Moving forward: Sinanzi Sepo Project

It has obviously been quite some time since we've posted any ministry updates.  We have a renewed vision and an exciting new blog & facebook page. Please follow our ministry now at:

• Stay updated: sinanzisepoproject.blogspot.com
• Keep in touch: sinanzisepoproject@gmail.com
• Like us: facebook.com/SinanziSepoProject
• Support us: gofund.me/SinanziSepoProject

A Brief Mubuyaeta Ministry Update

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

Every year is always packed with activity and changes, but 2010 had its fair share of events for the Mubuyaeta family. Elton and I began the year on maternity leave in the States for 6 months. On April 17, we welcomed Quincy Naleli to our family. We returned to Namibia in June 2010 with Quincy in tow. She is quite the popular kid around the village and around town. Everyone is always happy to see her. Now she is 9 months and full of energy.

In July, Quincy and I traveled to Windhoek to continue working on residency papers that I had applied for in May 2009. I am happy to report that in October they were finally approved for both Quincy and I giving us the freedom to live here for 2 years before we have to renew them. This is a HUGE improvement over the permits we were getting for 30/60/90 days.

In August, we moved into our newly built non-traditional traditional house in Mukisa Village to live with Elton's father's side of the family. It was built out of termite mud and wood poles with a metal sheet roof. What makes it non-traditional is the sheer size of it along with a built-in bathroom, complete with tub and a functioning toilet and also a kitchen sink. Most traditional houses would be without those luxuries. We are still working on obtaining running water and some form of power whether it be solar or electric. It also has 2 guest rooms for any travelers that wish to come visit us here.

Also in August, I started to suffer from problems which was a first diagnosed as hepatitis but turned out to be gallbladder problems. After reaching the point of hardly being able to eat anything, fat or otherwise, I finally had it removed in Windhoek hospital in December. Going through surgery in an African hospital is something I hope I never have to endure again. Fortunately, I am much improved but the experience has left me leery of the medical system here.

Since the beginning of 2011, both Elton and I have had malaria and have had numerous problems with the truck. I was hoping for a quiet beginning to this year...

Farewell to Children of Zion

After almost 3 years of service to Children of Zion Village and Mafuta Orphan Care Centre, I have resigned. Elton also has worked there since 2003 and will be leaving at the end of January. We will miss the kids and staff but we wish them God's blessing on their future endeavors. Elton has been appointed Vice Church Elder for the 2011 year at the Katima SDA church. Since this is an unpaid position, he also we be driving a taxi.

Some of our new projects:

Musanga Farm

I came to Namibia the first time in May 2007, I fell in love with the country and its people. When I prayed to God what I was supposed to do here, I received a very simple command of 3 words: Feed My Sheep. Not knowing if this was a literal command or a m ore figurative one, I went with a combination of both. As we've come to this time of transition when I am seeking God's direction I keep getting the same command: Feed My Sheep. We want to start farming soy beans and sunflowers with future expansions to add chickens and domestic projects like sewing and carpentry. Soybeans could be supplied to women and vulnerable children as a nutritious addition to their diet and don't require refrigeration. Sunflower seeds can be made into cooking oil

The Good Samaritan Centre: A HIV/AIDS Nursing Home/Hospice Facility

The Caprivi region where we live has been rated number one in Namibia with people who are infected. The government is caring for physical needs such as medication when they reach a certain stage of the illness and hospital care, but when they are discharged many have no place to go. Many times they may have a family that cares for them but is unable to provide the quality nutrition necessary for the medication to work properly. We hope to provide them with a temporary place to stay to get back on their feet, provide healthy food, education about their disease, and counseling how to cope with the future. This project will be in partnership with many of the local government ministries and foreign NGO's working in Namibia.

Mukisa Kindergarten

In July 2010, we opened a kindergarten for the children living in and around Mukisa Village. We have averaged 15-20 students per month age 3-6 years old. Elton's aunt, Cordelia, is the teacher and she is doing a wonderful job. The biggest challenge the school is facing at the moment is lack of space. The students are meeting in her house in the sitting room. When the weather is conducive they go outside. As you can imagine that amount of students in one cramped room is not ideal. We are praying for the funding to build a small school house near the edge of the village. The cost would be between $1,000-2,000 USD. They will also accept any school/craft supplies anyone is willing to send.

