Monday, April 13, 2009
Flippity Floop! (it's from Bugs Bunny... I dunno...)
Well, we’re on the mend. Karina and I are still both sick. And both of us are on anti-biotic. I was at the bronchitis level with my 2 month cold. Every time it seemed to go away, it would come back with double the force. Karina’s fighting another infection, but we caught it earlier this time, so it’s expected she’ll be fine in no time. So, as our doctor put it, we’re trying to get a lot of R & R & R & R & R. We’ll see how that works out.
We’re currently at my Karina’s folks house.... We’ve been having a good time catching up and playing croak-anno...(however you spell it). That game that’s a bit like curling but you can do it on your kitchen table? Anyways, it’s still fun. My family came over a couple days back for supper. Karina and I finally attempted Mark & Fee’s AWESOME LEEK & POTATO soup. Sorry... it still excites me. And hey Mark? It turned out pretty good! Lol, the next day we ate up all the leftovers! :)
I’ve been able to practice a little more on the guitar again. I learned a Jon Foreman song of Psalm 23, and I learned Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce. I’ve been excited to have some time to write some more lyrics too. Really I would have been practicing singing at this point but I’m still ridding myself of this cold. The rest is good though.
I have yet to hear about the tour for this spring. I’ve been under the impression that we’ll be coming to PA here, but I haven’t heard anything from up top yet. I’ll fill you all in where we’re going to be going when I find out. Lol, leaders are always the last to know... :D
Oh, while I think of it, thanks everyone in England who put up with us! It was a blast. I really really enjoyed my time there, even though it was really busy at times. We won’t forget your hospitality.
Also, Hello anyone from Rwanda! :) Long time no see!
It’s really weird trying to keep up saying hello to hundreds of people from all around the world. Lol. Oh well. Thank you all for your prayers! I’ll put up a few pics from the last post til the latest pics I have. You all rock!
Grace and Peace
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 9:31 AM 0 comments
Saturday, April 04, 2009
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
We saved the busiest for last....Whew....
This last couple weeks have been definitely the most busy, but in the end, they were also some of the most fun.
We did a lot of RE lessons here. RE stands for religious education. Here kids learn about the 4 major religions right in school. Since they have exams soon on Christianity they said we could come in and just let kids ask us questions. The questions they ask here vary to the extreme. Some will ask questions about humanity or theology, questions about suffering and why God allows it, etc. And some are legitimate, but very cute questions. One of the cutest ones I heard while I was here was, ‘Were Adam and Eve born with the leaves on them?’ Hehehe.
Kids.
The other thing that we have done a lot of here is music. This entire trip overseas we haven’t needed much for our sound system. In Rwanda mostly because we didn’t have power in a lot of the places we went, and here in England because usually they wanted us to kind of team up with what they had. In any case, everything we did we still had a lot of fun doing. But then we got here and we realized that we would be doing concerts... no not the 2000 people jumping all over each other screaming on a giant stage concert, but a concert just the same. So, suddenly all these songs that we had learned from way back to kind of ‘break the ice’ with people became the songs we used most often. Therefore, this last couple weeks has been Music 101 for our team. Going back to where we’ve been and then rapidly trying to learn new stuff and not just play a song to get through it but to have fun playing and play it skilfully. I must say it has been a joy. Some of the songs we’ve recently been doing are: Stars – by Switchfoot, Dead Man – Jars of Clay, Almighty Silence – Tree63, Up and Up – Relient K, I’m Yours – Yfriday (YFriday’s singer dude is the guy who wrote the song ‘Everlasting God’)
Anyways, it’s been a good time though it’s been busy.
The first major concert we did was 1 hour and we had nobody show up when it was time to start. So, we waited and ... we waited... and then a few people came. 2 guys who were biking outside came in, and they stayed for the whole thing. That and two cars of girls showed up. It was a good night, though it had a fair amount of glitches.
Along with the concerts, we went down to one of the pubs that was having an Open Mike time. We did some acoustic songs there! No one threw anything at us. It was nice to be able to present Christianity and music that was nice and fresh...not typical church music that they're used to...like really old words in hymns! Joanna started with one of her songs...there was a stunned silence at the bar. All the men were sitting there sighing. I'm sure I saw one man wipe a tear from his eye. Joanna always sings so beautifully. Then, for the next song, Charis joined Joanna, and Karina and I did two songs. Some of the people there invited Karina and I to come back for a folk festival. We'll see. That would be fun.
The second major concert we did was at the local youth centre and it was 30 mins long. Most of the 50 kids there were not from associated with the church. We had a blast with them. They loved music and we hung around for a bit to play some sports and dance a bit.
The first minor concert was in the school that we had been doing RE lessons all week. We did some music classes there too. (I got to lead the class in playing Eye of the Tiger when I was there... heh heh... go Rocky!) Anyways, we had only 10 minutes and so we did a couple songs and a chalk art. Really one of the big reasons of being there was to publicly say that we were doing one last concert in the church up the road on Friday night. Last night. We started with around 15 people there and by the end there was about 30. We had little groups of kids come in every so often and we really had a blast with them. Some of them were church going kids but others I believe had no connection with the church. Never the less we all had a really good time and we were able to present the gospel clearly. Tabitha did a Christmas/Easter chalk art and did a great job. We also did some dramas and an illusion, and we all had a blast. It was our best program we’ve done this VTI team year. We had a lot of fun with the kids and got to visit afterwards, we did some more songs and at the very end, for the few who were still around, Blair, Dillon, Nathan (with Leo the cat) and myself) publicly for the first time, SANG.
