December 2006
Masindi-Kitara Diocese
PO Box 515, Masindi
Christmas season, 2006
ONE WORD OF TRUTH CAN TRANSFORM THE WHOLE WORLD
Alexander Sholzenitzyn
When Jesus came to earth as the messiah, people were too busy to give him the time of
day. The tourists had taken all the hotel rooms in Bethlehem, and the Tourism Board was
very happy getting ready for all the parties to be given by the Big Men. The thieves were
trying to steal something of value – sewing machines from the new Mothers’ Union tailoring
school, laptops from the offices of the Chief Pharisee, cell phones from people shopping in
the market, bicycles left unattended – so that they could get money to buy food for the big
family meal and to pay school fees. The local merchants had hiked all the prices up, due to
“transport costs, fuel increases, taxes, what, what”, and they were making a killing by selling
everything at ridiculous prices to the Sudanese, now that “the peace” had arrived in the
North. There was hardly anything left for the locals. People were busily hurrying
everywhere, and nowhere, but they were all busy – very busy! “Please: you call me after
the New Year. I am too busy now!”
And so Advent, the season of quiet preparation, evaporated. And then came the Messiah,
and “his own people received Him not.” They didn’t know He was in town. They were
preoccupied with other weighty matters.
Here in Masindi, we are also suffering from the same disease. The Messiah is here, but
we are anxious about many things. Life is hard in Africa, at least for most people, but I still
haven’t met anyone who was born in a cattle manger. Many children here are born in the
village, or even in the fields or banana plantations while mama is working. But that is still
better than where the Messiah was born.
At least the Messiah had a loving father and mother. He wasn’t abandoned by the side of
the road outside of Bethlehem, and ended up in the Tome Orphanage to be raised by
kindly Sisters. He wasn’t naked, either, but properly attired by his mother in a nice kitenge
and placed in regal comfort. There was wonderful music, just like that coming right now
from the Dean’s house, as his little ebony singers rehearse all the nice muzungu Christmas
carols from faraway places like Germany, U.K., the U.S., and Holland. They are singing
“the snow lay on the ground…” right now. I wonder what the kids think of that, having never
seen snow? How do you dream of a white Christmas if you have never seen white? Oh,
well. It’s a shame that they aren’t singing some of their wonderful traditional songs, since
they sound like the angels when they sing from the heart.
****************
Mama Philista has closed the tailoring school for the holidays, and the girls have gone
home to be with their families. It has been a very successful start, although many
challenges lie ahead. We are trying to reach girls that have dropped out of high school for
various reasons – lack of funds, pregnancy, family duties. Much of the challenge is to
encourage and motivate them to believe in themselves. Indeed, this is such a huge part of
ministry that I always wonder why seminaries don’t spend more time on the subject!
The crops in our farm fields are getting ready to be harvested in January, which is late. It
has been a banner year for rain – an el nino year, according to the locals. The fields are
waterlogged in some places, and the dirt roads have been all but destroyed, making travel
difficult and dangerous. When I am struggling mightily with driving here, and look at the
women and children with loads of firewood on their backs and jerrycans of water on their
heads, I think of what Mary and Joseph must have gone through to travel the 110 kilometers
from Nazareth to Galilee on foot. Were the roads a disaster like these roads? Did they get
splashed by vehicles passing by? Did they have to make diversions because the bridges
were washed out? Were they given good directions when they stopped to ask for help?
Were there thieves at night? We know that Joseph was not a rich man, because he could
only offer the ‘poor man’s offering’ of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons at the
temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2.24). How did he muster the resources to take his pregnant
wife on such an incredibly long journey?
It could only have been his faith – and that of his wife.
And that is what keeps us going also. The work here is difficult, and at times it can verge
on the dangerous. The people frequently don’t understand what we are trying to do for
them, and don’t believe in themselves. A common greeting I hear from the little kids along
the road is “Muzungu, how are you? Give me money.” What does one do in such a state,
where the dependency mentality is so strong, corruption so rampant, and the Big Man
syndrome ever present?
We keep the faith.
We try to keep faith with you, our supporters and fellow missionaries who make all our
ministry possible. We try to keep faith with the people here whom we serve. And we try to
keep faith with the Messiah God who makes sense out of all the confusion and rejection of
this world, and draws all things to Himself. He is the one word of Truth that is transforming
the world. Philista and I send you warm Christmas greetings, and our wishes for a safe and
prosperous New Year. And we thank you for helping us with the work here, and for your
prayers.
