TravelStream™ news feed for member bryanbaker on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/bryanbaker en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 18 May 2007 11:50:12 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/road_trip_07/1179503220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/road_trip_07/1179503220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/road_trip_07/1179503220/tpod.html Fri, 18 May 2007 11:50:12 -0400 Wild West Safari--Road trip out west with dad and ben.

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Sacramento, California, United States

Day 1 flew into Sacramento.

Day 2 Napa Valley
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1174498440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1174498440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1174498440/tpod.html Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:35:01 -0400 Teaching at St. Joseph's and Relief Aid in Pabo Refugee Camp

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Durham, North Carolina, United States

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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/divine_nous/1173388140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/divine_nous/1173388140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/divine_nous/1173388140/tpod.html Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:35:35 -0500 Divine Nous Field Education Reaches Uganda!!!

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Durham, North Carolina, United States

This is an article from the student newspaper about my field education internship this in Uganda this past summer.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/spotlight-duke/1173219480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/spotlight-duke/1173219480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/spotlight-duke/1173219480/tpod.html Tue, 06 Mar 2007 17:55:43 -0500 Bryan's in the Spotlight at Duke: go to: http://www.divinity.duke.edu/news/spotlight/baker

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Durham, North Carolina, United States

See the slideshow and read the interview at:

http://www.divinity.duke.edu/news/spotlight/baker

*It is the story of my calling...how it lead me to Duke Divinity School and half way around the world!

May the peace of Christ be with You,

Bryan C. Baker
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfall2/1173202200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfall2/1173202200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfall2/1173202200/tpod.html Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:44:38 -0500 More Safari pics from Murchinson Falls!

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Murchinson falls, Uganda

check out these pics!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfalls/1173202440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfalls/1173202440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfalls/1173202440/tpod.html Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:37:45 -0500 SAFARI!!! at Murchinson Falls Chimps, Crocs, Elephants, Monkeys, Giraffes, Hippos and More!

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Murchinson falls, Uganda

more pics from murchinson falls safari this past summer...enjoy!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfalls/1173196140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfalls/1173196140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/murchinsonfalls/1173196140/tpod.html Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:23:18 -0500 SAFARI!!! at Murchinson Falls Chimps, Crocs, Elephants, Monkeys, Giraffes, Hippos and More!

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Murchinson falls, Uganda

Enjoy the pictures!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/newspaper-st_k/1173135240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/newspaper-st_k/1173135240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/newspaper-st_k/1173135240/tpod.html Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:12:03 -0500 St. Kizito Student Newspaper

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Katikamu, Uganda

Our students wrote articles for this newspaper. It was the first school newspaper ever at St. Kizito Senior Secondary School!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1153505700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1153505700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1153505700/tpod.html Thu, 26 Oct 2006 14:55:44 -0400 Teaching at St. Joseph's and Relief Aid in Pabo Refugee Camp

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Lira, Uganda

The Following letters are from teenagers in Northern Uganda. Felix was kidnapped at 12 years old and taken into the bush where he was trained to be a child soldier. He was the linguist for his unit because he spoke English well. He was soon training other children to kill and was forced to kill those who refused to take order. He told me, "Their Spirits Haunted Me After I Killed Them!" He knew if he did not kill them he would be killed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1159895880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1159895880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bryanbaker/uganda_2006/1159895880/tpod.html Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:15:54 -0400 Teaching at St. Joseph's and Relief Aid in Pabo Refugee Camp

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Katikamu, Gulu, Uganda

NEWS FROM BRYAN IN UGANDA
(Rev. Baker's son, Bryan, is spending his summer teaching at a Catholic school in Uganda.)