That was fun. :D
My major fear was that with a lot of us tired and sickish and worn down and tired... well you get the idea... that we’d all kind of sputter out instead of finish strong. Indeed, that was where we were heading. But we’ve been talking a lot with the team lately and we told them about our wanting to finish this time overseas with some vigor. To not just drag across the finish line, but to do some kind of triple sow cow across the lovely line at the end (that’s for you fans of figure skating). Anyways, I’m really proud of the team. They really have pulled together extra in this last little while. We appreciate the prayers you’ve been so regularly praying. They have not been in vain.
My hope to for a lot of us to be able to tell you these amazing things we’ve seen in person, though I know I won’t be able to see all of you. Know that we would love to if we had the opportunity.
God has been with us and we’ve seen Him even answering the very simple prayers. And recently, it’s been really fast answers too.
The other day, Nathan misplaced a very important cord for the video camera. He had looked everywhere and couldn't find it. He went home and couldn’t find it and he went to the church where we were and couldn’t find it. Well he left again to go look and then we prayed about it. Well, 10 seconds after we prayed, *ring* Nathan called and he had found it. The same happened Karina and the VTI wallet just a bit a ago. She had looked all the usual places, so I said, (just like my mom always says) ‘Well, let’s pray about it.’ So we prayed, and again, 10 seconds later, Karina had found it.
I know God doesn’t always answer with that kind of ferocious speed, but I know that he is real, he hears and he responds.
Thank you all again for all you’ve been doing there, even when it doesn’t seem like much. It’s a huge thing and we couldn’t have survived without all the prayers you’ve been giving.
Grace and Peace
James & Karina in Sidmouth in their final bout before the home trip. :)
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 11:35 AM 0 comments
Monday, March 16, 2009
Wha??
So... I'm leaving right away, so I'll give everyone a really quick fill in.
Karina and I took a week off from the team to rest. However, that night when we fell asleep at Mark and Fee's in Clay Cross, Karina woke up with a very high fever. 42.8C or 109F ... that's hot. Anyways, so the paramedics came and they took us away in an Ambulance.
For the next 3-4ish days Mark and/or Fee took me back and forth between the hospital and their home. Visiting hours at the hospital are very strict and so I could only get in between 2-4 and 6-8... The doctors would come in the morning and I wanted to find out what they were doing. The whole ordeal for me was very close to nightmarish. I couldn't rest... think... sleep. I just wanted Karina to get well, and I had to fight to even see her.
Now during this whole thing Karina had some really great talks with people in the hospital. Nurses, Doctors, Patients and random other folks. It was good for her and I think it reminded her a bit of Paul. The way he made the most of wherever he ended up.
Well, 2 days I went to see Karina in the morning... even though we're not allowed... And I mean strictly allowed. The one time, I got in for a little over an hour, but I was warned by about 6 nurses that I shouldn't be there. I really had to fight to stay for the time I did.
The next time was the last day she was in the hospital and my nerves were shot. I remember praying that God would let me get in just so I could be there with her. When I got up to the locked door, I knocked and I saw the nurse at the desk and I knew she was on her way to tell me I couldn't come in, when all of a sudden from the side, a painter walked over and opened the door for me. In I went. I walked straight down the all and by the desk that had 10 nurses, and none of them said anything, and it was almost like none of them saw me.
THen I sat with Karina in the hospital and I was there all day. From the morning till 5ish when they released her. And I never had any warn me. God is awesome... and I know he doesn't always answer in our immediate favor... but that really was a moment that I'm going to cherish for a long long time...
:)
So, since then we've been chillin with Mark and Fee and visiting the Holmgate church and members periodically. It's been a really great time and we're sad to be leaving, but time moves on.
Thank you everyone so so so SO much for your prayers... We can tell you've been praying.
By the way, for those wondering, Karina's problem was one we were previously aware of. She had a bladder infection and she took antibiotics to treat it... THe problem was that the bacteria was resistant to the two kinds that she tried. Thus the infection spread to her kidneys... there was the problem. Now, before anyone freaks out, it's alright. She's good now. lol, she's better than me!
I've still got this lingering head cold that I've had 4 weeks now. I am getting better though. :D
Anyways, I'll throw some pics on here from the last weeks. Thank you all again, and now we're off to Northwich and we're going to meet up with our team! :D
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 3:59 AM 0 comments
Monday, February 23, 2009
Cheeeese Gromit!
England is nice... but I think I’m gaining weight. Lol. I had my first Wensleydale cheese tonight. Karina and I are in Elpakutype mode... (that’s ‘I’ll pack... You type...’) So, Karina’s packing and I’m typing. It’s now been two weeks since we have arrived here in England. Blair has already bought a Welsh flag. Lol, I’m expecting him to wear it like a cape and start dancing in the streets soon. We’re going to be going to a town tomorrow that’s very close to Wales and he is simply itching with anticipation.