Final Messengers

There is a group of 8 guys from our church who formed a singing group called Final Messengers. Elton has been working with them to help them record a CD. They previously recorded 4 songs that are very popular on the local radio station. Last year they were invited to a number of the local churches for church services, special events and crusades. They hope in the future to raise enough support to be able to travel farther spreading the Gospel message through song.

Coming Home for a visit

Quincy and I will be coming home at the end of February 2011 for a few weeks. Elton unfortunately has to stay behind this trip. Pray for me as I fly more than 18 hours with a very wiggly 10 month old alone. We will be staying with my parents in Albany but making one or two trips to Rochester. If anyone would like me to speak about our new projects at church, bible study, youth group, etc. I'd be happy to do so.

Finally Some House Photos

There are just a few but you can check them out on:

FACEBOOK or PICASA

We are still working to get the outside finished before the rain comes which is hot on our heals.

Mukisa Security Force

Meet Buddy and Talula (aka Thug Dawg). They have joined Klepto and Kasper (Elton's dog who mostly lives with his great aunt but choses to grace us with his presence when he's hungry) as part of the Mukisa Security Force. They might not look too threatening now, but dogs are a huge part of keeping one's house secure here. Let's just hope they don't eat us out of house and home. This morning I realized they have learned Klepto's thieving ways when I found some of our neighbor's laundry outside my front door.

Photos still pending

As one of my dear friends has pointed out I haven't posted photos of the house yet. My apologies. Our internet is broken and of course since it is a two year old device no one has the disks to re-install it. So i only have what little internet access that my cellphone can provide.

but i will say we are enjoying being in the village despite the learning curve for me. One of the hardest things has been cooking on the fire. Today i discovered something that makes it all worth it. After my work is done i take advantage of the coals. Two words: coconut marshmellows.

In the house

We moved into our house tonight. It is still in need of a lot of work but the basic structure is done. It feels good to be home. Only wishing we had even a small amount of furniture or a toilet. I've already made a trip into the bush in the dark. But anyway these things will come over time. its home sweet home. We arrived too late tonight to take pics. It is pitch black. Pics to follow tomorrow.

Cuz

Q and I travelled to Windhoek last week to work on our residency permits. We stayed with Elton's sister so Q could hang with her cousins, Mabby (rt) and Julia (lt). When they first met Julia didnt realize Q was a real baby until she pinched her cheek and she started screaming. Julia spent the whole week telling me, "Its a baby!" like she was still surprised everytime she saw her. I guess they don't see a lot of babies like Q around here.

like a foolish man who built his house on sand

I know this scripture in Matthew 7 is talking about people that hear the words of Jesus and don't listen, but the words keep echoing in my head: like a foolish man who built his house on sand. I feel like that foolish man. As I've said before I know nothing about building houses especially traditional mud houses in Namibia.  Sometimes I feel like I've bit off more than I can chew.  Fortunately I am not building alone.  Elton is an excellent builder.  As with any kind of building project, everything costs more than we expected. The roof alone cost $1000 USD which was actually already at a great discount.  People here normally build with thatch but unfortunately I am terribly allergic.  We are struggling to finish the house properly.

As I've been recently reminded (thanks scott!), one of the reasons I was running from being a missionary in Africa was because I was scared of the very life I've just chosen.....this simple life living in the bush. Its amazing how God has eased me into this lifestyle.  First He got me to Africa and allowed me to fall in love with it (and my wonderful husband) so that when it came time to chose this more simple life I was more prepared.  We won't have electricity or running water.  We are even going to fail to put in a concrete floor I had wished for so we will have mud floors. (What is that going to be like when Quincy starts crawling?!)

Life just becomes more difficult when the baby is crying in the night and you have to light a candle to see what's the problem rather than just flip a switch.  Or when you need water, you have to go draw it from a bore hole this is way down the road instead of just turning a tap.  Or when you want to cook, you have to light a fire instead of just turning on the stove.  Or when you want to wash clothes, first to carry water then to scrub by hand.  The great thing about being human is our ability to adapt. I am learning how to do these things, but it takes so much time there is little time left for anything else.

