Sitawa Ignited: November 2023

Journaling through the Book of Luke early this year - May 2023, New Holland Coffee Shop

Hi Sunshine,

As mentioned in my first post, my faith is one of my anchors. This means, among other things, studying the Bible is part of my lifestyle.

It has been a long journey to get to this place where I enjoy studying the Bible. Though I grew up going to church every Sunday, it wasn’t until my late teens, when I wanted 'instant healing' from my dual diagnosis of epilepsy and bipolar, that I became somewhat serious about my faith. At that point, Bible study to me equated to knowing a handful of ‘name it and claim it’ verses, which I used as ammunition to remind God that these illnesses had docked on the wrong harbor. This ‘method of acquiring Biblical knowledge’ didn’t require me to know which books follow which ones, what the context of the verses was or who said them to who, where and why.

Because we cannot be newborn babes forever, I graduated to the ‘whatever page I land on - as long as it is not those boring Old Testament books and it better have a tweetable (x-able?) pithy catch phrase’ method of Bible study. It was years before I finally learnt how to do exegesis (Biblical deep dive). I do not claim to have gotten the perfect method of studying the Bible but I think removing the what’s in it for me attitude and stepping back to learn that there is a story behind the story I am reading and that there is an overall story encompassing this and many other stories including my own has helped me to strive to understand the context first, before trying to see where I fit in, if at all.

One of my favorite things to do during my downtime is to watch psychological who-done-it thriller types. Well as far-fetched as it may seem, the Bible gives me that vibe – it has some true crime scripts, is full of sci effects – (seas splitting into two, trees burning and not being consumed, people turning into pillars of salt), and if you follow the drama, some of the characters in the Bible have reality TV energy. And to think that all these is compressed into 66 books and packaged into a portable library is just genius (the Bible is the original Kindle).

I actually started blogging about the Book of Judges because of the messiness. And because messiness is for sharing, I wanted to curate a glossary type page that serves all this tea and gives you the low down on the various books in the Bible before you kick it with them.

Tea from the Bible ☕️ is that space and it will be a simple list of the Books in the Bible and links to the posts I do about those books. It is my prayer that I get to blog about all the 66 books in the Bible. I also pray that this list enriches your knowledge of the Bible and helps you to grow in your relationship with God, yourself, your work and those around you.

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

Spot my mini-cookbook collection in the background

Good afternoon beautiful people,

It is negative degrees out there and I think I am on my 20th cup of tea because what is this weather, and why is this 4pm looking like 8pm? For some reason, when the weather is like this, I just think about food, mostly the cooking part. I know I mentioned that sometimes the heat in my building gets lost in transmission and baking helps to warm it up...but even on days when the apartment is warm and cozy, I just feel the need to have some kitchen action happening.

This is how I found myself skimming through my cook-books and putting post it flags on the recipes I would like to try this Winter season. I am not one of those meal prep to the T type of people. My relationship with food is guided by very few things, top of which are;

- Eat regularly because going without food increases the chances of getting a seizure.

- No red meat because my body reacts badly to it (not related to either epilepsy or bipolar),

- Lots of fruits and veggies, anytime, every day

I grew up having Nyama Choma (BBQ) almost every weekend. It was our after church thing and so it took sometime before I could finally let it go. When we finally parted ways, I went all the way in and became a vegetarian. That was my lifestyle until I moved to the US, and my college student budget could not keep up with 'the luxury' of eating fresh fruits/ veggies everyday.

Sitawa Wafula, blogger living with epilepsy and bipolar, pursuing academic dreams abroad & embracing the abundant life

...refreshing my herb garden this Summer - I miss having a real vegetable and herb garden in backyard

I miss the fact that regardless of which Kenyan town one is in, there will always be an array of fresh fruits and veggies. When I went vegetarian, I grew my own herbs and veggies on the plot of land behind my house. Between my own produce and what I got from the market, I had so many choices and made loads of different tasty and nutritious vegetarian meals all year round.

Though I still do not eat red meat (the reaction looks like a permanent thing at this rate), I invited white meat (which my body did not have a problem with) back to my diet - mostly sea food with occasional moments of poultry. And just as it took time for me to warm up to life without Nyama Choma, it took time for me open up to the fact that not only will my diet include white meat but it will also include veggies and legumes from a can. Just to be clear, I know that canning keeps those nutrients intact and helps to reduce food wastage but part of me does not trust industrial canning - how sure am I you used the right things in your preservation process (in short, I am not trying to add another health issue to my current load).