Our first week here, we hit the ground running. We had missed our original flight out of Rwanda and so Karina and I were running around trying to get everything sorted out so we could leave. Eventually it all worked out and we got on the plane, and then we flew to Ethiopia and stayed in the airport overnight before flying to London. *whew* We did RE classes (religious education) from a ‘Christian’ perspective in a few schools. It kept us really busy and we had a great time with the kids. I forgot to mention that the first town we were in was Walsall, and I was there 2 years ago. As such, some of the kids at the school we spent more time in remembered me. It was great! We did a lot of dramas, music, and illusions and testimonies. It felt like a blur most of the time just because we were involved in a lot of things. When we had to leave it felt like we had just got there. We spent Valentine’s Day there and Karina and I got our names made out of wire... along with a lot of hearts... It’s hard to explain it... There was this guy on the street who takes a piece of wire and with some needle-nosed pliers makes a stand with names and designs or whatever kind of thing is going on. Anyways, it was really neat. :)
So, time moved on and we had to say goodbye to all of our friends in Walsall as they dropped us off in Clay Cross. This week we did kind of a DVBS with the kids. Every day we played games, did crafts, dramas, puppets and other things to a space theme. It felt like Star Trek most days. The items we did focused around the journey of Peter throughout the gospels... Fisherman to Disciple to Denying Jesus to Prison for Preaching... He had quite the journey. Mark and Cheryl Sorell from Calgary came to see how we’re doing as a team (they’re our directors). It was a really great week too. I was able to wake up every day excited to see the kids and to hang out with Simon and company. I was on team STARS... lol... I think we came in last on the point system, but we had a lot of fun playing games and learning.
At the end of the week, 4 of the kids from the winning team, ‘The Rockets’ got to cream pie 4 leaders of their choice. Haha, it was a blast. Each day our team members acted out parts of a story about a family that was beamed into space. Karina’s puppet Grandma Ida played Grandma Ida Watt, Dylan played Rick Watt (a typical video game crazed kid who doesn’t want to grow up), Amy played Wendy Watt (the annoying but smart sister), Joanna played Mummy Watt (she loved cleaning things...and one time while she was cleaning the teleporter, she was beamed to an enemy ship because the kids were playing with buttons), and the adorable robot/computer was played by yours truely... Me! I got to wear a tin foil covered box on my head. It was great fun, and we were starting to catch on to our roles when we were done at the end of the week. We had so much fun with the kids. Oh, and we got to wind it all up at the end with Tabitha’s birthday party. We had a lot of cake and I remember there being a really big card for her. She had a good day I think :D.
For our day off, the church rented a big tourist bus and between the church members and our team we easily filled up the bus and then went to the city of York. Turns out York comes from Yorwik... which comes from Jorvik... which is obviously of Viking origin. York, way back in the day was a Roman garrison and then it became a town, and was conquered for a while by the Vikings and I think a while by the Normans too. Everyone fought over it for a while. Apparently, Emperor Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor in York. (look for his statue in one of these pictures...) Anyways, the week we happened to go to York is VIKING week! As such there were a lot more people than normal, shops were all open, and there was so much so see and do. All the guys on my team, other than myself, went and got war wound paint on their faces. And before that the 4 of us guys got our pictures taken in Viking outfits. (Mine is the Beowulf outfit and apparently the helmet I wore was one of the 8 actual helmets from the recent Beowulf movie... Who knew? ^_^ ). It was a great day to take in some new sights and catch up on some history. We eventually came back here and had a good morning and evening service at the church. And now here I am digesting my cheese and crackers.
There are a good number of stories of kids that we have been helping to impact, but my prayer is that it won’t really be our team who encourages or changes people, but that Jesus would be doing that. We can only be here a week at a time, but Jesus will be sticking around long before and after we’ve come. Keep praying that we’ll be able to stay on our feet.
This last week I’ve had a bad head cold. I didn’t actually do very much singing or talking like I normally would. I think I’m just about over it now. I’ve stopped coughing and now I’ve just got a runny nose. I know our whole team must be a bit tired. On that note Karina and I are actually really bushed. We’re going to be (after this coming busy week) going to be taking leave from the team for a bit to let them grow and function on their own for a bit. During that time I’m really going to be trying to get some rest up since I’ve been pretty much toasted since getting ready to leave Rwanda.
Pray that the team will keep going and that they’d be able to really function well without Karina and I there and that they’d be able to help each other grow.
Well, I need to be hitting the hay right away here. Have a great one and sorry it took so long to let you all know what we’ve been up to. We haven’t forgotten about any of you. We just didn’t have a massive amount of time to say ‘hi’. Have a great one!
Grace and Peace
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 3:58 AM 0 comments
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Goodbye, farewell, I'll see you in a while!
So... 5 hours before we leave for the airport.
Our whole team is getting ready to go, and about half of them are in denial. Nathan wants a pizza. He hasn’t changed a whole lot. He says he shaved though...
Last week we were able to go on a Safari. We saw one giraffe, zebras, baboons and hippos. It was a really fun time, but it was really really squishy. We were in a small van, and there was 4 people per row where there would normally just be 3... well, in Canada that is. At one point, Noel, who was doing some camera work in the park there, got out to get a video of a big baboon. All of a sudden the baboon came running at them and the three guys standing in the door of the van started freaking out and were trying to get into the van all at once. Meanwhile, that baboon jumped into the van window in the front. That’s where our tour guide was sitting. She held up her jacket and clubbed the baboon until he hopped back out. They’re really intimidating. Dillon was commenting the other day that as we drove away from the baboon, he said to it, ‘Bad Baboon’... to which the Baboon looked at him and scratched his armpit. Goofy Baboons.
I found out that mosquitoes still really love me here. They know I’m leaving soon so they have been snacking on me more than normal.
I loathe mosquitoes.
Ministry wise this week we haven’t done as much. We’ve been trying to rest... trying being the key word.
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 2:48 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Another day... Another sunrise
Here we are again. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to type up some new stuff about what’s going on here. Not because we’re not doing anything, but because there’s always something happening.
