A lady went into the hospital this week to deliver her twins. She delivered one healthy baby girl and then delivered a large black snake instead of a second twin. The father of the twins, fled from the hospital, the woman and the child and snake. The maternal grandmother urged the mother to please bring both the baby and snake home, saying this is common in that family. The mother chose to leave the snake at the hospital and went home with her baby girl. This story was sent out over the radio today.
Hearing this tale. My initial response was disbelief…but then disbelief just turned into horror. The crazy thing is that things like this happen in Africa…and no African is surprised. The reason given for such an occurrence is “witchcraft”. It is suspected that the mother may have been having trouble conceiving which would have been an issue threatening her marriage.. and went to a witch doctor for assistance.,.. the result is not necessarily what she wanted as she not only gave birth to a live snake…but also lost her husband in the process. Although she does have the child she so desperately wanted.
Many people here turn to witchcraft for assistance at some point in their lives. The result is never good as there is always an added piece to the bargain that was not anticipated….you get rich but die before you can enjoy it, curse your enemy but are haunted by his ghost, give birth to a healthy baby girl to save your marriage but also give birth to a snake that destroys it.
You might be reading this with some disbelief and skepticism…I don’t blame you…especially if you’ve never been to Africa. You should know that spiritual things exist…whether you believe in them or not…and evil things are real, whether you choose to believe it or not. God is also real whether you believe in Him or not… NONE of these things’ existence is dependant on whether you chose to believe they are real. They just are.
In the West, we have lost sight of the raw reality of all of these things…we don’t rely on God for our needs because we can take care of and provide for ourselves…we walk around in a society permeated with demonic symbols, horror films that glorify evil, and human beings that do unspeakable things to other human beings…and yet due to all of our distractions and self-involved patterns…we have distanced ourselves from the spiritual realm. We don’t really believe anyone can curse or bewitch us, we don’t believe that demons can influence our health, our lives…but neither do we believe in God as our provider, protector… our Father…and we have almost convinced ourselves not to believe in miracles….
I now live in a very different world. Here in Africa…demons and demi-gods are very real, they cause disabilities and incapacitate people…they are born from a woman as a snake…they cause animals to talk and fire to appear from nowhere to induce fear…curses or bewitching are also real and can cause constant failures, accidents, illness, blindness, lameness and stiffening of the entire body…
God is also very real in Africa, present and active and most importantly recognized. (In the West He is also very real, present and active, we only fail to recognize the work he does all around us and the ways he is constantly saving us) Miracles happen here, blind people see, those who were lame, walk. Demons and curses are cast out and lifted – freeing people to be successful, to be healthy, for stiffened bodies to become supple and agile. I have heard stories about people being raised from the dead, but even I remain a skeptic on that one. I believe God can do it…but it is difficult for my brain to logically accept.
I have no huge reason for writing about this here. Mostly I just needed to discuss it and talk about these things. It’s more of a getting things out on paper than anything else. No agenda or plan to convince anyone of what to believe or not to believe, That is for each person to decide for themselves in their own time. My only conclusion is that belief in something doesn’t make it real…someone can believe that snow doesn’t exist because they’ve never seen it with their own eyes…but that wouldn’t make it any less real, or beautiful or dangerous…
I think mostly we walk this world unaware…and when I hear stories like this one, of the snake born of a woman…I can’t blame anyone for wanting to remain in denial and disbelief…it is a less fearful place… it is safer and easier and carries less responsibility…but is it wise??
Sometimes wisdom is a choice.
"What I believe is alive...and open to growth." - Madeliene L'Engle
Friday, October 17, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Away from HOME
Away from HOME…
The busy-ness of all that we were doing to register the organization got the better of us – and we realized that we would never stop and rest if we stayed at HOME…so, we decided to take a bit of a Honeymoon after all. Neither of us had actually stopped to rest in over a year…so we felt it necessary in order to have to energy to continue our work here in Uganda.
Roger’s late Mother was originally from Rwanda, belonging to the Tutsi tribe. So we decided a small jaunt down into Rwanda would be a good idea. Roger had never been to Rwanda, and we wanted to go and see where his Mother had come from. We asked relatives for any connections that might be possible in Rwanda, or if anyone knew the name of the Village from which Roger’s Grandmother fled with her family….but the information has been lost. (Just after independence was granted in 1962, warring tribes –Hutu vs. Tutsi- and the resulting bloodshed lead tens of thousands of Tutsi to flee to Uganda)
We spent five nights in Rwanda. We found Rwanda to be beautiful and remarkably clean, however far too expensive for our budget! The people were friendly and welcoming and kind, and the country has an extremely high level of safety and security. We slept cheaply and ate cheaply, but splurged on nice places to swim and a two-day journey to Kibuye and Lake Kivu. It was here that we were able to visit the Genocide Memorial dedicated to Roger’s Mom’s Tribe. Kibuye was the hardest hit of all the prefectures during the killings in 1994, with about 90% of all of the Tutsi Population Murdered. Beside the displayed skulls of many of those slaughtered during the Genocide, it is written (translated):
“WE FAILED TO KNOW LOVE AND BROTHERHOOD”
Simple, but so powerful.
