My stay at CLD, a report on the murders of Mwera and an overview of Farming God's Way
This report can
be a little graphic.
Well,
I have a lot to report... my stay was not without incident or
excitement; riots in Kampala, a witchdoctor's killing spree in our
village, rice, posho and beans every day for lunch and supper, not to
mention the wealth of knowledge I obtained about Uganda, farming and
myself.
First Day and Evening Routine
To
begin with, when I got dropped off, it was raining heavily and Chris's
truck got stuck. The road company, having done a little grading, had
removed the tough level of compact soil and we had nothing but disturbed
clay and mud to slide on. It took us, about ten man hours to get him
out and then when we were almost out, Chris's starter broke off, and the
back left tire was shredded to the wires. Even earlier that day Chris
had tried to wire all the money in his pocket to his wife, so she could
pay some emergency bills... only the money got lost in cyberspace. Then
another truck got stuck, up past us a ways.
It
was at that moment the uncannyness got to me and being deeply immersed
in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I figured a witch has cast a spell on
us. I asked Chris if we could come together in prayer. Witches
and wizards, although reduced to fantasy and marketing in the US,
practice more widely than I would have believed, having been told before
coming out here. There are several per village. (We have one right by
Chris's house in Jinja. He has a small shack, a big black sign, and a
waiting bench, peopled by customers in line for what exactly I don’t
know. I try to say a prayer, combating the forces of darkness at work
there, when I pass.) We, a few of the
students, Chris, and I gathered together. Chris prayed with commands
for Satan’s angels to take their hands off his car, off his family, his
wife, his children, me, the teacher Chelsea, off the students of CLD,
the farm and me. In Jesus's name he finished. I was struck by the
commanding force of his prayer.
I remained to eat a late, late lunch of rice and beans and posho (flour put in boiling water until it becomes clotted evenly). When
I returned to the action it just so happened that the other gentlemen
stuck was a bush mechanic. He fixed the starter and we then unstuck
Chris's truck and changed the tire with a spare, that due to the
condition of the roads I had been wondering when we would use from the
time I arrived in Uganda. {note to the Wise's}. I said goodbye to Chris
as he was journeying to South Africa for an annual conference of Farming
God's Way leaders for two weeks. That is why I was staying at CLD near
Nansana, Kampala in a little village known as Mwera for this time.
I
had no objections to this; in fact, I was looking forward to it. He was
the last white person I saw for a week and a half. Yes, the prayer
worked. God got us out of this mess with His All Sufficiency; all we had
to do was ask. If you remember the story of Job, Satan had to go before
the Lord to ask to touch one of Gods people. I believe this is the case
now as well. This is my Father's world. As we were dislodging the other
truck from the clay bank, a man staggered down the road. He had red
bloodshot eyes; a sign of bad heath or many severe fevers says Chris. He
picked a fight with one of the CLD students and was wrestled to the
ground. He lay there a minute and shot up, trying to attack the man
again. "Is he mad?" I asked. "Yes, he is mad," said one
of the students. I jumped down out of the truck bed, where I had been
bouncing to give the back tires more force, to between the two men. The
mad man’s eyes never met mine; they were locked on the other gentleman. I
put my hand on his shoulder. I grabbed a human skeleton, laminated in
black skin. I wondered how often he was able to eat, or if anyone took
care of this mad man. All the while he was making animal like sounds -
grunts, growls, and murmurs, not imitations of any animal directly. I
assumed he was deaf from an early age, but emotional groans. He went
about his way and we got the African mechanic’s truck free and on its
way. Later I snuck the mad man a bowl of our famous rice, posho and
beans. He smiled and quickly downed the food like a beverage. He has
been back every other day since and the camp cook, of his own accord,
feeds him the leftovers. :)
The residents of CLD are: the
manager, Josh, 26, a loud powerful Ugandan man, who loves to praise
Jesus with the power of his lungs; the camp cook, Fredrick, 17, the most
jolly man I have ever met, usually seen in purple pants, one leg rolled
higher than the other. He had an ear to ear grin peeled right off the
Cheshire cat; Emma or Emanuel, 23, a smart, witty, humored young man
always quick with an African saying or a hilarious comment; Steve, 18,
the youngest of the lot, sporting sports tees and listening to music on
his radio, he clung to Emma a lot the two being best friends; Joseph,
25, from the northern areas of Uganda. A very happy man, I cannot say he
is the most educated as he said "It was been ten
years since I held a book." but most assuredly the most, how shall I
say it... the most praising person I have ever met, a truly Godly man;
Tony, 25, another man from up north speaking the same native language as
Joseph and from the same darker skinned tribe, a people pleaser, but
good nonetheless; and Godfrey, in his thirty’s, the only man with a wife
and the only other introvert besides myself, always quiet, the hardest
worker, but when he did speak it was always hilarious, dry humored; and a
few farm hands who kept to themselves, the majority with mental
problems.