Our team tried out some traditional dancing just a few days ago. It was Nanai’s birthday, and he does the teaching so we gave it our best. Lol, good thing too because the next day when we went to a new church down the road from here, the Pastor, for the closing song asked Karina and I to join them dancing. Lol, that was scary. I kept looking over at Dillon and Blair...(get up here) I kept saying with my eyes. They finally started coming up the aisle.... and then the song was done... lol. Dillon is actually not bad at dancing. I think he’s better than I am.
Oh, for those who don’t know what Rwanda’s traditional dance looks like, it reminds me a bit of Spanis
h dancing... if you don’t know what any dancing looks like.... Think of it as standing in water up to your neck, and shuffling your feet to the right and then swinging your arms to the left and going the other way. I don’t really know how else to explain that. Lol.
By the way, the week of doom is upon us. At least, that’s what Blair calls it. He’s going to be assuming some o
f my leadership responsibility for a while. Please be praying for both him and for Joanna who’s doing more of Karina’s stuff as well.
About half the team now has had some really cool ministry times just from walking to the bus stops with a bag of bread and giving it to some of the needy people there. At Remara, one of the big bus stops near here are some guys who are missing either both legs or both arms or have other ailments. The other day Dillon saw the guy with no legs begging as they were driving away and he was able to find a simple bag of chips and tossed it out the window where he caught them with much delight. Food seems to be a simple way to bridge into relationships here.
We also have been doing house visitation now. Basically we go to the home of someone who is sick or needy and we pray for them, give them some food and talk with them and their family for a while. It’s a really hard ministry to do, but these people really need hope and love. The one lady I visited with lives near the base here and she doesn’t expect to live longer than this month. She’s HIV+ and she was really scared of what to do. There’s a lot of people here like her.
Please be praying for the team as they help around here with chores and with the different ministries we’re doing. We’re going to be having a big outreach this Friday. We’re going to announce the outreach on the radio. Should be neat!
In any case, there is a jumping spider attacking my foot. Therefore, i’m going to ship off for the moment. Have a great day everyone. Grace and Peace
- James
P.S. Emily says hi to everyone :D
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 1:41 AM 0 comments
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Behold the New Year... Feels pretty much the same...
Ma-rah-ho! (hello)
Well, hello to everyone! Happy New Year! We brought in the New Year over here with the occasional person being sick... usually myself, Karina, Blair or someone with a random headache or stomach flipping. Never the less, we are all on the way up again.
The sun is real bright again here today. And since there hasn’t been any rain for a few days, we’re all hauling a little extra water for cleaning and chores, etc. Yay for some good ol’ hard work.
As much as the water hauling is recreational time for us, we have had a couple times to play soccer. Lol, I don’t think that the people here are necessarily a WHOLE lot better at soccer than us, but they all have so much more energy and endurance. They run, we run.... then they run, and we jog... then they run and we walk... and then we lie the grass exhausted... and they wonder why we tire out so quickly cause they were just getting warmed up.
Our regular weekly ministries have been on hold a little for this week because of the holidays. We’ve been doing kid’s stuff in churches on Sunday. Tomorrow, Sunday, we’re going to be going to two churches. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. We’re going to be absolutely zonked by the end of the day. Church here is usually a minimum of 2.5 hours. The longest we’ve been to here has been about 4 hours. It’s very interesting... ^_^
Anyways, we’re keeping busy over here and we are really thankful for your prayers and encouragement. We were able to talk to a good number of you on Skype. Thanks for that! For those who we can’t talk to face to (proverbial/digital) face, merry new year and thank you all for supporting us with prayers and encouragement and money wise.
Well, farewell for now... :P I’ll get some more pics up soon! :D
Grace and Peace
James
*PS... thanks for everyone who held out chocolate on the Skype videos... it really helps us think about chocolate a lot less.... (note the extreme sarcasm) lol... we’re going to be eating chocolate sometime in England or Canada.... :)
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 3:47 AM 0 comments
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Mirrory Chrissmas!
Merry Christmas!
Behold.... our team is halfway through Christmas day. We spent this morning in a Church service and this afternoon we’re helping out with getting Christmas Dinner all ready for the newly arrived YWAM team from Hawaii. This last week we have been doing the typical ministries with widows, street kids and the different chores and tasks around the base. On the weekend though, we did some outreaches for the community here. We rented a projector and after doing some testimonies, illusions, dramas, music and then after all was said and done, we played a movie (to which Sylvan translated all the way through as well as presented the gospel throughout and near the end of the movie. The first night we played Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe... the second night we watched the second half of the Ten Commandments... (yes, the old ten commandments). Over 100 people showed up each night, and it was cool to see God work there. In total, there were at least 35 people who accepted Christ over those two nights.
This last Sunday there was a big YWAM thing for the supporters of this Training Centre. We made a Rwandan/Canadian band for the night and we played a bunch of songs and Tabitha did the ‘I Celebrate the Day’ chalk art at the end. (It’s the chalk art with the Cross and the Manger talking about how at Christmas we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, who was born in order to die, so that one day we could ask Him to save our lives)
Our team had our own Christmas here just before REAL Christmas, and we gave each other some gifts. That was special. Karina got me a dagger. :D We made cookies (chocolate chip , and peanut butter squares) and stuffing, mashed potatoes, and some chicken...Chicken is a little different here. They are smaller and tougher. But it was all really wonderful, especially with the gravy!!
We hope it rains soon. It’s been dry here, and our allergies have been giving us a little grief... Health-wise, we’re starting to adjust to the climate and chores...but our food still does some strange things to our digestion. Nothing is constant yet. I’m sure that will get better with time.
