Speechless...

Anaka.... wow. I feel quite speechless when I even begin to think about the past two weeks we have spent there. The village is located on the edge of Murchison National Park, which is where people travel to for Safari. The school and the surrounding village (as well as the Catholic parish where Chris and I are staying) are located on the top of a large hill, so as you walk around the perimeter and scan the countryside- the view of the landscape is right out of a dream. The area is very rural, and as far as the eye can see, the green terrain of agriculture fills the horizon... and every once in a while you catch a glimpse of a woman walking with a bundle of g-nuts on top of her head or the sight of a grass-thatch hut comes into view. It is picturesque Africa.

Most evenings Chris and I sit on the front porch of Jacob's villa (a peace-corps volunteer) and sip hot tea as the sun goes down. The horizon is also gorgeous in the morning. Every day we walk to school at 7 am- we walk past the church and the soothing sound of African worship fills the air, the children from the village are up pumping water at the well, and we are greeted by everyone that we pass. We now have Acholi names... Father Martin has given me the name "Lamaro" which means "one who is greatly loved" in Acholi... and Chris has been given the name "Okeny" which means that he is the "only man in a family of women" because he is the only male teacher among our I.C. group at Anaka. Those names are becoming a beautiful part of our experience here as we build relationships with folks and share life together.

The parish, where we live, is a beautiful community of believers and Father Martin has truly become a spiritual father to us here. Chris has started a service club with students and they are working in the garden at the parish everyday after school. He is hoping to inspire them to serve others in a great way. The gardening at the Parish helps support the feeding of those in need in the surrounding villages. The students love Chris, and I think they are pretty fond of us all. It warms my heart to even reflect on the joyful smiles that conquer their faces when I am teaching. We have fallen in love with the kids that we are interacting with, and our relationships with the staff at the school are growing into strong friendships. Because of student interest, I have started a writer's club. The student leaders at the school have applied to be a part. Together with them, I am trying to help develop a school newspaper where the students can express their views and build an intellectual culture at the school.

This past Saturday morning we received such a gift. We heard amazing music filling the air from the parish, so Chris and I followed the sound down to a classroom filled with students who were playing instruments, singing, dancing, and praising Christ with their whole hearts. On their own, they were holding a church service. Tears were streaming down some of their faces and their prayers echoed off of the walls. The spirit was so heavy in that room and God used their worship to touch my soul.

We have received so many gifts like this while we have been a part of the Anaka family. Beautiful moments that I am already cherishing in my heart so much. A few of them... Chris and Father Martin exchanging worship songs on the guitar out underneath the stars in the Parish garden... going for a walk with Doris, a young English teacher, and getting invited to harvest g-nuts with an elderly Acholi woman during our stroll... playing scrabble for hours with teachers in the staff room after school... going for fieldwork on a 3 mile hike through the bush with the entire history department and 200 students... watching Chris be the only white guy in the staff vs. students soccer match (he played awesome by the way)... sitting in my partner teacher's (Florence) living room looking through albums of pictures and listening to her heartfelt stories of her life and the war... and watching the students perform traditional Acholi dances on the soccer field in the evening. All of these moments... and many more... leave me so thankful and literally, speechless, when it comes to articulating how my heart feels in this place. Chris and I are so humbled, and blessed, to have this incredible experience. We love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers. They are much appreciated and the fruit of them is being witnessed by us everyday.