Cultural Sneak Peek

Hello from Gulu!

I'm not really sure how many people read the blogs that I post on here, so it would be helpful if you could let me know in some way if blogging is the most effective way of communicating . I don't get many comments on the blogs, so that's why I'm thinking maybe people don't see it. Thanks so much!

In past blogs I have talked about events that have happened here in Gulu and about my life, but I want to share a little bit more about the culture that I live in and how it's different than life in America. Being here for a while now, things get commonplace, and I forget that they are still foreign to all of you who don't live here day in and day out:) Also, if you have any specific questions I can answer to give you a clearer picture of life here, don't hesitate to let me know ok?

A Day in My Life:

I wake up to roosters cock-a-doodle-dooing outside my window. I climb out of my mosquito net that I sleep in and start the day with Jesus:) I boil some water in the kitchen and pour it into a basin to take a bucket bath (because there is no running water a lot of days). I make some toast in the frying pan for breakfast. Once I am ready for the day, I walk out my door and greet about 20 women and children with "Habari a sabui?" which means "How is the morning?" and hug each one. Then, even though I am "late" according to American time, I wait around for more women to arrive and we finally get started with devotions about a half hour late or more. Devotions start with us singing loud, energetic songs in Swahili (call and response is how they worship) to the beat of a drum. Then they enter into a time of passionate prayer/spiritual warfare on their hands and knees before God, and it is LOUD. When the praying fizzles out to quietness I (or one of the staff) share a message from the word. Everything is translated into Swahili. We end with a prayer and then it's off to start the day!

When I walk out of the room in which we have devotions, carefully stepping over all the beading women who each have immediately found their place to bead on the porch, all the kids run to hug me at once calling "Teacher!" I teach them "Duck Duck Goose" as we all sit in a circle on the thin woven mat in the dirt. They absolutely love it! They all fight to sit next to me, so it's hard to maintain the circle:) Then they have a time of playing on their own, so I bring out the few scraps of toys that we bought for them to play with. (They tore apart the rattles in two days flat!). Sometimes I have to take toys away from two kids who are pulling on it and hitting each other in order to get it. I say "Osipige!" which means "Don't beat!" These precious children don't speak much English, so I practice my Swahili when I'm with them. The little ones always want to be held, so I hold them, even if they have peed through their clothes and are sopping wet. I can feel their love, as they look into my eyes, and it touches my heart. Then we go into a time of teaching the alphabet, numbers, colors, and shapes. From a dilapitated poster I point to each letter as they scream in unison "A is for Apple, B is for Bird, C is for Cake!..." I am beginning to take them in smaller groups to teach them more effectively (there are 20+ children all sitting on one mat during the holiday).

Around 1pm or 2pm it's time for lunch. The children are so hungry, but they all wash their hands in a basin, pray over the food with their hands outstretched, and then sit down in pairs on the mat to hover over heaping bowls of rice and beans as they scoop it into their mouths with their hands. The women each get their own bowl, but they still use their hands to eat as they chatter on in Swahili to one another.

After lunch I decide that I need to go into town to buy a couple things, so I walk out our gate, tell the guard where I am going, pass the goats grazing in the grass alongside the road, and arrive at the closest boda stage (couple blocks or so). There are men waiting there on motorcycles to take me wherever I want to go. The first one who sees me flags me down, as the others look on in disappointment that they weren't faster in getting my attention so they could take me. I tell the boda driver where I want to go for 1000 shillings, hop on the back and speed away, all the while balancing as the driver swerves to avoid large potholes and other people/bodas in his way. He tells me that he knows the place where I want to go, but he really doesn't, so when he starts to go the wrong way, I direct him in the way we need to go. When we finally arrive safely, I say "Afoyo mateck" (Thank you very much in Luo) and pay him.