Updates from Uganda from "Mr. Missions," Bryan Baker
July 4, 2006 Eric (fellow Duke Divinity School student) and I have gotten very involved in the school and are going to miss our children tremendously. We are starting to collect articles that the children have written for the first-ever Kizito Chronicle. The children cheered last night at assembly when we announced that we would produce a newspaper, even though we only promised to post one copy of the newspaper on the wall of the school. The school cannot afford to make more copies. This is one more of the constant reminders of poverty in Uganda. The school has so few books that some of the teachers even share a textbook for their classes and none of the children have textbooks or any books to read for book reports or recreational reading. A few students have asked us for books to read (any books). We have loaned out all most of our books, but we can not offer that to all the students. I have promised my divinity class that I will get Bibles for those divinity students who do not own one (about 15 out of 30).
Although most students do not even own a Bible, their faith is amazing and they are bold in expressing it! I begin every class period with a song, scripture, and prayer. All of these are lead by student volunteers. They are eager to lead in our mini worship service at the beginning of each class! Morning mass begins every morning at 7am. For a long time I thought all the students were required to come, because most of the students, Protestant and Catholic, attend every morning! I later discovered that attendance is only required at the Thursday morning school mass. All of these students come on their own to mass. They have grueling schedules. Some of them do not finish class until 9pm and they have breakfast at 6am before mass and morning classes, yet most of them attend mass. I am amazed at the faith stories that I hear from the students every day.
Thursday, July 6th (Holy Rosary Parish, Gulu) Eric and I travled to Gulu today with Father Mawanda Peter, a Professor at Bukalasa Minor Seminary in Masaka. The road is pretty safe now, but a year ago you were lucky to make the journey without getting ambushed by LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) Rebels. Tonight we arrived at Holy Rosary Parish, where we were greeted by several Sisters and Father Philip Apiya. Father Fhilip had made arrangements for us to stay at the Comboni Sister's Guest House. After a wonderful homemade dinner with a few of the sisters, we hurried back to town to St.Mary's Hospital to visit with the "Night Commuters."
The "Night Commuters" are children who live in fear of being abducted from their homes by LRA Rebels. These children hike up to two miles every night to sleep inside the protective walls of hospitals and churches with armed guards. If they do not take such precautions, they run the risk of being taken by force from their homes. (Ed. Note: that very night eight children were taken captive in their village during an attack by LRA Rebels.) The government is trying to say that things are improving, but for these children. the fears are very real. It is true that there is less fighting between LRA Rebels and the UDPF (Ugandan Army), but that is only because the LRA are now working in smaller groups based in the bush. These small units, undetected, move quickly into villages and take children from their homes while their families sleep. If anyone interferes, he is killed without hesitation.
Tonight we watched over 3000 children flock into the hospital to sleep for the night. Some women carried their babies; others came with small children. The rebels have been known to take children as young as 6 years old to train as soldiers. Even though we were friends of Father Philip, well-known community leader, we had to confirm our security clearance before we were allowed to pass through the main gates of the hospital. We talked with children as we walked into the compound. They came from in the outskirts of the city. Some even came from homes near the edge of the city because they still did not feel safe to sleep in their own beds.
Many of these children have lost friends and family. Some have been killed; others have disappeared into the bush. Some have escaped and returned home. Sometimes the commuters hear stories that their brothers and sisters are dead. Other times, they are left to wonder if they will ever come back and if they do, if their minds will still be poisoned? These are not idle thoughts. Many children never recover from the psychological damage. Once they are taken into the bush, they are trained in the most brutal ways imaginable.
The children that we visited were just like children at home....at least on the outside. They were excited to have guests from The United States and they loved seeing pictures of themselves on my digital camera and images of themselves as Eric and I videotaped them. They played games, talked, and sang songs for us. The girls slept in one room and talked "girl talk." The boys slept in another room and goofed off just like the boys at home.
If these Ugandans were savage creatures this story would be much different, but they are not. They are school children who sing in church choirs, play football, and have dreams of going to college and seeing the world, just like kids in America . However, these kids have lived their entire lives in the shadows of war. They do not even understand the concept of peace, but they pray for it every day!!! One recovered child solider at a rehab. center asked me, "Do children get abducted in America, too!" I could not believe what i heard. I tried to explain that we do not have war and everything is peaceful, but it was not something he could comprehend! Even so, he was eager to see a day that it would come true for him and his country! These children all ask for your prayers. They long for peace, for the opportunity to sleep in their own beds at home and to get a good-night kiss from their mothers. They wait for the day when they will not have to night-commute to sleep safely at night! PRAY FOR THEM AND PRAY FOR PEACE!!!
July 16 My Ethics class almost made me cry today. They asked me if I ever thought I should shorten my trip because things here are so different from at home. I did my best to explain that Africa feels like home, that I would rather be here. They were shocked, but I think they understood when I pointed out the things they have here in Africa that we do not have in the US, like friends that have the time to talk to you and tell stories, to visit, to write a hand-written personal card or letter, to stop by and surprise you with a visit even if you might not be free. In America I do not know my next door neighbors and even I keep my doors closed. I have been reminded by some of my students and friends here that I am closed like Americans some times. I do not want to be like that; I want to be open to share my life and to in share community life with those around me. Africa is a good reminder of the importance of community, Christian and otherwise.




