Two

 

And we're back

Well we just returned from a week out and about with the Adrian parents. Nairobi, Maasai Mara safari, Kampala craft shopping, Jinja and cruising the river Nile, and Entebbe to finish it all off with some screwed up hotel reservations, dinner under a tree, and an airplane ride back to Canada. All in all a very busy and enjoyable time!

We have a few thousand pictures. Unfortunately all the photos are on a dead laptop so we can’t take advantage of the free internet, but we’ll get them up when we can. While you wait – this picture, which I thought was pretty cool.

 

Bodas, Chawch, and Football

Saturday - The weekend rolled up on us pretty fast. It was in the plan for the four of us to spend Saturday cruising around the Kibaale area on dirtbikes, take in some sights and put some miles down. In typical Uganda fashion our 11am self-made appointment was bumped out to 5pm before we actually got going. Why? Mugabi Robert (his real name, yes) had to use one of the bikes to head off to Bakijulura a few kilometers down the road and negotiate a land deal for one of our students. That took pretty much all day, but he did come back around noon to let us know that the other bike had a flat tire. So while waiting for Mugabi, I rode into town to the local “mechanic”. Who, I had forgotten, doesn’t exactly have proper tools and used screwdrivers to change the tube. The polka-dot pattern of patches already on the tube were a testament to his skills (read: he was a hack). Ahh well, had to get it done anyway, so I played the management role to try and avoid another puncture.

Anyway, eventually we got rolling. We put 10,000 shillings of fuel into each bike, then blasted off in a blue fog of two-stroke exhaust that left Cliff and Deanna coated from head to toe as they followed our lead around the local hills. We dodged cows on the road, climbed to the top of a few hills for the views, drove to within viewing distance of Tanzania, and had a pretty good time. No crashes, no goring by cow horns.

Sunday – Church time. We went to Cephas’s church about a 10min drive away. His church has a tradition to treat visitors like gold, so it was no surprise to walk in and discover armchairs (well…. lawnchairs) set up on the front stage for us to sit in. A good service spoilt a bit by rain, as most people were not there, then off to Cephas’ place for lunch, and a football match. Lunch was a traditional Ugandan meal of matooke (boiled and mashed bananas), rice, beans, chicken, fried cabbage, and “soup” which is basically an oil/borehole-water broth. No supper for anyone that night.

We left for church in the morning at 10:30, and got back home just after 7pm. ‘Twas a good day.

Because Naked Babies Are Cute

That’s what they keep telling me anyway.

Look for an update on the Adrians’ weekend sometime tomorrow. For now, this photo.

Arrival

Jamie’s folks have arrived! Some big hugs were exchanged, bags were piled into the pickup, and then parents stuffed into the backseat of the truck – we had them out of the airport and sweating in the Uganda humidity by 11pm. Five minutes later we were unloading ourselves into the guesthouse where we’d stay the night. Of course we managed to put them up in the only room without a working fan for the night. Sorry guys.

 

The next morning we got up early, had some breakfast, and booted our way up to Mpigi. Jeff & Shannon are in Mpigi right now with the team from Peace Portal Alliance Church… the team are mainly doing construction projects which include a new chicken coop and rainwater harvesting system, installing water tanks and gutters to direct the water for storage for the kids later. It’s always a pleasure for Jamie and I to visit the kids in Mpigi, see the Mamas, and reminisce as we look back towards “the hill” where we were engaged (the cell-phone tower jutting out of the hill serves to mark the occasion for years to come). A quick tour, quick hello to the kids, and then back into the truck for the rest of the drive back to Kibaale. Driving here is always a chore. You eventually get used to being run off the road, dodging potholes, and swerving around the hundreds of ambling 3 year olds on the shoulders of the highway, but every now and then the trip just leaves you wasted. This was one of those times, and it was good to get back to Kibaale, unload bags and parents into our house, and do a lot of nothing for a few hours.

 

This morning we were set to build a kitchen for a family of one of our students, Emmanuel. Rain had other ideas of course, which made for a different experience than planned. Rather than slinging mud outside and helping to finish construction on the kitchen, it ended up with the four of us huddling into Emmanuel’s living room with his family. The rain continued for over an hour, and passersby would come sprinting off the road and into the house in an attempt to stay dry. Eventually, sitting in this 7’ x 9’ room, were 12 adults and 6 children, talking very little as the sound of the rain drowned out all conversation, each person contemplating the gradual loss of feeling in their legs as they squatted and huddled just out of the wind. Definitely something to make you think. Definitely a unique and very Ugandan way to spend a morning.

 

Above: Jamie’s parents with a few of the younger kids at Mpigi, posing with Mama Rose. Also, Emmanuel and his family, and Deanna wondering how on earth she’s going to sneak this little package home in her luggage without Cliff knowing.

Jamie's Parents in 1 hour...

Well, we drove from Kibaale to Entebbe today, which takes about 5 hours. Special arrival at the aiport for us… a late Christmas gift so big it had to be sent on a plane. 2 gifts actually.

 

We’re sitting here at the Entebbe airport guesthouse just killing time now, and I get to watch Jamie check arrival times every 3 minutes with excitement. It’s going to be a good visit J

 

Above: Jamie, excited with a bunny back in Canada. Imagine how excited she’ll be with two parents in Uganda

 

New PAOS Website

Check it!

 

http://www.paoutreach.net