At the market, I traverse the narrow and bumpy pathways until I get to the food portion of the market. Once there, I feel every eye on me, waiting to see what I will do. As I walk through the aisles, past the mounds of potatoes, onions, tomatoes, green peppers etc, each seller calls out to me and tries to entice me to buy their products. If I stop to look at any one item, they will immediately begin bagging it up for me! I walk up to one seller who is not so eager and buy 1 kilo (8 or so large potatoes) from her for 1,500 shillings (that's about 60 cents). I avoid the fish that have flies swarming around them all the time and stick to just vegetables and fruit. I buy all that I need and hop back on another boda to go home. I stop to buy a soda from a small shack on the roadside for 800 shillings, and I am told that I need to bring the glass bottle back when I am finished with it. I promise to do so. I am very tired and hot from being in the sun, but there is no power, so that means no fan in the house:( I remain hot and sweaty. In the afternoons I either sit in on counseling class at ZP or go to the girls' home.

This evening I go out to do home visits for the church I attend with a church leader named Semplis. We walk to a nearby district called Kasubi (where most of the ZP women live), and children incessantly call out to me, "Munu, how are you? Munu, how are you" (Munu means white person). I say " I am fine, how are you?" and they respond continually with, "Munu, how are you?" until I am out of their sight. Some children are even brave enough to come and shake my hand:) All eyes are on me as I walk in Kasubi, but everyone is friendly. Some drunk guy tries to talk to me, but makes no sense, and we move onward. I try to look forward as I walk, but the way is so uneven, I have to look at the ground so I don't trip and fall. We pass by many huts, and there are tons of people milling about or sitting outside their huts doing nothing. We greet most of them in Luo or Swahili. We hear loud, club-like music coming from a certain wooden shack that holds the only TV in the community.

When we arrive at the designated hut, we sit on the floor or on the bed in the one-room hut. It is semi-dark even in the day-time and hot because there is a charcoal stove burning where the mother is cooking food in one corner of the hut. I share a message from the Word (these people don't have Bibles of their own, and even if they did, most of them cannot read) and pray for their needs. Most of the people are women because their husbands are soldiers off fighting somewhere (if they have husbands at all). They are very grateful that we came, and as we go, we say "Totowonana kwa kanisa!" (see you at church). (On other times of outreach we minister deliverance to people who have been involved with witchcraft. We cut the bracelets and necklaces off them that they have received from the witch doctor (very prevalent here), raise their hands up to Jesus in surrender as they kneel and pray a prayer of salvation. it is a glorious thing to see!)

On my walk home, I pass by a very young girl who says, "Munu, you give me money!" I respond by saying "Acholi you give me money!" and she is confused and walks away. The children and even some adults have learned to demand money from the white people. It's very sad:(

When I arrive back home, I ask my housemates how their day went, and we cook supper together. We don't have a stove, so most times we have rice or noodles with some sort of vegetable stir-fry concoction. It's pretty good. I have learned how to make chapati from scratch which is kind of like a tortilla shell. We clean up in the kitchen, all the while fighting the killer ants that don't seem to die from ant traps.

Then in the evening we read or relax ( we go to bed early if there is no power because there is nothing to do). I wash my feet, which have become black from the day's dirt (and they still aren't fully clean even after I wash them). I go to sleep to our neighbor's blaring club music and to a disturbing sound that mimics a dying seal (cats moaning or so I've been told. I've never heard cats make noises like that until I came to Africa). I thank Jesus that He brought me through this day;)

So now you have an idea of what life is like for me here in Gulu. I will try to include more cultural snippets in future blogs. Blessings to you all!

God's Power Through my Weakness

Namnagani rafiki (How are you friend?),

It has been too long since I've updated you all on here... sorry! Still trying to work out all the kinks with using the various technological methods of communication I have LOL. I want to share about the outreaches I've been able to do in the past couple weeks. I hope it encourages your spirit like it has mine.

