Hey, this is Ilia!
Today is our first full day in Gulu, Uganda. We have spent a lot of our time adjusting to the time difference and catching up on what sleep we can. The weather here is very beautiful and warm; I'm enjoying it immensely.
I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to talk about. It's been really great meeting the World Vision staff this morning and hearing about what they do and what their passions are. We had a lovely worship time this morning with some of the World Vision staff, followed by a short sermon. It's always a very interesting experience to see how different cultures conduct worship and preaching. This time there was much more interaction with the congregation than I am generally used to, reading aloud together from the Scriptures, even praying aloud together.
We then went to visit some of our sponsored children in the surrounding villages. It was a very cool experience even when I was not visiting our child, because it was so cool to see the other members of my team interacting with their children and the other members of the village.
The sun was very warm, naturally. We are just north of the equator and the sun goes straight up above us, as do the moon and stars. It's so different than how Michigan is, even in the summer. The sun is never as high above us in Michigan. I'm not really bothered by the heat as long as I remember to be hydrated. I'm really enjoying the warm weather; I miss it. When we are out in the open there's a lot of wind which actually feels really nice in the heat of the day.
I apologize for how poorly this blog post is put together.
My mother and I visited our family's sponsored child this afternoon. It was a little bit uncomfortable at first, but after we broke out the jump rope and soccer ball things went a little smoother. :) Learning about how the family lives and what they enjoy doing was a really incredible experience. We watched how they ground grain and how they carried water from the pumps back to their homes. I played a little bit of "football" with the kids. I think that was the best way I interacted all day, since the language barrier made it hard to communicate.
Dinner and then the debrief tonight, and then tomorrow another full day. God bless and peace to you all!
Ilia
Good blog post, Ilia. Yes, interacting with other cultures can be challenging. but you're on the right track using sports and physicality. And how about art, and music, and cooking together? Communication can be done in so very many ways.
ReplyDeleteYes, African American churches in the US generally have a much more interactive service, and spontaneous call and response. I like that. I'd like to hear more about your experiences with this.
Much love,
Auntie L.