School Fees, Sorcery, and Bungee Jumping

So this past weekend went a little differently than planned...but it was still very good. While traveling 7 hours away to see a traditional circumcision ceremony did sound like a good experience, I wasn't too disappointed to find out that the trip was cancelled. We have so many trips coming up and the semester is already about half way over – I feel like I’m never going to see my family! With an unexpected free weekend, many of the other USP students went white water rafting and bungee jumping at the Nile, but I didn’t want to rush into a decision like that (it was a lot of money too) so I just didn’t make plans. I originally thought I wanted to go rafting but many of the rapids were class 5 and I’ve never been rafting before...it sounded like something you would want to be experienced in before going. Hearing the stories of those who went was a lot of fun (you should read their blog entries about it!), but most said it was absolutely terrifying...a great and incredible experience but completely terrifying. After hearing about the bungee jumping and seeing video however, Danielle and I have decided we want to do that in about a month! We jumped out of a plane together last semester...I think we can jump off a bridge, right?

There was a singles retreat Saturday that I attended with our church – a nice surprise since I thought I would be doing housework all day! About 20 of us met at the church around 8:30 in the morning (since everyone was told to be there at 6:30 haha), and we drove to a resort in Jinja to spend the day worshipping and talking together. It was wonderful to make some more Ugandan friends who are about my age. For the first few hours we listened to some very good preaching by Rev. Titus...he had a lot of good things to say not only about being single, but being spiritually disciplined in various aspects of life. After lunch we moved outside for a time of questions and open discussion. We sat on a cliff overlooking the Nile, and I was thankful for the incredible view because about 90% of the next 2 hours of discussion was in Luganda! Every once in awhile the girls sitting next to me would explain what in the world they were talking about, and asked me a few questions as the rest of the group continued their discussion. One of the conversations I had with Rachel (the one sitting next to me) was so meaningful...it was one of those “aha” moments, and it made the whole trip worth it.

For the past week or so our family had hired someone to watch Enoch during the day and also help with the cooking/housework. Her name was Justine and she only spoke Luganda so I didn’t really have a chance to get to know her. Last night when I got home from school we had a different Justine...the other had gone home for personal reasons.

It turns out she was involved in practicing sorcery, which we had no clue about when we hired her. The other night when I was going to sleep I heard Musumba talking and praying with one or two people in the sitting room, and then they moved outside and began singing. It was around midnight so this was all very strange, but I wasn’t too worried because I could tell it was some kind of praise song, though it was in Luganda. It was beautiful by the way...I felt like I was getting a glimpse of heaven! Anyways, since this was so out of the ordinary I asked about it at dinner last night and apparently they had led Justine to Christ and had also exercised some things from her. Unfortunately, the next day she decided she wasn’t happy with the decision she made to follow Christ, and returned back home to continue practicing sorcery.

Hearing about all of this made so many things make sense. For these past few days, every time I would be at home things just felt wrong...I thought that our family was just having personal issues and it was causing me to feel like something wasn’t right. I really think that I was experiencing a presence of evil all those days when the first Justine was here. There was such a marked difference between yesterday evening and the last week that she was here. Last night everyone was just in brighter spirits and there was more laughter than we’ve had at dinner in a long time! Please continue to pray for our family and for Justine.

Rittah is having a really hard time dealing with not being able to go to school because of school fees. Her dad stopped by on Monday and she thought he would have the money, but he didn’t. They have 6 kids in their family all together so it’s understandable why they are having a hard time coming up with it...it’s such a hard situation.

Last night after dinner she was clearly not okay, and after everyone else left the room I just asked her what was troubling her. She could barely get the words out as she began to cry...I just sat there crying with her, feeling like the biggest jerk and hypocrite, knowing that I could easily provide the money. At the same time I know that’s not necessarily the best or right solution because it could really lead to a lot of problems. Even my host parents could provide the money but they don’t.

I know in my head that handing over some money isn’t the best thing to do, but in my heart it makes no sense to sit there and pray for God to provide when he could be wanting to use me to provide for her. What kills me is that a couple weeks ago when we went to Kampala she saw me spend the same amount of money on food and transportation for a day of pleasure as she needs for some, or possibly all of her school fees. Does she think of these things when I sit and cry and pray with her? Does she wonder why I sympathize but don’t offer any real help? I haven’t felt God leading me to give in this way, but it’s hard to know what to do or even how to act around her.

Please continue to pray for this situation...I know God has a plan, and maybe for now it is his will for Rittah to struggle through this, but it’s not easy to watch a close friend go through a difficult time.

I probably won’t be writing for quite awhile because Friday we are leaving for our rural homestays. We are taking a week off school to go stay with families in the mountainous district of Kapchourwa to see what life is like in the country. I know this will be a great experience, but I’m really not excited about it right now. It seems so stressful! They speak a completely different language but some English thankfully, there will be no electricity, its very conservative, and if I end up in the home of a reverend, it’s guaranteed that I’ll be giving the sermon on Sunday...that’s not intimidating or anything!

So don’t expect to hear from me for a while, but when I get back I will have tons to tell you I’m sure! Thanks in advance for your prayers!