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Yes, it’s true; there is less than a month until the YWAM HIV/AIDS Global Gathering here at Hopeland. The weeks are flying by and preparations are getting in order. We work hard all week and then rest up and get the soreness out of our bodies on the weekends. This week, in addition to slashing a field and lighting it on fire, we dug trenches and did landscaping for water drainage near the conference hall. I am glad that this week has come to a close.
Some of you have asked what I actually do here for the conference so I guess I will take you through a typical day. I get up at 6:24 every morning and spend some time alone to watch the sunrise and read the Word. At about 7:30 the bell rings for breakfast, so I go and grab my two rolls and a cup of tea. Then we probably have a meeting or something like that but start getting to slashing at about 8:30 or 9. That lasts most of the morning, but after I take a shower and head up to the office. I am in charge of the registration for the conference and communication with those who have registered. I book people who send faxes or register on the website and add their information to a database. I keep track of travel dates, accommodation, and payment as well. That usually takes up some time and I usually have to finish up work after lunch. Sometimes we have meetings in the afternoon (for our conference team and for base staff as well). After all of that, we usually get back to work slashing or burning fields and stuff like that. Many nights we have more meetings, but on the nights we don’t, we usually play some cards, watch movies with some people or just sit around and talk while listening to music. There is not a whole lot else to do out here except all that…
We spent a whole week clearing a massive field of grass, weeds, trees, and a lot of other plants. Those who had been on the base a couple years had never seen it cleared. It would be a good planting field, so hopefully they will put it to good use. We could tell it hadn’t been cleared in s while because there were layers of dead grass and these vines that would get in the way of everything. It was tough, but we had some help from our Tongan friends who have practically dropped everything to help us get ready for the conference.
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There are certain consequences that come along with clearing a field. This week, we saw more snakes than all the weeks leading up to this one. I had to kill 4 snakes (very humanely of course) this week because we had destroyed their home. I don’t really like having to do that, but they were a venomous viper called the burrowing viper or mole viper. They make their homes in the tall grass. Since there are so many little children on the base, it is probably good that they are no longer a threat. I feel bad though, because in a perfect situation, I would like to have relocated them or something… God created them and they do serve a purpose, but I guess the circumstances weren’t and aren’t very ideal. When I was back in the States, I did take for granted the way that we take care of where we live… for the most part. We have trash and recycling systems, and we are getting better at sustainability and conservation. There is so much trash here and people don’t seem to bat an eye when someone throws plastic bags out the windows of their vehicles (that are way under safe emissions standards). Fires are used to get rid of unwanted plant waste even though they could use it for compost, and most cooking is done on coal. I think that there is a lot of room for improvement; for the sake of their country and their homes.
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Alex and I were originally going to go to Tanzania, but some problems came up with my visa and there was also a highway robbery occurred in Kenya as one of our team members was on her to Jinja from Arusha, Tanzania a couple of weeks ago. We were going to visit a few bases in Tanzania and Kenya to advertise the conference as well as to go to a few Masai tribes to do evangelism and HIV/AIDS education. Since it didn’t work out, we gave a few bucks to a staff member of the DTS who is from Tanzania when he went to visit his family a couple of weeks ago. He got back this week and brought us some gifts! This is the type of covering that the Masai people wear in Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya. The Masai people are very interesting and have been highlighted on the Discovery Channel and all over National Geographic ever since I can remember. They are such a strong people and are known for their killing of lions. Look them up online or something. They are so interesting. HIV/AIDS has an opportunity to thrive in the Masai people because of the polygamy, sleeping around, and FGM as well. Not many agencies are offering testing to this people and missionaries have to earn the respect of the tribal leaders before they will listen to them about these harmful practices. Earning that respect could take years…
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Rachel Donnely also felt like it was the right time to go home, so she said goodbye to the base on Wednesday and flew out of Entebbe on Thursday. She should be back home by now. We’ll miss you too Rachel! It may seem like our team has dwindled, but as I said before, the Tongan team doing their Frontier Missions School have joined us for this time and have been such a help. Their attitudes are great and they work so hard. It has helped all of us to work even harder as well!
It has been a great week of reflection on this last 6 months since my journey started in Hawaii. I have been reading through my old journals from the last year and been realizing how much I have grown and matured. I am not saying that I have reached “it” or “there” by any means, but comparing myself to who I was when I started, I am completely different. God has completely transformed me. It is all about him. I really like being in Africa and doing ministry. The only hard part is that I feel so different that I want to tell everyone that I know, especially those back home. I want to tell people about the fulfilling life that I have found in Christ. I thought that I was a Christian before I came out here, but I had no idea of what being a Christian was!
Plans for this summer are going well, but I am having a hard time finding venues for the showing. If anyone has any suggestions, I am very open to hearing about them. I came across a verse the other day that explains why I am going to do all of this…
Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”
So please be praying about the Conference, or team, and the Benefit Art Shows this summer. Also, if anyone has any experience/contact/hook-up with matting and framing, I would be grateful! Thank you for reading again, and like before, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or prayer requests, I would be happy to hear from you.
Thanks again and God Bless
John Paul Vicory
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