After our return to Kampala following the safari, it was time to start preparations to leave Africa.  I think most of us were ready to go home, but it was certainly bittersweet, since it had been such an incredible experience and who knows who, if any of us, would be back again.  At this point, I’m thinking, for me, probably not.  (But after returning home, the longer I’m away from there, the more I think, “Yeah, I would do that again!”)

We had one more day of service though, to give to the people at Mutungo … and they had something to give to us too!  So we piled in the vans on Saturday morning after breakfast and went to finish up the fencing and planting bouganvillas and other flowers along the fence line.  I hope to one day at least see pictures of the bouganvilla vines growing up that fence — they will be beautiful!  But did you know that bouganvillas have THORNS?  I found out the hard way.  I was reminded that love sometimes does come with thorns.  The greatest gift of love ever came with a crown of thorns.

When we ran out of time for working and visiting, everyone joined together in the church for another time of celebration and gift-giving.  With the monies the team had raised and brought, plus funds from Park Place Church of God missions budget, we presented goats, chickens, mattresses and other gifts to individuals in the church, school and TAPP program.  I’m not sure just how the selection process went, about who got what, but it was such a blessing to be on the giving end!  Even if I did have to hold a live chicken (not such a blessing).

One more heart-breaking story to tell from this last visit to Mutungo.  I had a young mother (who is HIV positive) come talk to me, with two children in tow and a two month old infant in her arms.  I had spent some time with her before on Tuesday afternoon, and had held her baby and gone on about how beautiful she was.  So she came up to me again on this morning and held out the baby for me to hold, which I did.  But this time, the mother asked me if I would keep the baby.  To take her home with me and raise her.  Oh!  That well of tears God had told me He would give me!  Here it was, in this mother’s eyes, and in my own heart!  Of course there was no way that could happen, so I just cried with her, and told her how much Catherine needed her own mother.  How incredibly much she loved her baby, to want to give her up to give her a chance at a better life.  I think this memory will haunt me forever.  To the left is a picture of baby Catherine.  I pray for her and her mother and siblings.  I pray for this church family, and for the work of the kingdom that goes on there in that community.  I thank God for Central Community Church of God in Wichita, KS that pours so much of its mission dollars, time and efforts into this place. 

As we prepared to leave, the church family gave us a gift too … they put on a celebration of thanks that included traditional costumes, drumming and dancing.  I wish I could get the video clip to upload, but I can’t, so here’s a couple of pictures — the next best thing, though it does not do it justice.

Saturday afternoon, we made a trip to the International Market in Kampala to do some souvenir shopping, then went out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant as the guests of the Stephensons.  That was a very pleasant experience, sitting on the floor on cushions, enjoying an authentic Japanese meal, even if it was a bit surreal in the setting of Kampala, Uganda, Africa!  I guess I must have been “pictured out” by this time because I didn’t get even one snapshot of that!

It was quite late by the time we arrived back at the Stephensons, but it didn’t really matter since we were not going to go to bed anyway.  We got busy packing up all our belongings, making sure our bags would pass the weight requirements of the airlines, preparing to leave at 2:00 AM for the airport and the LONG journey home.  (I don’t think I had written in any previous blog that our flights home had been cancelled due to the British Airways crew strike.  Our travel agent had gotten on the ball though, and booked us out of Kampala to Nirobe and then on to London via Kenya Air — so we actually ended up with a little side-trip to Kenya!)   I ended up with 11 flights on this trip altogether.