It’s interesting being here at the YWAM base. There are a lot of Rwandese people who are used to us. And we are used to them being used to us. So, when we go out of the YWAM base on a walk somewhere, I somewhat feel surprised that the people on the street STILL come up to us and point, and stare saying “MAZUNGU!” Even though Karina has braided hair, she still sticks out like a sore thumb. At least people really appreciate seeing her braided hair.
Anyways, merry christmas everyone! Have a grand day of eating the poor turkeys... or ham... or beef.. or ... ice cream. Run for the hills ice cream! :) And come to Rwanda... there's not enough ice cream here...
We had peanut butter today... it was beautiful!
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 8:16 AM 0 comments
Friday, December 12, 2008
I think I lost 1 litre of sweat yesterday...Whooo!
Well, the last few days have been really busy and exciting. We have been doing ministry with Street Kids, Widows, and HIV victims... as well as whoever else shows up in these locations. It was a bit difficult starting off because we weren’t really sure what to be doing... What the expectations are. Now we know a lot more of them.
1) Repeating songs is not only encouraged, but it is preferred! (not like Canada!)
2) People are quite willing to listen about the Bible, Jesus, and preaching is often encouraged
3) People like different EQ (sound) settings... (you thought we like loud music in Canada!)
There have been others too, but those are the first that come to mind. The other day, Karina, myself and 4 others (I think) were going into the hills nearby to work with HIV victims and along the way we saw some large tents with goats and cows nearby. Karina took a picture of the goats and off we went. Very shortly after we were stopped by a very agitated soldier. Turns out, the tents were part of the army airbase area, and when they saw a camera, they started freaking out. He tried to stop the vehicle, but nobody saw him, and our driver didn’t see him either. So he had to go and grab a bicycle and chase down our taxi van. When he caught up with us, they brought us back to the road by the base and then they took all our cameras to make sure we hadn’t been spying for the French or the Germans. We were there for a good hour sitting in the van while all this was sorted out. Meanwhile we entertained a group of kids that were so excited to be visiting with some Mazoongoos! Lol, it was quite the experience!
We just were at the slummish area of Kigali again last night. There are some street kids there who have been chosen to play soccer. While they do however, they get to learn about Jesus and the Bible and they disciple those who want to follow Jesus. Their soccer cheer is, ‘1, 2, 3, JESUS!’ Very cool. Anyways, while we wait for them to finish practice (2 hours), we whipped out the guitar and instantly there was 20 people there. Granted in the end, there was more people there the first time, just because of the time of day... but there was still a lot of people and we had so much fun singing songs and talking, doing illusions and we even brought out a couple puppets too!
The area we are in is called Samadooha, and it’s the last stop for the buses in this part of down. Nothing like long bus rides home!
We have been trying to find the right adapter for a transformer we got to use for our sound system. However, most of the ministries we’ve done so far have had no power, and have been in places that people like us (if we were tourists) would never go. As such, we hear, ‘Mazoongoos!’ Everywhere we go... (it means White man...) and yes, they even call Nathan a Mazoongoo. Hehe.
Oh, yesterday, I was helping whack weeds out here. The tool I used is a little shorter than a golf club, but angled the same way... straight all the way down, with a crook at the end. Only that the metal is flat and wide with a sharp end at the bottom. Almost like a Machete. Anyways, I was out whacking stuff and the people kept commenting as they walked by. One told me I should be wearing gloves. Lol. Anyways, soon there was a group of 5 kids. They were having a grand time watching me swinging away. All of a sudden while I was swinging, I lost my grip on this weed whacker! It went flying straight up. I covered my head, ducked and went running. It landed harmlessly a few feet from me. One of the boys who had been watching just started to laugh, and laugh, and then he picked up a piece of grass and acted out what I had just did. Swinging and then losing my grip on it and then running away with my hands on my head, and then they laughed all over again. Lol, kids are funny. And I think they think I am. :)
There is a graduation for the students this afternoon, and so this morning we are going to be helping them get
ready, and this afternoon, they’ve asked us to lead the music worship. :D It’s going to be fun!
Therefore, I’m off to get ready, and oh, we’re going to be at one of the biggest churches in the area. Apparently 300 people is a little church... so we’ll see what happens! Thanks for your prayers and we are doing well. There’s the occasional sickish person and the occasional weary weary day. Everyone says Hi to everyone at home!
*********
The graduation was good! We had an amazing time leading music with them. lol, they just LOVE to sing and dance and cheer. It was really fun. The downside is that some of the students are going to be gone now... They're done the communications course here.
Today though is still going to be busy. There's a church nearby that Sylvan's brother is getting married in today and they want us to bring the whole sound system over on foot and do a drama and maybe a song! lol, we'll see what happens with that!
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 11:33 PM 0 comments
Friday, December 05, 2008
Jembe's not a Jembe here anymore!
Yesterday, our team went and visited the Rwanda Genocide Memorial. It was a trying experience for everyone, and feelings were a bit mixed. It was a really good thing for our team even if it was hard to go through.
Over 1 000 000 people died in three months.
Yet despite all the evil that took place here not very long ago, the country has changed a lot. Sylvan, one of our hosts here, came to Kigali (the capital) one year after all these things happened. He was completely overwhelmed with what He saw. The system was gone, and it was everyone for themselves kind of thing. But in the time that has gone, people have changed. People have turned from a lot of the hatred that was consuming them for so long.
When we were driving yesterday, we saw at least 5 vehicles with Christian slogans... Phrases like, God is Love, Praise God, Jesus loves You... things like that... It was really cool to see how much healing has taken place and to see what is going to happen.
