Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

From Josiah Meneghini Student at Covenant College Chattanooga, Tennessee Area I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Josiah Confirm that you know Josiah You are receiving Invitation to Connect emails. Unsubscribe © 2012, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

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pictures (pt 1)

so these are all pictures i stole from facebook because i didn't bring my own camera. if you would like a more complete view of all the ones i purloined, go to: http://gallery.me.com/switchfan#100032

maize (corn)

katie, me, anthea, fiona, and someone else i don't know (right to left)

he was just chillin

our safari rover (we had fun)

guys in the northern hemisphere and girls in the southern

the end

so i am back. first off, sorry i didn't post very much. they say things are slower in africa, but that is for africans. americans still manage to stay incredibly busy. i learned a ton and had awesome experiences, but it took a lot of time.

second, thank you so much for all your prayers and interest in my trip. without your prayers i am convinced that the trip would not have gone so smoothly.

third, my trip back was fine and went off without a hitch. it was tiring but not it was not as bad as my trip there. we were in Amsterdam for 6 hours and me and christina went into the city for a while at 5 am. it was awesome. it was so quiet and peaceful. there wasn't a sound or soul on the picturesque streets of europe. it was a bit surreal. i really want to travel europe now.

i would like to summarize my time there with a few principles i learned (from the outset, it was supposed to be a learning experience).

1) missions is a state of being, not a task: you cannot approach missions as a task or a job. it has to flow out who you are and your state of being. this means that i must work on being the person who missions flows out of. another way of saying this, is that i am more convinced in incarnation ministry is the best form of ministry. this requires me to be a person who spreads the gospel through who i am, not just what programs i do.

2) we are all the same: although we are vastly different people with different cultural upbringings, we are all still humans. when going into cross cultural situations we try to emphasize the differences and the how to adapt. but under all that, all people share some fundamental similarities. we all deal with the same problems. uganda isn't that different from america. we both deal with consumerism and the generation gaps created by mass media. although we are on different ends of the spectrum, we both struggle with the role of gender and how money should be used in the church. we are much closer to our brothers and sisters than we think.

3) listen: many people want to move to another country and 'do missions.' that isn't how it works. listening, learning the language, being a humble learner is the first thing you must do. and the most important in the sense that if you don't do it, you will be completely ineffectual and wasting you time. it might seem pointless to just live among people for 2 years do nothing but learning and listening. but it essential. i learned a lot from the missionaries (especially joel and dale), but i learned the most from tony, a farmer who never made it past 10th grade. this is not understood by the donor community in america. i think this goes back to incarnation ministry.

4) multicultural staff is essential: there is a huge amount of perspective and depth that is added to a team by having multiple cultures represented. we cannot see so much in our own culture because it is OUR culture. the need for fresh perspective is essential. this is especially true when you are trying to envision a counter culture of the kingdom. you have to have others involved. that means that americas do have a place in uganda. and likewise, ugandans have a place in america. we need both. it should not just be a team of nationals. this isn't such a big deal, but if you are com dev major you struggle with admitting that americans have anything to offer.

5) poverty (according to the american definition) is not that bad: living simply is good. i enjoy it. enjoy people. they are a lot better at doing that. we don't need stuff. after being in the very heart of consumerism (apple store) for a week, the contrast of stuff is a but shocking. not that ugandans aren't materialistic (they really are), but there is not so much excess.

and while i'm making lists, here's a list of my top 10 things in uganda (although not necessarily ranked)

1) vumiria: my african name

2) boda bodas: the motorcycles that are everywhere and will be bring you anywhere for a dollar. they are fun to ride. we need them in america

3) tony: the guy i worked with most of the time. he's really funny and cool and smart

4) chapatis and rolexs: chapatis are these flat bread made of flower, water, and onions. they are really good. and rolexs are chapatis with an omelet like mixture inside them. kinda like a breakfast burrito... but african

5) the landscape: it was absolutely the most wonderful thing ever. even my walk to work never got old. the rolling hills with red rooftops and roads and lush green filling in all the gaps. incredible.

6) joel and jill: 2 of the missionaries who work with university students. they taught me a ton in just a few conversations. they are also really funny and direct. joel has an incredible balance of humor and discernment. jill is will talk about anything and is always completely frank and yet still an incredibly nice person. they my example of incarnation ministry. they taught me that being culturally sensitive is not as important as be a real, loving image bearer.

7) my ponga: i bought a machete (ponga) for 3000 schillings (USD 1.50). i brought it back it is soooo awesome. i chopped a lot of things.

8) the raw feeling of reality: life seems a lot closer and more tactile and more real than it does in america. it was probably just the difference and the poverty, but it was definitely different.

9) this pineapple soda that i forgot the name of: i only tried it on my last day of uganda! it was tragic because i really liked it. i had never tired it before because it was in a green bottle and had a label on it that looked like beer. but then i found out it was an awesome soda. and i drank it.

10) my team: they are a really really awesome group of people. they were great friends and i am so glad i shared the journey with them.

so thank you all so much for everything. i hope you also learned something from this (if anything, please just take away that you cannot stereotype africa. it is filled with creative, unique, and really cool people). if you have questions or want to talk more about it please contact me. mukama asiimwe!

so, i do have time

so i actually haven't done anything today. at all. which is really odd. i've been at the skinnners all day and we have been taking things easy. the skinners are way cool (can't really say they are the coolest missionaries, but ya know...).

so, let me take a few minutes to talk about tony. he is incredible. i work with him. he is from rwanda. his family fled the country right before the genocide. both his parents died for aids and he went to live with his uncle who made him walk for kilometers to do trading and would often beat him. he still has the scars. one time he fought back and knocked his uncle out with a rock they used in a pestle. he started running and ran from 5 am till 6 pm when he got to mbarara. it was 60 miles. he went to his sister who lived there but she didn't want anything to do with him (he is the third youngest of 11). so he was out on the streets of mbarara for a while. then he found a white father (muzungu priest) to pay his school fees. he started school in rags with no food and the girl who was assigned to sit next to him cried when she found out she had to sit with him and wouldn't even talk to him. fastforward to now. he is a 30 year old farmer and compound guard with 2 kids and a wife. he also takes care his niece whose mother has aids. he can swim. he's a mechanic. he can take apart an entire engine and put it back together. he also knows how to weld. he has a vision to start a program for boys to learn practical skills they can use. like a trade school. university (college) is the highest good here. everyone wants to go even though only 10-15% of graduates get a job right out of university (sound like america?). he says that the trade skills are highly undervalued and the youth want to work but have no way to learn. he wants to sell the products and services the students produce to fund the program (business as missions. so awesome). i think it is an awesome idea. we are leaving now so must go. but there are tons of stories like this all over the place. everyone here has a history of pain and suffering. it is incredible to hear their stories and then see them say God is good. mukama asiiwe (praise God)

my african name

so i don't really have time to post a lot, BUT i have to tell you about one of the most exciting things that happened to me. i was given a african name by the guys i work in the field with. it's vumiria. it is swahili for persistant. totally awesome. i am so excited. i will post more later. we have had a lot of power outages lately.

sick. blaaa

i was in bed most of the day today. not at all a fan. i have less energy now than ever before. i get exhausted so easily. of all the times and places to be sick, this is probably the most inconvenient. but this is somehow part of God's plan. i am not as good at being flexible as i thought i was. i have definite expectations for my time here. it is looking like God has different ones though. please pray that God would teach me what he wants me to learn through this. and if it is in his will that i would get better and get my energy back. thanks guys.