So, we said our goodbyes and traveled the next 40 hours+ getting back to Indiana.  At the overnight stay in London, we had a very valuable time of “debriefing” about the trip, knowing that we would be spending much time over the next weeks processing all we had seen and experienced.  Josh gave us some very helpful advice when he told us that we needed to come up with three “versions” of our trip story –  the 3 sentence version, the 3 minute version, and the long version.  Not everyone who says “How was your trip” really wants to hear all about it.  (I guess this blog is my long version!)   Although we are thankful that all 16 of us arrived safely back in the US, when we got to Chicago, we discovered that NONE of our luggage had made it!  Over the next 2 weeks, eventually all of the suitcases made it to their owners, except one — Josh’s.  It has never shown up.  I’m sad for Josh about that, but I’m very sad for me!  When we were packing that last night in Kampala, my bag was overweight and Josh still had room in his, so I took out most of my souvenirs (which was mainly the TAPP jewelery I had bought) and put them in his bag!  BUMMER!  I guess someone in Uganda or Kenya or London is wearing them.  Oh well, the TAPP ladies got their income from it.  I’m just sad I didn’t have anything to give away to friends and family, especially those who had supported me and helped me go on the trip!

In my next (and last) blog about the Africa trip, I want to end with some general observations and pictures that didn’t get fit in elsewhere.  Thanks for reading and sticking with me through all this!  I hope it has been interesting and given you a true picture of what the trip was like, and given you encouragement to obey, if and when God lays it on your heart to venture out on such a trip.

SAFARI!  Oh, we were so excited to get started on our trip early Wednesday morning, up to Murchison Falls National Park for a two-day safari.  The trip was LONG (about 6 hours), but traveling relatively good roads, emphasis on “relatively”–as compared to some we had been on!  The paved roads ended at Masindi and we had about 100 km left to travel on bone-jarring, potholded, narrow dirt roads.  The tour company was “The Pearl of Africa” and the driver of the van I was on was named “Cheezito”.  He was a good driver and a great tour guide, with a funny sense of humor.  In the picture on the right, I’m pointing out where we were, as we were standing on the bank of the Nile River.

     So, we arrived at the “Red Chile Rest Camp”, where we would spend the next two nights, checked in, then took off on a ferry across the Nile River for our first glimpse at the wildlife on safari.  The ferry, which held up to 8 vehicles, plus passengers, took about 10 minutes to cross the river.  There were hippos and elephants in the water and on the banks as we crossed and that whetted our excitement for what we were about to experience.

Just a word about the ferry — everytime we went back and forth, it was FULL.  Once we saw  HUGE truck, overloaded with rice or some such commodity, but then there were people hanging on all over it, and sitting on top.  I mean, men, women, children and even babies!  I could never have imagined scenes like that!  And then, the ferrys always had guards, soldiers with rifles and automatic weapons.  A good thing, I guess, but a little disconcerting for me, anyway. 

On the safari drive, we saw TONS of hartebeasts, cob, oribe and other antelope-type animals, lots of giraffe, warthogs, water buffalo, a mongoose, hippos, elephants and more.  It was funny, in a way, when we first started we would get so excited, “LOOK!  Giraffe!” and take lots of pictures; then by the end, it would be, “Oh, another giraffe.”  But it really was surreal, and we kept punching each other and saying incredulously, “Hey, we are in Africa, on safari!”

Back at the Red Chili Rest Camp, we had a nice dinner and then trundled off to our assigned beds, in tents or bungalows. I didn’t sleep too well, because it was so hot and unfamiliar sounds (from the hippos and warthogs roaming around the camp, not to mention snakes, spiders, bugs, beetles and mosquitos!) plus I really needed to go to the bathhouse during the night but didn’t want to wake Melanie up — and I didn’t dare go by myself!  All electricity shut off at midnight and it was pitch dark.  I laid there until I was nearly in tears, then woke Melanie up and she was so sweet, she just said, “OK, let’s go!”  After that, we did get at least a little sleep before it was time to get going on our second trip across the Nile.

I’ll just sum up the whole safari adventure with my TOP 3 stories —

#1 was when the baboon jumped in the van trying to get at a piece of pineapple Joel was holding!  What a riot!  Joel thought it was after his camera, so he squealed a high-pitched squeal and slid back down in the van to get away from it.  Our driver hit the gas, and the baboon jumped out.   The vanload of Aussies behind us thought he had fainted, and they had such a laugh.  Imagine the broadest Australian accent you can and hear them say, “You should have seen your FAACES!”

