May 2005
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Hark! hark! the dogs do bark
The beggars are coming to town
Some in rags and some in jags
And some in silken gown.
- English nursery rhyme
Greetings once again from Arua, and from your beggar in the field, the Rev. Short, Jamesi. He does not come to
you in rags, and he is too poor now to afford a Jag, or silk ties and suits. Nevertheless, the dogs in his compound
are barking loudly right now, so somebody must be coming to beg.
Someone may well ask, "are you doing any good there, or are you just lollygagging around while you "wait"for the
next bishop to appear from heaven?" The answer is yes to both questions: I am focusing mission funds on key
areas, and at the same time enjoying life on the Equator while "waiting". It has been a nice "sabbatical", as it were,
but will probably end soon, after the imminent election of the new bishop. At this stage, it looks as though a good
fellow shall be elected by early June, and then the work can go forward again. There is no white smoke yet, but we
expect it "soon"", as the Africans say.
In the meantime, I have tried to focus on interventions that would be the most effective in rebuilding diocesan
infrastructure, with as little outlay as possible. The time away from administration has been helpful and relaxing.
The pictures this month may seem a bit peripatetic. That's because I have done a lot of traveling, as well as
reading, writing, preaching, smiling and drinking tea. I hope they give you a little taste for the richness and depth of
East Africa. First of all, for those of you that are barren, sick, homeless, stagnated or just worn out, I want you to
know that in Mombasa, Kenya, you can go to the Winners'Chapel, where signs and wonders are performed, and
you will find "rest for your souls", as Anglicans used to say. The picture of the starfish was taken on the coral reef
just off the beaches of Mombasa.
Then there are the pictures of the woman playing trumpet at the Easter services in Vurra, where I preached and
baptized. Can you imagine a baby sleeping through a brass band? I hope that the baby doesn't sleep through
the trumpets of the angels and archangels when the Lord returns in triumph!
The baby also marches extremely well.
The picture of the grass-thatched huts in the Arua countryside shows the way over 90% of the people live here. The
next time you go to the faucet/ tap to get a drink of clean water, just think of the little kids of Arua, who walk great
distances sometimes with a five gallon jerrycan on their heads to fetch water for their families' daily needs. And
you probably fetch the water barefoot, because you don't own a pair of shoes.
The latest edition of Uganda Districts Handbook says that there are 855,000 people in Arua district, and 75,000
"urban dwellers", which must mean Arua town, since there are no other towns or cities. The only real city in the
whole country is Kampala. To give you a feel of how "pastoralist" we are, the handbook lists the animal population
also: 133,500 cattle, 10,383 pigs, 103,839 sheep, 440,820 goats, and 1,211,500 chickens. I don't know who
counted all the animals, but know that they had an interesting time of it!
The picture of the Revs. Caleb Draonzi and Stephen Adrala was included because they were my students last year,
and are now the first to complete the Mukono degree program while studying at Ringili, our university "branch".
Caleb has been appointed the new Dean of the cathedral starting in July, and Stephen will also be given increased
duties. They are representative of the great depth of spirituality and love of the Lord's work that is so typical of the
Church here in Africa. The future is in good hands with these men.
It is sometimes easy to be cynical about mission work, and to think that
maybe it is not bearing fruit. T.S. Eliot wrote in The Hollow Men:
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow.
As one surveys the wreckage of good programs begun and now ended, of NGOs who have come and gone, of
buildings that were started and never finished, of the desperation and poverty everywhere, it can cause rational
believers at times to question their motives. A Zimbabwean writer, Olivia Muchena has said:
Where once the community felt responsibility to care for the needs of people in the community, now they look to
relief and development organizations to care for those needs. Where once communities sought to improve their lot
through their own work and resources, now they think that the only way to develop is to get money from someone
else. Why do the work yourself when there are development agencies with more money than you will ever see in a
lifetime looking for places to give it away?
..African individuals, communities, and countries become dependent on donations. While this assessment is
sobering, we still must remember that our work is usually "in the shadows", that while we cannot see clearly, good
seeds are being sown. For this reason, I continue to concentrate efforts on training and recruiting the catechists,
who serve as the backbone of the whole diocese, yet do so very quietly, without recognition. Several hundred
people have already committed to the training programs that I will soon launch in various archdeaconries, which is
a daunting number! I am writing courses and lectures in church administration, finances, prayer life,
leading worship, church government, and other very basic but important subjects. And at the same time, I am
working to assemble a very basic reference library for each of the training centers.
