Uganda Trip #14 | Post 2 | D-Day at Abana’s Hope
We were under attack. Perhaps you know some of the ugliness of the history of Uganda and the ravages of war that has taken place here-thankfully this was a different attack-the attack of the white ants. It did feel a little bit like an apocalyptic sci-fi movie.
We (Mike, Stu and I) were sitting in our living room, minding our own business and a few flying creatures flew by my face. Dragonfly in size, but a bit slenderer. A few become a dozen, then dozens and Mike, Stu and I were deploying shoes, brooms and anything we could use to kill the intruders. They were sliding under the doors, making their way through any little hole they could. It felt scary because their numbers kept growing and for 10 minutes or so, we couldn’t seem to get the upper hand. We closed doors and windows, trapping in the heat until we went to bed. This is my 19th trip to Uganda, and we have never seen anything like this before.
So, we started asking questions about our uninvited guests today. Turns out these flying insects are called White Ants. Apparently, they come out 2-5 times a year for one day, their frequency tied into rain totals. This morning there was no evidence of them (the picture accompanying this post shows there was plenty of evidence last night).
I was told that a local guy got a whole tote (think of the plastic bins you get at Home Depot or Fleet Farm) full of them and took them to the market and walked away with a lot of money. I found out the guys in the dormitories that exist here were catching them to eat and that they are considered a local delicacy. They were going to fry some, and they asked if I was interested in trying it, to which I gave a quick yes response. So far, no delicacy. This ends today’s cuisine update.
Our subject matter for this trip (the actual reason I am here) is Understanding and Communicating Prophecy, using portions of Isiah. Yesterday I spent Monday giving an introduction to both the nature of Old Testament Prophecy and Isaiah and began a study of Isaiah six (where Isaiah answers, “send me” to the question “who will go for us?”). I finished up this morning, teaching from 8-12, before scurrying home for a 25-minute jet lagged induced nap that really took the edge off. Last night was my best night of sleep since leaving Hudson last Tuesday, and I still hit a wall.
For our afternoon session, Vincent, my TA (we call them lead trainers) was teaching based on Isaiah 22. He does an excellent job and will be one of the main teachers when this Pastoral Training Center becomes fully lead by Africans-they are quite capable. He and his wife (I guess mostly his wife ☺) had a little girl next week, but he was ready to go today. This leader is willing to do whatever he can to see an abiding network of solid African lead churches in Uganda, South Sudan and the Congo.
One of the functions our students have this unit is to give a ten minute talk on a passage from Isaiah demonstrating that they understand the author’s main point of the passage, how it fits within the broader context of Scripture and how to apply it to their setting.
Our second presentation was a disaster…the poor guy didn’t know how bad he was until he tried to land the plane. We went through our normal feedback session and his fears were realized…. I was really encouraged when he confessed to the entire group how hard it was for him and asked if would we allow him to try again on Friday. I was really encouraged by his humility and courage and the group’s desire to give him a second shot. That’s all for today.
I’m off to a going away dinner for another American leaving tomorrow.
Fun fact…as a youth I lived about ten miles from the new pope!