Favorite story # 2 was the lion and lioness on the hunt.  It is not so common a thing to witness, since lions are not really plentiful in this park, and they move and feed mostly at night.  It was exciting to watch the lioness stalk and kill an oribe (a small antelope), then carry it back for the lion to have his breakfast first, and then she ate.  They totally ignored the vans, though I’m sure they were aware of our presence, and put on an amazing “show”.  The lion had been injured in a poacher’s snare, but was healing.  Cheezito said it’s ear had been tagged, so the vets in the game park were looking after it.

Story #3 happened later that afternoon when we floated down the Nile on a tour boat and got within 10 yards of a crocodile kill.  It was just like being on the Discovery channel!  There were about 8 or 9 HUGE crocs (8-10 feet long!) devouring what had been a baby hippo.  They would latch on and then roll, churning the water into froth.  No swimming in the Nile!  (I did pee-pee in the Nile, though : ) but I’ll not go into detail there.) 

Oh, so many more stories, but space and time preclude my telling them.  It will have to suffice to say it was an amazing experience I wish everyone could have at least once in their life, just to see how great, how vast, how awesome our Creator God is.  I humbly bow at His feet in worship and awe.  The incredible variety of animals, birds, plants, the sheer power of Murchison Falls, raw nature in all it’s intricasies and beauty — it all gives testimony to our Almighty, Most Holy God.

One more night at the Red Chili Rest Camp, then we had a very good breakfast and headed back to Kampala.  It was a LONG, hard ride, with the first couple of hours of misery on the dusty red clay roads before we hit pavement at Masindi.  We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and nearly 3 hours later, got back on the road.  (No such thing as “fast food” there!)  Josh ordered fish and chips and got a little more than he bargained for! (Not really, he knew it would come head and eyeballs and all.)

To end up the safari post, here are a few random pics:

Tuesday was kind of a low-energy day, but we all made it back to Muntungo for another day of work and visiting.  I confess to mostly visiting (I’m just not physically capable of fence-building), although I did help plant Bougainvillea vines along the fence.  I know it will be beautiful when they grow up and bloom on that fence!

I was in a group of four who made TAPP and Jajja visits.  We walked miles through the slums, and some “nicer” communities, to get to the particular homes.  The first was a TAPP client, abandoned by her husband when it was determined that she was HIV positive, and left with two children — a very small three year old who has two holes in her heart and desperately needs an operation (which the Stephensons and the TAPP director are working toward getting taken care of), and a 2 year old little boy who was just a little dynamo.  TAPP had built them a concrete 1 room house to rescue them from the street.  She was so grateful for the visit and the gifts we brought (a new skirt, soap, toothpaste, lotion, a blanket and that kind of thing, plus some food stuffs).  We sang for them and prayed for them.

In these pictures you can see one of the yellow jugs they use to carry water from a community source.  It’s the children’s job to carry the water for the family, usually.  Here at Muntungo, you would always see a gang of kids around the water pipe, catching water, then carrying it home on top of their heads.  The smaller children couldn’t fill their container very full or it would be too heavy to carry.   Also, you can see a woman in an alleyway, cooking over a charcoal fire, making these little hushpuppy-like fritters to sell.  In the city, most of the cooking is done over charcoal braizers (little stove-pots).  The smell of burning charcoal is pervasive. 

The second visit was to a 93 year old Jajja (grandmother).  We walked a long way UP a big hill to get to where she lives with her granddaughter.  She was home alone and locked out of the house for the day while the granddaughter was at work, because people would break in and steal what little they had while she was there alone.  (It was one of the FEW houses I saw that actually had a door at all!)  The neighbor TAPP women were looking after her.  To be 93 years old in Uganda means she has seen an awful lot of awful things in her lifetime (including the brutality of the Idi Amin regime).  She was so grateful for our visit, and insisted that we sit on the benches brought over by the neighbor women, while she sat on the rocky ground.  Her prayer request, after we had visited a while, was for her jaw (which was obviously swollen and painful), and for a mat to sleep on.  She had been sleeping on the concrete floor with just a folded sheet to lay on.  Well, we had brought her a gift bag with a fleece blanket and some toiletries and she was thrilled with that, BUT, we had also brought about 20 foam mattresses to give out, and they were back at the church.  They were all spoken for, but when later that afternoon she WALKED down to the church (and I’m telling you, this was a HIKE), arrangements were made for her to get a mattress.  It seemed that God had provided the answer to her prayer before she even asked.  ; )

