Actually, I haven't seen anything about Halloween here. My guess is that it's not a real holiday here, but I'll keep you posted if I see costumed kids running around this evening. It's cold and rainy outside, so I would be surprised.
Rough weekend, with another stunning Badgers loss. My brother is also beating me in fantasy football, threatening my lead over the league. So much for fraternal loyalty. If I don't score a few more points, my grandmother may depose me and relegate me to second place.
I heard the apple pie sale was successful, even overcoming some challenges. So congratulations to everyone who participated in that effort. A lot of work going to a good cause.
I've realized again that children around the world are basically the same. The other day I was walking up the street and four small children were sitting on the railing. They gave me a sing-song "hel-lo" in unison and I simply couldn't help responding in kind. Then at church yesterday, a small girl (3) spent much of the service investigating me. I was sitting in the back, on some steps and she climbed up with me, chatted with me, etc. It was pretty adorable.
I think that no matter where I go, I would run into the same phenomenon. Kids are valued by cultures everywhere, and many of them haven't developed the inhibitions that are pressed into us as adults. It's good to remember those things that tie us together as a human race, and I think it's also good to remember that others aren't much different than us.
Have a good week,
-Ben
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Swazi News
We've had some internet trouble this week, and I'm not convinced that it was all storm-related. You've probably heard this from me a lot in the past month, but in reality our internet works well most of the time. Every so often the power cuts out for a while, or our internet connection limits us to certain sites, but it's more an exercise than a real problem. So from now on, you can assume that when I'm posting, I'm just making sure I get it up when I can.
I learned yesterday that Swaziland is part of the Commonwealth of Nations (not that I know much about the Commonwealth besides the fact that Queen Elizabeth II is its head). I'm sure that's not particularly interesting to those of us who were never British subjects, but it means our Prime Minister is in Australia at the Commonwealth meeting. Apparently, some of the unions in the Commonwealth aren't happy with Swaziland and are trying to have it suspended because of violations of democratic rights, the banning of political parties, and the judicial crisis. It seems like human rights and reform are a major focus of this meeting, but we'll see if any concrete action is taken.
Tinashe is back in the country, but he hasn't come in to work yet. He flew in yesterday afternoon from Washington State. If I'm right, noon here is the middle of the night on the Pacific, so I'm guessing he's trying to flip his sleep schedule. It'll be good to have him back, especially because he can give me some new things to work on.
One thing I did today was put together a write-up about Pastor Daniel, one of our team members. He's a really good guy and it might give you an idea of who I see every day.
Have a good weekend,
-Ben
P.S. For those of you who are participating in the apple pie excitement today, my thoughts are with you. I hope everything goes well and it's a community-building experience. Have fun!
I learned yesterday that Swaziland is part of the Commonwealth of Nations (not that I know much about the Commonwealth besides the fact that Queen Elizabeth II is its head). I'm sure that's not particularly interesting to those of us who were never British subjects, but it means our Prime Minister is in Australia at the Commonwealth meeting. Apparently, some of the unions in the Commonwealth aren't happy with Swaziland and are trying to have it suspended because of violations of democratic rights, the banning of political parties, and the judicial crisis. It seems like human rights and reform are a major focus of this meeting, but we'll see if any concrete action is taken.
Tinashe is back in the country, but he hasn't come in to work yet. He flew in yesterday afternoon from Washington State. If I'm right, noon here is the middle of the night on the Pacific, so I'm guessing he's trying to flip his sleep schedule. It'll be good to have him back, especially because he can give me some new things to work on.
One thing I did today was put together a write-up about Pastor Daniel, one of our team members. He's a really good guy and it might give you an idea of who I see every day.
Have a good weekend,
-Ben
P.S. For those of you who are participating in the apple pie excitement today, my thoughts are with you. I hope everything goes well and it's a community-building experience. Have fun!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
When it rains...
The heat finally broke last night and today we're getting another fair storm. I'm trying to get this out before the power goes out. I'm beginning to see the pattern of 3-4 days of hot summer weather followed by a storm or two. It's not a bad way to go, although I don't think I've ever experienced this many storms. The midwest doesn't attract this many, nor does DC. I guess that's part of travelling, experiencing new things. It's also a bit different here because the altitude means we can be inside the clouds.
God Bless,
-Ben
God Bless,
-Ben
Monday, October 24, 2011
Summer
Well, summer is here. And it's hot. It was 105 yesterday and is getting hot again today. It'll probably stay closer to 90 today, but we'll see. One difficulty is that there are no screens on windows here. The reason for this is two-fold. 1) Windows here are made from solid metal rather than wood, with bars on them. They're more secure, but don't have an easy way to put screens on them. 2) Screens are expensive. Bugs here aren't a big problem (fewer than in Milwaukee, but still present), so they aren't required. But I remain wary about leaving my windows open overnight, because there are bugs and lizards that I try to keep outside.
