A Sip of True African Hospitatlity

Uganda Day 70
Chikaste Yesu! - Praise the Lord in Kupsabiny
(to which you would respond) Chikaste Koromiin - Praise him big
I assure you this greeting brought many a smile to the passerby.

This past week I spent time in some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen, Kapchorwa, Uganda. I also experienced some of the most gracious hospitality. For my rural homestay I was with the Chebei family,my dad, Joel, my mom, Jocelyn, Obed, Sarah, and Gaishon. While my parents have three children, only one of them lives at home. The others, Sam and Charity were at boarding school in Kapchorwa town. Sarah is the daughter of my dad's good friend (who was staying with them to keep me company) and Gaishon is a sweet boy who lives with them to help out with the cows.

Rural Uganda, Kapchorwa is captivating in all its natural beauty and also the beauty of its people. I am convinced that hospitality to them is a cup of tea and a snack. I averaged about 5 cups of tea a day. My family was often encouraging me to eat or drink more. Most days I went to sleep full to the brim and woke early only to be greeted with a cup of tea.
I arrived on Friday to my family's compound high in the foothills of Mt. Elgon. The roads up the hill were so bad because of rain that the USP van almost did not make it. Ugandan families just radiate beauty. I was welcomed so warmly into Joel and Jocelyn's home and their family. That first day I was thrown right into the work and helped make dinner. I learned that both of my parents are teachers in primary schools and that my dad is a headteacher or headmaster. The kitchen quickly becomes the hub of action after dark as we had no electricity and it got COLD. Mama, Sarah, and I all bonded together over the warmth of the charcoal stove. I think I learned more about the country of Uganda from this family in one week than I have all semester.
Saturday morning started off with a bang. One of our cows had a calf on Friday and had since contracted 'milk fever'. Thus, I got to witness African veterinary care and the fear of my family that the cow might be lost. These two cows (and new calf) are the life blood to my family, as tea is certainly central to the rhythm of their lives. That afternoon was a visitation day at Charity and Sam's school so Mama, Obed, and I headed into Kapchorwa town with a homemade lunch to share with them. Visitation days serve to inform parents of their children's performance in school and encourage parental visitation, like parent/teacher conferences. It was neat to meet Sam and Charity to complete the picture of my family, as well as, to learn more about the school system. Sunday was an adventure. At church I was introduced to the congregation, along with my friend Michael, and greeted everyone with the aforementioned greeting which was meet with rounds of laughter. The service was very traditional but definitely had an African flair. When the offering was taken those who cannot give monetarily give from their garden or cow(for instance, two liters of milk was given, a bag of g. nuts (peanuts), a chicken, a bunch of matoke) then the items are auctioned off to the rest of the congregation. I think this is a truly beautiful example of was is the African Church. After the service, which lasted about 3 hours, Michael and I were treated like guests of honor and were given tea and questioned by an elder of the church.

After church I got to help 'pulp' coffee, a major crop in the region which is exported for processing. Monday was by far more of a chill day. However, do not be mistaken, Sarah and I were busy. While Mama, Dad, Gaishon, and Obed were off at school, we washed clothes, dishes, sorted coffee, peeled matoke and other such chores. On Tuesday, I went to burial, or the end of one with Mama. The sky was a stunning shade of blue when we left the house, but about 30 minutes into our journey it started to rain. It continued to do so even after we left the burial. The burial was a lively affair with an MC and lots of food. By the time we arrived the body had already been buried and it was rainy and cold so we stayed for only about ten minutes. Let me tell you, trekking around Kapchorwa was about 10 times harder after the rain especially going downhill in shoes hardly made for hiking. There are many things I am in Africa, but graceful is not one of them. I think I managed to fall three or four times and to be honest the thing I was worried about the most was having to wash my skirt again. I washed clothes three days in a row while in Kapchorwa, certainly a record for me. While my limited wardrobe was complimented by frequent washings, my hands were in massive amounts of pain. Wednesday,after I finished washing my 'hill falling' clothing, I showed my hands to Mama Jocelyn and was basically forbidden from doing anything with water, such as dishes and laundry. Alas, the day managed to fill itself quite nicely anyway. Sarah and I went to Joel(Dad)'s sister's home, Jessica, and had some maize ground into flour. A trip that due to the necessary hospitality tea took far longer than we had planned, was followed by a hike up the hill.