After lunch, four of us went to another TAPP client’s house for a very moving visit.  This woman was in mourning over her child that had died just the previous weekend from cerebral malaria, plus her 13 year old daughter was in the hospital with an HIV-complicated illness.  (The child who had died was the only one of her 4 kids who was NOT HIV positive.)  So many people here are HIV+, and it is spreading fastest among teens and married couples.  Then, the men just abandon their families when HIV test prove positive–even when it is most likely that THEY have brought it into the household to begin with!  While the situation at this home was very sad, I literally SAW Jesus when Paul White put his arms around that grieving mother.  It was YOU, Jesus, comforting her! She just melted onto his shoulder and received the heartfelt compassion Paul shared with her.  Paul had recently been through the death of a close family member and just naturally (and supernaturally) was able to comfort her with the comfort he had received.  It was a beautiful thing.

     On Monday, everthing started hopping again early, as we went to MUTUNGO, where there is a church/school/TAPP Center all on one site.  We were met at the gates by the TAPP women (Tuamani Aids Prevention Program), singing and dancing, welcoming us with many smiles, shouts and uulations.  They had created special songs to celebrate our coming.  We were ushered into the church, given seats of honor and entertained by the children of the school.

     Everyone had their assigned jobs — some painted on the school “building”, (which was actually two railroad cars that had been modified.  (It made me think of the books I read as a child about the “Boxcar Children”); others were teaching; others were working on putting a fence all around the grounds; others going on TAPP and JAJJA visits.  This is a church that Central Community Church in Wichita, Kansas has taken on as thier missions project, and has done a wonderful job establishing.  I think they send teams pretty often to work there.   I just went to their blog and read about their June trip to Uganda–the pictures and stories are so familiar!  ; )

    The afternoon was taken up with the graduation ceremonies for the first class of TAPP grads.  Again, another LONG ceremony that lasted about 4 hours, and again we were right up front.  In the middle of lunch, Josh and Audrey were surprised to see Amos, their sponsored child, come in through the doors!  He and his father had gotten up at 3 AM and came by bus to see Josh & Audrey, having heard they were going to be at Mutungo.  7 hours on a bus over awful roads — What  gift!  Amos, who at about 3 yrs. of age when he fell into a fire, had been horribly burned at about over his whole head and a lot of his body, has an amazing spirit.  He loves to dance and be the center of attention.  He’s disfigured for life, but not in his spirit–he is about 8 now, and is the top of his class in school.  They brought Josh & Audrey a sack of potatoes.  I cried when they walked in and felt like I had another grandchild!  Introductions were made all around and we got to love on Amos a bit.  Josh had met Amos on a previous trip, but Audrey had not, so this was a very special time for them.  I gave him the ball cap I had brought, because he did not have a hat.  He wore it the rest of the day.  I really admire his dad for sticking with the family after the accident and taking care of them.  A lot of Ugandan men just abandon their families in crisis.   

     The TAPP grads displayed their beads and other stuff they had made to sell.  I bought a bunch, including a little girl’s skirt and blouse.  A little girl named “Brenna” had attached herself to me all afternoon and she was in a tattered dress whose zipper was broken.  I had fixed the top by punching a hole in each side on the back and tying a ribbon through them. I wanted to do more!  So I bought the little outfit and put it on her.  She was so excited and thankful.  I felt like we had all won with that one little purchase (10,000 shillings, which is about $4.40).  The little girl got a new dress, the TAPP lady earned a little money and I had the huge blessing of giving.  Good Day.