These things I can learn to live with. What I'm really struggling with is this idea of going to the toilet in the bush especially at night. We bought a toilet at a really cheap price, but we are failing to put in a septic system which makes that toilet obsolete.  So off to the bush I will go.  I don't know how many grown up people you know that are still scared of the dark, but I am one of them.  And the darkness here isn't like in America.  There are no street lights or city glow to brighten the sky at night.  If the stars aren't shining or the moon is small, you can't see you hand in front of your face or the snake that is underneath your feet.  I think I just won't drink much before I go to bed.     

Another thing is I don't know how I'm going to manage is to cook daily over a wood fire.  I am trying but I manage to burn everything including myself. The bottom line is when you are camping cooking over a fire is kind of fun but when it is everyday life, it will get very tiresome. We can buy a simple gas stove with an oven for about N$1500 (about $200 USD) but right now it is also outside our budget.

One of the biggest rookie mistakes I've made in building this house was to ask for more windows.  The window frames are sort of expensive, but in my head I thought it was worth it.  Since we won't have electricity, why not use the sun to our best advantage by having more windows, right?  What I didn't know is that window frames are sold without glass and glass here is ridiculously expensive and somewhat difficult to get.  It is almost essential to have either glass or netting on your windows, not only to keep our malaria-ridden mosquitoes but also snakes and other critters. 

So I say all of this as a plea for help.  We are building this house on our own. The best thing is after it is build our daily living costs will be significantly reduced.  But we need help to finish some of these basic things. If we are especially blessed, we can add some of the more modern conveniences to make my life a bit more manageable. In the future, we are praying for the money for a generator or solar panel system both of which are about N$5000 or in our wildest dreams a transformer to be able to hook into the government power which begin at N$20,000.  As for water, they say sometime next year the town will be installing a public water line that will pass by our village.  Again, it will be affording the connection fee.  As for right now, we are praying for the money for a small water tank on a trailer approx. N$5000 that can be filled and parked next to the house.         

If anyone is willing to make a donation to help us to finish to build the house, you can mail a check to my parents or contact me personally for the address.  You won't receive a tax-deductible receipt. 

We will be moving into the house before the end of August with or without these things.  Pray for us and especially for my sanity as I struggle with so many changes at one time.  We know it is super expensive to come visit, but if you want to make the trip, we welcome any of you. In November, one of our friends who is finishing her peace corp contract is hoping to visit us.  Early next year, we expect a friend from the US and possibly a student group. Hopefully in the next year or two somehow Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie will manage to scrape together enough money to come visit Q in her natural habitat. 

Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words
of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise
man who built his house on the rock. The rain
came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew
and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because
it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone
who hears these words of mine and does
not put them into practice is like a foolish man
who built his house on sand. The rain came
down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash."

FIFA fever

Today is the big day! The World Cup finals.  I honestly could care less, but with our neighbors, South Africa, hosting this big event, Namibia is all a buzz with FIFA fever.  There has been a constant din of vuvuzelas all around town since the World Cup soccer.  Good luck to both Netherlands and Spain.  May the best team win!

 

(PS Sorry for the spoilers if you don't already know who is in the finals.  I have no idea when these games air in the States.)

Babies: the movie

My dear friend Ms. Hoose assumes correctly that she is the umpeenth person to ask me about the movie Babies that was recently in theaters: http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/babies/ Rightfully so because how often do movies that has anything to do with Namibia come out, right? So she has inspired me to blog in response to all your questions.

We are no where near where this movie was filmed. Namibia is a pretty big country and fairly sparely populated. The people that live here are as diverse as its terrain. Opuwo is almost a straight shot west approx. 757 miles/1218 km from Katima Mulilo. (http://www.travelmath.com/drive-time/from/Opuwo,+Namibia/to/Katima+Mulilo,+Namibia)

The tribe featured in this movie are the Himba. They are one of the more unique tribes of Namibia having retained most of their traditional lifestyle. Where we live is mostly Mafwe/Lozi people like Elton. Like the Himba they have maintained a tribal structure, but unlike the Himba have adopted more Western dress and some Western lifestyle. I have never traveled to the Northwest but I have seen a few Himba people selling their crafts in the capital of Windhoek. As you can imagine they draw a lot of stares when they walk down the street.

I didn't actually get to see this movie before we left the States since we were busy with our own baby but I am quite interested in seeing it. Maybe someone can mail it to me when it comes out on DVD.