We
were all filthy and removing the clothes I grabbed a basin, a bar of
soap, water and shampoo, went into a small cubical for some cold bucket
bathing. It gets the job done. It is quiet
refreshing. We ate more rice and beans, had a small devotional led by
each of the students one day of the week. Then the Ugandans sang African
songs of praise, and then prayed each one all talking at the same time.
When this happened, I jumped in my skin a little, being used to letting
prayer be a time of silence. Then we all went to bed, sleeping in one
room, six of us, three bunk beds draped in mosquito nets with one tiny
window. The nights could get a bit loud and, if the window were closed,
very hot, but I found putting
in my ear buds and listing to an audiobook did the trick. In this way I
completed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Heart of Darkness, A Journey to the Center of the Earth and the beginning of The Divine Comedy. And that was the evening routine.
An Overview of Farming God's Way
The
next day we woke around 7:30, prepared ourselves and I went to my Well
Watered Garden to place inputs in the grid of holes I had dug a few
weeks earlier. I had nine rows, three of maze with manure, three with
diamoniumphosphate (DAP) and three furrows of beans, one with manure,
two with DAP. Then I covered them, leaving 5cm for the maze seed which I
soaked, to awaken the seed from hibernation. Then I planted three maze
seeds in each hole in a line and the beans in the furrows four fingers
apart each. I covered the holes without packing. I slashed grass stalks
and laid them horizontal to the slope of the land to catch water running
downhill. This mulch layer we call God's Blanket, because He often has a
layer of decaying matter on His garden as
well. Have you ever felt dry ground? Chances are it was exposed to the
sun with nothing to cover it. Now place your hand under some leaves and
feel the dampness of the soil. It retains water by preventing
evaporation and the more seasons you do this, soon you will have the
ground become a sponge from the plant matter. It is a way of ensuring
good yields for the poor of Africa. The holes are measured carefully and
to high standards, so it may be repeated year after year in the same
spots, so you don’t waste your materials. Farming God's Way is taught
with three key pillars of success: technology, management, and biblical
principles. The loss of any one of these is like taking one leg from a
three legged stool. You need technology, such as tools and knowledge to
plant the garden; you need management to be to high standards and on
time with accurate measurements; and you need to remember the biblical
principles. They are:
1) Acknowledge God and God alone
2) Consider your ways
3) Understanding God’s All Sufficiency
4) What you sow you will reap
5) Bring the tithes and offerings to God
6) Stake your claim
These six each address a real world problem for the poor and offer God's solution.
The
curses of sub Saharan Africa are many. A man may go to church on Sunday
claiming to be a Christian and then go to the witch doctor on Wednesday
for advice. Or one may claim to be a Muslim to Muslims and Christian to
Christians, but God cannot be mocked. He sees the heart. “No one can
serve two masters,” said Jesus. There are more "saved people in parts of
Africa than people, suggesting people have gotten "saved" time and
again, more often to get something. Christianity is a mile wide and an
inch deep. God is a jealous God he doesn’t bless those who mix his name
with demons and false beliefs. Without discipleship, obedience and a
relationship with Christ you do not experience the fullness of life
promised to those who turn and follow him,
though you have salvation.