Church yesterday was a bit strange. I got there to find it crawling with white people. It turns out that about 25 missionaries were here from the United States. I wasn't quite sure what to do with all of them, but it seemed like they were getting on fine, so I didn't interfere too much. One of them preached. He's the chaplain at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum-security prison in the world. There, he ministers to people like Derrick Todd Lee, and has trained over 200 ministry workers among the inmates. His message was about how the love of God reaches from the highest mountain to the lowest hell, and it reaches us wherever we are, no matter what. I thought it was really quite good, and I love the way old Southern ministers preach.
I'm still working on applications for education after Africa, so I would appreciate continued prayers along those lines. I am also very concerned about my friend in Nairobi, especially after a bombing there last night. She's fine (and less concerned than I am), but I am concerned by nature and the situation there doesn't help.
Have a good week,
-Ben
Church yesterday was a bit strange. I got there to find it crawling with white people. It turns out that about 25 missionaries were here from the United States. I wasn't quite sure what to do with all of them, but it seemed like they were getting on fine, so I didn't interfere too much. One of them preached. He's the chaplain at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum-security prison in the world. There, he ministers to people like Derrick Todd Lee, and has trained over 200 ministry workers among the inmates. His message was about how the love of God reaches from the highest mountain to the lowest hell, and it reaches us wherever we are, no matter what. I thought it was really quite good, and I love the way old Southern ministers preach.
I'm still working on applications for education after Africa, so I would appreciate continued prayers along those lines. I am also very concerned about my friend in Nairobi, especially after a bombing there last night. She's fine (and less concerned than I am), but I am concerned by nature and the situation there doesn't help.
Have a good week,
-Ben
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Africa
[I had much of this typed up yesterday, but a big storm hit in the afternoon. It was mostly wind, but it took down our internet in the afternoon. At night it took out the power too. I now know what avocados sound like as they rain down on a tin roof. This morning I discovered that the building next to me lost a 90-100 ft. tree that fell down across the road and is blocking traffic. But I am safe and I walk to work, so all is well. This is something I am thankful for.]
So far in this blog, I've focused mainly on Swaziland and my life here. Due to some of the things going on across the continent, however, I thought today might be a good day to use a slightly broader scope.
-Kenya: As many of you know from following the news, Kenya has recently sent troops into Somalia in an attempt to stop the kidnapping of Westerners from inside Kenya (one of my friends is serving with Partners Worldwide in Kenya, so I fully support stopping the kidnappings). They are going after al-Shabab insurgents who have been fighting with the Somali government over the past decade. The Somali government is denying that Kenyan troops are in the country (Kenya claims they are), although al-Shabab is in control in that area of Somalia and the government likely has no way of knowing one way or the other. This is coming as the Somali government is slowly getting to its feet after a miserable decade where they sometimes only controlled main streets in the capital and African Union peacekeepers fought better-armed insurgent groups.
-Uganda: United States soldiers have begun to arrive as part of a 100-strong group that will be assisting the Uganda People's Defense Force with defeating the Lord's Resistance Army. This rebel army claims divine command and protection, but they use mainly child soldiers, and almost the entire leadership is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. They receive some support from Sudan and have been terrorizing Uganda for over twenty years. This is a group that has been unanimously condemned by the US Congress. At the same time, Uganda has arrested an opposition leader and 15 protesters and plans to charge them with treason in an effort to stop domestic protests. The current president Museveni has been in power 24 years and was just elected for another 5.
-Children in much of the developing world: Thrilling results have recently come out declaring a substantial reduction in malaria in the past few years. That said, over half a million people die each year from this parasite (that's equivalent to Denver), and over 200 million cases occur annually. Thanks to some very dedicated people, those numbers are declining, but ending the battle will take billions of dollars and decades of work.
A few words from Henri Nouwen, an author whom I've been reading recently:
Recognizing Christ in Suffering Communities
Communities as well as individuals suffer. All over the world there are large groups of people who are persecuted, mistreated, abused, and made victims of horrendous crimes. There are suffering families, suffering circles of friends, suffering religious communities, suffering ethnic groups, and suffering nations. In these suffering bodies of people we must be able to recognise the suffering Christ. They too are chosen, blessed, broken and given to the world.
So far in this blog, I've focused mainly on Swaziland and my life here. Due to some of the things going on across the continent, however, I thought today might be a good day to use a slightly broader scope.
-Kenya: As many of you know from following the news, Kenya has recently sent troops into Somalia in an attempt to stop the kidnapping of Westerners from inside Kenya (one of my friends is serving with Partners Worldwide in Kenya, so I fully support stopping the kidnappings). They are going after al-Shabab insurgents who have been fighting with the Somali government over the past decade. The Somali government is denying that Kenyan troops are in the country (Kenya claims they are), although al-Shabab is in control in that area of Somalia and the government likely has no way of knowing one way or the other. This is coming as the Somali government is slowly getting to its feet after a miserable decade where they sometimes only controlled main streets in the capital and African Union peacekeepers fought better-armed insurgent groups.