It was deeply moving and intense to walk those roads and see that countryside…knowing that it was not very long ago that those horrors took place there….not ancient history, but recent. Roger and I talked about the giant trees that we walked under enjoying their shade….wondering at the atrocities and terrors they had been silent, stoic witness to. The hatred and horror…. I mentioned to some people upon our return…and still feel the weight of, the guilt in my ignorance at that time. I was happily enjoying my second year of Bible college and passed that year unaware of what was going on in Rwanda. Most of the world remained oblivious and within three months one million people were butchered…can the International community find forgiveness for not stepping in and helping our fellow man? Is there redemption after turning a blind eye to such events? I don’t have that answer.
The place we found to enjoy swimming and sunshine was “Hotel Des Mille Collines” or more commonly known as HOTEL RWANDA. It was surreal to be enjoying the luxury and leisure of that beautiful swimming pool, at the same time aware of the fear experienced by those who took refuge there during the Genocide. There is no mention anywhere of any connection to the story depicted in the movie, as if people want to move on and leave their recent history behind them. The main reminder of the genocide in the capital City Kigali (where we spent most of our time), are the many Rwandans with missing limbs….the impeccably clean countryside, and the tight security.
Five days was all our budget could allow, and after the 12 hour bus ride back to Kampala, we were happy to be back HOME. The break was refreshing and it was nice to be away from work….and to truly have a bit of a vacation. We returned with new energy to continue our work, with joyful and thankful hearts.
“Deeper than our instinct to live is our longing to be alive. The latter is a struggle to survive; the former, a thirst for life. All of us have an intuitive connection between being alive and living free. We all long for freedom….our freedom must never be about us and us alone. Freedom is the gift of serving others out of love.”
-Erwin Raphael McManus
The busy-ness of all that we were doing to register the organization got the better of us – and we realized that we would never stop and rest if we stayed at HOME…so, we decided to take a bit of a Honeymoon after all. Neither of us had actually stopped to rest in over a year…so we felt it necessary in order to have to energy to continue our work here in Uganda.
Roger’s late Mother was originally from Rwanda, belonging to the Tutsi tribe. So we decided a small jaunt down into Rwanda would be a good idea. Roger had never been to Rwanda, and we wanted to go and see where his Mother had come from. We asked relatives for any connections that might be possible in Rwanda, or if anyone knew the name of the Village from which Roger’s Grandmother fled with her family….but the information has been lost. (Just after independence was granted in 1962, warring tribes –Hutu vs. Tutsi- and the resulting bloodshed lead tens of thousands of Tutsi to flee to Uganda)
We spent five nights in Rwanda. We found Rwanda to be beautiful and remarkably clean, however far too expensive for our budget! The people were friendly and welcoming and kind, and the country has an extremely high level of safety and security. We slept cheaply and ate cheaply, but splurged on nice places to swim and a two-day journey to Kibuye and Lake Kivu. It was here that we were able to visit the Genocide Memorial dedicated to Roger’s Mom’s Tribe. Kibuye was the hardest hit of all the prefectures during the killings in 1994, with about 90% of all of the Tutsi Population Murdered. Beside the displayed skulls of many of those slaughtered during the Genocide, it is written (translated):
“WE FAILED TO KNOW LOVE AND BROTHERHOOD”
Simple, but so powerful.
It was deeply moving and intense to walk those roads and see that countryside…knowing that it was not very long ago that those horrors took place there….not ancient history, but recent. Roger and I talked about the giant trees that we walked under enjoying their shade….wondering at the atrocities and terrors they had been silent, stoic witness to. The hatred and horror…. I mentioned to some people upon our return…and still feel the weight of, the guilt in my ignorance at that time. I was happily enjoying my second year of Bible college and passed that year unaware of what was going on in Rwanda. Most of the world remained oblivious and within three months one million people were butchered…can the International community find forgiveness for not stepping in and helping our fellow man? Is there redemption after turning a blind eye to such events? I don’t have that answer.
The place we found to enjoy swimming and sunshine was “Hotel Des Mille Collines” or more commonly known as HOTEL RWANDA. It was surreal to be enjoying the luxury and leisure of that beautiful swimming pool, at the same time aware of the fear experienced by those who took refuge there during the Genocide. There is no mention anywhere of any connection to the story depicted in the movie, as if people want to move on and leave their recent history behind them. The main reminder of the genocide in the capital City Kigali (where we spent most of our time), are the many Rwandans with missing limbs….the impeccably clean countryside, and the tight security.
Five days was all our budget could allow, and after the 12 hour bus ride back to Kampala, we were happy to be back HOME. The break was refreshing and it was nice to be away from work….and to truly have a bit of a vacation. We returned with new energy to continue our work, with joyful and thankful hearts.
“Deeper than our instinct to live is our longing to be alive. The latter is a struggle to survive; the former, a thirst for life. All of us have an intuitive connection between being alive and living free. We all long for freedom….our freedom must never be about us and us alone. Freedom is the gift of serving others out of love.”
-Erwin Raphael McManus
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