12-11-12
A land of potential, beauty and
wonder. Vast plains of scrub and bush with mountains and rocks scattered all
around. Kaabong should have been called the 'place of many rocks' in Ngakaramojong,
like Gumly Gumly in Aboriginal, that small Australian town next to Wagga Wagga.
Surely there are more rocks here than there.
Kaabong was actually named after an
important man named Aabong, I feel sorry the man was born with such an
unfortunate name.
I do love the meaning of the town
names in Karamoja though, they are so very descriptive. Lolachat for example,
near where we live in Nabilatuk, means the "place where the river is so
strong that it will rip your clothes off". Although if you're only wearing
a blanket, as the men here do, then it doesn't have to be a very strong current
I suppose.
It has been interesting to discuss
with the people here the cultural differences between our tribal group in
Nabilatuk (the Piyan) and these people here in Kaabong, the Dodoth. When the
current president, Museveni, came into office there was a mass disarmament and
North Karamoja was the first to have their guns taken away, by force. Since
then they have been a source of attack from other Karamajong tribes, primarily
the Jie (pronounced gee-ey) tribe that are next door. Vulnerable, their cows
were stolen, along with their pride and sense of autonomy. Without cattle here,
a person loses wealth and status & standing in the community, and,
culturally - God's blessing. That is a universally acknowledged truth for the
Karamajong people.
The Dodoth also have some very slight
differences in language to the Piyan tribe.
Lotim near Kaabong is the place where it had been planned that the team I came to join would move their ministry of Vet and Bible storying/church planting to part way through this year. As we drive out there on Monday morning, I think to myself how incredible and amazing nature is. If God created this, how much more awesome must the Creator be? All around me it is just so perfectly designed, and stunningly beautiful. I see a mountain of rocks reaching up to the sky with one smooth round boulder perched precariously atop it all. Of course it only looks precarious, but no storm has moved it yet. It has been perfectly undisturbed.
There are 11 of us in the Land Cruiser as we bump and rattle down the dirt road to Lotim, about 45 minutes from Kaabong. There are 5 Taliaferros; Susan and Jeremy and 3 children- Victory (4 yrs), Memphis (2yrs) and Ember (1yr), plus Summer and I, and 4 K'jong guys helping us with translation and any land issues that need to be sorted.
Along the road there are sunflower
fields on either side, their yellow faces looking our direction, with mountain
ranges stretching out into the distance. We drive closer and closer to them and
finally get to our destination. The road was rough, noticed particularly when
you are holding on your lap a two year old with a tornado in his pants, but the
view was outstanding. As I do a 360, I count 7 mountain ranges, not including
the one we stop at. We got to Lotim and even the men said, wow, as they looked
around.
The plan for the day is to set the
ground work for missionary training to be done late January for 3 months, on
K'jong culture, language & lifestyle, plus Bible storying & church
planting appropriate to this oral learning, semi-nomadic people group. The
'business', that was expected to take two days, took only a few hours and went
so smoothly. We met with the elders when we first arrived and by the grace of
God were welcomed unconditionally, with open hearts, by the people there.
After the pleasantries,
introductions and the like, we climbed up the hill to where the site is. There
are 4 huts already in place, just waiting to be mudded, but the place is
currently overgrown, thorny and a snake haven. A lot of work needs to be done
but Jeremy is ready & excited for the task. From there we can see at least
6 manyatas (Karamajong villages) that look like the alien landings off that
movie Signs. As yet there is no church in this whole region.
The training is going to be awesome; cultural
immersion, pushing the boundaries of those attending. As Jeremy says, balancing
the fine line of being culturally appropriate and 'going native', breaking down
the barriers people make in their minds for fear of stepping out in faith and
just going for it, and learning how to live and survive in such a different
place from our background. Feeling some of the pain of how the people here
live, e.g. lugging 20L jerry cans full of water up a mountain, every day. How
to be stretched, yet still find yourself drawing closer to God through it all.
There will be 4 families plus,
including some Karamajong leaders too, who want to learn how to plant local
churches who worship in Spirit and in truth, to see their land be a nation of
men and women who seek and love God with all they have.
Not for the first time, I find
myself wishing I could be here for next year too. At the same time though, I'm
pulled back home with my desire to finish what I started at Uni. Like I said,
this month is going to be an emotional rollercoaster.
We go to Kampala on Wednesday and
try to find new parts for out truck that is broken and sad at the moment. Hope
to return to Karamoja soon!
Love Mel
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