I continue to push the Cathedral project, in the hopes that maybe the church can be used partially by the end of this
year. Construction in Africa is truly an amazing experience. I spent much of last month trying to get "these" workers
to come and do their job so that "those" workers could continue with theirs. If the man with the key is gone,
everything stops. Come back tomorrow: here, have a cup of tea. Who invented the word "urgency" anyway? I am
also trying to locate a set of plans or blueprints, so that we can figure out how to finish properly. The "engineer" is
seldom on the job site, and so the workers are happy to "wait". But what kind of engineer is it that never looks at a
set of plans for a building that will eventually seat 4000 people? The architect died several years ago (of AIDs), and
his children come every year to the diocese to collect payments for work he supposedly performed. I
havesuggested to the project manager that until a set of plans is produced, maybe their annual stipend should be
held, as we have a "slight problem" with our construction.
The boat project fo Moyo archdeaconry continues well, with the goal of generating some income transporting
people across the Nile, and helping our christians to get to meetings without having to walk 40 miles one way. The
big expense will be the outboard motor, for an 18 ft. boat can be constructed for less than $500, and this is using
mahogany and teak wood! All the carpentry is done by hand, using saws and hammers. There are more
tools in one of our Home Depot stores in the U.S. than exist in the whole north of Uganda! Yet the work that the
craftsment do here is excellent. My prayer for this initial boat project, which is kindly being underwritten
by St. Mary's, Fresno, is that it will not only help generate some income for the archdeaconry, but will also multiply
itself into a couple of other boats for two more locations in the diocese.
Finally, many of you have asked who Philista is? She is a widow of almost five years with two teenage children,
and we are "engaged", if that is the right word to use here in Africa. People don't get "engaged" here, as we do
in the West. The girl walks across the village to the boy's house, the boy's family pays cows and goats, and then
after some sweet words, the couple is "married". This is how things have worked in Africa for a long time, and
probably other parts of the world as well. It was only when the missionaries came here, with their funny ideas
about not having more than one wife, and exchanging vows in a church building, and having a piece of paper from a
court that says 'you are now married', that things got complicated. Today, the church has many extra requirements
for intended couples, the cost of which effectively prevents many of them from getting married in a church setting.
Just when you think you know all about marriage, you come to Africa and find out you know very little.
The very unusual factor in Philista's case is her American training (Masters in international development from Clark
University) and her employment by several American organizations over the last twenty years (including at one point
an offer to work for the American Embassy itself). So she has her foot in two worlds (as do I), and trying to sort out
the details is difficult and very time consuming - especially as she has spent the last two months recovering from
neck surgery. I will keep you posted of our progress.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers, and please continue to send letters and emails. If there is some
particular part of the ministry here that interests you, please let me know, so that I can send more
information.
Faithfully,
Yakobo
The beggars are coming to town
Some in rags and some in jags
And some in silken gown.
- English nursery rhyme
Greetings once again from Arua, and from your beggar in the field, the Rev. Short, Jamesi. He does not come to
you in rags, and he is too poor now to afford a Jag, or silk ties and suits. Nevertheless, the dogs in his compound
are barking loudly right now, so somebody must be coming to beg.
Someone may well ask, "are you doing any good there, or are you just lollygagging around while you "wait"for the
next bishop to appear from heaven?" The answer is yes to both questions: I am focusing mission funds on key
areas, and at the same time enjoying life on the Equator while "waiting". It has been a nice "sabbatical", as it were,
but will probably end soon, after the imminent election of the new bishop. At this stage, it looks as though a good
fellow shall be elected by early June, and then the work can go forward again. There is no white smoke yet, but we
expect it "soon"", as the Africans say.
In the meantime, I have tried to focus on interventions that would be the most effective in rebuilding diocesan
infrastructure, with as little outlay as possible. The time away from administration has been helpful and relaxing.
The pictures this month may seem a bit peripatetic. That's because I have done a lot of traveling, as well as
reading, writing, preaching, smiling and drinking tea. I hope they give you a little taste for the richness and depth of
East Africa. First of all, for those of you that are barren, sick, homeless, stagnated or just worn out, I want you to
know that in Mombasa, Kenya, you can go to the Winners'Chapel, where signs and wonders are performed, and
you will find "rest for your souls", as Anglicans used to say. The picture of the starfish was taken on the coral reef
just off the beaches of Mombasa.
Then there are the pictures of the woman playing trumpet at the Easter services in Vurra, where I preached and
baptized. Can you imagine a baby sleeping through a brass band? I hope that the baby doesn't sleep through
the trumpets of the angels and archangels when the Lord returns in triumph!
The baby also marches extremely well.
The picture of the grass-thatched huts in the Arua countryside shows the way over 90% of the people live here. The
next time you go to the faucet/ tap to get a drink of clean water, just think of the little kids of Arua, who walk great
distances sometimes with a five gallon jerrycan on their heads to fetch water for their families' daily needs. And
you probably fetch the water barefoot, because you don't own a pair of shoes.