Outreaches:

Two Fridays ago I was able to go out with some of the Remnant women (women who work on the ZP compound and participate in ZP activities but sew and do t-shirt screen printing instead of beading necklaces). It was a wonderful experience! We talked with Sarah (pictured below on the far left) who used to be a Christian but she backslid when the church wouldn't give her food. She went to the village to work, and now she is back with a lot of food that she grew. We led her in a prayer of re-dedication, and she was so happy that we came to visit her. A pastor had visited her previously, so because we were the second people to visit her and share the gospel, she took it as a sign that God was calling her to come back. Praise God! She also committed to quit drinking alcohol, and we prayed for healing from her HIV.
After that we led a man to the Lord who is a soldier in Central African Republic and was only in Gulu for a few more days! Talk about a divine appointment! On top of that he is the father of one of the girls in the ZP children's home. Thank you Jesus:)

Then during one of the home visits I do during the week for Gulu Bible Community Church (GBCC), I had the immense honor of praying over a little baby boy who was born just 3 days earlier. The family loves the Lord, and they are so precious. God gave me a scripture that went along with a prophecy He gave me for this child concerning the child being a prophet of the Lord all over the world when he gets older. Hallelujah! This was one of my favorite moments so far in Uganda, and I can't exactly tell you why it was so wonderful. Just being able to encourage his parents and confirm the word of God that has already been spoken to them was amazing. Here they are pictured below:
Then this Friday all the women (beading and Remnant) went out to do outreach with me and a couple of the short-term volunteers. We experienced major attack before going, and now I know why! God moved so powerfully in the lives of the people we ministered to. God really did a work of healing in a lady's heart whose unsaved husband leaves her to go drinking all the time and cheats on her. We also got to pray for her daughter who is currently a soldier here in Gulu.
The next houses we went to contained people who were labeled mentally insane, but there was a lot of demonic stuff going on with each of them. Prayed over a young girl who was drooling and unresponsive to us at first, but as we kept praying, I saw a change in her eyes and then she was able to talk and repeat a salvation prayer. Her mother also got saved that day! She wasn't completely healed by the time we left, but she was doing better. Finish the work Lord! Another lady seemed to be possessed by demons because when we prayed for her, she manifested by shaking and throwing herself on the ground. We just took authority and cast them out, and eventually she stood up and was crying because the demons had tormented her but now she is free! All glory goes to God for His incredible touch on these people's lives:)

It blows my mind how God can use me to do such great things for His kingdom while I feel so weak in this season. He keeps reminding me of the scripture where He says, "My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect through your weakness" I am beginning to understand for the first time that this really is true. He can't show Himself strong on my behalf if I don't allow Him to make me weak. He can't receive the glory if I think I am doing it in my own strength. May we always depend completely on our Heavenly Father because we can do NOTHING without Him.

Bwana Asifiwe! ( Praise the Lord)

So I promised in my last post to share about Outreach Week. In truth, I was only able to go out one day because there were schedule conflicts and I was also sick. But the day I did go out to minister with Sarita and the women was excellent! I had the amazing privilege of leading a lady in a prayer of salvation. She was a landlord for some houses nearby. We also prayed healing over a precious little boy who was paralyzed on one whole side of his body. His hand was permanently clenched into a tight fist, but when we prayed, he was able to open up his hand! Hallelujah for the beginning of his complete healing! Another lady had been in a wheelchair for 14 years of her life because of paralysis in her legs. We didn't see her physically healed, but God did a beautiful work of emotional healing in her heart. She was so broken that it made me cry. I love that God's heart is to heal the broken:) God also did a miracle work of healing in a person's arm that we prayed over. I am so thankful to God for the work He did in the Cereleno district.



Then at the end of October, I went to a Halloween costume party with a bunch of the ex-pats (white people in Gulu). I dressed up as a Chilean miner (the ones who were rescued after 69 days) with several other girls (pictured left). It was fun to dress up and take pictures and meet all kinds of new people!




Now, I am getting into more of a routine during the week here at Zion Project. I wanted to share some pics of daily life for me here. I'm learning to cook Ugandan food, speak more Swahili and give a teaching at the drop of a hat! LOL. Enjoy!




This is one of the girls
from the ZP children's
home praying during
devotions.