-Uganda: United States soldiers have begun to arrive as part of a 100-strong group that will be assisting the Uganda People's Defense Force with defeating the Lord's Resistance Army. This rebel army claims divine command and protection, but they use mainly child soldiers, and almost the entire leadership is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. They receive some support from Sudan and have been terrorizing Uganda for over twenty years. This is a group that has been unanimously condemned by the US Congress. At the same time, Uganda has arrested an opposition leader and 15 protesters and plans to charge them with treason in an effort to stop domestic protests. The current president Museveni has been in power 24 years and was just elected for another 5.
-Children in much of the developing world: Thrilling results have recently come out declaring a substantial reduction in malaria in the past few years. That said, over half a million people die each year from this parasite (that's equivalent to Denver), and over 200 million cases occur annually. Thanks to some very dedicated people, those numbers are declining, but ending the battle will take billions of dollars and decades of work.
A few words from Henri Nouwen, an author whom I've been reading recently:
Recognizing Christ in Suffering Communities
Communities as well as individuals suffer. All over the world there are large groups of people who are persecuted, mistreated, abused, and made victims of horrendous crimes. There are suffering families, suffering circles of friends, suffering religious communities, suffering ethnic groups, and suffering nations. In these suffering bodies of people we must be able to recognise the suffering Christ. They too are chosen, blessed, broken and given to the world.
As we call one another to respond to the cries of these people and work together for justice and peace, we are caring for Christ, who suffered and died for the salvation of our world.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Preaching in Swaziland
In January, Healing Place - Swaziland is getting a new pastor. He's been picked out by Healing Place - America. I'm still sorting out how I feel about Americans sending a pastor they picked out to lead a Swazi church. I'm really not sure.
Anyway, he was here yesterday and preached. He preached on worry. Now worry is something that I've heard a number of sermons on, and they've been good ones. This one was no different. Worry needs to give way to trust in God.
Worry is something that has been a significant factor in my life. For a long time, I've worried about a number of different things ranging from how was I going to pay for college to what was I going to do about a job after college. Moving to Swaziland taught me a lot about worry as I was repeatedly reminded how little control of things I had. I believe God also used the wonderful Christian community back home to remind me that he can handle anything I've got going on. The actions of that community have replaced much of my worry with thanksgiving.
Lately though, I have done a bit more worrying. Although it seems ridiculous with 10 months left to go, I have been worrying about what is going to happen after Africa. I've been working on applications for law school and graduate schools, and I'll probably be applying for jobs in the future. So putting together application essays, considering letters of recommendation, and researching opportunities has become another thing for me to worry about.
But while that sermon was probably an important thing for me to be reminded of, I can't say I would be comfortable giving that sermon here. Swaziland is in a major crisis. The country's lawyers have been on strike for three months, since the Judiciary Service Commission (led by the Chief Justice) fired a judge whom many believed to be the best judge in Swaziland and the next Chief Justice. Today the Kombi drivers are rioting again, which is a major problem for many people. Finally, the government is broke. This means many government services are going unfunded.
So "don't worry" means one thing to me, but I think it probably means something different to Swazi teachers who haven't been paid in months. And when your salary is $40-50 per month, you don't have much of a cushion to fall back on. I think the message is just as true here as in the United States: God is in control of the future. But that means one thing when you can see God providing for your needs, and another thing entirely when it seems like God is just standing by watching.
[Warning: Theological reflections to follow. Not necessarily doctrinally sound or kosher. They do not represent the views or opinions of anyone else, and are constantly being revised in my own mind.]
I have been blessed beyond measure, and I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to be so well taken care of. But I think it's going to take some time for me to learn how to worship God fully in a situation like this. In Isaiah, God says, "I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things." In the past, I have often viewed this passage as a comfort. I was comfortable with a God who is in control, even if I did not understand his actions or how they could be good. At least, I was more comfortable with that than with a God who was not in control.
I think that's probably still a good way to look at it. But I was always looking at it in the abstract. I was looking at the passage from the "bring prosperity" side. It's different when I see things that don't fit with my idea of God. It's difficult to believe that a good God is in control when I see children who are malnourished and will have few opportunities in life. It's difficult to believe that a good God is in control when you watch HIV+ orphans running around playing.
So that's an ongoing struggle for me. I believe that it's something that God will teach me, and hopefully I'll be wiser when I get home than I was when I came here.
-Ben
Anyway, he was here yesterday and preached. He preached on worry. Now worry is something that I've heard a number of sermons on, and they've been good ones. This one was no different. Worry needs to give way to trust in God.
