Displace Me Koro, Night 1
So, this wasn't a planned part of the 3-part series, but I just had to tell you...
“Oh! You overslept this morning,” I hear as the African sun bludgeons my squinting eyes. I look at my watch; it’s 7:00am my first morning in the camp. I’ve been asleep for less than four hours. Martin is laughing with his wife outside of their small room-home. “You overslept seriously!” he laughs. To him I said, “Yeah, I guess I did.” To you, I’ll tell the real story.
After Martin showed me the bed, the small mattress on the ground that I would be sharing with him, he went to bathe. As I lay against the concrete wall, trying to claim for my body as thin a swathe of mattress as possible, I thought to myself, “I have to become friends with this wall. I have to love the wall.”
While Martin was out I fell asleep. I woke up and it was pitch black, Martin was snoring in my face, mosquitoes were dive-bombing my ear, and there was a rattling sound in the corner of the small room. I had seen a rat earlier. I tried to adjust my position on the small strip of mattress but there was only one that was comfortable. Unfortunately a comfortable position remains comfortable for only so long.
As I listened to the rat digging through Martin’s possessions and Martin’s snoring and felt my limited positional options I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping much more that night. “Luckily,” I thought, “I’ve already slept for a while.” I guessed it was 4am. I pressed the button on my watch and stared into the blue light: 10:40pm. Approximately 30 minutes after I had dozed off. This was not good.
The rest of the night is dizzy blackness filled with unsuccessful twists and turns in search of comfort, set to a chorus of snores and hungry mosquitoes, and punctuated by the clamor of rats in metal bowls. Twice the rats ran over my legs. By 1:00am they had moved to a position about six inches away from my feet, where they commenced chewing and clawing their way through some piece of Martin’s meager belongings. If you’ve never tried to sleep with rats hungrily chewing just inches from your feet, I’ll assure you now, it’s difficult.
I kept checking my watch, hoping that I had dozed, that time had passed. It hadn’t. 11:30, 1:00, 1:45, 2:40, 3:20… And then I woke. 7:00am. Martin laughing. I was not amused.
“Oh! You overslept this morning,” I hear as the African sun bludgeons my squinting eyes. I look at my watch; it’s 7:00am my first morning in the camp. I’ve been asleep for less than four hours. Martin is laughing with his wife outside of their small room-home. “You overslept seriously!” he laughs. To him I said, “Yeah, I guess I did.” To you, I’ll tell the real story.
After Martin showed me the bed, the small mattress on the ground that I would be sharing with him, he went to bathe. As I lay against the concrete wall, trying to claim for my body as thin a swathe of mattress as possible, I thought to myself, “I have to become friends with this wall. I have to love the wall.”
While Martin was out I fell asleep. I woke up and it was pitch black, Martin was snoring in my face, mosquitoes were dive-bombing my ear, and there was a rattling sound in the corner of the small room. I had seen a rat earlier. I tried to adjust my position on the small strip of mattress but there was only one that was comfortable. Unfortunately a comfortable position remains comfortable for only so long.
As I listened to the rat digging through Martin’s possessions and Martin’s snoring and felt my limited positional options I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping much more that night. “Luckily,” I thought, “I’ve already slept for a while.” I guessed it was 4am. I pressed the button on my watch and stared into the blue light: 10:40pm. Approximately 30 minutes after I had dozed off. This was not good.
The rest of the night is dizzy blackness filled with unsuccessful twists and turns in search of comfort, set to a chorus of snores and hungry mosquitoes, and punctuated by the clamor of rats in metal bowls. Twice the rats ran over my legs. By 1:00am they had moved to a position about six inches away from my feet, where they commenced chewing and clawing their way through some piece of Martin’s meager belongings. If you’ve never tried to sleep with rats hungrily chewing just inches from your feet, I’ll assure you now, it’s difficult.
I kept checking my watch, hoping that I had dozed, that time had passed. It hadn’t. 11:30, 1:00, 1:45, 2:40, 3:20… And then I woke. 7:00am. Martin laughing. I was not amused.
Labels: Displace Me, Gulu, IDP Camp, Koro-Abili
posted by James at 06:52
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1 Comments:
James,
You do not know me. I am a pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have two daughters and a bunch of interns out at The Master's College and Seminary through whom I got exposed to your website. One of my daughters seems headed for that part of the world.
I check your website at least weekly, have shared information in sermons, and pray for you and those you are ministering to.
I was particularly encouraged to pray for you from 2 Corinthians 4 & 5 where Paul speaks about not losing heart. One of the reasons he gives among a list of several "therefores" is that these earthly bodies (tabernacles) were made to be broken. Our hope is in heaven with new bodies that will be "with the Lord." At least one of the reasons new covenant ministry often is carried out by people who are suffering and in need is because it is not about our adequacy as ministers but about the adequacy of the gospel - which has its aim as displaying the glory of God by showing others Christ.
May the Lord keep you and keep the rats at least 6 inches away.
Joe Blankenship
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