Nothing says Summer days in Lancaster like enjoying a whoopie pie (which is Lancaster County's signature speciality) and Big Boy Brass Band outside the Lancaster Central Market (Summer 2023)

So as a ground rule, I do not touch any of those 3 minute microwaveable meals (I know they are on a totally different wave length in comparison to canned food), and I try to strike a balance between store bought canned goods and fresh produce from the Lancaster Central Market (which was established in 1730 and is the 'oldest continuously operated public market in the US').

Now that I feel like I found a sweet spot between fresh produce and canned goods, I have been making versions of some of the meals I used to make back home. One meal that I was yet to make was Githeri - a mixture of maize and beans (I am yet to embrace the word 'corn'). Part of the reason I was hesitant to make it was of course canned ingredients, and the other part, is the fact that I was hoping that one day I will find the right type of maize during the Summer when maize is in plenty.

Ingredients: For the real deal, I recommend fresh instead of canned items - Maize (corn), Kidney Beans, Peas, Potatoes, Carrots, Tomatoes, Onions and Olive Oil

The true version of Githeri starts with boiling the maize and beans mix for a couple of hours. The small yellowish maize that I have seen here in Lancaster mashes up quickly and cannot survive a couple of hours of boiling. Because I am now in a hybrid world, and finally made peace with canned goods, I settled for a remixed version of making Githeri.

I did not document the process but the pan on the far end is where I sorta kinda imitated the real thing by semi-boiling the maize, peas and beans mix. I then did the whole oil, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrot mix then added the maize, beans, peas mix, some salt and curry powder - and could not hide my joy when I served my first bowl of Githeri (had to send this evidence home).

I was so excited that I had finally made my first Githeri - and you know Githeri isn't Githeri without strungi (black tea) and avocado

Githeri was not in the cookbooks I went through but it makes an amazing Winter meal because it brings joy and warmth by reminding me of home. It is also one of those meals that I can have for either breakfast, lunch or supper - and I will definitely be making more of it. From the cookbooks, I bookmarked 4 meals, 2 desserts and a drink. Pray that I remember to document them and share the stories behind them in upcoming posts.

Until next time,

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

It was a banana bread type of evening...and I love how this piece came out

Hi beautiful people,

I do not consider myself a foodie but every Fall, I find myself measuring, mixing and baking stuff. Part of it is because I love the smell of baked goodies and the other part is because the oven helps to warm up my apartment.

I think I may have mentioned this before but I live in 'the penthouse' - the only unit on the topmost floor. And because Lancaster is an old town, it has old buildings with old central heating systems...I swear the heat gets lost in transmission enroute to my unit because there are evenings I feel like I am outside in the cold...this is where baking comes in.

This Fall, I will be sharing some of my baking recipes (when I remember to document the process). To get us started, a simple banana bread recipe that I used this evening (I did a better job than the Blackberry Pie recipe).

Ingredients: 2 Bananas, 1/3 cup butter, 1.5 cup of all-purpose flour, 0.75 cup of sugar, 1.5 tsp baking powder (should be 0.5 tsp baking soda but I keep forgetting to buy it), 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 egg

Mash the bananas (I do it with a fork, one at a time)

In a separate bowl, mix the baking powder (or baking soda) and sugar

Love it when the butter is marked - melt 1/3 cup for this recipe (I do not own a microwave - my way of avoiding all the ‘one minute meals’ and having loads of leftovers that may end up in the trash - so I melt my butter by placing it in one of those heat friendly ceramic bowls, then placing the bowl in a pan with hot water - water warms bowl, bowl melts butter)

Beat one egg and add 1 tsp vanilla extract

Add the egg, vanilla extract, sugar, baking powder (baking soda), melted butter and flour to the mixing bowl with the mashed bananas...and mix

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C), rub some butter on your loaf pan, pour batter (mixture) into it...and bake for 60 minutes

Remove from oven and let it cool in the pan for a few minutes

All cooled down and ready to go...plus the apartment smells good and it is all warmed up

Hope I can concentrate on my school work...and not to head to bed after getting warm and full

Hope you get to try this simple banana bread recipe...Until the next time,

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

Enroute to see South African Grammy Award Winning Gospel Group - Soweto Gospel Choir (Nov 2022)

Hi beautiful people,

As I was putting my 'Macbeth show photos' into an album, I walked down memory lane and my gallery location pin showed me around this time last year, I attended a concert by South African Grammy Award winning gospel group, Soweto Gospel Choir at the Winter Center Arts Space (where the Macbeth play was).

I cannot trace any videos from the time, guess I was still using my BlackBerry (yes I am one of the last people to still own one, and I still believe they will make a comeback) - and it was on its deathbed, and not backing everything up. I have a few photos I managed to take amid all the dancing, singing and soul searching that was the Soweto Gospel Choir Concert in Millersville, PA. I have added YouTube Videos from the choir's channel to highlight some of the songs that I stuck with me.