Grandpa Candy and Great-grandma Elizabeth

Last weekend, we finally made it out to Lisikili where Elton's dad is stationed as part of the Namibian Army. It happens to also be where his Grandmother Elizabeth, lives. Grandpa Candy is normally a quiet, pensive sort of fellow but he was in rare form when meeting his newest granddaughter. He doesn't get to see his other granddaughters very often. Elton's sister, Mwenda, lives in the capital Windhoek and can't visit very often. He took Quincy and I shopping on Friday and bought her some diapers, a warmer blanket and some other misc things.

The Weirdest Thing Just Happened....

Last night before going to bed I was trying to clean my glasses because everything was looking blurry. I put them back on and realized they were still blurry. After taking a closer look I realized that the left lens has a bunch of cracks right through it. So weird. I don't remember dropping them or anything.
It seems like at any minute it could snap in half. Fortunately I have another pair and large supply of contacts. It's just these are my favorite pair.

Two Months

On Saturday, Quincy turns 2 months. Hard to believe the time is flying. According to my Aunt Barbara, I need to cherish these days because it will seem like next week she's driving and the week after that going off to college. Anyway, I thought I'd post a few pics so you can see how she's grown in just this first week we've been away. She's becoming so much more animated and staying awake for so much longer. Elton and I are sure every night we go to bed that she'll look bigger in the morning.

Quincy is sending this photo to Tom Rivers.

Namibian Laundry Mat

photo of the house we are staying at in town with Elton's Aunt Netsai while we build

So since we don't have a laundry mat or a washing machine where we are staying now, this week I've had to learn to wash clothes by hand. I don't know how many of you done this in any great abundance (except for maybe my peace corp friends), but man, is it hard work. It makes me evaluate ever piece of clothes... is it really dirty? Can't I wear it just one more day? And with a baby, it's 10 times worse because she has to change numerous times a day and usually so do I because she likes to spit up on both of us. I've washed the occasional pair of underwear or t-shirt in a pinch, but never whole loads of laundry for three people.

It basically involves using some sort of bucket or tub. You boil water. Pour it in the tub with some some powdered soap so the soap will dissolve and then add cold water so you don't melt your skin off. In goes the clothes, you swish them around and start scrubbing. You take the clothes in your hand and rub the knuckles of your right hand against the wrist of your left hand. When it is clean, wring it out, put it aside. When you are finished washing everything, fill the basin again and rinse. Its not the scrubbing that is a problem for me, its wringing them out. Quincy's clothes are no problem, but for the adult clothes or blankets, towels, sheets, etc. my hands are SO not strong enough. Having suffered from carpel tunnel syndrome in my office work days, I think I am at a disadvantage. I'm praying that over time I'll grow stronger.

Today is my third time in less than a week and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. Though the funny thing is its quite a spectacle for people to see a white woman hand washing. Its like Barnum and Baileys has come to town. Very few people have said anything but I have gotten a lot of stares. After finishing what has been the largest load I've done since being here, I stood back and admired my work with a sense of accomplishment. Now if I could just figure out how to light this Namibian wood, I wouldn't be starving my husband. Fortunately his auntie we are staying with a great cook. Maybe I should have been a girl scout or something?

Our Future Home

As I mentioned earlier Elton's already been making arrangements to start building our house in the village. First order of business was to place an order for bush poles.

African construction is quite informal... so different from American. You don't need building permits, deeds to the land or make a lot of fuss over the stuff we normally would. Since Elton is a member of this village, there was little formality other than to chose the location. We picked a lovely shaded spot under a tree just near his paternal grandmother where they recently took down an older house. And in the spirit of recycling we will reuse some of the termite mud from the old house to build ours.

The style of construction we are using is the traditional mud house with some American-friendly modifications. I originally wanted a concrete block house. But relying on Elton's wisdom in construction, I realized how much more economical and time-efficient it would be to build a mud house which is nearly as strong. It is basically a frame made out of thick bush poles as the support, thinner bush poles as the rafters which are then packed with mud from a termite mound. When its dry it looks just like concrete. It will have a zinc sheet roof and a poured concrete floor (one of the modifications). I also requested a shower and toilet inside the house which will be made out of concrete block...also something you don't normally find in a traditional home. They have more of a shower/latrine surrounded by a grass fence. If you have more serious business to do, you head to the bush. At this point a toilet and shower are almost moot because there is no running water in the village. The manual pump on the borehole well in the village has been broken for nearly 8 years without being fixed by the government. They have to travel quite a distance to fetch water. We bought a new pump head thinking it would solve the problem, but alas it hasn't. We've applied to the government water company to dig a new well but they said it won't happen until January 2011 unless we can pay something to the equivalent of $10,000 USD which is, of course, out of the question. Be praying this complication works out.