I'm grinding greens called
"sombe" with some relatives
of one of the beading
women in front of her hut.
They do this for hours all
the time. Talk about tiring!







Me and Paulo, a baby
at the ZP compound.

Vision Week and Transformation Week

Greetings from Gulu!

Well, there’s so much to tell that I don’t even know where to start! Lol The first full week here I participated in a “vision week” for Zion Project where we spent every morning with the Congolese women (about 30 of us altogether). It was a time to pray for God’s direction for this ministry and to hear His voice concerning His desire for the upcoming Outreach Week (to be explained). We worshipped, prayed, and Sarita shared the vision of Zion Project and taught on many topics so that the women would be prepared to go out. The second to last day we had a time of baptism in the Holy Spirit/commissioning the women to be sent out (see above picture), and the Holy Spirit came in power and changed their hearts and lives and filled them up! I considered it such a privilege to lay hands on these women and pray for them with Sarita and an intern named Farida. Then Sarita asked Farida and me to lead the meeting on the last day because she would be out of town, and that went well too! We shared on guidelines for evangelism and spiritual warfare, and in our time of prayer, one of the ladies was delivered of some demonic oppression. Praise Jesus for freedom!

Outreach Week (where we all go out to pray for the sick and love on people, leading them to a personal relationship with Jesus) was planned to take place this past week, but it was postponed until this week. Before I came to work with Zion Project, I knew that it was required that I attend a Transformation Week, which is a week-long time of individual heart-healing and seeking God at a retreat center called Mto Moyoni in another city called Jinja. I planned on going the same week as Outreach Week, but then tried to change my reservation to come in December instead. It wasn’t possible, so at the last minute, I packed and jumped on a bus to go to Jinja. It was stressful, but God was with me the whole timeJ I am so glad that I went at the beginning of my time with Zion Project instead of in December. God always knows best!

Mto Moyoni is a gorgeous place (picture left)! It overlooks the Nile River and has lush trees and flowers and hills. And the serene presence of the Lord dwells there, so I loved it. It was like a piece of heaven on earth! The inner healing teaching was incredible (I learned so much), but God did more in my heart than anything else. He revealed areas I need to surrender to Him and healed up my heart from past wounds. He gave me a revelation that I am His child and that He just wants me to enjoy life and delight in Him and not work so hard for Him. He is such a good Daddy!

I also met really neat people from all over Uganda and out of the country too. I took a trip into Jinja town and to Bujagali Falls with some friends from Mto Moyoni, which was so fun (picture right). There were three excellent meals every day, and I swam in the Nile twice! After receiving more of the love of the Lord this week, I feel better prepared to pour that love out onto everyone in Gulu.

My next blog will be about Outreach Week, and I can’t wait to testify to how God uses us to love people and do miracles! May Jesus shower you with His love today, because it’s all about LOVE.

Naomi

First days in Gulu:)

Habari! (Swahili greeting meaning How are you?)

As many of you know, I had a little mishap with my carry on (it was too big so I had to buy another one at the airport), but after that the rest of the trip went smoothly. I had divine appointments of a different sort than previous flights. Usually I am able to witness to people, but this time I met three single, female Christian missionaries to Uganda, all with various organizations. One of them I met in Detroit!

When I arrived in Entebbe, Christine (staff of the hotel we stayed at overnight, pictured below) drove me to the hotel called Red Chilli. There I met Tyson and Sarita (pictured above), and the next morning we drove the four hours up to Gulu. I had a great conversation with Sarita and

Tyson on the drive, which further prepared me for Gulu and working with Zion Project.

The first night in Gulu I went to a girls' spa night with some of the other ex-patriates (foreigners) working with various organizations here. We made facial masks out of avocado, banana, and oatmeal and other girly stuff:) Tyson was right when he said I'm gonna have fun here!

Yesterday was Uganda’s Independence Day, so there were a lot of festivities including a choir/dance competition of several groups in all types of dress. I love seeing the Ugandan culture in action like that!