This concert dubbed HOPE: Its Been a Long Time Coming - was part of the choir's US/Canada 2022 Tour. We had a full house that night...and I am so glad I got a ticket early...and braved the cold to get there.

The two hour concert started with Soweto Gospel Choir giving us a front row seat in the country's (South Africa) struggle for freedom

If you have watched Sarafina, you may know the song below - this is a pic of Soweto Gospel choir before they started singing it.

At the back stretching during the 15 minute intermission of the Soweto Gospel Choir Concert in Millersville - the first half of the concert had 10 or songs that 'spoke' about South Africa and her 'long walk to freedom'

The first song after intermission was all about drums, cheers and dance...and if you have seen South Africans dancing, you know they danced their 'socks off'...the guy was doing the leg rising one here (Indlamu)

They swiftly crossed over to the Black America movement and it was interesting to see the parallels between both struggles and how gospel music/spiritualities played a part in freedom struggles. We sang along to Amen by Curtis Mayfield and Johnny Pate, An 'Africanized' rendition of Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come and Stand up by Joshuah Campbell and Cyntha Echumuna-Erivo

I have to mention their costumes were amazing and I lost count of how many times they changed their colorful attire

The second half had 10 or so songs too, and ended with Leonard Cohen's Halleluiah which got everyone on their feet and lifting their hands - we were literally having church at that point. When they were done, they bowed and left the stage...but we were not done, so we started shouting for them to get back on stage...and so they came back and did another verse of the song...and it was AMAZING!!!

Hope CD cover - Image from Soweto Gospel Choir Website

After the concert, they had a stand with their music, unfortunately I do not have a CD player so I did not get anything - but I found a playlist on YouTube with most of the songs they performed. You can listen to additional music on their website, and if you are in Australia, they will be going on tour there.

As an aside:

If you are in places where the temperatures drop at this time of the year, it is tempting to be indoors and immobile but please sign up for as many activities as you can. Like me, you might only make it to a handful of them (I am working on being better) but those moments you get out, and move, and be around people (if even if you are not talking to them), can contribute to your general mental wellbeing and help keep SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) at bay.

Until next time,

Sending loads of love and light,

Sitawa

Selfie with the Saturday Night Mass poster take 5 - Downtown Lancaster (Nov 2023)

Good evening beautiful people,

Just finished serving at the monthly Saturday Night Mass at my church and the Mass was so amazing, I wanted to share.

Before we talk all things liturgical, I would like to give a shout out to Arsenal for the amazing game this morning. Though my people - Saka, Odegaard (didnt play) and Nketiah were not on the score board, Zinchenko showed us why he is on the team with that air kick that took us back to the top of the league...ok we will be on top if Chelsea beat Man City tomorrow and Man City does not score...also have my eye on that Liverpool v Brentford game.

Full time: Arsenal 3 - Burnley 1

While we are still talking about things that happened before tonight’s Saturday Night Mass, let us go back to yesterday evening when I braved the cold to catch the second last night of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Clair Performance Hall, Winter Center - Millerville (15 minutes drive from Lancaster).

The Clair Performance Hall entrance, Winter Center, Millersville - Can we talk about how it looks like it is midnight when it is only 6pm?

I currently live in a Historical-ish town called Lancaster, and as mentioned before, the arts and gallery type things are among the biggest things here. Besides the plays we had to watch in High School as part of our English and Swahili Literature readings, I have never been much of a theatre person.

But since moving here, I have become so hooked...and I look forward to new releases at the Fulton Theatre, which is the main theatre here in Lancaster (will do a piece on it) and I maximize student discounts and preview days (when the cast do the full play, as part of their rehearsal, to an audience that pays want they want).

Got my ticket...let's watch this play

So it goes without saying that when I saw the Clair Performance Hall at the Winter Center, Millersville would be bringing Macbeth aka 'The Scottish Play' (to mark its 400th anniversary) to their stage...and they had student rates, I could not let the opportunity pass me by.

Before the play started

Here is my watered down version of the play, that I am sure will make Shakespeare and his 'followers' cringe.

The play is about a dude called Macbeth, who is a warrior. He is friends with king at the time, King Duncan, the King of Scotland (where this play is set). And they hang out at each other’s homes every so often...and even have sleep over - like friends do (I guess).

One day after battle, when Macbeth was on his way to see the king, he meets three witches who tell him that he will be king. This sends him into ambition mode as he tries to be the king by all means necessary. He ends up killing King Duncan and a couple of other people. He becomes king but it is not a smooth reign. The witches keep visiting him, and the 'nobles' start whispering because he is always talking to himself and shouting at people no one else can see.

