African Bush Harp

I bought an African Bush Harp. Josh Weed says that's what it is called because he searched it on google images. I think mine fluctuates around the key of G. It can put out a beautiful major 7 chord, and if you know what I like, you know I like that. Silver, my friend from UCU, took me to the shops and talked the guy down to 15000 shillings which is roughly US $7.50 - I still want to go back so I can buy a drum from the very nice lady who has a small child.

So Kevina says if I whistle at night, I am calling the ancestors to come visit me. This is a bad visit. The rest of the family members also confirmed this tradition. However, none of my ancestors visited me last night, so I know that this aspect of ATR is not entirely accurate.

I've been reading more of the Qur'an again, so I am excited to give a presentation next week on East African missionary relations with Muslims. I don't know what kind of info I will find.

Time for Wednesday - four classes. Six hours of class gets quite old.

Kevina's Birthday

So I came home early yesterday from campus and blew up some balloons. Dean and I made Smores. Instead of water for dinner we drank juice. Then we had a tiny cake about the size of a moderately large muffin and we split it into six pieces to share. Papa texted to say happy birthday to Kevin. I've never experienced a simpler birthday. Well, then again there was that time last year where I spent my entire birthday doing homework in my dorm room. I still have leftover balloons so maybe sometime this week we can play water-balloon volleyball.

Today I will walk to Mukono after lunch to try to find some spots to play street music. Maybe I'll find that drum-maker also.

God Never Intended Two Sabbaths in a Week

The weekend was long. I starts out so good, just really chill. But when you read two weeks ahead on your assignments and finish books that you are reading on your own time, you get so sick of reading that you're just looking for a way to pass the time. So I decided to ask Toto if I could visit James at the Amazing Grace Hostel since he invited me two weeks ago and I still haven't been able to make it. She said it was dangerous to go anywhere without Sam or Joshua, which was kind of frustrating on account that Dean and I had been idle nearly the whole weekend. Plus I'm not really used to adults telling me I can't go somewhere, and even when they suggest against it, I often go anyway. I know she's just looking out for me, but I'm an adult too.

Anyway, today is Kevin's birthday which is great. Josh Weed from a homestay close to ours bought me the ingredients necessary for making Smores while he was in Kampala. Then Joshua's birthday is Friday and Sam's is Sunday. We'll order a cake on the weekend. We will also be gone this Saturday and Sunday morning in Jinja rafting the Nile and bungee jumping. It will be a more exciting weekend than this past one.

Today is Projected to be the Greatest Day

So in my only class today (which started at 7:30 this morning), we talked about how Jesus became a Jew as Paul became a Gentile, and in this world, we must follow Christ into culture and allow Him to become a Muslim, an Animist, a Hindu. Good stuff.

Anyway, we are going to celebrate Jill's birthday soon in which we will eat enchiladas and brownies and all those foods which we miss.

After that we are going to the football pitch to play a game of Ultimate Frisbee.

After that we are going to the Vice Chancellor's house for cookies.

After that I am going home to read more Dietrich Bonhoeffer while others go to the prayer/worship service that is going to last all night until 6 AM.

Soon I must order a cake for the birthdays of three of my siblings. Their birthdays fall on Monday, Friday, and next Sunday. All within one week of each other. It's gonna be a fun week and excuse for me to buy food. Speaking of which, the kids in the IMME quarters today have stopped sharing food because it is expensive, especially Nutella, which I have told Joy is illegal to eat in front of people without offering to the general public. So Brian and I pulled the "sharing depends on whether or not you want to be a disciple of Christ or not" card, but it has been unsuccessful. So out of spite Brian and I will go and buy many western foods and just give them away. We're even going to bring in a loud chorus of trumpets to announce that we are doing such things (in the name of Jesus).

Computer Possessions

Yesterday I was reading Luke and noticing how Jesus speaks quite heavily about attachments/possessions and how disciples cannot be bound to such things. Then I was reading Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger where Ron Sider explains the way that westerners rationalize their affluence and how absurd it is. Anyway, so of course I've always admitted that my Macbook is the one material possession I have that would be near impossible to rid myself of. Well, an IMME student accidently dropped a padlock on my keyboard, chipping one key and destroying the left arrow key. Well, my first reaction was trying not to be upset and just passing it off as a thing of this world, which is really hard to do when even Christians around you are saying, "But Phil, it's YOUR computer." They don't understand that this is a huge struggle for me. The philosophy of non-attachment (part of the reason I enjoy Buddhist teachings) is hand-in-hand with following Christ. So of course, Apple, the greedy capitalists they are, say it's %50-70 to replace a keyboard, and since the damage is not throughout the keyboard, I'm hoping to find a way around this. It really puts me in an awkward position. I don't believe in forcing people to pay for things. It's just really inconvenient that I was heavily convicted of my possessions immediately beforehand. I'm all like, "Hey God, shut up for once."

EDIT: Okay, so I guess I should also mention something good about my day. I came home early from campus, maybe like 5:30, and nobody was home. I decided since I couldn't find the laundry detergent that I'd take 5000 shillings and see if I could get something new at the supermarket. When I went out of the store, I saw Chelsey from our USP program walking with a Ugandan. My natural instinct when UCU males are talking one-on-one with USP girls is to walk over and make sure things aren't shady. Well this UCU student, Laban, invited both of us to his hostel. He fed us bananas and cleaned his room and gave us hot chocolate to offer hospitality. The earliest we were able to leave was about 6:55 and we're supposed to be back at our homestays at 7. I hadn't taken my phone with me because I was only expecting to be a few minutes at the supermarket and still get back home before everyone. However, since I got sidetracked by a stranger (speaking of strangers, "stranger" "guest" and "visitor" are all the same word in Luganda, which is awesome), Toto, Kevina, and Dean were on the front porch waiting for me when I got back a few minutes after 7. I worried them a little bit but I think Toto understood when I told her I had forgotten to "move with the phone."

Yes, I Know This is My Third Post Today

I just found it necessary to document an event that just occurred, along with the two previous posts:

I just signed out the USP guitar for the first time to go to Zion Hill - the pretty part of campus - and refresh myself with playing music. It looked like another random hour long rainstorm was approaching, so I headed for cover to play guitar under the porch of an old stone building. As the rain picked up and drenched the palm trees, lyrics of old songs gained new meanings. A young girl sat down fifteen yards from me. As the rain grew heavier, she would curl up more. Eventually, the storm moved both of us into the semi-outdoor/semi-indoor lobby between offices. I continued to play for about an hour, her watching me, at times too embarrassed to make eye contact. The rain complimented my guitar, and at the end of some songs, there would be a burst of thunder. I finally fully experienced this African concept of presence. What it means to simply be with people.

The Problems of the Church Cross National Borders

New Testament Lecturer: "Uganda claims to be over 80% Christian. But tell me this - is there division in the church?"

Hundreds of Ugandan Students: "YES!"

"Is there tribalism in the church?"
"YES!"
"Is there hatred in the church?"
"YES!"
"Then why do we suppose we can challenge the government?!"

Hand Drums

Sam said that he would walk me to the local drum-maker on Saturday and hopefully the guy is nice enough to teach me how to make drums for my community engagement this semester.

This morning I woke up at 4:40 and couldn't get back to sleep. Oh well. Only two classes today I guess.

I can't wait to get back to the states for the sake of playing music again. Looks like the January tour is coming together pretty nicely so far. Jeremy sent me all the practice recordings for new songs and I like them very much. I'm pumped for that.