Worry is something that has been a significant factor in my life. For a long time, I've worried about a number of different things ranging from how was I going to pay for college to what was I going to do about a job after college. Moving to Swaziland taught me a lot about worry as I was repeatedly reminded how little control of things I had. I believe God also used the wonderful Christian community back home to remind me that he can handle anything I've got going on. The actions of that community have replaced much of my worry with thanksgiving.
Lately though, I have done a bit more worrying. Although it seems ridiculous with 10 months left to go, I have been worrying about what is going to happen after Africa. I've been working on applications for law school and graduate schools, and I'll probably be applying for jobs in the future. So putting together application essays, considering letters of recommendation, and researching opportunities has become another thing for me to worry about.
But while that sermon was probably an important thing for me to be reminded of, I can't say I would be comfortable giving that sermon here. Swaziland is in a major crisis. The country's lawyers have been on strike for three months, since the Judiciary Service Commission (led by the Chief Justice) fired a judge whom many believed to be the best judge in Swaziland and the next Chief Justice. Today the Kombi drivers are rioting again, which is a major problem for many people. Finally, the government is broke. This means many government services are going unfunded.
So "don't worry" means one thing to me, but I think it probably means something different to Swazi teachers who haven't been paid in months. And when your salary is $40-50 per month, you don't have much of a cushion to fall back on. I think the message is just as true here as in the United States: God is in control of the future. But that means one thing when you can see God providing for your needs, and another thing entirely when it seems like God is just standing by watching.
[Warning: Theological reflections to follow. Not necessarily doctrinally sound or kosher. They do not represent the views or opinions of anyone else, and are constantly being revised in my own mind.]
I have been blessed beyond measure, and I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to be so well taken care of. But I think it's going to take some time for me to learn how to worship God fully in a situation like this. In Isaiah, God says, "I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things." In the past, I have often viewed this passage as a comfort. I was comfortable with a God who is in control, even if I did not understand his actions or how they could be good. At least, I was more comfortable with that than with a God who was not in control.
I think that's probably still a good way to look at it. But I was always looking at it in the abstract. I was looking at the passage from the "bring prosperity" side. It's different when I see things that don't fit with my idea of God. It's difficult to believe that a good God is in control when I see children who are malnourished and will have few opportunities in life. It's difficult to believe that a good God is in control when you watch HIV+ orphans running around playing.
So that's an ongoing struggle for me. I believe that it's something that God will teach me, and hopefully I'll be wiser when I get home than I was when I came here.
-Ben
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Things I've Seen...
It's been a beautiful week here. 80s and 90s, with hot sun that makes me sweat on my walks. Some of you may enjoy this weather, some may be more appreciative of the 50s and 60s of autumn. I would've put myself in the second group, but I think I am adjusting well to the climate here, and I really don't mind the heat.
But it is warm. So I was a bit taken aback when I saw a large Santa Claus in the grocery store. My first thought was that Christmas decorations are up appallingly early. But I guess with no Halloween or Thanksgiving, they probably keep them up for quite a while.
Then came my second thought, "Why is he dressed in his traditional red suit?" Santa Claus braving arctic temperatures is standard for those of us in the northern hemisphere, but here, Christmas comes in the middle of the summer. The second half of December, everything shuts down as people take Christmas vacations (the beach, national parks, etc.). So it seemed ridiculous to me that they would picture Santa Claus in his standard cold-weather outfit.
Apparently, someone else had the same idea. Because at the back of the store was another Santa figurine (again about 4 feet tall). Except this one was a bit more reasonable. His hat was off, his jacket was wide open, and all he had beneath his jacket were his suspenders. You can all be grateful that I did not have my camera. I can assure all of you that Mrs. Claus has gotten Santa to eat plenty this year.
Because interesting diets are often a part of cross-cultural experiences, I was prepared to try a lot of different foods. But it turns out most of the cuisine is pretty much what I'm used to. I have largely flipped my meals around though, because the structure of the day is a bit different. I eat a large breakfast and a smaller lunch and dinner because there's not so much activity after work.
Breakfast is usually two eggs and three pieces of bacon with a bowl of cereal to wash it down. Then at work I eat an apple or two and a few hard-boiled eggs, and supper is usually a salad and a bowl of oatmeal or a sandwich. It's not really exotic (although eggs are a pretty big staple here), but it keeps me going.
______________________________________________________________
I also want to take a minute here to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It's been a full two months here and everything is going really well. I'm comfortable with things, I'm happy, and it feels a lot like home. I'm positive that your prayers have contributed to my easy transition and my lack of serious problems. So thank you very much.
-Ben
But it is warm. So I was a bit taken aback when I saw a large Santa Claus in the grocery store. My first thought was that Christmas decorations are up appallingly early. But I guess with no Halloween or Thanksgiving, they probably keep them up for quite a while.
