Sunday, 16 August 2015

Departure Day

Monday saw me rise early to make sure everything was packed and I had time to say my goodbyes. 

Following breakfast - 2 boiled eggs - Cockroach came to pick me up. 

After praying with the assembled KCM team, we drove to Jarvas for lunch. We ordered a large Chicken Hawaiian Pizza and enjoyed it together - actually Cockroach enjoyed 6 pieces and I enjoyed 2 pieces as I wasn't feeling 100% - and nor was I particularly hungry. 

Over lunch Cockroach asked me about my childhood days and asked me to share my testimony. He REALLY seemed to enjoy hearing these stories and seeking my counsel about his future. He is especially keen to become financially independent and to be able to afford a family. I tried to explain the balance between being financially independent and faithfully God dependent at the same time. Trying to blend the Western and African mindsets while being Biblical at the same time. 

After about 2 hours we drove to Joeline's father's church to pick her up so she could come with us to Entebbe airport. En route we encountered a traffic jam. Our 90 minute drive took close to 3 hours. 

On arrival at the airport we pushed my trolley up the hill to the departure area, prayed and said our 'goodbye's'. 

Two hours later I was sitting in Business Class on my return Emirates flight - as I was fortunate enough to be offered an upgrade to Dubai. 

5 1/2 hours later I was walking around the Dubai airport for about four hours.  I decided to buy some men's perfume - what an amazing selection! What a headache! What a relief to find some I liked that was at duty free prices - Eternity by Calvin Kline. 

Preaching at Kyampisi and Christ the King

Sunday saw me drive the KCM ute to Kisassi to pick up Lexus and Sydney who had bought a mattress as they were sleeping out at Kyampisi tonight. 

Following this we drove to Kyampisi for church. 

On arrival I saw that Ja Ja Margaret wasn't there so I picked up Lawrence and drove to her home. As she wasn't well she wasn't able to join us for church. We did manage to organise for a doctor to visit her the following day though. 

Church was great - as it always is. Following the 2 1/2 hour service I enjoyed mingling with the locals. Many gave me little letters - which I'm yet to read. 

Everyone was very sad as during the service Pastor Kevin and Cochroach had thanked God for Alexus, Sydney and me and prayed for our safe return to family - and our safe return to Kyampisi. 

After many goodbye's I drove back to St Paul's House for lunch. 

In the afternoon we met Damien and finalised the bus arrangements for our Redlands College trip later in the year. 

Following this I drove to Leah's father's church - Christ our King - where I preached. Like last year, Leah's brother led his Sunday School class in a Bible
Quiz followed by some songs and a skit. The focus of tonight's skit was the Good Samaritan. 

Following church I enjoyed some prayer time with Leah's family in their home above the church. They were particularly excited that the walls for their new church are now finished and ready for the roof. They just need to add the corrugated sheets - 150 sheets at 100,000 schillings/sheet. The church was established in 1982 by Leah's dad and is growing all the time. 

Saturday, 15 August 2015

Youth Conference at Kyampisi

Saturday saw me drive Barbra, Alexus and Sydney to Kyampisi for a Youth Conference. On the way we bought 4kg of meat from the 'Trust in God' butchery at Kisaasi (10,000 schillings/kg), 2 cabbages, a bag of tomatoes and a bag of onions from the 'Friendly' Fruit Market at Kisaasi (total of 20,000 schillings) and 3kg of rice from the 'Praise the Lord' supermarket at Kisaasi (3,500 schillings/kg). 

On arrival at Kyampisi we were met with cheers as the youth were really looking forward to the conference - keeping in mind we had postponed last Saturday's conference due to prior commitments. 

While taking the food down to the newly built bush kitchen adjacent to the yet-to-be finished Junior Primary classroom block, we were accompanied by the sound of drums and young people singing. A little later and we commenced the conference.

Alexus spoke about living an intentional life with purpose and I unpacked some wisdom from 1 Timothy - especially where Paul says "don't let anyone look down upon you because you're young but instead set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

After speaking to the combined group we broke into two smaller groups - boys and girls. We spoke about dating, marriage and sex. There were lots of questions and there was some very honest discussion. 

After about 40 minutes we joined together to share our respective conversations. I asked one of the boys to share what we had spoken about and one of the girls to share what they had spoken about. What followed was a very rich and memorable time together. 

I met Fred Mukasa, Principal of High Standards Christian School and Brenda, owner of a Hardware at a nearby town to Fred'a school at Jarvis at 5pm. As I had arranged to meet Cockroach at 7pm at the Acacia Cinema I needed to cut my meeting with Fred a little shorter than we planned. As it happened Fred needed to visit someone in Mengo Hospital so it worked out pretty well for us both. 

Our conversation covered many things, most notably Fred's need for 3,000,000 schillings to pay for hardware supplies for his newly completed classroom. I agreed to pray about it and give to him as lead by the Lord. 

After praying together, I drove to Acacia to meet Cochroach who didn't show. He had lost his phone and couldn't ring me. I called Joeline and drove back to St Paul's House. 

Good night. 

Day in the city

Friday morning saw Joeline and I have a significant conversation about whether the Redlands College team should sleep at St Paul's House or the African Village. 

It would seem members of the KCM Team are looking forward to us staying at St Paul's House as they'll be more easily be able to join in on activities - including devotions and meals. From my perspective the African Village has the benefit of lots more space, including a restaurant, coffee shop, library, breakout rooms, a pool and an oval - not to mention more conventionally cooked meals. As the facility also includes a primary and secondary school, it also presents an opportunity for ministry. Another huge benefit of the African Village is that it's literally only 7 minutes drive to Kyampisi - compared with at least 45 minutes from St Paul's House. 

