training, in a new facility, with new teachers. the week had it's glitches for sure. each day brought a new challenge, whether an issue with accommodation or meals. even the night before, due to some miscommunication, we were not sure we would have any participants show up for the training. but God was gracious and seemed to be giving bethany and i many opportunities to trust that he is in control.

our main topic was "God as our Father." we discussed who we are as children of God and how that can influence our students. we covered topics like discipline, learning styles, engaging students. the teachers acted out dramas and lead each other blindfolded through an obstacle course of "change."

i am thankful for the interactions with the teachers and their willingness to participate and dialogue with us. these are hard-working teaches with few resources and little pay, many of them teaching 3 or 4 grade levels and several different subjects. the education system has a long way to go in terms of growth. but we are hopeful for good things and praying God would equip these teachers to be the change they want to see.

i look forward to ongoing trainings with this group of teachers. i hope they were challenged in their role as teachers and encouraged in their faith. please be praying with us for the teachers of south sudan.

Cold Shoulder

dear blog,

sorry for the cold shoulder lately. it is not my intention. i'm shamefully aware of how long its been since i've posted anything. somehow time has flown by since the holidays and suddenly its mid-january. maybe its the post-christmas slump (there is such a thing, right?). truthfully i've been in denial that real life must begin again. no more singing christmas carols while biking to church or baking cookies just because. gone are the days of late afternoon hammock naps. i've come to face the hard facts. the christmas decorations are packed away, the chocolate supply is depleting, and suddenly i'm aware of how HOT it is here.

so, to make up for lost time, here's a snapshot of events to catch you up...

we celebrated the new year with a campfire. dinner and dessert cooked over the fire. and a dance party to follow. (thank you, heidi, for the glow sticks! they had great influence on our dance moves.)

we kicked off 2012 with a team road trip to juba.

first stop, the pool! so fun. and refreshing. felt like a kid again.

then we had dinner on the nile.

and we ate ice cream! in the air-conditioning!

 
we stocked up at the grocery store. nutella, pringles, cheese. and lots and lots of veggies!

we failed at our search for propane tanks in juba, so the last several weeks we've been cooking with charcoal. talk about labor intensive. it requires lots of attention and has to be done outside. hot. everyone knows my sister, melinda, is the cook in the family. but there's rumor that i may be giving her a run for her money. my latest creations have been pumpkin soup, pita bread, and pizza...all with charcoal. i'm kind of impressed with myself.

i even made grandma's green bean casserole. (thanks, grams, for sending the key ingredients. it was a big hit)

more details on life to come. hopefully soon. 

Christmas Cookies and Caroling

you won't see signs of santa here. no halls decked with holy. no christmas lights. no christmas tree farms. we are far from a white christmas here in sudan. but there is one (rather essential) christmas tradition that i can certainly relate to... christmas cookies!

that's right. even in sudan, many households were baking the day away. this is no slice-n-bake, my friends. only serious cookie-making here. trying to expand my moru culture, i jumped in to "help" in the process. it was, however, short-lived. as the boiling water was poured in, my kneading turned in to poking and wincing. what can i say, i'm a wimp. i happily watched from my seat, deciding i would wait and build up my pain tolerance another day.

this is the finished product! paired with some lemonade. delicious!

back to christmas traditions...

what is christmas without caroling? we decided to bring some of our own christmas traditions to mundri, and so we set out on christmas eve to do just that. candles in hand and guitar at the ready, we went trekking through the bush to visit our neighbors. 

of course, we had to first explain what we were doing and that we actually wanted them to sit while we sang to them. they probably thought it a bit strange, but seemed to enjoy it all the same.

wishing you a merry christmas from mundri!