Most of our team now is over the travelling tiredness. Joanna was wandering around yesterday and the day before giggling at nearly anything that was normal or mildly amusing. She wanted people to know she hasn’t lost her sense of humour.
We actually have had some sun here once in a while, and we had a quick thunderstorm yesterday evening. The weather can change very quickly, though it’s not likely we’d ever get snow or anything here. The coldest it gets seems to about 15 degrees Celsius and it seems to usually be between 20 and 30. Not bad for winter! :)
There about 1 000 000 people living in the capital today. And they tend to live a lot closer to the tops of the mountains than the valleys. I know how most of the world lives in the valleys between mountains and hills... here they kind of live along them. I suppose the rainy seasons have something to do with that.
We are looking forward to going into town for a few hours today... I still want to find a jembe... and it seems Cody, from Rhys and Janelle’s GAP team this summer had a similar experience in a shop. He asked to see the jembes and they brought a garden hoe out to him. He was surprised and was like, ‘no a jembe I can drum on...’ ‘How are you going to drum with a hoe?’ was basically the reply he got. They still laugh alot about things like that here! :)
Everyone from the team says hello, and some should be able to send some emails today.
From F&F65, thank you all for your prayers and for your love!
Grace and Peace
- James
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 11:24 PM 1 comments
finally... internet...
Well, it’s now 12:11am on the 4th in London right now... but we’re not in London anymore. Currently we’re halfway to Ethiopia from England where we will have a short layover and then continue to Rwanda. Roughly, it has been 24 hours since we have left Calgary and a good number of us are tired...
Lol, for the few who have never really gone flying before, I decided to see what they thought about this ‘flying’ stuff. They seem to share my opinion. Fun.... but wow... it’s a lot of sitting.
I and I think a continually higher number of the team are getting really excited about going to Rwanda. There’s a lot that we aren’t sure what to expect. Things like ‘rainy season’ come to mind. And being that I’ve never been in Africa ever before, it’s a completely new experience for me.
I am sure though that is where God would have us be right now. After the letdown of the Mumbai thing not working out, I wondered what God might do, and I certainly didn’t expect Rwanda. But I’m very excited though. Rhys, who was on my team for the last two years, spent the last bit of time on VTI in the same location as we are flying towards right now. He really was excited to see what God is doing there and what He did through the members of Rhys’ team. I am looking forward to the same.
As far as I understand, a very large part of our diet there is going to consist of rice and beans. Lol, I remember having similar meals in Costa Rica. It was kind of a staple meal.
Now, before I forget, on the way we have been running into different people associated with Rwanda. For example, the first flight Karina and i were on , we met a Christian brother who works with a sort of humanitarian aid organization in Africa, and as such has spent a considerable amount of time in Rwanda and many other countries. He was very excited about our going there and wanted us to know that we would really love the people there.
Then when we were in England, Joanna was visiting with an American guy who also does a lot of work with humanitarian aid. He was travelling, at least at the time, with the Rwanda ambassador to the UN, and so he quickly whisked us over to meet him.
We had a great talk with them both, and when they found out that we do some music, this guy from the UN wanted to hear something. Rhys, just yesterday was teaching us some kinyarwandan songs and so we sang for him, ‘I will love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.’
It was really cool, and I think it also encouraged all of our team, and helped to get some who were less than really excited to start realizing that this is going to be a great experience.
In any case, thank you for all your prayers, thoughts and for reading this. I’ll do my best to let you know what we are up to. I’m excited for what Jesus will do in not only the people we wish to serve,, but also in our very team. I love seeing God show us time and time and time again that He is worth trusting and He is the only one who in the end will never let us down.
With much love and greetings from everyone here in the stuffy plane,
James Witherow
We are now safely in Rwanda at the YWAM base. And nope, we didn’t lose any luggage... though I was quite worried for a while. I’ll fill you in more about what it’s like here soon. [and it is rainy season by the way]...
Wheee!
****
I'll send more news soon... almost another day has gone by. I'll post some pics too... But what I will say now is that we all slept good but some woke up a little confused.
Blair watched as Dillon was wrestling with his mosquito netting... He was trying to sleep while he was holding it up with his hand....
Dillon also tried shaving this morning with his toothpaste... The Rwandans probably think we're a little loopy.
Also... I found out very quickly that a hand drum, what I call a jembe (that's Swahilli)... in Kinyarwandan means a garden hoe. So I said I wanted to go into town a buy a jembe for our music... they just looked at me like I was from the moon and pointed out the window at a lady gardening... 'That's a jembe...' was all they said, and then we all had a good laugh.
Anyways, fare thee well for now!
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 4:33 AM 0 comments
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Stubble Jumpers
Today I am wracked with bittersweet thoughts...
Our team is now on the road, and we're in the Vancouver area. We'll be heading to Saskatchewan tomorrow... yay for long road trips.
For the last 2 days we have been working with the UGM, Union Gospel Mission and doing programs and other stuff around there to encourage the staff and the homeless. It has been a really cool time of growing spiritually (especially... though we've all been growing sideways as well)...
The other day, the team was approached by a deaf lady on the street and nobody knew what to do with her... that was until Nathan walked up, tapped her on the shoulder and started to talk with her in sign language... :D That was a really great experience for the team. I actually wasn't there to see the event though. Karina and I were in the Indian Embassy place when the team met the deaf lady... we had to wait about 3 hours to get through the line up... It was a busy day.
We were also at a church youth group last night and were able to do a program for them. That was a fun experience too.
Today though was a lot harder on me.