Just one more note … Joshua has posted a picture video on youtube that is just wonderful.  I cry everytime I watch it for the flood of memories it brings back, and for the words of the song he put it to.  Please use this link to watch it:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCjV5BWeW6Q

Wow.  If you have been hanging in there with me through 8 posts already, you are a trouper!  Thanks for reading!

My last couple of posts were about being out in the village — and I’m sure I didn’t do justice to what an incredible experience it was.  While in some ways we felt like we had stepped back in time a couple of centuries, in other ways we faced very relevant issues, just intensified and within a different context and culture.  People are just people, where ever you go.  And we all need a Savior.  Thank you, Jesus, for providing the way for our salvation.

We got going on our way back to Kampala, and the rain had really helped with the dust problem.  Also, thankfully, this time our van led the way in the caravan, so we weren’t eating the dust from the other vans!  We made pretty good progress down the dirt roads, only having to stop a few times to let cattle herds get out of the road.  We were kind of in a hurry, because we had been invited to be the special guests at an engagement celebration, called an “Introduction”, at Kasubi.  The women of the church there had gathered traditional African outfits for each of us to put on, and despite the fact that we ended up being nearly 2 hours later than expected, and we were all totally wiped out from the weekend (and looked it too!), they held the party until we arrived and seated us — you guessed it — right up front.   The Introduction is a BIG deal.  It is actually more important culturally than the wedding!  The pomp and ceremonies went on  for about 4 hours, with formal introductions of the bride and groom and family members, the paying of the dowry by the groom’s family to the bride’s family, and presentation of gifts, lots of food (which we ate with our fingers, even though we were dressed “formally”), LOUD music, ceremonies and even a dancer on stilts with a goulish face mask on.  (I have no earthly idea what that was about! ) It was all fun for about the first hour, then the fatigue began to set in and I (along with others) ended up with a massive headache and couldn’t enjoy the festivities any more.  But, couldn’t go anywhere either, so we just got through it!  We were SO happy to get “home” to the Stephenson’s home, later that night.  Some of the others have great pictures of the beautiful bride, the gift presentations and the rest of the celebration – I will add more photos later.

Sophie, the bride, was a success story from the Kasubi school.  She had graduated and gone on to college and was now about to be married.  Someone asked why so many celebrations?  Colleen reminded us that there is so much death, everyday, from HIV/AIDS, malaria, and so many other diseases, that they take every opportunity they can to celebrate life.

Sunday, May 29^th – Kyamukama village.      We got up with the dawn, under cloudy skies and a little rain (for which we were thankful—to quell the dust a little on our trip home).  We took down the tents and got the vans all packed up to be ready to leave right after the worship services and lunch.  

     The group divided up and went to two different services.  Joshua preached at Kyaya and I preached at Kyamukama.  Oh my, what an incredible experience!  Speaking with an interpreter who mirrored every inflection in my voice as well as my physical movements was so much fun!  When I knelt down to demonstrate Mary Magdalene washing Jesus’ feet, he was right down there with me!  My message was “Beautiful Feet”, and I took them on a discovery of Jesus’ feet throughout the Bible, and then just a brief look at believer’s feet, after they have come to the cross.  Justin Banger, from Riverchase, had painted a wonderful picture to go with the message, and I had it printed on large vinyl posters and 4 x 6 prints to give away as a reminder.  They received the message and the pictures like treasure.  How humbling and gratifying to be so privileged to share the gospel! 

       I promised to tell about the goat and the chicken that had been given to Colleen, which we had to take back to Kampala.  Ever resourceful, Sunday and Moses concocted a plan!  They put the goat between two pieces of cardboard, laid it flat and tied it to the top of one of the vans!  The chicken was also tied by the feet and fastened securely on top.  Both rode safely (if not very comfortably) all the way, over 6 hours!  Every once in a while we would hear “baaaaa”, and know that the goat was still with us!

A few more random photos from the village: 

New Flipflops!