I was also able to visit the ZP children's rescue home, and the kids instantly loved me! They also were really happy for the gifts I brought (thank you to those who donated items for the girls). They sang songs for us. The video is soon to come:) They are so precious! I look forward to spending more time with them and also with the women at the counseling center (who greeted me with hugs when I arrived as well).

Daneen, my housemate, took me to meet one of our neighbors, and she fed us an entire meal and soda in her hut! Ugandan hospitality is very strong. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to get to know our neighbors and see how they live.

I went to Gulu Bible Community Church this afternoon, and really enjoyed it, even though the worship was in Swahili and I couldn't understand it. The message was translated, though. I'm gonna make a serious effort to learn Swahili as fast as possible! The passion that these people have for the Lord amazes me, and two people came up for the salvation alter call at the end of the service! Praise God. Everyone was extremely welcoming, and the staff and children from the ZP rescue home were at the service as well, so I felt loved. Their service was about four hours long, and by the end I was ready to rest at home.

Overall, I’m adjusting well here. There are times of lonliness, but that’s to be expected. God has been speaking to me a lot through His word, especially Isaiah 30:15, 18-21 and Psalm 37, and I’m so grateful for His constant presence in my life. Feel free to comment on here or email me what’s going on in your life.

All for Jesus,

Naomi

Pack - a- lackin!

Hey everybody,

Only 6 more days to go until I fly out! My friend Laura drove down from WI to help me pack up all my stuff that I'm not taking with me to Uganda. Stuff that's been hiding in the attic and closets for years. We ended up throwing out about 6 or so bags and donating even more than that! Some things I'm saving for later on, but not a whole lot. In the grand scheme of life, material possessions don't matter anyway.

Now that Laura has gone back home (sniffle sniffle), I've been actually getting down to the business of packing my two suitcases for Uganda. My Mom has been a great motivator for me because without her I probably would have just stared at the mound of clothes and other items and thought "how is all of this ever going to fit?" But so far both suitcases are packed with only one being 5 lbs over the weight limit of 50 lbs. and a few odd and ends to add.

I'm getting really excited about my send off party, which everyone who is in the Evansville area should come to. It's going to be this Sunday (Oct 3rd) from 4-9pm at the Newburgh Community Pool Park (AKA Fortress of Fun for the kids:) ) Feel free to bring a dish to pass and be prepared to have a blast! LOL I rhymed:) Those who are friends with my brother Caleb are also invited to his birthday party at ARC Lanes immediately following my party- two in one night!

I'm not sure if I'll have time to post pics of the send off party or a blog update before I go, but if not, I'll do it after I get settled in Gulu. The grand adventure is about to begin! Pray for a safe flight for me and divine appointments on the way there. See you across the ocean soon:)

Naomi

The Countdown Begins...

So now I'm finally starting to count down the days until I fly out. I only have 20 more days! Everything is coming together nicely... EXCEPT the packing. Ugh LOL It's tough to pack for a three week mission trip, let alone for a whole year or more, in two suitcases each weighing 50 lbs or less. But slowly I am gathering all the supplies I'll need and making a huge mound in my room around the suitcase. Haha! One of the girls I'll be housemates with named Daneen has been very helpful through email, giving me tips of what to pack and what to wait and buy when I get to Uganda.

As far as finances go, I only have about $100 per month or $1100 total to raise to have enough for the whole upcoming year. If you would still like to give or pledge monthly support, just let me know.

I recently found out that the guest house I'll be living in has three bedrooms ( so when there aren't other visitors I'll get my own room), a mini fridge, a stovetop, and HOT WATER when the electricity is on. WooHoo!!! I totally didn't expect that last one:) Praise Jesus. And all the walls are...get this...purple! Purple is my favorite color:) Super fun!

I AM BLESSED

Mailing Address

So I wanted to give you all my address where I can receive any and all mail that you would like to send me, letters... or very large packages filled with goodies... haha just kidding:) Here it is:

Zion Project
c/o Naomi Johnson
P.O. Box 350
Gulu, UGANDA
East Africa

Let's keep in touch!

