Uganda Part 1

We have just returned from the most amazing trip and I am so excited to tell some of the stories of what we have experienced.  I will add several posts over the next couple of weeks and hope those who read the accounts will be inspired, challenged, moved and excited by the stories and photos. 

This mission trip came about because of a contact we made with a young man called Lazarus who we met at one of our previous churches on the Isle of Wight.  He was living in England for a year, working as a volunteer at a Christian retreat centre and came along to worship at Niton Methodist Church.  At the time he invited us to come and visit him and his church in Uganda and for several years we have wanted to go but not had the opportunity.  This year the time and the resources became available so we felt it was right to accept his invitation and go out there as he had requested. 

The amazing Lazarus and Alice and three of their children.

Our hotel.

Our hotel room.

Our most surreal wedding anniversary!

Thirty three years of marriage and by God's grace still happy and in love.

Jocelyn and I with Sissy our lovely cook at the hotel.

The decorator's ladder...health and safety hasn't reached Uganda yet.

By the sign on the way into Wobulenzi.

We had been asked to spend the week leading teaching sessions, preaching, visiting schools and visiting some other churches around the country to lead seminars.  As we prepared our talks and sessions and gathered resources to take with us, we had little idea just how blessed and touched we ourselves would be by the trip – the experiences we had and the wonderful people we met along the way.  Accompanying us on the trip was a young lady from Niton called Jocelyn who has a heart for overseas mission and is seeking to follow God’s call on her life…we felt sorry for her being with us two old duffers for a week but she seemed to cope remarkably well! 

The church building in Wobulenzi.

We stayed in a very simple hotel in the town of Wobulenzi which is about 50 miles north of Kampala.  Our room had a bed (which was pretty comfortable), a table and a couple of chairs, one naked light bulb, no wifi, a very holey mosquito net, electricity most of the time and running cold water most of the time – all of which we were to discover was a lot more than most had access to.  While we were there we celebrated our 33^rd wedding anniversary and it was certainly the most interesting and memorable day!  We were doing some teaching on marriage on that day which seemed most appropriate! 

On the way from the airport to our hotel we were able to stop and visit a project called Amigos, which is to be our district Methodist Women in Britain charity for the next two years.  I only discovered we were going to be passing close by about a week before we went and they very kindly arranged our visit at short notice and showed us around their farm project helping disadvantaged young people learn skills to be able to earn a living and get productive work.  I’ll share more about their work in the weeks to come. 

Having lunch at Amigos.

Having a tour of the farm project.

 

During our time in Uganda we spent many hours in a borrowed vehicle driving to various towns and villages.  One of the biggest miracles for me was that God helped me not to get stressed and anxious about where and when I would go to the toilet!  Usually on a car journey I need to stop at service stations every couple of hours but some days in Uganda I lasted 7 or 8 hours without even thinking about it – for those of you who know me that is indeed a miracle of God’s grace! 

In the back of a car for many hours.

This bus is blurred due to the bumpy road but it says 'Man United' in the back!!

Skillful driving needed to pass on some roads!

I was pleasantly surprised to see good use of apostrophes all over Uganda!

 

The main roads in Uganda were in a pretty good state but some of the smaller roads were very dusty and bumpy.  The standard of driving is quite scary with vehicles coming at us on our side of the road, people driving 4 deep on a single carriageway and all manner of hazards, and as always on African roads the journeys helped our prayer lives as we prayed to be kept safe from some VERY erratic and unpredictable driving both from our driver and others on the roads! 

Everywhere we went Alice brought their baby, 10 month old Josiah with us.  We were amazed how little fuss is made about child care there when we thought about all the paraphernalia that accompanies parenthood in the UK.  Even though we were out all day some days all Alice carried was a little cloth.  She just fed him and carried him around and when she needed to do something that needed both hands just laid him on a mat on the floor to sleep.  Josiah was SO contented and happy being passed around from person to person and we hardly knew we’d got him!  Here, parenthood is one of those lucrative money making events and we’re told we need all manner of equipment!  As with many things we seem to have taken something very simple and made it into something complex.  We have so much to learn! 

Holding baby Josiah.

 

That’s enough for today but tomorrow I shall write about some more of our adventures.