I wish I were better at inserting and arranging the pictures … I’m working on it!  Thanks for reading!

Kyamukama kids on a termite mound

    By around 9 AM there were enough folks gathering in to begin the conferences and sessions for the day.  Time is a different concept, but when you consider what they have to do to get anywhere (walk, mostly, or bicycle) you realize what a huge effort it was for them to come!   We had a wonderful time of singing and praising under that big tree, and then divided up into different areas for activities.  Sunday and Moses had brought in canopy tents and some plastic chairs so there would be some shelter from the sun.  Our team led (or facilitated) groups of men, women, children, youth, and pastors. 

   It was my priviledge to lead the morning Pastor’s Conference (with an interpreter, since most of them did not speak English.)  We met in the unfinished school building, which had a packed dirt floor with straw spread over it.  Thankfully, the plastic chairs had been brought in or we would have been sitting on the ground.  I was a little nervous at first about how I might be recieved, but quickly just jumped into sharing about hiding the Word of God in your heart to be able to teach it to others.  I had brought colored index cards and Sharpies to give out, to encourage them to write and memorize scripture, and they eagerly recieved them.  These guys have so little resources — even paper is scarce.  I’m not sure how many of them even ha Bibles in their own language.  Colleen had brought a box full to give out and they were so grateful.  Their biggest quest was for help to understand the Bible!  I was astonished when one brought up Ephesians 6 and I commented on the pieces of the armor of God and they asked me to repeat it SLOWLY, with the translator, so they could write it down and understand it.  Such a basic Bible concept, and it was like it was all new to them.   I shared about the Shield of Faith and it was like pure gold to them.  It was so humbling for me to be in that little room with those pastors (most of them dressed in their very best clothes – which I had seen them earlier ironing on a board with an iron heated on the open fire!), just sharing portions of Scripture.  They were so hungry for the Word!   I wish I had gotten  picture of the pastors at that conference, to remember their faces as I pray for them to be able to get the resources they need to learn to effectively preach and teach God’s Word.

   In these pictures you can see the little school building under construction.  The pregnant cow was a gift to be given away, along with goats and chickens, to different ones as “perpetuating gifts”.  We also brought suitcases full of flipflops and clothing to give away.  Of course, then, they had to give something in return, and Colleen was presented with a goat and a chicken that we had to transport back to Kampala.  (More about that later!)

     The afternoon Pastor’s Conference was about family issues, and Colleen Stephenson led that, and I contributed some to the discussion.  It seems that there’s a big problem in that culture with men not taking care of their families and even infidelities.  She also led them in talking about other issues they are having to deal with, including differences in theologies being taught by other church groups and the immense needs in the congregations.    One of the BEST things she was able to announce was that monies had been provided, and a WELL would be dug there at Kyamukama soon!   That will be HUGE for that community!

More pictures from the events on Saturday:

   Things went on until LATE Saturday night — we ended up eating at 11 PM after the Jesus Movie finished.  It was a FULL day for everyone, and I don’t think anyone had trouble sleeping that night.  There was a little bit of sickness amongst the group on Sunday morning that could have been from something eaten, or just from sheer exhaustion, but with prayer and rest, everyone recuperated OK.

     Saturday, May 29 was a BIG day for the Kyamukama Church of God, hosting the campmeeting-style event for the Mpigi District.  I don’t know from how far the people came, but they just KEPT coming in from every direction, all during the day.  My best guess is there were around 400 men, women, youth and children all together.  The church building was not nearly big enough to hold everyone, so the general worship services were held out under a huge tree that stood beside the building.  What a BLESSING this tree was! 

The other buildings on this three-acre (thereabouts) plot of land that had been donated for a church/school, were the half-finished school building (also mud and sticks, with a tin roof), and a couple of round mud huts with thatched roofs.  One thing interesting … they clear a dirt area around each building and keep it swept clean  so they can clearly see any snakes that approach!    I was invited to look into the “parsonage” where the pastor and his wife live.  There was no door, just a white curtain over the opening, but the inside was BEAUTIFUL.  The ceiling was all woven grasses with inlaid patterns.  There was a trundle bed with a locked cabinet underneath, one chair and mats on the floor, and that’s it.  Very nice, but very small and very sparse.