We as a team had planned to have some time to relax and take in the Vancouver sights. We went to stanley park in the rain and the team went down to the ocean front. Karina and I were talking at the van for a couple minutes, then we locked up the van and caught up with our team. When we got back, one of the girls was missing her backpack of clothes and her cell phone. Karina was missing some loose change that was in her backpack under the seat and my laptop bag was gone. (laptop, portable hard-drive, cds, mouse, wallet... flash drives... everything was gone... including my folder of my own written songs)
*sigh*
That was about 6 hours ago...
I suppose when you're on the road a lot and your bag becomes your life, if it disappears... it's kind of the same feeling you'd have if your house washed away.
So, I guess this next while is going to be a lot of making lists of things I'm going to have to find all over again. I'm not really looking foward to that. Really though, there are two things that trouble me about all of this the most. It's losing a lot of the pictures that I probably don't have anywhere else... (perhaps of my honeymoon and being in Ontario with Grandpa before He passed away) I hope I have those somewhere...
and the other is the songs I've written...
I hope the same God who has inspired to date, will help me to write again... and maybe... maybe even a little better.
I know that God is in control... whatever comes will come because this life is temporary. I know that some day we will wake up and everything in this physical world that we have cherished will be gone. The only bit that is left will be what we have done for Christ, that is, what Jesus has done though us for His glory.
I pray that I won't let this theft make my heart cold for the homeless... there are a lot of people out there that are desperate for love.
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 9:17 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
a minor update...
Practice to Practice is where we’ve been at now here at VTI. We’re still in the Water Valley area. We’ve been trying to learn programs and get music together in general here so that we won’t look terrible when we go on the road. I’ve been sick for the last week and am still fighting off its remnants. It’s been tiring during this rush of information and trying to be creative on purpose is much harder than being ‘inspired’. In any case, it has been fun working with the team and I really enjoy working with them. It’s hard to keep track of 11 people besides myself. Heh. I’ve been listening to Christmas music already. I know, I know … it’s early… well… I like Christmas, and so it’s been refreshing to listen to some festive songs once in a while.
In any case, supper has now come and I am being whisked away to eat. I do like food.
Thank you all for your prayers... there have been many spiritual attacks already this year. I don't think the darkness is pleased we're going to India. I really hope that we'll be able to bring some light there especially. Pray that we will press on.
Sorry I haven't been writing much... I'll try to remedy that sometime soon and post up some fun pictures of our day off yesterday. We dressed up weird and went into town... :D
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 5:31 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Lookin' for the Beary fat Bears!
Training camp is now in the ‘full swing’ of things. We were running around Calgary yesterday trying to find team outfits for this year (minus the ones that we will get in India). It’s been good being back on team. Very different… but good! I’ve been used to 5 other people on a team with me (team of 6) for the last 2 years, and with that, familiar people on my team. Now there’s new faces, new stories, and a team exactly double the size. There are 12 including myself. 8 girls, 4 guys. It makes great for the statistic books that say that for every guy on the mission field, there are 3 girls. I think that’s right anyways… lol… it’s been a while since I took the classes here.
This last bit has been particularly stretching for me because of the musical diversity here as far as experience goes. There are people here who could be teaching guitar or piano… or vocals… and there are some who don’t play anything and don’t sing anything. All of them want to learn and soak up as much as they can, lol. It’s tiring teaching stuff, but wow, it’s really worth it.
One of the guys that I’ve been teaching a lot of things to is Dillon from Montana. We met him both years that we went down to the States. He’s wanted to come on VTI for about 8 years and so for him to be here and wake up in Canada, learning about how to share his faith through the arts is a living dream come true. The kind of passion that radiates from him is catchy, and people like that make me really love doing what I’m doing.
In this next month and a half we’ll be learning some ‘canned’ program material and practicing all the facets therein. Drama, Music, Art, Speaking, Illusions, and good ol’ Children’s action songs! :D On that note, of learning stuff, I learned a new guitar strum! I’m not positive of the name of it, but it sounds pretty trippy. It’s like combining drums’ rhythm and strumming with it. Weird. Took a good 2 hours just to do it right. *sigh* I hope you all get to hear it sometime to actual Hindi words! :D
It’s strange trying to tell you everything that’s been going on because it doesn’t feel like we’ve done much…. But that’s just because we’ve been going so fast that I don’t remember much of what happened past a day or two ago. Time just keeps flying.
I’ve been trying to write some songs again a bit. While they’re learning some of things that us ‘experienced’ team members have already learned, I have a little free time. Time to write this, time to sing… time to practice… so much time that gets eaten up by all the things I should do… need to do… should have done… practical things… thoughtful things… *whew* lol… it’s true… there are never enough hours in the day.
We have had some chances to goof around and expend some energy doing creative games and activites. Luke (from the Artists in Residence program here at VTI) and myself just did a scavenger hunt a day or two ago. Lol… we got them to take pictures of their team doing all kinds of strange things. Lol… I’ll try to include a pic or two on the blog here… ^_^
For those just tuning in, or for those who have been following my adventures for a while, my email is still: encaitar777@yahoo.com You can get a hold of Karina or I through that pretty easy. Thank you all for your prayers and notes and visits and lol, thanks Grandma for remembering Karina’s birthday! That was a blast for her… oh, lol… and Mom too! For calling and singing in the morning and making sure to check up on Karina and Nathan and Myself and everything… Feel free to call again sometime!
Please keep praying that God protects our team and helps us to grow. I think pretty much everyone here has a passion to see Jesus move through the people we meet… here, Canada, USA, India, the UK, wherever, I hope and pray that God will do something sweet.