Following our discussion, Cockroach and I spent some time in Kampala. I wanted to finalise the arrangements for our travel and accommodation to Murchison Falls National Park later in the year. After some negotiating with the Tourist Agent at the Fairways Hotel we drove to the craft market at the National Theatre. 

Following this we started to organise the bus for our College trip - a 27 seat coaster. We then drove back to St Pauls House for dinner and bed. 

Day at Uganda Christian University

Thursday saw most delegates enjoy breakfast together, although some needed to leave very early to catch their respective planes. Over breakfast I enjoyed a lengthy conversation with Michael Eep, Senior Vice President from ACSI and Vanessa Hall, trust speaker from Sydney. 

Following breakfast I took a tour of the facilities at the African Village with an eye to the feasibility of staff and students from the College staying there later in the year. 

By mid morning I was on my way. I drove straight to Mukono University where I met Lillian. I enjoyed a tour of the facilities at the University with Joel, Miriam, Fllavia and Anthony (not to mention Lillian). 

We dropped into nearly every facility at the University - including the boys dormitory where Joel and Anthony live. 
Each room contained 2 sets of double bunks, 4 wardrobes and 2 study desks. 

Although not as flash as some University facilities, I was very impressed with their diversity and standard. I was particularly impressed with the recent building program across the campus. The library facilities were superior to many I have seen and pointed to the high standards expected in research whilst studying. Another feature was the inclusion of scripture on the walls of many of the buildings. There was certainly no second guessing that this is a Christian University. Consistent with my understanding of many Universities in the United States, basketball and athletics are a key feature. The full stadium and beautifully sealed basketball courts are obviously well used. 

As the Refectory was packed and I didn't have a food voucher, I suggested we buy lunch at the little cafe just outside the University's main gates. We certainly enjoyed this meal together - sausages, rice and chips - and like most meals in Uganda, as cheap as chips! 28,000 schillings in total - a little over AU$10 to feed 5 of us!

The road into the University, while sealed, is very poor. The number of potholes is reminiscent of the moon's surface. I tried to capture this in a photograph but this was made difficult with the number of cars, Borda Bordas and people accessing the road at the time. 

Before leaving I wanted to take some photographs to capture the beautiful grounds at the University. 

Given the time, nearly 4pm, I thought it was time to drive to Kyampisi. Cockroach had suggested I drive back down Kiunga Road, past the African Village. I'm glad I did as Kililagi is only about 3 minutes past the African village and Kyampiai is less than 5 minutes past Kilagi. The drive didn't take very long. 

On arrival at Kyampisi I led the Thursday night Bible Study and then drove back to St Paul's House for dinner. 

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Banana alcohol - tonto

Banana juice mixed vigorously with ground sorghum and covered with banana leaves and grass (to produce heat) in a boat makes alcohol - tonto. 

The first day it is sweet but after 2 days it is strong alcohol. 

After 4 days it is bitter and sour and is still drunk but it is dangerously strong. At this time it is boiled in a metallic tank connected to pipes. The steam that comes out of these pipes produces another type of alcohol called enguuli. This is even stronger alcohol. 

Annette in car accident

Sunday morning saw me up early to prepare my sermon for Kyampisi. 

Joeline had asked if I was willing to drive her to White Angels Primary School on the road to Bbira to pick up Milika and Mark, who board there during the term. 

Just prior to Joeline dropping into St Paul's house she received a phone call to say that Annette, Peter's sister, had been involved in a car accident. Apparently the driver had swerved quickly to avoid a head-on crash, but in so doing tipped the car onto its side. Annette lost a lot of skin and broke her arm and possibly her wrist. 

We drove into Mengo Hospital and walked to the Emergency Ward where we found Annette and her husband - and a group of nurses and doctors trying to work out what to do - meanwhile Annette was screaming from the pain. 

The medical team worked with basic supplies and in humble surrounds. Interestingly there was a church service taking place throughout this time so we had 'Hillsong' as background music.  Before we left to pick up Milika and Mark I prayed with Annette and the doctors. 

White Angel day and boarding primary school is set about a 5 minute slow drive off Bbira Road. The school is quite large. Every classroom has inspirational words stuck above their front window. Every class was FULL of colour and text - words an posters were plastered on all walls. The rooms were warm and inviting and Well set out. Class sizes seemed very reasonable. 

As it was pick up day for boarders, every man and his dog were waiting to speak to their child's teacher before taking their child home. 

After Joeline spoke to the respective teachers, we picked up their clothes and hit the road for Kyampisi. 

On arrival at Kyampisi we were greeted with the final sections of the service. While Pastor Kevin asked me to say a few quick words of encouragement I missed out on preaching from the Word as we were about 75 minutes late. 

After a few quick 'hellos' we drove back to Joeline's for lunch. After lunch I drove out to Mukono to the Christian University. 

On arrival I was met by Grace from registrations. Following a lovely traditional dinner with all the usual suspects, we enjoyed an Official Welcome and Keynote Address. One of the speakers was the current Minister for Finance who spoke on behalf of the First Lady. What she said was outstanding. 

As I wanted to take the KCM ute to the Hotel, I drove behind the University bus to the African Village where we're staying for the week. The journey out to the accommodation took about 30 minutes. The bus driver must have been late for something because he drove VERY quickly. I almost couldn't keep up with him!