When we got to the top it began to rain so Sarah and I sought shelter with a relative of Sarah's where we were again welcomed with tea. On the way home we visited Sarah's family and many others. I was told to come back and visit her grandmother sometime soon for she was currently out of sugar or she would have prepared me tea also. I declare, these people live in simplicity, but are so willing to share. Where has our society gone wrong?? Thursday I was planning on going with Mama Jocelyn to school, but it was a dreary day and began pouring at around 8 so even she did not go to school. Rain really does stop life there. They were pretty amazed that people continue to venture out when the weather is nasty in my place. Sarah, Mama Jocelyn, and I spent most of the day in the kitchen congregated around the fire for warmth. We did venture out for a bit to do some hoeing in the garden. I was, however, shooed away after about 45 minutes with a caution to take care of my hands. African women are so strong and joyful as they work. There is a good inspiration. I just want you all to know that I did manage to reach my goal and yes, I milked a cow!

Friday morning saw me leaving my sweet family and heading into Sipi, Kapchorwa for a different kind of adventure.
I learned so much from my family. I learned the joy of community. It is amazing how people flock to the light and warmth of the kitchen after dark when there is no electricity. There is a simple fellowship that comes from washing dishes together. Long nights without television or internet lend themselves very well to deep meaningful conversations. The school system in Uganda was a common theme of discussion. Uganda has free primary school education, but still does not uniforms to those students who cannot afford to buy them. My dad teaches at a 'public' school and therefore none of his children attend his school, but instead go to a 'private' school where families pay school fees in addition to buying uniforms. Education is Uganda fascinates me. There is really no benefit to primary education. It does not increase the chances for a person to get a job. Primary education is also taught in the local language until Primary 4. Thus in Kapchorwa, P.1-3 are taught in Kupsabiny and then everything after is taught in English. This is a new system as of the last five or so years.

It does prevent the problem of not having a sure enough foundation in one language to learn another (in theory), but at the same time it does make me wonder if the local languages of Uganda will continue to withstand the test of time. Another thing I found fascinating is that the Bible has yet to be fully translated into Kupsabiny. They currently only have the New Testament translated, though an edition of the Old Testament in in the works. It makes me sad that they do not have the full Bible available to them in their language, especially since Christianity is so widespread. My Dad did point out that there is still a large amount of the population that is illiterate. It almost makes me think of Islam and how it is only available to the population that can read Arabic or in this case English.
As the outside world becomes more globalized, I have to wonder if these people will be able to reap the benefits of such an interconnected system or if it will trample them in way of exploitation. It seems as the world stretches its grasp it is these small cultures that lose their unique place in the world. Life's just not fair.

This was the view on the way back from getting water. And yes carrying these little jugs up the hill made me feel totally out of breath, but I mean the scenery itself is pretty breathtaking.
Have a beautiful week everyone!
Happy Halloween.

Middle of the Road

Shilo, Eliannah, Mariam, and I
Uganda Day 59

I am more than half way through my journey here in Uganda. That is just crazy. This weekend our entire group is heading into Eastern Uganda. The twelve of us ME students are headed to Kapchorwa which is near Kenya in the mountains by Mt. Elgon. I am pretty excited about this whole adventure. Maybe I will learn to milk a cow. I'm not going to lie that's kind of a goal of mine. Please pray for health and safe travel. And that I will connect with my family and have a wonderful time!
Here's to a week of long skirts and manual labor!
Talk to you all on the 31st.

The Simple Joy of a Smile

Uganda Day 57(?!?!)

Happy Tuesday All! It has been a whirlwind of a weekend, but the first semi-relaxing weekend I've had in a long while. Saturday was wonderful and fun but not nearly as productive as it needed to be. A good half of our little USP family ventured into Kampala. Normally such a journey requires a ride in a 'taxi' or a 14 passenger van jammed with random people that are picked up on the journey.