It hasn’t been a field of velvet though… there have been struggles on team… Usually pertaining to self-esteem or lack of a specified talent…. It’s been pretty emotional at times, but the team is really supportive of everyone and best of all I haven’t heard any cutting down of anyone. Very little sarcasm and… it’s just a bunch of young adults passionate to see God move. Lol… they make me feel old sometimes! :D I want to keep that kind of passion with me. Pray that God will keep us Passionate for Himself and for us to be passionate to share about Him everyone we meet whether by word or deed.
In the meantime from here in the foothills, Grace and Peace
James
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 11:24 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
what for is the grass but for standing?
Well, we're sitting here right now in Budapest airport waiting for our flight. I think it's coming around sooner or later. Most likely in a while. I will have to put up an entry to mention some things about what has transpired while we've been here in CentralishandWestern Europe. Oh, for those wondering about my stomach problems and my ankle, i'm not entirely better, but I have definitely improved. Whee! lol, signs around Europe are crazy. If you're looking for an important road, there are often signs two or three streets before that for any of us looking for directions, we end up on entirely the wrong roads. We even got lost trying to find the airport... not for long mind you... And we arrived to find the airport basically empty...and once it filled to the brim we found out that our flight was 'lost' as well. Cancelled. However, we are on the 9:30 flight and this set back doesn't interfere with our connecting flight back to Canada... that's a huge... HUGE... blessing.
It's been a hard few weeks... Good few weeks... Hmm... here are some simple highlights.
The first few days we were at Pista's (Peeshta) we were able to help with some of their haying stuff out in the fields. That was sweet. They had a horse and cart... and horse flies LITERALLY an inch and a half long. A fleet of those could carry off a horse. On that note, i also that day saw the biggest flying bug I ever saw. It was longer than 2 inches and the hugarians described it to be as the 'Oh, the one that sounds like a helicopter?'.....it was big.
And I clubbed it with my hat... Never the less, it picked itself back up and flew away. I could still see it a hundred feet away.
Did I mention it was a big bug?
Ok, so getting away from the bug thing, we had the opportunity to go to some orphanages and churches and youth groups. It was fun. The kids loved the silly songs ... though the teens did too... And they loved balloons and music... It was really cool to hang out with these kids.
In Romania we went to the farthest Hungarian speaking villages. They had never even seen an evangelical Christian before. As such, in the one village especially we had a particularly unfriendly welcome... They wanted us to keep off their grass too... That's when Pista turn to us very confused...'What for is the grass but to stand on?!' It was pretty funny. Sorry if the humor is too removed from this situation. I suppose you'd have to hear him say it. Grand I tell you.
Anyways, about this lady with the unfriendly welcome. When we finally brought over some kids, we got down to business. We did games and balloons and ate chocolate... sang some songs. And suddenly our host lady changed. She stopped frowning and started to be excited and supportive of what we were doing. We weren't able to share the gospel there at that time, but we were able to build valuable bridges for the next time Evangelical Christians come to visit. I don't think they've ever met a foreigner... most of them anyways.
I know Jesus will visit them again.
A last quick note...
One night we needed to sleep outside on our trip around South Central Europe. As such we were looking for a building a bit out of the way with some roof in case it rained. We stayed that night in a ruined 150 year old ish Jewish Synagogue. The entrance was covered in Anti-Jewish/Christian slogans, sybmols etc. I have the distinct feeling that whoever did it though was pretty out of it. On one wall they had tried to spraypaint 666, but it ended up 665. Sad.
Point of all this?
We reclaimed it for Christ. Karina and some of the others prayed that night that Jesus would protect us there again where for many years had been worship of the same God that we worship. Then in the morning... (after a GOOD sleep I might add) Myself, Jeremy and Beth picked up some chalky stones and rid the Synagogue of the terrible graffiti.
Truth being rediscovered... Being reclaimed... It was a beautiful thing to see Jesus' name on that wall instead of Satan's.
This whole trip we have seen God at work. There has not been a day when we needed Him (even knowingly) helping us some way some how to get through the day... or find something... or to open our eyes to something that has always been there but that we just haven't been able to perceive.
To see God actively involved beyond anything I can or could ever do on my own was amazing. Awe Full.
Looking forward to hearing from you all... If you have questions, please write, and I'll try to answer as best I can.
Please pray for Pitti (Petey) and Pista as they're still travelling and Pitti's back really bothers him from time to time.
I'm almost home everyone! I hope to see many of you soon.
Oh... and Please, pray for my Dad's family...especially my Grandma. My Grandpa Witherow passed away the same day I became an Uncle. And if Grandma is reading this, I love you very much, and it's going to be terrible landing in Toronto and not being able to see you again yet. I love you and Grandpa, and I'm praying for you. Jesus will be with you as surely as he has been here to protect me on this trip...
*And despite all this driving (over 4000kms...I'll find out for sure how many later), I STILL haven't had any back trouble... despite other sickness... lack of sleep... sitting too long... sleeping sitting... tenting climbing and walking...
Man is He faithful or what?!
He's worth trusting. :)
posted by
Encaitar Mapalon at 12:35 AM 0 comments
h dancing... if you don’t know what any dancing looks like.... Think of it as standing in water up to your neck, and shuffling your feet to the right and then swinging your arms to the left and going the other way. I don’t really know how else to explain that. Lol.
f my leadership responsibility for a while. Please be praying for both him and for Joanna who’s doing more of Karina’s stuff as well.
