Are you planning to join us one week from today?
We'll bring the coffee, you bring the questions!
As a sneak preview preview, here are a few questions that one of our supporting churches asked us recently that we thought we might share with you.
1. What are your and your family’s birthdays?
- Derek- June 19
- Lauren- May 31
- Lucy- July 1, 2010
- Olive- June 26, 2012
- Baby Boy- due Sept 20, 2015
2. What are specific details about your daily work which would help us better understand you, your work, and the challenges you face?
On a daily basis, our day starts around 7am with a typical morning routine. At 9am, one of us (usually Derek) walks Lucy to preschool. She attends Rwenzori Mission School (RMS) with the other MK’s on our team. (We have 1-2 American teachers on our team who teach our MK’s in one of our vacant mission homes). Whoever is not walking Lucy to school gets houseworkers set up for the day. We employ several workers who assist a few days during the week with compound maintenance, washing clothes, and cooking/cleaning. Several days per week we also receive milk from our team cow, Oreo, and whoever is out dropping off Lucy will pick up the milk to bring home for pasteurizing.
Between the hours of 9-2, our day varies and no single day ever looks the same :) When Derek was making rounds on the Pediatric Ward, the schedule was a bit more predictable, and he would be at the health center from about 9-4 three days per week. When he moved into the public health sector and was managing Sickle Cell Club, the work hours were more fluid. He would be out meeting with officers of the club, networking with other clinicians in the area, purchasing medicines or packing pills to pass out at the meetings, and preparing a public health topic and Bible-storying topic to teach at the meetings. People in the community are often coming by the house with medical needs or looking for work, but we try to direct these “house calls” to return between 3-5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays (sometimes it works, often it doesnt!) Derek is also in charge of our mission compound maintenance, and thus is often meeting with people to contract work to be done (keeping the grass slashed, managing small and large projects, etc.)
Lauren tries to get out in the community to visit neighbors and friends several times each week. This is always interesting when you are accompanied by a 2-yr old (Olive) who is in constant need of snacks or potty breaks. In recent months she has been able to begin a discipleship relationship with a young mom in the community. This was very rewarding and something she hopes to do more of in the future, especially as she was able to use some of her Nursing background to help with the baby.
Once a week we both attend a Bundi Medical Board Meeting, in which we meet with other team members involved in medical ministry in the community, in order to collaborate, pray, and strategize about present and future medical ministry opportunities. Also weekly (Friday evenings), we meet as an entire team to discuss business agendas and have a fellowship Pizza Night.
I hope that answers your question- each week, and even each day, is very unpredictable even if you try to have some kind of structure! You never know when the power is going to be out, when the cell network is down, when a huge storm is going to blow through, when an urgent medical situation is going to show up at your door, or when you have to cancel an entire day’s agenda to go attend a funeral (frequent occurrence). And then there is admin work (emails, finances, reports, etc.) that consumes a huge amount of most missionaries’ time, which has to be squeezed in whenever you have wifi… :)
3. What are specific things that need prayer?
In Bundibugyo, it often feels like you are living from one crisis to the the next. There always seems to be a “fire” to put out (sometimes literally, haha!). Thus, we could definitely use prayer for patience, flexibility, and cultural understanding. As an American working in an African context, we are constantly battling against the desire for productivity and efficiency, which is not “the African way". What is valued in our community is sitting with people, visiting people in their homes, sharing resources/finances, and walking alongside people in their suffering. This does not come naturally as Americans, as we want to relieve suffering, “fix” problems when we see them, and come up with creative solutions to improve people’s lives or make things easier. We are in constant need of wisdom, spiritual discernment, and a reminder of the Gospel and sovereignty of God.
Because of these differences in cultural values, it is also a constant challenge to maintain margin and guard personal/family time. We need patience in our marriage, the ability to communicate well with one another about our different struggles, and to be able to listen and walk alongside our children during their various stages of cultural adjustment and living a life of constant change.
4. What parts of your job in missions is particularly enjoyable?
Living and working in a cross-cultural setting enables you to see different aspects of God’s character than what you experience when living in a culture that is familiar to you. We love the opportunity to meet all kinds of unique and different people from us, as well as experience things that we would never get to otherwise (like dodging baboons while driving down the road). We also love when people in our new culture take humor in the “crazy" things that we do (like when we try to speak Lubwisi or eat pizza or have a mud pit on Field Day). The ability to laugh at yourself, and make other people laugh (whether on purpose or accident) is a gift that always builds bridges and spans language and culture barriers that otherwise would seem insurmountable.
5. In what ways do you feel God’s grace most, and what ways most often?
Living in a part of the world that is wrought with instability and lacking in infrastructure, we are constantly aware of how quickly dangers could arise, whether with illness, accidents, or tribal conflict. Thus, we have definitely seen God’s grace in protecting us and keeping us safe. Our friends and neighbors in the community really look out for us, take concern when we are ill, and sacrifice of themselves in order to help us feel safe. This is a huge blessing when you are an outsider and not able to understand things (like the radio) that keep everyone else in the loop with what is going on.
Additionally, when you live in a place where poverty is prevalent and you come from “the land of plenty” (which you are automatically categorized in due to your nationality), you end up with many surface relationships that often feel one-sided. In other words, many people want to be friends with you because they think they will gain status or material gain, but few really want to know YOU and enter into a mutually-encouraging friendship with you (that may or may not benefit them). God has given us 2-3 of these friendships, and we have been able to see these people as agents of His grace to us when we really needed help acclimating to our new culture.
6. What are aspects of the culture of your country which you love?
In Bundibugyo, there is a tremendous sense of community, and people are extremely reliant and dependent on one another for survival and livelihood. People are so generous, both with their time and resources. The good of the greater family, tribe, or community is always put above the individual needs that people have. This is very contrary to our American culture where each man is responsible for himself and his individual family, and it is taboo to ask (or expect) someone else to share their resources with you. But this is one aspect of the Lubwisi culture that is beautiful to observe and something that we are constantly challenged in doing better ourselves.
Great questions, friends!
Thanks for asking!
I loved reading this post! Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to meeting your sweet family :)
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