However, since there were so many of us, we filled an entire taxi and so our trip was very quick and within an hour we were in Kampala. The morning we spent meandering through craft markets and most people spent a good amount of money and, prolly the only time I will ever say this, I did not spend enough money. Apparently, after October ends prices go up and so I was attempting to start and finish my Christmas shopping in a day. Needless to say that did not happen. Alas...but I did end up with some cute things. After unsuccessfully mastering the craft markets Lacey, Michael, and I headed to meet Roland, a friend of my friend Hayley. It was truly wonderful to have someone with us who knew Kampala and after lunch he took us into the heart of chaos. Owino, the Ugandan market place where the aisles are maybe 2 feet wide and you need to know where your money is all the time and be aware. It was pretty crazy. After buying some African looking fabric, it was time to head back to Mukono. The crazy thing about getting a taxi is you better make sure that they are REALLY going where you want to end up. Apparently, it is not uncommon for a taxi conductor to tell you the taxi is going where you ask even though it really isn't. Thankfully, all three of us got into a taxi that was indeed headed to Mukono and arrived safely and in one piece. Just a really fun day!

Sunday, I was really excited to do laundry. Shocker, huh? Its amazing the little things that bring you joy like clean laundry when you haven't had any in weeks...Anywayssss Sunday morning I got up pretty early and did some dishes and homework before walking myself to church. Normally, I take a private hire with Maama Aidah and Harriet, but this week there was a special guest from Nigeria speaking and so they wanted Maama Aidah at church early so she took a boda-boda 'earlier' and thus I was left with my feet as my only form of transportation. The funny thing is that by the time she left she was not much ahead of me...Gotta love 'African time'! I really enjoyed my walk to church. I was honestly a bit worried I wouldn't be able to find my way there. I mean I have only been there twice and only walked home not to church. It was great. I took it upon myself to smile and greet everyone. Its amazing what a smile can do. In the past, I have been troubled that people are excited to see me because I am white. But you know like many things being a white, American carries a stigma and if I can make that positive shouldn't I try? Joy is joy no matter the reason. If I can bring a smile to someone's face that should be a responsibility I take seriously. As a Christian, I should seek ways to be a light and to love on others. If just a smile will do it, I am getting off easy. Church was interesting. I was kinda hoping that the sermon would be more of what I am used to but it wasn't. There was one verse used and the context was off. But it was an experience, and I still love the worship hour or hour and a half. I love watching the worship dancing. After church, I walked myself home and began on Mount Laundry. I cannot even joke about the two and a half hours that ridiculous amount of laundry took me. I actually started with two little helpers, Eliannah (not Arianna..found that out this weekend) and Mariam. About half way through Mariam was amusing herself by dunking her head in the basins to cool herself off, the water was no longer clean, and Eliannah was just swirling things in the last basin. For the record, they coerced me into letting them help, I, in no way, obligated them to help...they did leave for a bit but returned just in time to help me finish and wash my socks.
As a reward for helping me I bought some bananas, chapati, and peanut butter and we shared the most amazing Sunday afternoon snack. It was split amongst us three girls, Baby Shilo, Flora, and Joy, Julie, and Eva (All women in their early to mid-twenties who live in our compound and are tenants of Maama Aidah). The rest of the evening I devoted to homework.
Monday was a beautiful day. Some days I just find joy in the most random places, but it certainly found me yesterday. I couldn't even express why, but we had power last night too and that is a beautiful, especially when you aren't expecting it. Its the small things that make the daily life sweet.
Today is again a Tuesday, time flies. I will head to Salama with my fellow 'practicumites'. Tomorrow I have a mid-term in Worldviews..prayers for that would be wonderful! Then Thursday we have a large mid-term self assessment due in Faith in Action...and then Friday we leave for rural homestays in the east. October is going far too quickly.
For those of you who are aware of Obama sending troops into Uganda...The program is in contact with the embassy in Kampala and they are not putting any restrictions on travel or such. The US has had troops in Uganda for quite sometime, as Uganda is the US's strongest ally in this region. Also, the LRA has not been present in Uganda for sometime, but as LRA started in Uganda, Uganda feels responsible for their actions and has a pretty strong front against LRA. LRA are mostly in the Congo and West African Republic as of now and most of the troops, while not 'fighting troops', will be in those areas and are just stationed in Uganda. Your continued prayers over that situation would be greatly appreciated.
Food for thought from my Monday Bible Study:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
-Philippians 2:1-4

In closing, I want to encourage you all to smile more. Be a catalyst of joy!
God is good!