   So, the very first event of the day was quite a shock to some of the group who had never been around a farm.  One of those long-horned steer was led in on a tether and “sacrificed” to feed everyone.  We watched as they slit its throat and it gave up the ghost.  I had been around “hog-killing” times on my grandparent’s farm, but it was still a little disconcerting, though just a necessary part of life, I guess.  I wish I remembered the name of the woman who had come from Kasubi with us.  She regularly cooks for the 650 students and teachers at Kasubi and was in charge of the cooking here in the village for the weekend … over open fires.  Amazing.  She turned that butchered cow into lunch and dinner that day, and breakfast the next day.  At lunch, it was a bit tough; at supper more tender and the next day, VERY tender.  Served up with the staple rice, cabbage, posho, matoke, squash and beans.  I chose to just put a little of the broth over the rice and mainly stuck to the cabbage and squash. 

This is a picture of the pastor’s home and the cooking area.  The young man who is the pastor at this church was a true example of a servant-leader.  I witnessed him pouring out what had to be every bit of his energy making sure everything went well and everyone was taken care of.  I saw him doing everything from leading elderly women to find a seat, to herding kids to where they needed to be, chasing down goats that were to be given away, wrangling a cow to keep it from going into the church, participating in the conferences, playing drums in the worship service, and on and on.  And he did all of this dressed in a suit.  I was so impressed with him, and told him so before leaving.

Welcome at Kyaya (pronounced Chai)

    What a delightful welcome awaited us at Kyaya!  This and other little villages are located in the Mpigi District of Uganda … WAY out there!  This little church family and community were so excited about our coming, even though they had been waiting for us for more than 2 hours, they came running out and surrounded our vans, singing, dancing, uulating (you know that really high-pitched warble).  It was really overwhelming to be greeted so ENTHUSIASTICALLY!  We were curtsied to, called “Madame”, hugged, touched and oh, the smiles!  Everytime someone would curtsy, I’d pull them up and hug or shake hands, I really did not want to be made out to be “superior” in any way!  They were being respectful, but I know I’m not any royalty or celebrity.  After wading carefully through the crowd outside, we were led inside their little church bulding, right up to the front as honored guests, and they sang (wonderfully!), clapped and welcomed and entertained us for a while.  (BTW, I did not even take a watch to Africa with me.  I decided I wasn’t going to worry about time while there,  just go with the flow.  It was very liberating!)

     A group of teenagers sang several songs for us, and I’m telling you, one of those girls in particular (the one with the orange sweater) had an amazing voice.   She probably has little chance of “being discovered” way out there in those boonies, but wow,what a talent!  And she was beautiful, too.

     This little church, with packed dirt floors and fresh straw strewn over it, was probably no larger than 12′ x 20′, but it was packed out with people of all ages, just thrilled to welcome us, a group of 16 muzungus — the first ever such group to visit their church.   There, as elsewhere on our visits, they brought in bottles of soda for our refreshment.  Actually, quite a variety of sodas, in 10 oz. glass bottles — which you could tell had been used and re-used, and always room temperature (no refrigeration, since there’s no electricity). 

   Side-note:  Several have asked me about the heat.  I have to tell you, it is much hotter in Alabama than it was in Uganda!  They stay pretty much between 80-85 degrees for a daily high temperature all year round, even though they are near the equator.  It wasn’t bad at all!  We would definitely feel hot if we were in the sun, but under a shade it was pretty comfortable.