Consider your ways; Africa has three main curses: bloodshed
and violence, the curse of a short life and the curse on what the land
produces. African farmers will burn last season’s crops, instead of
putting that nutrition back into the soil, then till the soil and plant
in a scattering of seeds. The first year you may have alright crops, but
the second will be significantly less and the third is almost
worthless. Then the farmer will slash and burn somewhere else and start
the process all over again instead of taking care of the land, putting
in inputs and rotating crops. The way a person was taught may not be the
best way. Consider your ways. 1 Thessalonians
2:12 "Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory."
Africans
are dependent on governments, white men and NGO’s (nongovernment
organizations) for sources of money and food. Giving is not a bad thing,
but over time if we are not wise with giving, we may create dependency
syndrome. Africans view farming as a deadbeat’s job. They have it in
their mind that, if they can just move closer to the city, then they can
make it bigger in life. This, however, is the opposite from the truth.
Understanding God's all sufficiency breaks the dependency syndrome, in
realizing that what you have is enough. God has given these men land,
the ability to have cheap inputs of composted brush, and God’s blanket.
In the beginning Adam and Eve had nothing but the land to work. God has
given man everything he needs to live a
full and prosperous life. He also gave man authority over all His
creation to rule over it. As we rule the living creatures they should
not only be protected from destruction, they should flourish under our
faithful stewardship
What
you sow you will reap, 2 Thessalonians 3:10"If a man will not work then
neither should he eat." So many people here will not work. Some don’t
do a good job, if given the opportunity, partly out of a lack of
knowledge, but mostly out of a lack of caring. God’s solution is
contrary to the worlds. We need to give rather than receive. When we
give, His irrevocable laws come in to play once again and He will cause
even greater measure to be given back to us. Acts20:35 says "It is more
blessed to give than to receive."
Malachi
3:7-12 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My
statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you”
says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, “How shall we return?” “Will a
man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, “How have we robbed
You?” In tithes and offering. You are cursed with a curse, for you are
robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the
storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in
this, ”says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of
heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will
rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of
the ground; nor will your vine
in the field cast its grapes, “says the Lord of hosts. “All the nations
will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the
Lord of hosts.”
Spiritual
warfare is directly applicable to the agricultural domain, so stake
your claim, James 5 :14 “The effective prayers of a righteous man can
accomplish much.” Be humble, acknowledge God's ways are higher than our
ways. Seek his presence rather than his blessing, confess and repent,
ask and you will receive. Praying over the land, rebuking the darkness
of deeds done on the land, ask for His lordship over the land, ask Him
to heal the land and commit your farm to His kingdom. Take back the
ground under the enemy. God is for us not against
us and he desires for our farms to be blessed. We must be faithful with
the small things first, hence, starting me out on a small, well-watered
garden.
These
are a few examples of the spiritual side of Farming God’s Way that I am
picking up from a very large book, an overview. The spiritual aspect
was the most important to show you, as it has made a very, very
beneficial, lasting result in my life.
A Few Key Incidents
The Western Mind vs. the Ugandan Mind
We were asked to clear holes, place
imputs, and plant/cover a large scale garden. This took two weeks,
during which I, naturally, being a Westerner, tried to compete with
the other workers to show them what I'm made of. Having worked with
my brother Travis in his contracting company, I feel confident about
my work ethics. As normal as competition is in our culture this was
noted as offensive to the Ugandans, I found out a few days later. We,
through osmosis of our culture, when we do not look to God for his
view, we see our self worth in what we have and have accomplished. We
look down on those whom we consider less than us and envy those of
more “worth”. I found this in myself, but I combat it and believe
myself not to look down on or envy others, but it takes constant
management.
Ants!