Sunrises and sets

Uganda Day 53

I have so much to share..Starting with Luweero. Friday we mostly spent driving, but we did stop at a mass grave. It seemed pretty anti-climactic after all we saw in Rwanda. But during debrief we talked about the difference that in the states mass graves do not happen but we are more a fan of memorials and cleaning things up to be presentable and tidy. They had actual skulls there at the site and we saw them. It makes the carnage so much more real. You cannot doubt the reality or tangibility of something you see. Then on Saturday we had the bulk of our activity. We spent majority of the day at a compassion site call Nsawo child development. It was really neat to see the other side of the money given. They had recently purchased 270 new mattresses for the students and that was just a really neat thing to see that the center had cleared out an entire office for these mattresses. I really hoped to hear more of the monetary and the stats of the program, my inner business student comes out. But it was really neat to see the things this community had done. All the compassion money goes straight to the children so all the infrastructure was built and funded by the community. I guess I should explain some of this a bit better. The 270 children all live in the community. When compassion came in they were told not to create orphanages, as such would alienate the children from their extended families and communities. Thus, compassion created this site that provides a place for the children to come and on Saturdays they hang out and have a Bible lesson and get fed. These children are sent to many different schools in their community in the week. There are now faces to the turmoil of poverty. It was certainly a long day, but we played some games and served porridge and just hung out with God's children.

The kids carrying their chairs, and ours, inside after devotions and their little Bible classes.

Then Saturday night we heard from the bishop of Luweero district. He was just so real and down to earth. He told us about how the region had changed and how the people had been relying on handouts, but his goal for his 17 year ministry was to change their attitudes and get them to do things for themselves. When we asked what we can do he said pray for Uganda. And he made a point of talking about the organizations that come in and spend all kinds of money, but never come to Luweero. They invite the bishop to seminars and spend all kinds of money in Kampala on hotels and such, but the people never see that money. We seek to rescue Africa, but what are we really doing? Perpetuating a twisted cycle?
Later that night, we heard from a catholic preist, Father Gerrie who works with HIV/AIDS victims. He brought a girl with him who is HIV positive. She got HIV at birth from her mother. She is an innocent. She is younger than me. She was educated to a certain point but then her grandparents basically said because she was going to die there was no point in educating her further. Can you imagine being subjected to that be you own family? Father Gerrie has made sure she continues her education. She graduated highest in her high school,and is now in university..She was shunned by all her friends in high school when they found out she was HIV positive. She seemed so at peace. How does a loving God subject someone to that, especially since it was of nothing she had done? And she is not alone. Her story is all over. What about the woman who gets HIV from her philandering husband? Life deals some a tough hand. But I truly believe that this girl has a reliance upon God that I will never understand. As the poor know what it is to pray for their daily bread, she knows what it is to hold to God as her foundation. Will she ever be able to enjoy a marriage relationship? Is there ever a day she does not think about the fact that she is HIV positive? How will God use her to further his kingdom? And what am I to do with this new knowledge and understanding?
HIV/AIDS still gets me a bit freaked out, but these are real people.
The next morning we went to Father Gerrie's catholic Church and enjoyed the love and blessings of these precious people. It was certainly the most live Catholic experience I have ever seen. Then we headed back to Mukono and stopped in Kamapala for lunch on the way back. Talk about culture shock. We went from rural, green Uganda to concrete and Westernized structures. My friend, Wesley and I went out for Chinese and icecream and I can honestly say that is the most money I have spent on a meal since being here, which was about 7 USD...but the spring rolls were pretty wonderful (either that or we are just deprived of such delicacies).
This week was/is the 6th week of classes. We are half way done?!?!? I have a midterm next week and a self evaluation due. Then Friday, we leave for our rural homestays. I am really excited about that. No school, no internet, no Mukono noises, and time to think, I hope.
This week has been good. We mopped yet again at Salama, but this time we swept first. I am not really sure it made a huge difference, the floor was still a muddy mess. And honestly, after that the week just flies...Like oh my goodness its FRIDAY! Today it has been raining since before I woke up about three hours ago. And its been raining pretty good. Of course, today would be the day that I did not have my rain jacket. So I arrived to school pretty wet, if it hadn't been for Lacey's small umbrella we both would have been some pretty drowned looking rats. This is by far the longest it has rained since I have been here. There were some pretty crazy torrents along the road on our way here. This place really isn't meant to handle lots of rain...but its nice and cool out and I love this weather. I am a happy camper.
Please pray that I am able to accomplish all that needs to be done...
A wonderful weekend to all!

