Under the Mango Tree

First of all, I want to thank all of you who prayed for me during my Rural Homestay. God went above and beyond answering my prayer requests. I couldn’t ask for a better week. I grew extremely close to my host family and fell in love with the way they lived their lives. There are too many details to fully explain my week, so I will leave you with a journal entry I wrote while there and end with pictures of highlights from the week.

Tuesday, February 21st

The other day, I heard a Ugandan repeat a popular phrase: “Americans have watches; Africans have time.” About a month ago, I lost my watch. I grew to be pretty dependent on it the first month, so it was hard to get used to life without one. I wanted to buy one by the day I left for my rural home stay but never got the time.

Now here I am, sitting under the mango tree at my rural home stay, with no idea what the time is. And I couldn’t be more grateful. Without a watch, I measure my days by the location of the sun in the sky. Without a watch, the days feel longer and much more restful. Without a watch, I’m finally learning what it means to live in the present.

One of the greatest African values is presence. Being present with others and living in the present. As I sit under this mango tree, I can’t help but wonder how many times I think about everything but the present. For the past two years, all I thought about was my semester in Uganda. Now that I’m here, I constantly find myself thinking about what it will be like when I go back home this summer. I’m the kind of person who tends to live in the past, always thinking back on the “good ol’ days.” I’m also a planner. And a worrier. And an over-analyzer. All of which cause me to dwell in the past or fret about the future. I have a difficult time simply being.

While here in Uganda, I can’t help but think about how and where God wants to use me in the future. I’m tempted to worry about the fact that I don’t know what life will look like after I graduate college. But being here with my African family, I get the sense that they have a better understanding of Jesus’ words in Matthew: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

When my mind starts to wander and I begin worrying about my future or over-analyzing past events, I want to remember how it feels sitting under this mango tree, without a watch. I’ll remember the presence of my older sisters as we comfortably sit in silence. I’ll remember the calmness and simplicity of their rural life. And I’ll remember how it feels to be in the present - only thinking of what this particular moment holds, sitting under this mango tree.

My time in Soroti was almost too good for words. Because I can’t explain everything in a short blog entry, I will simply have to bring the week to life through pictures. :)

Part of our compound. We had 7 mud huts - some used for bedrooms, some for cooking spaces, some for storage. Our particular compound had been in the family as long as our Papa had been around, which was almost 70 years!

When one hears the term, “mud hut,” the common thoughts associated with that are “poor,” “deprived,” or “unfortunate.” However, they live much fuller lives than most Americans I know. They are rich in so many other ways.

The entire family. We had many people living in the same compound. In rural Uganda, when one family member gets married or has kids, they simply add more huts to the compound so the family can stay together. As you can see from the picture, my friend Natasha was also placed with the same family. It was great having an American sister to process and experience the week with! 

My beautiful Mama. Even though she couldn’t speak much English, I was inspired by her humble, giving spirit. I instantly noticed the care she had for her family, the deep love she had for the Lord and His Word, and the servant’s heart she so beautifully modeled. One morning while we were sweeping, my flip flops broke. She immediately took hers off and offered them to me, even though she had no other pair. It was such a simple gesture, but spoke so much about her character and the communal mentality of rural Africa.

These four kids stole my heart. My nephews and niece from left to right are: Nelson, 5; Harry, 6; Anna Grace, 8; Peter, 5. They called me “Auntie” all week and loved playing games and taking pictures. Even though they didn’t speak much English at all, I loved being with them. They are filled with so much joy and have lots of energy. On the morning Natasha and I had to leave, they refused to go to school because they wanted to spend that last hour with us. The tears they shed as we drove away made it that much harder to leave.

Susan and Anna with oranges from their orchard. (Yes, Ugandan oranges are green). These two ladies are so great. I never grew up with older sisters so it was wonderful to grow close to my many sisters in such a short time. They took such good care of us and did a great job teaching us new skills, as well as simply being with us.

Milking a cow! My cousin Gideon was such a good teacher! It was lots easier than I thought it was, but I’m pretty sure it would take me all day to fill a bucket. :)

Natasha and I helping our sister Jennifer make chapati! For those of you who don’t know, chapatis are fried dough that has been rolled into balls and flattened like tortillas. The Indians brought them over and now they are sold at practically every food cart on the road. I’m planning on mastering the recipe before I come to America because I know I’ll be craving them when I get back!

My silly nephew, Nelson (Nelly) in my shades. He seriously has the best laugh in the world. Miss him already.

Susan’s new fish friend :) Our sisters taught us how to de-scale tilapia one night for dinner.

On Thursday, it finally rained after an extended dry season. We were all thrilled, to say the least. I even taught them a song that involved dancing in the pouring rain! Definitely a highlight of my time in Africa so far!

Another nephew named Jonah (8 months). Such a cute, happy little baby!

On the last day, our sisters took us on a walk through town. We ended up on top of this hill with an amazing view of African countryside! In the picture are Katie (with Jonah), Florence, Natasha, me, and Jennifer.

Yeah, we killed that rooster. Used that very knife to cut the head off. And it was a stinkin’ good dinner!

The night before we left, the whole family threw a goodbye party for us! The kids sang us goodbye songs, we had a delicious chicken meal (thanks to our rooster-slaying skills), we all had sodas, and there was lots of dancing! Natasha and I taught them cheesy American dance moves like the fist pump and the shopping cart. :) Even our parents, who are in their late 60s, joined the dancing!

This family was so full of life and I couldn’t have asked for a better week. It was much harder than I thought to leave them. I’m planning on keeping in touch and sending pictures and cards when I get back home. They will forever leave an impact on my life and maybe one day God will bring me back to visit - who knows? 

Thanks again for all the prayers! Please pray for continued relationships with my host family here in Mukono. It has been harder to connect with them, but I’m trying not to compare families. I love them both dearly, and I know God has placed me with each one for different reasons.

This last week marked the half-way point for my time in Uganda. I can't believe it! In many ways I feel like I've been here forever, but in other ways time seems to be disappearing quickly. I'm just praying that I can take full advantage of this time God has given me. I'm learning so much and couldn't be more grateful for this time in my life. Miss you all dearly, though, and am looking forward to seeing you in a couple months. Thanks for your continued support and encouragement. Siiba Bulungi!

Love, Hannah :)