Naomi

God Just Keeps Blessing Me!

Hello again!

I wanted to keep you up to date on how my support-raising is going. So far God has used people like you to provide $3,100 in one-time gifts and $120 per month! Praise Jesus:) This includes money I am able to put towards missions from selling my car (which is a wonderful load off my shoulders... I do NOT like selling things haha). And the car will be a blessing to someone I love dearly, so it's a win-win situation;) I also had a friend contact me about her giving me her mini-laptop, which is so amazing because now I won't have to buy one! What's so great about this is that I just found out that Internet access is FREE at some Internet cafes in Gulu IF you have your own laptop! I will, so I can Skype with family and friends and not have to pay through the nose for it. Hallelujah! God is good. The blessings just keep on comin'... I also sent my visa application out this past week and received it back with my Ugandan visa in a whopping 4 days! I've never gotten a visa back that fast in the mail before. When things go so smoothly like this, you know it's gotta be God! I still need to raise $120 more in monthly support, but I have no fear that it will all come in. I'm not sure how many people are reading these posts now before I leave, but spread the word! I'll keep writing on here:)

Until Next Time,

Naomi

I got my plane ticket!

Kopango! (that's a greeting in Luo, the language I'm learning of the Ugandan Acholi people)

I just wanted to let you know that on July 6th 2010 I bought my first one-way plane ticket to Uganda, Africa! WOW. God really blessed me because the price of the ticket went DOWN a couple weeks after I was initially going to purchase it. So I only had to pay $960 for it, AND it's Delta all the way (and Delta is my favorite airline to travel with). Praise God:) So you're probably curious as to what date I bought the ticket for... well... I'll be flying out on October 5th and arriving in Entebbe, Uganda the night of October 6th. All in all, it'll be about a 19 hour flight. Talk about leg cramps! lol Anywayz, I decided to push the date back a little bit so my sister could leave her school to see me off. So 3 months and counting... You'll be happy to know that I have approx. $700 in one-time gifts raised and $60 per month so far. Please keep praying that God will lay it on people's hearts to support this work of the kingdom as there is still a chunk of support left to be raised. I am not worried, though because I know God will provide all I need. He equips the called. Hallelujah God Bless you all

My Taco Dinner and Concert!

The taco dinner and concert was this past Friday night, and although there weren't tons of people who were able to make it that night, it was so special and a huge success! The food was scrumptious, and Caleb did an amazing job sharing his original music (so anointed it's unbelievable). Everyone loved my powerpoint ( I just HAVE to be organized lol), and the REACH poster which stands for Radically Extending Arms of Care and Help. It's like my God-given motto for going to Uganda. Praise Jesus! I am the hand, but you as my supporters are the arm that get me to Africa. Without you, I won't get there because God chooses to work through people:)

Please be praying for Zion Project (the Christian organization that I'll be going to that brings healing to ex child soldiers and Congolese prostitutes and their children) and Sarita, ZP's founder and director. Satan is attacking the ministry hard-core right now because they are doing damage to his kingdom of darkness. Let's lift them up to our Father during this trying time. He is so faithful and will bring them through. Amen?

On the financial end, the dinner was fruitful because so far I have close to $500 raised already and tons of prayer support! Also, a couple people said they would talk to their pastors and see if they would allow me to do my presentation during a church service. That would be wonderful! My Mom even made little pieces of jewelry (she has her own business on Etsy making and selling jewelry) and gave them as free gifts to those who donated certain amounts to my trip to Uganda. I love seeing the kingdom at work in my own family!

To sum the night up, I am beyond blessed. Thank you Jesus!!!!

Yay for blogging!

This is my first official blog entry... ever! LOL I will be using this blog to share of my wonderful (and maybe sometimes not so wonderful )adventures with Jesus and Zion Project in Uganda Africa! No matter what happens, He is with me through it all, and it's going to be an amazing life-changing year! Come back soon to see how my support-raising is going as I prepare to leave in a few months. God Bless