The other sticky wicket is the cost of a transformer to get our village hooked up with some electricity. We've heard it can cost nearly N$30,000 plus labor which at an approx. 7.9% exchange rate... you do the math, it's expensive! Not only would it service the whole village, but it might help solve some of our water issues if we could use an electric pump. We're exploring the other options like solar power, battery or generator. Fortunately for cooking we can get a gas stove, but for our other modern conveniences like a refridge, TV/DVD, laptops, and Elton's playstation we need to make other means.

African Snack Time

I love to eat and I'm not opposed to trying any kind of new fruit or vegetable. I'm often discovering my new favorite African fruit. (Meats and fish... COMPLETELY different story though I have enjoyed the occasional Ostrich, Zebra or Kudu steak which are all quite good.)

So today Elton came back from buying bush poles to build our new house. His cousin Blanco handed me some reddish sticks. I thought they were samples of what we were buying. They were rather short and looked rather weak to hold up a house, but what do I know about African construction, right? Never in a million years did I realize within minutes I'd be enjoying a lovely afternoon snack. Turns out it was sugar cane! You take off the hard the bark and chew on the inside sucking out the sweet juice. Then you spit out the cane. What a treat for the whole village, young and old alike. I highly recommend it!

Q's in the Hood

We've arrived safe and sound back to Namibia. Quincy's been busy meeting her new family. She's quite popular as you can imagine especially with all the small children. It's been non-stop visiting since we've arrived. It's been great for her to get to know Elton's grandmothers, her great-grandmothers. They fuss over her with the best of them. They are constantly worried that she too cold or too hungry. Our friends Fortune and Sophia had a girl, Ariel, 1 week before Quincy and Elton’s cousin Benstien and Doreen just had a girl named Anna 2 weeks ago. Quincy will have lots of playmates her age. She has yet to meet her maternal great-grandmother and Elton's dad.

Twelve hours

The clock is ticking.... 12 more hours from now the Mubuyaeta's will be on a plane back to Namibia.

If you only mode of communication with us is reading this blog, you're saying.... wait... back on a plane, I'd assumed you'd died sitting in the the queue at the maternity ward.. Yes, I probably would have still been rotting in the queue if I hadn't decided I had to come home to deliver. I'd had enough of morning sickness and the general, overall rough start to my pregnancy we've been in the USA since before Christmas. I'm happy to report we've had a lovely 6 month furlough in the states enjoying time with friends and family.

Life on April 17th has become a different sort of chaotic. Elton and I are used to the normal chaotic routine of almost 60 children at COZV, but its just not the same when its your own child. Let's just say I'm glad I was in the states to deliver because it didn't all go as planned. God blessed us with a wonderful midwife/doctor team and at 9:01am Quincy Naleli Mubuyaeta blessed us with her presence. She's already almost 7 weeks and showing us her personality. Tomorrow she'll begin the journey to meet her African family who are anxiously awaiting there turn to meet her.

Happy Thanksgiving and another trip to the Maternity Clinic

Being that it is Thanksgiving Day, one is always prompted to review those things one is thankful for. This year I have many thanksgivings that I never would have thought possible even a year ago, yet alone ever in my lifetime. Just a to name a few…an amazing husband, a child on the way, an awesome family on two sides of the ocean plus the more mundane things of life like getting to eat a fairly traditional turkey dinner despite most “normal” Thanksgiving items being unavailable in Africa and even having one very expensive can of cranberry sauce imported from Windhoek. It makes it feel a little bit more like a holiday.

Today’s activities haven’t really included any of my normal American Thanksgiving other than making squash rolls with some rather strange African pumpkin. I started my day returning to the infamous public maternity clinic (more to follow below…). Instead of watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I got to watch Veggie Tale’s David and Goliath with the 3 preschoolers: Jonathan, Isaac and Maria. And I’ve spent the day passing on my greetings of “Happy Thanksgiving” to my African friends who really have no clue what I’m talking about or why I am so excited that today is a holiday. But the day will still end with me gorging myself on the meal that all my compatriots have been slaving over. And for that I am very, very thankful!