One night around 3 or 4am I was
awakened by Joseph, speaking frantically in Luganda to all of us.
Believing there was an emergency, I asked Emma what he said. “He
said he found some white ants.” I almost catapulted out of that
bed. I was mad! Of course, I did not understand the full meaning of
white ants. I thought it was a ridiculous reason to get excited and
wake up six men at 3-4am, but I just endured the clamor and went back
to sleep. The next morning I found a tub, inches deep with winged
termites, squirming, humming and climbing over one another. Then I
realized what the fuss was all about. That night I was glad to eat
somthing other than rice and beans.
Four Muslim Children Come to the Lord
By far, the best part was when Joseph
brought a group of three 14 year old girls and a 15 year old boy to
the farm on two different occasions. Once the 15 year old boy was
dressed in girls' clothing out of ignorance. That first visit I
called him a girl on accident and was quickly put right. They came
and Joseph explained the gospel using John 3:16, and repeating "no
one comes to the Father except through me". I was present. I
asked them what about Jesus they liked most. “He loves children,"
the boy said. ”Indeed, he does,” said I. I felt my presence as a
white man to be distracting, so I went inside to watch from a window
as Joseph continued talking to them. Joseph had found the girls by
the town pump and had started to share the gospel to them. I do
believe he is still discipling these children. I was told their dad
was Muslim.
India Mark What?
I have taken a class on pumping water
with Equip Inc. And so upon arriving at the farm, I was excited to
see an India Mark II in its natural habitat, and not in a class room
setting. The men said that the pump was broken and my fingers itched
to turn nuts and bolts. I diagnosed the pump by lifting the handle a
few times and listening to the sounds and symptoms of the sick pump,
checking it against common problems I knew. It took several quick
pumps to lift the water and it did not hold charge well, losing the
water almost instantly to greater depths. Upon seeing that the
borehole was only 19 meters, I understood, or so I thought. The India
Mark II is a deep well pump and either doesn't pump or doesn't pump
well at shallow depths. The repair would be expensive, but for now
the men were content with it. A few days later I awoke to see some
men lifting the head off the pump. I helped with the heavy lifting
and once the MS rod was up I watched one of the men use a tree to
straighten massive bends. Then to my suprise they started destroying
the concrete foot pad and run off spillway. Then I had to attend to
class. When I returned they were pulling up the riser main. I jumped
in. It had two ropes leading to the bottom and was made of pvc
instead of steel. This reminded me of an afrodev, a pump designed to
work and be as cheap as possible, but not as rugged as the India Mark
II. When the cylinder was up, I saw the telltale foot valve. Not only
this, but the bore hole, instead of being only a few inches in
diameter was closer to three feet. I speculated that they just placed
this contraption over an existing hand dug well. It took about a week
to repair the well. In the meantime we carried water from the church
on the hill. I went without a bath for a while. When it was repaired
and I bathed, I poured away something the color of water and tomato
soup mixed. It gets dusty out here.
Sanitation
I found a job improving sanitation at
CLD. I waged war on the thick horde of flies in the
dining/living/only room. I used deet spray on myself and objects the
deet would not corode, smacking and snatching every fly I could. I
must have killed at least twenty or more by hand. They crawl on
everything - people, food, in your eyes and mouth like they do on
livestock. The men here really just endured their presences. I
suppose they figured it to be an unchangeable constant in Ugandan
life. I, however went on the warpath. Still, I left the farm and the
flies had not decreased in number in the least. The cook cooked on
the ground and I often found insect parts where something landed on
the food that has been sitting in the open since lunch and got
trapped. A man got sick here within the first week. I remembered
Chris had pruned a sprig of Artemishea, an extremely medicinal plant,
found to cure malaria and boost the body's immune system. I placed
the sprig in my tea one morning, and afterwards for extra insurance
ate the twig. I never got sick.