PO Box 515, Masindi
Christmas season, 2006
ONE WORD OF TRUTH CAN TRANSFORM THE WHOLE WORLD
Alexander Sholzenitzyn
When Jesus came to earth as the messiah, people were too busy to give him the time of
day. The tourists had taken all the hotel rooms in Bethlehem, and the Tourism Board was
very happy getting ready for all the parties to be given by the Big Men. The thieves were
trying to steal something of value – sewing machines from the new Mothers’ Union tailoring
school, laptops from the offices of the Chief Pharisee, cell phones from people shopping in
the market, bicycles left unattended – so that they could get money to buy food for the big
family meal and to pay school fees. The local merchants had hiked all the prices up, due to
“transport costs, fuel increases, taxes, what, what”, and they were making a killing by selling
everything at ridiculous prices to the Sudanese, now that “the peace” had arrived in the
North. There was hardly anything left for the locals. People were busily hurrying
everywhere, and nowhere, but they were all busy – very busy! “Please: you call me after
the New Year. I am too busy now!”
And so Advent, the season of quiet preparation, evaporated. And then came the Messiah,
and “his own people received Him not.” They didn’t know He was in town. They were
preoccupied with other weighty matters.
Here in Masindi, we are also suffering from the same disease. The Messiah is here, but
we are anxious about many things. Life is hard in Africa, at least for most people, but I still
haven’t met anyone who was born in a cattle manger. Many children here are born in the
village, or even in the fields or banana plantations while mama is working. But that is still
better than where the Messiah was born.
At least the Messiah had a loving father and mother. He wasn’t abandoned by the side of
the road outside of Bethlehem, and ended up in the Tome Orphanage to be raised by
kindly Sisters. He wasn’t naked, either, but properly attired by his mother in a nice kitenge
and placed in regal comfort. There was wonderful music, just like that coming right now
from the Dean’s house, as his little ebony singers rehearse all the nice muzungu Christmas
carols from faraway places like Germany, U.K., the U.S., and Holland. They are singing
“the snow lay on the ground…” right now. I wonder what the kids think of that, having never
seen snow? How do you dream of a white Christmas if you have never seen white? Oh,
well. It’s a shame that they aren’t singing some of their wonderful traditional songs, since
they sound like the angels when they sing from the heart.
****************
Mama Philista has closed the tailoring school for the holidays, and the girls have gone
home to be with their families. It has been a very successful start, although many
challenges lie ahead. We are trying to reach girls that have dropped out of high school for
various reasons – lack of funds, pregnancy, family duties. Much of the challenge is to
encourage and motivate them to believe in themselves. Indeed, this is such a huge part of
ministry that I always wonder why seminaries don’t spend more time on the subject!
The crops in our farm fields are getting ready to be harvested in January, which is late. It
has been a banner year for rain – an el nino year, according to the locals. The fields are
waterlogged in some places, and the dirt roads have been all but destroyed, making travel
difficult and dangerous. When I am struggling mightily with driving here, and look at the
women and children with loads of firewood on their backs and jerrycans of water on their
heads, I think of what Mary and Joseph must have gone through to travel the 110 kilometers
from Nazareth to Galilee on foot. Were the roads a disaster like these roads? Did they get
splashed by vehicles passing by? Did they have to make diversions because the bridges
were washed out? Were they given good directions when they stopped to ask for help?
Were there thieves at night? We know that Joseph was not a rich man, because he could
only offer the ‘poor man’s offering’ of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons at the
temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2.24). How did he muster the resources to take his pregnant
wife on such an incredibly long journey?
It could only have been his faith – and that of his wife.
And that is what keeps us going also. The work here is difficult, and at times it can verge
on the dangerous. The people frequently don’t understand what we are trying to do for
them, and don’t believe in themselves. A common greeting I hear from the little kids along
the road is “Muzungu, how are you? Give me money.” What does one do in such a state,
where the dependency mentality is so strong, corruption so rampant, and the Big Man
syndrome ever present?
We keep the faith.
We try to keep faith with you, our supporters and fellow missionaries who make all our
ministry possible. We try to keep faith with the people here whom we serve. And we try to
keep faith with the Messiah God who makes sense out of all the confusion and rejection of
this world, and draws all things to Himself. He is the one word of Truth that is transforming
the world. Philista and I send you warm Christmas greetings, and our wishes for a safe and
prosperous New Year. And we thank you for helping us with the work here, and for your
prayers.
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