So more about my trip back to the maternity clinic… I decided to get there much earlier this time than a month ago. I still went with Elton’s auntie in tow just in case they forgot that I was actually allowed to be there. I was only number 5 in the queue this time and it surprisingly went WAY faster than last time. Once they finally started seeing patients at 9:30, I was in and out by 10:30. Unfortunately, they did NOT have any blood results and did little more than poke at my belly, tell me I’m carrying very low and tell me to come back December 11th. Kind of frustrating and very uninformative…. Fortunately, I had been to the private doctor earlier this week that had done a more thorough exam and has cleared me to fly next week.

Being that our little tadpole is progressing, I’ve been searching out baby names on the internet. Of course, my life is never normal and finding baby names for an American-Namibian baby is no easy task. The only Lozi baby name book I can find mentioned anywhere is “Lozi Names in Language and Culture” by Mukumbuta Lisimba but it seems to be out of print and completely unavailable anywhere except snippets of it on google books. Most Lozi names seem to be very dark and depressing, so I feared the worse when I googled Elton’s name. Both his first and last name: Mubuyaeta (resting one) is the name that signals peace and emotional stability. Now I know my mother is saying, “Amen” to that because she thinks he is a very peaceful person. I’m sure my friends are snickering at the irony that my husband’s name means “emotional stability.” (And I know you’re thinking that he’s going to need that being married to me.) His nickname is Simbotwe or Paddha which means frog. Anyway, the search will continue for the perfect name.
http://books.google.com/books?id=mNNtAAAAMAAJ&q=mubuyaeta

The Maternity Clinic

Today I had another one of those uniquely “African” experiences: the maternity clinic. The private doctor has become too expensive for me so I thought I’d try the public route. Elton’s auntie, Cordelia, offered to escort me. Namibian health care is first come, first serve whether you are going to the private doctor or public clinic. Monday is the day they see first-time maternity patients. We arrived a little bit late and there was already quite a line… by quite a line I mean I was #9 out of 10. The nurse was convinced I should be seeing the private doctor. She used her best arguments to deter me. She was sure I wouldn’t be seen until at least 4pm despite the fact we were entering the clinic at 9am. All she managed to accomplish was to steel my determination that the mikuwa (white person) wouldn’t be defeated. Honestly if Cordelia wasn’t with me, she would have refused me.

So I waited…..first we had to go through the line for vital statistics: weight, blood pressure, urine sample, shoe size (????? I honestly have NO idea what that has to do with anything but they use it to determine level of risk), medical history, etc. You wait until all 10 people are done. Next you move as a group to a room to be counseled about why they do blood tests, about eating habits, the risk of HIV, family planning (a little late for that, isn’t it?!) and how not to contract syphilis. Fortunately they conducted the session in English for my sake. Then it is back to waiting in a line for everyone to receive rapid HIV tests and their results (I’m happy to report: HIV-). Then back in line to wait, wait, wait to see the nurse for drawing blood and the physical exam. Just my luck: the same nurse that wanted to send me away. At this point, it is almost 1pm: lunchtime. She saw maybe 2 patients then went out of the office. Everyone else assumed she was leaving for lunch so they left too. Since I had no where to go, I continued waiting. Lo and behold she came back after just a 10 minute break and continued to see patients. Since almost everyone left I jumped from #9 to maybe #4. She continued in her “rosy” personality until she read my medical card and realized that she is somehow related to me through Elton’s father. Small world. After taking blood, poking my stomach for a few minutes and handing me a bag of multi-vitamins, she happily welcomed me to come back in a month for a checkup and to receive my blood test results. Oh, and not to forget to greet my husband for her. By this time it was about 2:15pm. I lucked out… much earlier than the predicted 4pm.

I walk away from this experience shaking my head. Not only that I wasted an entire day to save myself something like $40USD, but also about the treatment I received. I’m not quite used to being subjected to prejudice. It’s a horrible feeling to be judged based on one’s skin color. Elton’s family has always been so welcoming to be that I’ve never really suffered that feeling among them. Usually if I receive someone’s hasty judgment, it’s that I have abundant resources to help them, not usually to deny me some sort of acceptance. And how quickly that opinion can change when they realize I’m actually “one of them.” I hope to come away from this experience with the memory of how it feels so as not to commit the same offense against another.

“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts those from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Acts 10:34-35 TNIV