Then came my second thought, "Why is he dressed in his traditional red suit?" Santa Claus braving arctic temperatures is standard for those of us in the northern hemisphere, but here, Christmas comes in the middle of the summer. The second half of December, everything shuts down as people take Christmas vacations (the beach, national parks, etc.). So it seemed ridiculous to me that they would picture Santa Claus in his standard cold-weather outfit.
Apparently, someone else had the same idea. Because at the back of the store was another Santa figurine (again about 4 feet tall). Except this one was a bit more reasonable. His hat was off, his jacket was wide open, and all he had beneath his jacket were his suspenders. You can all be grateful that I did not have my camera. I can assure all of you that Mrs. Claus has gotten Santa to eat plenty this year.
Because interesting diets are often a part of cross-cultural experiences, I was prepared to try a lot of different foods. But it turns out most of the cuisine is pretty much what I'm used to. I have largely flipped my meals around though, because the structure of the day is a bit different. I eat a large breakfast and a smaller lunch and dinner because there's not so much activity after work.
Breakfast is usually two eggs and three pieces of bacon with a bowl of cereal to wash it down. Then at work I eat an apple or two and a few hard-boiled eggs, and supper is usually a salad and a bowl of oatmeal or a sandwich. It's not really exotic (although eggs are a pretty big staple here), but it keeps me going.
______________________________________________________________
I also want to take a minute here to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It's been a full two months here and everything is going really well. I'm comfortable with things, I'm happy, and it feels a lot like home. I'm positive that your prayers have contributed to my easy transition and my lack of serious problems. So thank you very much.
-Ben
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Switching Places
So Tinashe is in Grand Rapids this week for a Partners Worldwide conference. It struck me as a little bit funny that he's in GR, where I lived for 3 years, and I'm in Swaziland, where he's lived for a couple years.
While he's in Grand Rapids, Bonisile and I are handling things around the office (mainly Bonisile). He put most things in order, so it's not a problem. We are having one problem that no one could have avoided. The processing plant has been holding off on paying us, which is a bit of a situation. Because they're about a month late, we're out of money for new inputs. So the input supplier, who was supposed to place (we're on a schedule) hasn't placed because they haven't been paid. And we can't pay them because we don't have the money we're supposed to have gotten. We now have a postdated check from the processing plant which we can deposit on Saturday and will likely be cleared late next week. It's a solution, but not a great one for anyone.
If anyone knows a company looking to make a tax-deductible contribution, let me know. Otherwise, we'll just try to keep as many balls in the air as we can.
-Ben
P.S. Congratulations to the Detroit Lions, who have had their first 5-0 season in 50 years. For my brother's sake, I hope they remain undefeated until Thanksgiving, but I suspect he feels about them the way I feel about the Brewers: thrilled that they've done this well, but unwilling to get my hopes up. At least Sam has the Lions to console him as he sees his brother beating him in fantasy football.
While he's in Grand Rapids, Bonisile and I are handling things around the office (mainly Bonisile). He put most things in order, so it's not a problem. We are having one problem that no one could have avoided. The processing plant has been holding off on paying us, which is a bit of a situation. Because they're about a month late, we're out of money for new inputs. So the input supplier, who was supposed to place (we're on a schedule) hasn't placed because they haven't been paid. And we can't pay them because we don't have the money we're supposed to have gotten. We now have a postdated check from the processing plant which we can deposit on Saturday and will likely be cleared late next week. It's a solution, but not a great one for anyone.
If anyone knows a company looking to make a tax-deductible contribution, let me know. Otherwise, we'll just try to keep as many balls in the air as we can.
-Ben
P.S. Congratulations to the Detroit Lions, who have had their first 5-0 season in 50 years. For my brother's sake, I hope they remain undefeated until Thanksgiving, but I suspect he feels about them the way I feel about the Brewers: thrilled that they've done this well, but unwilling to get my hopes up. At least Sam has the Lions to console him as he sees his brother beating him in fantasy football.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Quickly, Quickly
Hello!
First, I need to let you know that SPTC (Swaziland Post and Telecommunications) is having some major issues. I mentioned last week that only Google, Facebook and Skype were working. I learned at church that this was an SPTC-wide problem. However, this week, Google and Facebook have been down as well. So most of yesterday was internetless and the newspapers promise that today will be more of the same. So my updates and communication could be erratic until this gets sorted out.
If I type quickly though, I'm hoping I can get some things through. So here is my Saturday in pictures.
First, I need to let you know that SPTC (Swaziland Post and Telecommunications) is having some major issues. I mentioned last week that only Google, Facebook and Skype were working. I learned at church that this was an SPTC-wide problem. However, this week, Google and Facebook have been down as well. So most of yesterday was internetless and the newspapers promise that today will be more of the same. So my updates and communication could be erratic until this gets sorted out.