Week 1, May 24
Last night I took a walk to town with Will Zant, EricVogt (Americans) and Ganzaga and Emmanuel (boys from the secondary school). We were greeted repeatedly by choruses of children saying, "Hello, Mazungu" (white man). Emmanuel and Ganzaga taught us about the climate in Uganda (It is now approaching the end of the rainy season) and a few phrases. We stopped and greeted many people along the road and Will gave the children crosses that members of his church had made.
Father Joseph (the overseer of the primary and secondary schools) and Father Gabriel (the parish priest) have been wonderful hosts. Thanks to Will (a fellow Duke Divinity student), they call me their "Redneck" because I am from West Virginia. Will and I taught Ganzaga the "Mountain Mama Song", better know as "Country Roads." Ganzaga loved the song and we sang it over and over again on the walk back from town. Later that night we had a special treat. Emmanuel, Ganzaga and their friend Michael took us to the church to sing songs of praise. We asked if it was ok to go and sing and play the drums at the church that late and they replied, "You are always welcome in God's house!" This is so true.

Week 1,Journal 2
Yesterday I climbed to the top of the mountain and met Ahana Kenneth. His family in Gulu needs prayer. He has lost many friends family; his brothers have scars and lost limbs from machetes. Two of his brothers have had their lips cut off, a form of torture in the war in the north against the Lord's Resistance Army.

Week 2, Journal 1
Today we had our first public mass at Saint Joseph's of Katikamu. After church I looked forward to a nap, but a few boys stopped by my room and asked for the bat and ball. Paul and Ezekiel are students at the Secondary School. I asked if they knew how to play baseball and they did not. Starting with Paul and Ezekiel, I spent the entire afternoon teaching the youth to play baseball. Paul and Ezekiel picked it up very quickly after I drew a diagram of a baseball field for them and gave them batting practice. We gradually added more players and more rules until we had a proper game with teams. They learned it so well that I was able to leave to go write my lesson plans. When I later went back over with the video camera, I was pleasantly surprised to see them still playing an organized game.
The children here are very good sportsmen. They referee their own games without any adult supervision. They adhere to the rules and the referee has the final say. They are very competitive, but seldom have an argument on the field. While the older boys played baseball, the young children played Frisbee. This was wonderful because the young children usually only get to watch while the big kids play or they play football in the corner of the field if there is an extra ball. Today the children could play Frisbee anywhere and they found space off to the side of the main playing field to play. It was an exciting day!

June 4, 2006
In one of my previous emails I mentioned that Joseph Kony (leader of the Lord's Resistance Army) was calling for peace. He is doing so, but no one trusts him. He has
led a 20 year war in the North against the Ugandan Military. He has resorted to abducting children and using them for soldiers because he ran out of men to recruit and use as troops. These children are tortured and forced to kill, indoctrinated by fear! They are forced to rape or kill almost immediately after they are captured and then are told that they have committed an evil sin that God cannot forgive. If they refuse to fight or try to flee, they are tortured, mutilated, and even killed.
But Joseph Kony now calls for peace. Most think that he has been forced to do so; he is running low on funding and supplies. The soldiers (children included) are starving. Kony is trying to look better by calling for peace, but everyone knows the evil acts that he has committed. Even if he does not pay for his crimes against humanity, we all just want peace. Too many people have died; too many children have been killed or forced to kill. Imagine being 20 years old and never knowing peace! Children should not have to spend their entire lives in the shadow of war, in refugee camps, or in fear that they will be abducted from their villages. Please pray for peace.

Sunday Morning, June 11. after the Feast of the Martyrs
I want to say thank you to all those who have supported me on my trip to Uganda! Thank you to First United Methodist Church of Clarksburg, West Virginia. Both the primary and secondary schools have really enjoyed the sports equipment that you gave them. Yesterday we had a football (soccer) match between the students and the teachers of the secondary school. The game ended in a draw--1 to 1.
Eric and I have been teaching the primary students American games like baseball, kickball, volleyball and ultimate Frisbee. It is funny; they had never seen a Frisbee before. The girls play something called Netball, kind of like basketball with no backboard...must be European? Anyway, we took out the volleyball net and a giant 3' exercise ball and played team volleyball with the kids. There were about 50 kids on each side of the net and they all got to chase the ball. It took five or ten of them to hit the ball each time. They had more fun with that than anything else so far!

I love it here with the children and I am not as bad a "teach" as I thought. The only problem is the children have nothing. Only a few have any books or bibles and some do not even have paper and pens (or at least they did not come to class with them). Out of all the graduates last year only a handful got to go to university. There is so much competition for the few scholarships available and no one has any money--at least not here in the countryside.

Yesterday was amazing. We worshiped with 50,000 at the Feast of the Ugandan Martyrs. People had walked on pilgrimage to the celebration from as far away as Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, etc. We had VIP seats...because we were Americans. I felt bad that we had such privilege when others walked for a month to get there and had to take lawn seats. Some barely made it. Such faith, such devotion to their heroes who brought Christianity to the people and were killed by the king as a result!
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