Redefining Verbs

Uganda Day 46

To Mop.
Part of Speech: Verb.

Ok so picture in your head what you may. A mop, a bucket, soapy water, and a cleanly swept floor. Now, erase that picture from your mind completely. Tuesday at Salama, us girls got to mop the floor. However, such mopping did not even involve a mop. The dining room is a fairly decent sized room with four heavy wooden tables. And frankly, I think they wait for Tuesdays to mop or sweep or anything cuz they know we will be all too willing to help them out with that. Its quite a disaster zone after lunch. Posho and rice litter the floor, but when we mopped, Tuesday there was no sweeping that happened first. We started with clean water (and that was the last time it ever looked clean) and rags and after soaking them in water proceeded to get the floor as wet as possible. With the five of us girls and the 'house mother' of the school we managed to get the floor pretty muddy looking. Since we hadnt swept all the dirt that had accumulated became sort of s sludge on the cement floor. Oh curse my American efficiency. Then came the fun part...you wring out your, already dirty rag, in the dirty water and go to a far corner put your rag down and drag. It picks up the water and sludge. However, when getting back to the area after rinsing your rag you tend to track mud back into the clean area. Basically, it is a laborious, back bending, and never ending task. But hey, I'm pretty legit now. It was pretty fun to laugh at how inferior we were at such a task, and how ridiculous we must look with our rears in the air kinda sashaying around the room backwards. We have also started a list of 'skills' (in the loosest sense of the term) that we have acquired here that will be totally pointless when we get home. The list includes things like:
- Cracking Maize
- Handwashing Laundry
- Peeling Matoke
And now we add
- Mopping (or perhaps ragging?)

This weekend is a crazy one. Saturday the Uganda Cranes football team plays Kenya in an African Qualifier game. Its a big deal. Yesterday, there was a massive line outside the supermarket at 9:30 in the morning for tickets. And then Sunday, the ninth is Uganda's 49th anniversary for independence. However, I shall miss out on most of the festivities as I will be travelling with my practicum class to the region of Luwero. This area is extremely poor and was the location where the current president, Museveni, started his revolt in the 80's. He started with 26 other people. Anyways, this area lost much of its cattle and approximately 500,000 lives. There has been little bounce back in the area, but every year a stipend is set aside to help the Luwero district come around. We shall get to visit a compassion site and see the other side of the giving. That should be awesome! The Luwero district has a very high HIV/AIDs percentage, though no one is quite sure what it is, in comparison to the rest of Uganda. And....that freaks me out a bit, kinda a lot. So prayers for peace would be appreciated. And Sunday, we will be heading through Kampala which if the Cranes win shall prove to be quite mad. So please pray for safe travels and just general safety I guess.
Have a beautiful Friday everyone!

A Strange Dichotomy

Day 42 – Six Weeks!

This weekend has been INSANE! Saturday, we went rafting on the Nile. No big deal. It was beautiful. There were seven other girls in my raft and then our New Zealander guide, Camo. It was prolly the funnest thing I have spent money on yet. We set out early Saturday morning and drove about an hour and a half into Jinga. Mukono is a busy little town and is pretty in its own way, but Jinga was spectacular. It was cleaner and greener and just more relaxing than Mukono. I really needed that breather. God is so good like that. But anyways...we rafted down the Nile for about eight hours, and let me tell you my shoulders and my abs are a bit tender (its probably one of the most physical activities that I have done in a LONG time). The Nile is beautiful. And no there were no crocodiles or piranhas so I totally went swimming despite the inevitable parasite that I will likely contract (which is not a big deal and totally treatable), bilharzia, but I figure when is the next time I will get to swim in the Nile? We managed to stay in the raft for most of the time, but got epic-ly dumped on this one rapid called 'the Bad Place'. Its pretty amazing how scary it can be to be underwater and the only thing you can think is I NEED AIR, but you have no concept of which way is up. We had sandwiches for lunch and oh my goodness they were amazing. I know, I know. but seriously when all you eat ALL the time, and I mean ALL the time, is rice and beans or matoke and irish (what they call potatoes) a sandwich is pretty close to heaven. They had tomatoes and lettuce and peppers and cheese and salami. It was pretty much the best lunch I have had months ages. The weather was perfect, the people were fantastic. It was really fun to hang out with these people in a setting that is not academic. We spent that night in a guest house owned by the company with whom we went rafting.
Sunday we were told we would be able to leave whenever we were ready...thus we were hoping to be back on campus by noon (I was totally planning on doing homework...), but we were told that we could leave at two, which would get us back to campus at four. Ahh Africa. Lessons in flexibility. but I spent a beautiful Sunday morning with my Bible on the coast of the Nile watching the birds catch fish and freaking out when I saw a snake. The guest house was on a bluff and so I clambered down the bluff to be by the water and was surprised to find that the bluffs reminded me much of the ones up by Washington Island, Wisconsin in Door County. Sans the fact that there were monkeys and all this tropical foliage...but the quiet was so good. I had not realized how long it had been since I had been able to hear myself think. Toto Village is always loud no matter how late or if the power is out. There is always a rooster who thinks it is time to wake up. I literally sat out there on these steps by the water just thinking and listening to the quiet sounds of the world for a good hour. As soon as I have pictures to share I will, but I do not think that pictures will do the area justice. So after a, not going to lie, long and fun day of just chilling at the guest house and doing some homework we finally got back to campus around four at which point I had NO desire, and I repeat NO desire to do anything homework related.

This is some of us on the railing of the restaurant at the guesthouse. From left to right: Kelsey, Hilary, Joe, Mary, Me, Christa, and Katy.
Anyhow, returning home had me feeling a bit odd. like I was living two lives. One of me lives like an African and the other blows massive amounts of money on tourist things like rafting down the Nile. My host family has probably never spent so much money in one place in a day. When they asked me how it was I didn't know what to say. It was so fun but part of me feels guilty for my lavish expenditure. I am here to live and experience, and I guess to an extent I am a tourist but then again I want to invest in this place more than most tourists would. I want to appreciate the people and the culture. I want to participate. Descartes coined the idea 'I think therefore, I am', but here in Africa the thought is 'I participate therefore, I am'. I want to be a participant in this culture not a leech sucking what I can out of the resources.
I hate to jump emotions on ya'll, but I really need to share my passion with you. And the next thing on my list of things to share is peanut butter. I bought myself a jar of peanut butter yesterday for 4500 USH (which is about a dollar fifty), and let me tell you this is one happy camper.

I shared some with my sweet girls yesterday. Flora was pretty unsure, but she liked it after I made her try some on chapate, and then Mariam, Arianna, and Shiloh also basked in the joy of it with me while watching Tangled on my computer.

Ahh its truly the little things.
Today was a beautiful start to my week. Some friends and I started a Bible study on Philippians today and opened with worship which I truly crave at moments. I had a great discussion with my friend Wesley. She is a ministry major from Arkansas, not to be confused with my (wonderful) boyfriend Wesley back home...We talked about the worship here and church and faith and action and it was so good to connect with someone here like that. We see eye to eye on lots of things and she is a great sounding board.
In literature we talked about this poem today and I just wanted to share it because I thought it was beautiful.
Its called the Second Coming by W.B. Yeats:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

It was written around 1920 about the general state of chaos in the world and inspired the book Things Fall Apart which we are reading for lit about the colonization of Africa and how it caused traditional African culture to dissipate in a way.
Well I think that is more than enough for one day..
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Thank you for your love and prayers. They mean the world to me!

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ -Philippians 1:2