If I type quickly though, I'm hoping I can get some things through. So here is my Saturday in pictures.
Saturday morning was laundry day. It was nice outside, and I had a few minutes free. I do laundry a bit differently here, but I still separate my whites from my colors.
Ok, a lot differently. It actually works pretty well. Stomping on the laundry forces the water in and out of it, and then I turn it over and stomp it some more. It comes out cleaner than it went in, and it smells nice, so that's good. I do a cycle with soap, then two rinse cycles. Then I do that over again with my colors.
It was a beautiful day outside, so I was able to put things on the clothesline. My whites are in the sun, my colors are on the porch. They were both dry by the time I got home (late). Because I don't have fabric softener (and maybe other reasons too, I don't know), everything comes off the clothesline a little bit stiff. That goes away when I put it on.
Here's the left side of the stage at church. I was there early because Paul and I were adjusting lights (hence the ladder) and fixing cables. We got everything set up and things went smoothly.
This was my domain for the evening. Between the sound board and the light board, I had a lot of fun.
This is a view of the sanctuary from on top of the video room (the sound board is located up here as well). The praise band is lounging around now, but they were on their feet the rest of the night, so it balanced out. We started with 4 rows of chairs so that people would sit toward the front. By the end of the night, however, we had about 300 people in here. There was a lot of energy and we had a good time praising God.
-Ben
Friday, October 7, 2011
Well, no excuses
Although the power went out earlier this afternoon, it's on for now, so I'm going to post!
I have to admit a lack of intelligence on my part this past week. I'm hoping it'll help you get a little better sense of things here too.
On Wednesday, I went to the grocery store and purchased a number of groceries. Grocery stores are pretty similar to the ones in the US, maybe a bit more crowded. Also, while in Wisconsin I could shop at Pick n' Save, here the best grocery store is Pick n' Pay. Subtle, but it got me.
So I got to the checkout and I did something dumb. I'm actually pretty sure that when I was working at RadioShack, I snickered at someone for. I didn't take out my wallet. The checker rang up all my items and then told me the total and I went, "Oh! Yeah." Yes, I was caught off-guard by the fact that she was expecting me to pay for my groceries.
Anyway, I was so flustered, I forgot to cut my bread. I don't know how common this is around the world, but here we buy loaves of bread whole and we can cut them ourselves at a strange machine outside the store. It's good fresh bread, but I'm not sure if it lasts as long as bread with some sort of preservative in it. I'm not much of a bread connoisseur. So now I have a loaf at home that I have to saw through to get a piece of bread for a sandwich. It's not much of a problem, just funny.
Last night and most of the day tomorrow I'll be spending at church. I'm helping with worship night there tomorrow evening. I'm helping another guy do lights and sound. It brings me back to church worship team and theater. He's a real good guy though, so it's been fun working with him. He's a 22-year-old Zambian and does the tech support for Children's Cup (the care organization linked to the church). So he volunteers his time to help out with tech stuff for the church too. His family is very involved in the church, so he actually had 4 siblings at practice.
Well, I should get home. I'll let you know how everything went on Monday.
-Ben
I have to admit a lack of intelligence on my part this past week. I'm hoping it'll help you get a little better sense of things here too.
On Wednesday, I went to the grocery store and purchased a number of groceries. Grocery stores are pretty similar to the ones in the US, maybe a bit more crowded. Also, while in Wisconsin I could shop at Pick n' Save, here the best grocery store is Pick n' Pay. Subtle, but it got me.
So I got to the checkout and I did something dumb. I'm actually pretty sure that when I was working at RadioShack, I snickered at someone for. I didn't take out my wallet. The checker rang up all my items and then told me the total and I went, "Oh! Yeah." Yes, I was caught off-guard by the fact that she was expecting me to pay for my groceries.
Anyway, I was so flustered, I forgot to cut my bread. I don't know how common this is around the world, but here we buy loaves of bread whole and we can cut them ourselves at a strange machine outside the store. It's good fresh bread, but I'm not sure if it lasts as long as bread with some sort of preservative in it. I'm not much of a bread connoisseur. So now I have a loaf at home that I have to saw through to get a piece of bread for a sandwich. It's not much of a problem, just funny.
Last night and most of the day tomorrow I'll be spending at church. I'm helping with worship night there tomorrow evening. I'm helping another guy do lights and sound. It brings me back to church worship team and theater. He's a real good guy though, so it's been fun working with him. He's a 22-year-old Zambian and does the tech support for Children's Cup (the care organization linked to the church). So he volunteers his time to help out with tech stuff for the church too. His family is very involved in the church, so he actually had 4 siblings at practice.
Well, I should get home. I'll let you know how everything went on Monday.
