The BUSH

The BUSH |boŏ sh |

Noun [place]

where the women are men , goats and donkeys run wild, pooping your pants will

happen, and everything you need is at LEAST a mile away

God is incredibly awesome! The past 3 days I spent in the BUSH of Turkana. Life is so different there than in America, which has its pros and cons. The typical day of the Turkana goes like this:

Male

Wake up

Drink echai

Watch goats go to pasture

Lay under tree

Eat Lunch

Sleep Under tree

Eat dinner

Make sure goats come home

Sit at gate of fence

Go to sleep

Female

Wake up before man

Breastfeed baby

Go get firewood

Go get water

Breastfeed baby

Make echai

Clean the children

Breastfeed baby

Wash dishes

Sweep out the hut and pick up mats

Lay out mat under tree for man

Breastfeed baby

Start fire for lunch

Go get water

Breastfeed baby

Move mat for man

Serve echai

Mix and make food

Cook food

Serve lunch

Breastfeed baby

Clean up after lunch

Wash dishes

Breastfeed baby

Tend to hut and children

Move mat for man

Get water and firewood for dinner

Breastfeed baby

Make and cook dinner

Serve dinner

Breastfeed baby

Clean up after dinner

Lay out mats for sleep

Entertain children

Go to sleep

So the days of the male and female Turkana have very different roles than the men and women in America. It’s sad. The men don’t help at all. We asked our translator Sammy: which do you value more the goats or their women more? His response…”that is a tough question and I don’t know the answer to, maybe.” (He always says maybe at the end of a sentence).

These people love Jesus, but have not let that love infiltrate their personal live and old traditions. It makes me wonder, are there areas of the American culture and traditions that we haven’t let the love of Jesus affect and infiltrate?

Learning and observing the culture of the Turkana in the BUSH the past few days has been a life changing experience. I have walked many many many miles, saw farming progress due to the new wells that have been dug, observed children in school, barely eaten anything, and there were two things that stuck out to me.

First, the children of Turkana want to live a healthy better life. They get so excited and love to sing and dance to songs about Jesus. Even in the hardship of their current lives, they have let the joy and hope of Jesus fill theirs.

Second, I have never been in a place so quiet that you can hear a rooster crow over a mile away, until the BUSH. It was so peaceful and quiet at night. The stars were amazing and the moon soo bright. Those quiet moments turned into hours as I looked around at the desert land and mountains

…just the BUSH, the Bible, and some of the words to a song that kept playing in my head

Everyone needs compassion

A love that's never failing

Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness

The kindness of a Savior

The hope of nations

Savior

He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever

Author of Salvation

He rose & conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave