Geoffery and Jack(fruit)

One of the great things about living here for a season is, obviously, the people you get to know. I have been able to spend a good amount of time with one of the pastors, Geoffrey, and thought I would ramble a bit about him.

Geoffrey lives on the property here with his wife, Rose, and his three children Issac, Esther, and Praise (the one in the pic below). They live in a one room house that is essentially a bunk bed and a queen bed. You can see in the pic the space that they have. But, despite the size, Geoffrey is always so inviting and I have spent many times talking with him in there. His joy is infectious and is a testament to how one can find the things in life that truly are important.



Geoffrey is the lead pastor of the church here and he is whom I travel with to different homes in the community. On Monday nights there is a time of prayer, teaching, and food at rotating houses. On other days we simply go visiting. These moments have been humbling but have brought so much perspective. What do you discuss with someone whose life consists of finding food for the day? What do you say to someone who explains how their house almost burnt down last year and they lost everything? Our go to in Canada is “what do you do for work?” Here the unemployment is upwards of 75%. Most of these places consist of grandparents and/or widows and many children. I will post some pics and some more stories about these times soon.



Anyway, back to Geoffrey. He is an avid English reader and consumes the paper whenever I pick it up for him. The other day he noticed that I was just finishing Anna Karenin, a 1,000 page Russian novel, and wanted to “check it out”. He also is a farmer and a cook. His family lives a lot off of the crops grown here on the property and he had me over for dinner the other night. It was great food and I felt honored that they would share what little they had. The meat was especially good and I have asked for him to tell me the next time he is making it so he can teach me. (A quick sidenote: Meat is something that is very rarely eaten here, maybe once a week or once or twice a month. This has been something I have had to get used to as us Canadians can have it upwards of once or twice a day!)

So, Geoffrey and I are quickly becoming friends and, using his words to describe how I feel, “I have learned so much, thank you so very much.” The picture below is one I took walking down a path to the houses in the community. If you have ever met Geoffrey, you know that he is lanky, and walks “dramatically” with long strides and long, swinging arms. It’s funny how it’s the little things you realize you won’t forget and connect the people that have visited here.



When we were doing one of the care and compassion days, handing out mattresses, food, soap, etc..we would ask how far we would have to walk with the supplies if the truck wouldn’t go any farther. I had heard that Geoffrey, with his long strides, misjudges how long it would take for us mere mortals to get somewhere. SO, being clever, I decided to ask him distance, not time. The first time we stopped he said 200m and what seemed about ½ km later we were there. The next time stop I questioned him how far again. He said. “Maybe…half a kilometer.” I asked, “What if we are walking slowly?” He replied, “A kilometer.”



Jack(fruit)hangs of many trees on the property here. It is quite large and is covered in uncomfortable spikes. One of the first things I noticed was that every day the children were up in the trees knocking on these things with their ears up against them. I was confused until I asked one the children and they showed me that they are seeing if the jackfruit is ripe. If it is, they quickly gather a few others to help them get it down and hike it over to the tree near the kitchen. They strut triumphantly as they are surrounded by all the other children, pushing, watching, hoping to get a good place in line. One of the older boys then cuts up the fruit and hands out the pieces. There is enough for all 50+ kids with some left over.





A few things I have noticed during this circus. The jackfruit can be very sweet, a combination of honeydew, watermelon, and …something entirely different. It is very good but is a bit of a sacrifice eating it as there is a syrupy layer that is worse than sap to get off your hands. The next few hours are a pain if you need to write, type, etc. The kids use leaves to wipe it, but it never seems to work.

Everything rests on the skills of the child testing the fruit before they pick it. The other day one of the children was berated by the others because they had picked a prime jackfruit too early and they were all left with a bland flavor. They have it only, maybe, once a week so it is a big deal to them. I don’t speak Ugandan but it seems that they give the poor “tester” a piece of their mind for a while.

The children line up quickly (as shown in the pic) because Alex and Joseph haven’t quite got the equal cutting down right yet and everyone knows it. The first kids get large pieces and it is only after about 20 kids that it is realized that the pieces need to be smaller. Also, they lose track of the kids as some run off to hoover their piece and come back pretending that they hadn’t got anything yet. I have been thinking about stepping in but I notice that the “moms” don’t and it is interesting watching the policing evolve. Alex just started cutting up 20-30 pieces before he hands them out and it seems to be helping.

Thank you again for all the encouraging messages. The internet has been down in town and it has been raining so I apologize for the delay. The next post will be in 3-4 days hopefully.

-Shaun