-Ben
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Some things don't change, some do
Greetings,
This post is about another couple things that are similar and another few that are different in Swaziland. It shouldn't be long, just a couple thoughts in my head (that's more a commitment for me to stay on track than information for you).
Anyway, a Jehovah's Witness just visited the office while Tinashe was in the other room and Bonisille had already left. Apparently they are just as polite as they are in the US. I also didn't want to offend him (still treading carefully in Swazi culture), so I was equally polite and we had an interesting discussion about fish and Alaska. He said he'll come back some Wednesday and we can talk more, but we'll see. Last time Jehovah's Witnesses told me that, I never saw them again (although I had spent an hour troubling them over Paul's letters).
The internet is also on the fritz. Tinashe and I can only connect to certain websites (luckily google is among them and my blog is on google. This seems to point to a problem with the router (already tried different browsers), but Bonisille has no problem. My bet is that it's tied to an outage we had earlier this week when Bonisille talked to the company on the phone and, I'm guessing, changed a setting somewhere. But I haven't figured it out yet, so for now my internet access is limited. It makes me feel a bit like a bad computer technician.
As for different things, they're cows. Now I'm from Wisconsin, so cows are not in any way new for me. I'm used to them and their smell (reminds me of driving through Wisconsin). But cows aren't really used the same way here. They're not milked or butchered or bred. Basically, they wander around all day and come home at night (this is what I've been told; I haven't witnessed cows going home at night, and it seems a bit like snipe hunting). They're a symbol of wealth, and it seems they're highly valued. But it seems like with the amount of cows they have, the cows would contribute to a better life. But it doesn't seem like that's what happens.
I'm not sure how simple that is to change, or if it's even appropriate to try to change it (how sacrosanct are cultural practices?). It just seems like there's a fair amount of wealth present while the people have unmet needs (education and adequate nutrition at least). So that's something I'm trying to figure out at this point, but I'm not sure that I've got enough information or that there's a good answer.
Yesterday three members of the AfricaWorks team from Mozambique came and we showed them around. It was good to talk to them and show off our stuff. Their operation is probably a hundred times the size of ours, but we have some cool stuff.
-Ben
This post is about another couple things that are similar and another few that are different in Swaziland. It shouldn't be long, just a couple thoughts in my head (that's more a commitment for me to stay on track than information for you).
Anyway, a Jehovah's Witness just visited the office while Tinashe was in the other room and Bonisille had already left. Apparently they are just as polite as they are in the US. I also didn't want to offend him (still treading carefully in Swazi culture), so I was equally polite and we had an interesting discussion about fish and Alaska. He said he'll come back some Wednesday and we can talk more, but we'll see. Last time Jehovah's Witnesses told me that, I never saw them again (although I had spent an hour troubling them over Paul's letters).
The internet is also on the fritz. Tinashe and I can only connect to certain websites (luckily google is among them and my blog is on google. This seems to point to a problem with the router (already tried different browsers), but Bonisille has no problem. My bet is that it's tied to an outage we had earlier this week when Bonisille talked to the company on the phone and, I'm guessing, changed a setting somewhere. But I haven't figured it out yet, so for now my internet access is limited. It makes me feel a bit like a bad computer technician.
As for different things, they're cows. Now I'm from Wisconsin, so cows are not in any way new for me. I'm used to them and their smell (reminds me of driving through Wisconsin). But cows aren't really used the same way here. They're not milked or butchered or bred. Basically, they wander around all day and come home at night (this is what I've been told; I haven't witnessed cows going home at night, and it seems a bit like snipe hunting). They're a symbol of wealth, and it seems they're highly valued. But it seems like with the amount of cows they have, the cows would contribute to a better life. But it doesn't seem like that's what happens.
I'm not sure how simple that is to change, or if it's even appropriate to try to change it (how sacrosanct are cultural practices?). It just seems like there's a fair amount of wealth present while the people have unmet needs (education and adequate nutrition at least). So that's something I'm trying to figure out at this point, but I'm not sure that I've got enough information or that there's a good answer.
Yesterday three members of the AfricaWorks team from Mozambique came and we showed them around. It was good to talk to them and show off our stuff. Their operation is probably a hundred times the size of ours, but we have some cool stuff.
-Ben
Monday, October 3, 2011
Rain and Rain
So one thing I've learned in the past week or so is that the rainy season really means rain. There have been a number of storms in the past few days and a few power outages as a result. Now as it's starting to storm again, I figure I better get in my post before the power goes out (as it did again on Friday). Luckily, I was able to stay inside during most of the rain, although I did get soaked one evening (even with my umbrella).
Things are still going well here. Saturday I was roped into a young adults event at church. It was fun and probably good to get to know some people better. Sunday was the kid's service, so there were dozens and dozens of children on the stage singing and dancing and sharing verses. It was good. After church I went out to lunch with Jerry, the man who runs the church's Global Leadership Academy, where young adults enter a year-long program to learn about service and missions. It sounded like the overwhelming emphasis is on learning how to convert others, but generally a good thing. There are two Americans there right now, and I've talked with them a bit. They agreed with my conclusion that KFC is the only American chain here, but one claimed there is a Nandos restaurant (chicken, chicken, and more chicken) in DC. I don't remember anything of the sort, but DC is a big place.
Anyway, I promised some analysis of the pictures I posted. The day was really a good one. First, we visited the chickens again and I was able to see that they'd grown a bit. Tinashe and Pastor Daniel talked with the farmers about things like regulating temperature (some of the houses were a bit warmer than they should have been), helping hurt chicks, and other chicken-raising things. Some farmers were doing better than others. One didn't seem to be putting enough effort into some little things (chickens require a lot of attention) like heat and bedding. Tinashe explained to her that if she wants to make E3,000 (a lot of money for someone in her position), she had to work like she wanted to make it. Afterwards, he and I talked a bit about her circumstances (tough ones for sure), and where the balance was in excusing it. Because the market doesn't care about a person's past, only about the number and weight of chickens. So that's something I'm not sure there's a good answer for.
When we went to the second village, we were in for a real treat. As you saw, their houses were very orderly and well-made. The group was highly motivated and doing things really well. During training, some wild chickens had been wandering near the chicken house and we were fairly certain they had brought disease to the chickens we were trying to raise. So they requested fencing materials. We delivered them Tuesday afternoon and by Thursday morning, they had all the wooden fenceposts up, 3/4 of the guiding wires and 1/2 of the chain link fence. I was really impressed by that. They were really excited about getting their first batch of chicks (arriving today). We initially only had budgeted 1,000 for them (1 farmer) because we were also supplying 1,000 for the other village. But on seeing their preparations and enthusiasm, we stretched our budget a bit and got them an extra 1,000.
So there's a lot of good stuff going on here, and, of course, some challenges. So we keep working!
-Ben
P.S. Wisconsin is looking pretty good, I wish I could get to a game or two. Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska. And of course Green Bay continues to impress, not only with their victories, but also with their commitment to continue improving. Also, my brother caught a pass in overtime.
P.P.S. Looks like I spent too long typing. The internet is now out. I'll post this as soon as it comes back.
Things are still going well here. Saturday I was roped into a young adults event at church. It was fun and probably good to get to know some people better. Sunday was the kid's service, so there were dozens and dozens of children on the stage singing and dancing and sharing verses. It was good. After church I went out to lunch with Jerry, the man who runs the church's Global Leadership Academy, where young adults enter a year-long program to learn about service and missions. It sounded like the overwhelming emphasis is on learning how to convert others, but generally a good thing. There are two Americans there right now, and I've talked with them a bit. They agreed with my conclusion that KFC is the only American chain here, but one claimed there is a Nandos restaurant (chicken, chicken, and more chicken) in DC. I don't remember anything of the sort, but DC is a big place.
Anyway, I promised some analysis of the pictures I posted. The day was really a good one. First, we visited the chickens again and I was able to see that they'd grown a bit. Tinashe and Pastor Daniel talked with the farmers about things like regulating temperature (some of the houses were a bit warmer than they should have been), helping hurt chicks, and other chicken-raising things. Some farmers were doing better than others. One didn't seem to be putting enough effort into some little things (chickens require a lot of attention) like heat and bedding. Tinashe explained to her that if she wants to make E3,000 (a lot of money for someone in her position), she had to work like she wanted to make it. Afterwards, he and I talked a bit about her circumstances (tough ones for sure), and where the balance was in excusing it. Because the market doesn't care about a person's past, only about the number and weight of chickens. So that's something I'm not sure there's a good answer for.
When we went to the second village, we were in for a real treat. As you saw, their houses were very orderly and well-made. The group was highly motivated and doing things really well. During training, some wild chickens had been wandering near the chicken house and we were fairly certain they had brought disease to the chickens we were trying to raise. So they requested fencing materials. We delivered them Tuesday afternoon and by Thursday morning, they had all the wooden fenceposts up, 3/4 of the guiding wires and 1/2 of the chain link fence. I was really impressed by that. They were really excited about getting their first batch of chicks (arriving today). We initially only had budgeted 1,000 for them (1 farmer) because we were also supplying 1,000 for the other village. But on seeing their preparations and enthusiasm, we stretched our budget a bit and got them an extra 1,000.
So there's a lot of good stuff going on here, and, of course, some challenges. So we keep working!
-Ben
P.S. Wisconsin is looking pretty good, I wish I could get to a game or two. Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska. And of course Green Bay continues to impress, not only with their victories, but also with their commitment to continue improving. Also, my brother caught a pass in overtime.
P.P.S. Looks like I spent too long typing. The internet is now out. I'll post this as soon as it comes back.
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