His wife, Lady Macbeth, who helped cover up her husband's tracks when he killed the king in their house, is also involved in a couple of murders - and an infanticide. She, too, starts seeing and hearing voices and eventually, 'runs mad' and later kills herself (it happened off screen)…Fast forward to the end, Macbeth is eventually defeated and beheaded. Again I mention that this is a very watered down summary but I hope you get the gist of it - ambition, greed, and their consequences (and loads of killing).

A word from Jonathan Stayer - the play's director

Without even trying, I kept on seeing parallels between the play and the early 2000 Nigerian movies. I know this is supposed to be a quick roundup of my weekend, and not a Literature analysis session, but hear me out …this plot is what 90% of early 2000s Afro-cinema movies were made of. Someone is living their lives, a ghost appears or they become greedy or ambitions or jealous, then they do something (mostly put poison in someone’s food) to gain some form of mileage(a job, a wife, a husband, a baby) but their life is not smooth afterwards. They or their families are haunted by their deed and eventually someone becomes 'mad’ and starts chasing cars on the streets.

As someone who is in the mental health promotion side of life, I always had an issue with this plot. Mostly because a lot of people who struggled with their mental health equated it to something superstitious or a curse for God/or the gods. Macbeth's story includes witches and how life ends for him and his wife can be said to be a curse for what they did. But can we conclusively say that they had psychological issues because of the witches, because of a curse, because of their actions? Or should we dive deeper both in this play and the countless of Naija movies that used a similar story line to show how people end up mental illness? From the 15 years I was active in the mental health scene in Africa, unfortunately the former wins every single time.

Mini posters for the event

I am tempted to explore these parallels deeper but that is a post for another day. Today we are here for a weekend round up, so let us wind up with this evening's Saturday Night Mass which featured music from Elton John.

I talked about Saturday Night Mass in My Fav Events at This Historic Church in Downtown Lancaster. And to quote directly from the post - Saturday Night Mass "is hosted at 5pm on the second/third Saturday. It is a normal mass with a twist; instead of having ‘normal hymns', we have music from 'famous' musicians curated by local bands".

I was serving today...Part of my serving included taking the bulletins from the Parish House to the main sanctuary before Mass

The prayers we shared during the Mass - I pray that you take time to pray them or say your own this week

This song reminds me of Princess Diana's funeral (I think it was) - the lyrics instead of Norma Jeane, he said England's Rose...I think that was the first Elton John song that stuck with me

Clearly I had a very 'English Weekend', from Macbeth, Arsenal and Elton John...and I enjoyed it all the way. As I was doing my Bible Study this morning, I was reminded of the second part of John 10:10 where Jesus says that he came so that we can have life more abudantly. Abundance means different things to different people, and it can mean different things to us, at different times.

I am slowly embracing that what abundance looked like and meant when I was a successful mental health advocate/social entrepreneur is very different than what it means when I am a fulltime student abroad. I was very resistant for the longest time about finding joy and fulfillment in the 'little things'.

I am glad that I am now at peace with the fact that I do not have to be on advocacy mode 24/7 (though I almost went there with this post).

I am glad that I am now at a place where I am ok about sharing a weekend of catching plays, watching a football match and singing along to Candle in the Wind in church.

I am glad that I am now embracing this other definition of 'having life in abundance'...'having life in full'.

How is your weekend coming along?

Until my next adventure,

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

Welcome Fall - at Penn Square, Downtown Lancaster

I love the Fall season,

I love the cool weather and rain that accompanies it,

I love sipping on warm apple cider drinks and trying out baking recipes as an excuse to add heat to my apartment,

I love seeing the different shades of orange and mustard that we layer up with as we try to be in sync with the leaves.

By now you know that the school pond is one of my fav chill-out spots (most of my pics are usually from the other side)

Good evening beautiful people,

How beautiful is it outside - Fall is hands down my BEST season of the year. I was planning on sharing a couple of pictures from my photo gallery to showcase the lovely foliage at my school, Downtown Lancaster and my church...but ended up with a mini- sermon.

Loving the 'carpet' - Penn Square, Downtown Lancaster

This past October, the weekly forum hour discussion at church jumped on the 'Halloween bandwagon' by highlighting 'scary' stories in the Bible in a series dubbed 'texts of terror'. On the second Sunday, we discussed a dude called Jephthah - not to be confused with Japheth, Noah's son who alongside his brothers Ham and Shem are known for their role in 'the drunk naked father scene' of Noah's story (no Hollywood writing room can make up stories like those in the Bible).