The latest edition of Uganda Districts Handbook says that there are 855,000 people in Arua district, and 75,000
"urban dwellers", which must mean Arua town, since there are no other towns or cities. The only real city in the
whole country is Kampala. To give you a feel of how "pastoralist" we are, the handbook lists the animal population
also: 133,500 cattle, 10,383 pigs, 103,839 sheep, 440,820 goats, and 1,211,500 chickens. I don't know who
counted all the animals, but know that they had an interesting time of it!
The picture of the Revs. Caleb Draonzi and Stephen Adrala was included because they were my students last year,
and are now the first to complete the Mukono degree program while studying at Ringili, our university "branch".
Caleb has been appointed the new Dean of the cathedral starting in July, and Stephen will also be given increased
duties. They are representative of the great depth of spirituality and love of the Lord's work that is so typical of the
Church here in Africa. The future is in good hands with these men.
It is sometimes easy to be cynical about mission work, and to think that
maybe it is not bearing fruit. T.S. Eliot wrote in The Hollow Men:
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow.
As one surveys the wreckage of good programs begun and now ended, of NGOs who have come and gone, of
buildings that were started and never finished, of the desperation and poverty everywhere, it can cause rational
believers at times to question their motives. A Zimbabwean writer, Olivia Muchena has said:
Where once the community felt responsibility to care for the needs of people in the community, now they look to
relief and development organizations to care for those needs. Where once communities sought to improve their lot
through their own work and resources, now they think that the only way to develop is to get money from someone
else. Why do the work yourself when there are development agencies with more money than you will ever see in a
lifetime looking for places to give it away?
..African individuals, communities, and countries become dependent on donations. While this assessment is
sobering, we still must remember that our work is usually "in the shadows", that while we cannot see clearly, good
seeds are being sown. For this reason, I continue to concentrate efforts on training and recruiting the catechists,
who serve as the backbone of the whole diocese, yet do so very quietly, without recognition. Several hundred
people have already committed to the training programs that I will soon launch in various archdeaconries, which is
a daunting number! I am writing courses and lectures in church administration, finances, prayer life,
leading worship, church government, and other very basic but important subjects. And at the same time, I am
working to assemble a very basic reference library for each of the training centers.
I continue to push the Cathedral project, in the hopes that maybe the church can be used partially by the end of this
year. Construction in Africa is truly an amazing experience. I spent much of last month trying to get "these" workers
to come and do their job so that "those" workers could continue with theirs. If the man with the key is gone,
everything stops. Come back tomorrow: here, have a cup of tea. Who invented the word "urgency" anyway? I am
also trying to locate a set of plans or blueprints, so that we can figure out how to finish properly. The "engineer" is
seldom on the job site, and so the workers are happy to "wait". But what kind of engineer is it that never looks at a
set of plans for a building that will eventually seat 4000 people? The architect died several years ago (of AIDs), and
his children come every year to the diocese to collect payments for work he supposedly performed. I
havesuggested to the project manager that until a set of plans is produced, maybe their annual stipend should be
held, as we have a "slight problem" with our construction.
The boat project fo Moyo archdeaconry continues well, with the goal of generating some income transporting
people across the Nile, and helping our christians to get to meetings without having to walk 40 miles one way. The
big expense will be the outboard motor, for an 18 ft. boat can be constructed for less than $500, and this is using
mahogany and teak wood! All the carpentry is done by hand, using saws and hammers. There are more
tools in one of our Home Depot stores in the U.S. than exist in the whole north of Uganda! Yet the work that the
craftsment do here is excellent. My prayer for this initial boat project, which is kindly being underwritten
by St. Mary's, Fresno, is that it will not only help generate some income for the archdeaconry, but will also multiply
itself into a couple of other boats for two more locations in the diocese.
Finally, many of you have asked who Philista is? She is a widow of almost five years with two teenage children,
and we are "engaged", if that is the right word to use here in Africa. People don't get "engaged" here, as we do
in the West. The girl walks across the village to the boy's house, the boy's family pays cows and goats, and then
after some sweet words, the couple is "married". This is how things have worked in Africa for a long time, and
probably other parts of the world as well. It was only when the missionaries came here, with their funny ideas
about not having more than one wife, and exchanging vows in a church building, and having a piece of paper from a
court that says 'you are now married', that things got complicated. Today, the church has many extra requirements
for intended couples, the cost of which effectively prevents many of them from getting married in a church setting.
Just when you think you know all about marriage, you come to Africa and find out you know very little.
The very unusual factor in Philista's case is her American training (Masters in international development from Clark
University) and her employment by several American organizations over the last twenty years (including at one point
an offer to work for the American Embassy itself). So she has her foot in two worlds (as do I), and trying to sort out
the details is difficult and very time consuming - especially as she has spent the last two months recovering from
neck surgery. I will keep you posted of our progress.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers, and please continue to send letters and emails. If there is some
particular part of the ministry here that interests you, please let me know, so that I can send more
information.
Faithfully,
Yakobo