I built a Tippy tap (a bush-life
handwashing system) next to the dry toilets, in the fashion I copied
from Equip's training facility. It is simply a post and lintel
structure from the forest, God's all sufficiency. Then I placed a
jerry can in suspension with ropes at first, and then wire due to the
weight. A wire ran from the mouth of the jug to a stick with
traction, having one end of the stick lifted into the air by the
wire. This creates a peddle for pouring the water. Then, and finally,
I heated a nail and punctured the soap to create soap on a rope! Then
I grabbed a large lid and ran the soap's rope through the middle to
act like an umbrella for the soap during rain. All in all, it works
very well as a touchless hand washing station.
The Concert of a Lifetime
My first Saturday on the farm, Josh,
the manager, had a relationship with a London college as a large
supporter, and they were having a virginity rally. That's all I knew
going in to this. We traveled to Nansana by cramped public taxi. I
was able to buy a Twix bar at a shopping center and write a few
letters at an internet cafe before we entered the college campus.
Once there I noticed what a neat place this was. It was not a
Christian school; there were plenty of Muslims here. But I followed
the gang composed of Emma, Stephen, Josh and Joseph, all decked out
to the nines, into an open air auditorium. The students clapped for
the visitors, us, and we were ushered to the front seats. They opened
with a song sung by a very nervous lady. A loud Ugandan got on stage
and sung in Luganda, so that part was lost to me. The manager Josh
got up and got the crowd of about two hundred going, said a few words
for the preservation of virginity and the rest of this was in
Luganda. I checked my watch. We had arrived at 11:55. I remembered
this clearly. At 2:00 I said they must be ready to wind down now.
Since the whole thing was in Luganda, I was left only to clap until
my hands signed a cease fire with each other. Then we went for
lunch... a large bowl of rice and beans and posho and matooke (a
sugarless banana starch dish like mashed potatoes with seeds) and a
little meat of unknown origin was set before me with no fork. I
realized all the staff ate with their hands. I tried it, and tried
again, but I just couldn't get the technique down. So I picked a flat
bone out of a piece of meat and used that. We reconvened for more
singing and dancing and then they played a certain popular African
praise pop song. Little did I know I was sitting next to the singer
and song writer himself - Joseph! He had recorded a widely popular
song fused in English and his native tribal language of Luo (his and
Tony's tribe being the Langi.) Joseph got up on stage and sang.
“Lord, you,'re so powerful, so wonderful. I'm singing and dancing.
Repeat, repeat. Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe, He is
the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End"... at 6:00pm we
left before the rally was over. Wow! Six hours of singing, dancing,
sitting, standing and continuous clapping, and one man claimed to
speak in tongues, but being in Luganda it was all the same to me.
C.H.E (Community Health Evangelism)
Principles
I was given one evening devotional
during my time at CLD, so I posed a topic, inward disiplines, and
instead of me talking the entire time and standing at the head of the
room, I sat down in a corner,and asked one of the men to write on the
board for us. The four columns we had were meditation, prayer,
fasting and study. I asked the men what each meant to them, the
scribe writing a few points then trading with another individual. We
learned different methods and we each taught each other.
Journey to the Tree
The entire time I was present there,
between me and the horizon standing high above all the other trees
was this one thickus tree. It had branches high above the tops of the
forest, spreading wide like it had grown as high as God would allow
and was still thirsty to expand, developing a mushroom top out of the
vine-covered Atlas's arm-like branches. I took many pictures and have
compiled a video for you on my facebook, “The Journey to the Great
Tree.” I must admit once the farm disappeared behind me, with the
reeds scraping and clawing in retaliation of my every move through
pathless marshes, I felt a little afraid, but I desired to make this
journey a war against fear. I had taken the safety precautions of
telling someone where I was going and marking the trail, as well as
bringing a few medicinal supplies for first aid. On my way back, of
course, as is custom to all tomfoolery, I got lost, but I cut across
some fields and made it back to the farm covered in hitchhikers and a
little wet, but wearing the biggest smile.
In Christ,
David Greene