'Oh God of all Creation'...just look at that amazing color mix - Scenes from school

The focus of our forum hour discussion was on how Jephthah asked God to help him win a battle and in return he would give God the first thing that came out of his house when he got home from the fight.

First of all, if you live with humans in your house, why would you make such a promise?

Another angle of the school pond - can you see the transition from the green(grass) to the lime/yellow/orange (leaves) then the blue spread (sky) - always takes me out

Secondly, if you are a soldier coming home from battle, chances are, your loved ones will be the first ones to come out to greet you. I am not saying anything but if you read between the lines, this Jephthah dude sounds like a 'true crime show candidate'.

Anyway, his daughter was the first one to come out to greet him...to be clear, we are not really told if he sacrificed her but we are led to believe that something happened...so yes, this story totally deserved to be in the texts of terror series.

Loved this fountain 'burning bush' play (too much Bible?) - Scenes from school

Since I had never heard of this Jephthah dude before the discussion, I decided to read a little more about him in the Book of Judges where he is highlighted. As I read through, I became curious as to why he was considered a judge...in my books, he ought to be judged. As it is with many Bible stories, the best way to get clarity is to go through the pre-text...and that is how I started studying the whole Book of Judges.

I am getting MAJESTIC vibes - More Scenes from School

To my surprise, this book is not about judges and lawyer types...it is more about people falling, and those falls setting the precedent for oppression, which is followed by crying out to God, God sending a leader (a judge) to the rescue…the people then experiencing beautiful Sunny days before they rinse and repeat aka fall again. The judges are more of leaders/helpers/warriors, and some theologians call this book ‘the book of cycles’ because it more about this pattern being repeated over and over in the 21 chapters that make the book.

Had to get in the frame - Other side of pond in school

I am currently in Chapter 10 (and there have been out of this world events in all these other chapters) and will be re-reading Jephthah’s story tomorrow (doing a chapter a day). Initially I was like -'why can’t you all learn from your past?’, ‘Why are we reading about your falls over and over and over again'...but as I continued reading, I started to see myself in these people.

Love that color - Downtown Lancaster

Just because the things I repeat over and over are different, does not mean I am any different. I, too, have done some things over and over again, that anyone looking from the outside in would wonder, 'why can’t you all learn from your past?'...'why are we reading about your falls over and over and over again'...I bet Don's (my therapist) inner voice says these words silently.

Love it when it rains - Downtown Lancaster

Lord knows that I have vowed to never ever ever go back to some things or people, especially after a season of shedding some premium tears. But when the pain died down, my two hands held the phone as I typed messages back and forth with them, my two legs took me back to meet them...clearly who am I to judge these people?

You have seen the inside of our church, this is what the outside looks like - can we talk about the red leaves

Secretly I think this is why this book is called the Book of Judges. We might come in thinking we will meet judges, then learn that the people called judges were leaders/helpers but we, the readers, are the judges, because we judge the people in the vicious cycles...and that should be cause enough for us to step back and look at our own lives...I am just saying. (This is one of the reasons I love studying the Bible - gold mine).

More scenes from church - love 'the mess'

The bigger question is, where do we go from here?

Clearly, at different points of this journey called life, we get stuck in this hamster wheel of falling, crying, getting rescued, 'being healed' and falling again. In my getting back to therapy post I talked about relapsing and how we learnt in my Counseling strategies class that it is part of the healing process. Sometimes we 'fall' because we have not yet gotten enough tools and skills to keep ourselves in the next level or season of our journey...and there is nothing wrong with that...it is part of the growth and healing process.

My 'neck of the wood' - Downtown Lancaster

I am not saying that we should intentionally go towards the fire, but if we find ourselves next to the fire over and over again, we should not give up or let shame and guilt overtake us. Instead, let us gently investigate the why behind the fall, behind the cycles, behind not 'getting it'.

...my semicolon tattoo - a reminder that the sentence would have ended but it still goes on...keep going

And as we do that,

I pray that we give ourselves grace over and over again, just like God did with this people.

I pray that we use the Fall seasons of our lives to re-member ourselves with ourselves - and God.

I pray that we have the courage to cry out for help - to Him, to therapists, to our community.

I pray that we have the strength to release the things that are meant to fall out of our lives.

I pray that we give ourselves permission to feel worthy of experiencing the seasons ahead.

I pray that that the vocabulary of guilt and shame is replaced with accountability and action.

Most of all, I pray that we do not give up,

…that we allow ourselves to rest and try again tomorrow

...and if we fall (relapse), I pray that we remember that that is part of the journey.

WE'VE GOT THIS!!!

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

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