     So, after the celebratory welcome at Kyayi, we traveled further to the community of Kyamukama and were greeted by another enthusiastic and excited welcoming party.  It was getting on towards dark by this time, and we had to get our little tent city set up quickly.  Soon we were introduced to the brand new “facilities” that had been prepared for us!  They had built a new mud and stick outdoor potty, complete with two freshly dug holes, with a partition (that did not go all the way to the top) — one side for women and one side for men.  There was a woven mat for a door, but it did not go all the way to the ground, so you could see feet in there and know if it was occupied.  Needless to say, it was not a happy place to be and you only when when you HAD to and did not linger. 

The other facility was the “shower” area.  They had tied four sheets of tin upright, making a two-sided spot where you could go and undress to your own level of comfort and use the water that had been carried in from miles and miles away in two 5 gallon jugs to bathe.  The first night I opted to baby-wipe-bathe and wash my hair.  The second night, I did use about a quart of the water to wash off and rinse out my hair.  It sure made me appreciate clean, running water in our homes.  I was also glad I had gotten my hair cut off extremely short before the trip!

   While we set up our tents and then got to eat dinner somewhere around 10 PM (another feast of rice, beans, squash, matoke and posho, along with fresh pineapple and MILK TEA), Sunday and Moses set up the generator they had brought andshowed “The Jesus Film” to the gathered crowd.  It was really odd, watching a white Jesus, dubbed with the Lugandan language, being shown to a very solidly African gathering.  But they seemed to be intrigued with it.   SIDE NOTE:  I emphasized milk tea so I could describe it.  It is a hot tea, steeped in hot milk (freshly “squeezed” straight from the cow) instead of water — very different from anything I’d ever tried, but very good. 

     One other thing I want to tell about from that first night in the village was how incredible the night skies were.  It felt like the full moon and the stars were SO close!  I remember from childhood nights when the stars seemed so very near, but nowdays with streetlamps and city lights, you don’t get to see that often.  We stood in awe of the handiwork  of God and were blessed.

(These pictures were actually taken at breakfast the next morning, but the scene was the same except it was by lamplight that first night.)

     On Friday, May 28th, we packed up and headed out to a REMOTE village.  What a journey!   6 hours in the back seat of an un-airconditioned, 10-passenger van, and the third vehicle in a caravan … which meant LOTS of red dust.  Everything inside and outside the van was totally coated.  We could hardly breathe, until we improvised and made facemasks out of baby wipes.  BABY WIPES — indispensible on such a trip!  We used them for everything including literally bathing and washing our hair with them!   Every road we turned on got rougher and rougher, smaller and smaller.  Vehicle traffic was pretty scarce, but scary when you did meet a big cattle truck, or one of the zip-a-de-do-dah taxis (I say that because they travl too fast on those bumpy roads!)  When you did approach a populated area, kids would run to the road and wave, and when they saw it was a group of white people, everyone would get in on the act, or just stare us out of sight.  I never felt any hostility though, just curiosity.     

       We passed a lot of interesting sights including herds of long-horned cattle being driven to market; mud-hut villages; many, many children carrying water from a central source back to their homes; Islamic enclaves (you could tell by the women in burkas and men in their hats); every mile had it’s own story.  Especially when we had to do a pit stop out in the middle of no-where (we thought).  We piled out of the vans at an open field that was surrounded by trees and bushes.  You just had to hunt a spot and do your business quickly, hoping and praying there were no varmits around.  Kinda gives a new meaning to the scripture that says, “The LORD will be your rear guard!!”  ; )

 

     

I said “we thought” it was in the middle of nowhere because we were surprised after we began our “business”  when people started showing up out of that nowhere!  By the time we had been there 10 minutes, we had a whole community of people coming togreet us!  Literally walking from out of the bush to see the white folks who had stopped for a break.  They were very welcoming and gracious even though they had no idea who we were.   One 13 year old girl I talked to spoke a little English, and all she wanted to do was to go to school, but couldn’t because her family could not afford the fees.  Some of our guys brought out a frisbee and got a little game going.  It was a fun pit stop that gave us some giggles over our inexpertise of dealing with a lack of facilities.  You do have to get brave, and a little creative!

In my next post, I’ll tell the stories of the Village Adventures!