Day 1
Hey Everyone! Bags are packed, gave final instructions to the boys who are staying behind this trip and we are on our way to London Heathrow. We will be gone for 3 1/2 weeks (Mbale Uganda for 2 1/2 weeks and Bungoma Kenya for 3 days). It takes 2 days to travel each way. [Two 8 hours flights plus long layovers]
We have now arrived safely at the Entebbe Airport and are headed out on the five hour drive to Mbale which is northeast of the airport. Thank you for your prayers for our safe arrival! _ _ _ Laurie
Day 2
Finally in Mbale!!
Exhausted, but so happy to be here at last. After getting to the house where we're staying we changed clothes into something a bit cooler. Even though it's the Ugandan 'winter' it's warmer than the Kenyan winters that I had planned for. Since we arrived on the 4th of July, the Mbale Mission Team gathered together for a grilled meal outside with hamburgers, hot dogs and all the works. Someone had even brought red, white and blue plates and napkins for the occasion.
Following the meal was a devotional and a prayer of goodbye for a team family [Shawn and Linda Tyler] that are returning to the States after working in Kenya and Uganda for 30 years. It was a wonderful ending to a perfect and loonnnnnggg day. Can't wait to get to bed!!! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 3
Just spent a wonderful day touring the Messiah Theological Institute/ Livingstone International University/ Good News Production International/ Mbale Church of Christ compound. On this site is also an eyecare clinic that has given out 25,000 pairs of donated glasses over the past 12 years. There is also, SEW-Sewing Evangelism for Women, that is a class offered for free to the community to teach women to sew. Items that are sewn are then used in the community [clothes for a juvenile home, blankets for babies at hospitals among other things].
Livingstone International University, even though it has just started this year, is making an impact in this corner of the world. They are setting the bar high as a way to honor God since they are a Christian University and want to dedicate their success to the glory of God. It was very inspirational and made me proud that our fellowship is making such a difference in Africa.
All the families have been so friendly and helpful and understanding of our jetlag, questions and the sharing of their homes, vehicles, food and time! What a great group of people!! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 4
Started this morning by having a Ladies Bible Study with area women. It is wonderful how God's word can unite across culture, ethnicity and languages. After we finished the study, we took a tour of the city with the Vicks. The Vicks were our old teammates from rural Kenya days. A couple of years after we moved to Nairobi, they moved here to Mbale. They are coming back to Mbale after being in the States for 10 years. Just like our trip last year, much has changed in their absence, but much is the same.
We looked at a grocery store the missionaries like to use because it has a mixture of local and imported products that make cooking everything from scratch a little easier. I was thrilled to see they carry Coke Zero so we bought some and a fewother items while there.
We went to another store where we were finally able to pick up a SIM card for a 'Go' phone the team here is allowing us to use. We spent 20,000 shillings for the card. With the exchange rate being @ 2500 shillings to the dollar that's about $8; very reasonable!
We finished the day by going to a Lebanese family's home for dinner and a movie. We had sloppy joes with homemade french fries and then watched Transformers 3. Another long, fact and fun-filled day! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 5
Today we received one-on-one time with people who are working in several different ministries that we got a quick tour about on our second day here. This allowed us to ask questions and get a better understanding of how all the puzzles fit together. It's amazing how much technology there is now in Africa. Home phones are no more. If you have a phone, it's a cell phone. The students at the University use Kindles instead of textbooks (much cheaper than shipping). Assignments and homework is also emailed to the professors via Kindle.
Yet, even though Uganda has lots of access to technology, there is still a slowness to life which is refreshing. Of course, I'm just visiting and not the one responsible for all the food which ate up so much of my time when I lived here before. But it's absolutely amazing that I'm able to sit out on the verandah (front porch) in the vivid green, flowering garden (yard) and hear all the singing birds as I tap out this bit of news on a laptop.
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Day 6
Went to the Mbale Church of Christ this morning. It was a nice cement building with ceiling fans and wooden benches with backs on them. The 'sanctuary' was about the same size as ours in Fredericksburg. Other buildings like the bathroom, kitchen and classroom areas were scattered about the grounds instead of all attached together. All of these different buiildings are used for other functions throughout the week so it's easier for that group to open up, clean-up and use that specific building instead of the whole 'church house'.
The church is currently without a full-time minister so the preaching/teaching is being shared among the Mbale Team. This morning, Phillip Shero, the Acting Vice Chancellor of Livingstone International University taught the Sunday School class in English and then for worship, a combination of English, Kiswahili and Luganda was used via interpreter. It was very uplifting to hear God's word proclaimed in all those languages. _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 7
Enjoying a lazy day off with our hosts, Vince and Joy Vigil. It's been an overcast rainy day so it fits in well with relaxing. This has allowed us to get caught up on emails, FB and just surfing the web to get connected with what's happening around the world. We finally got to use our cell phones the other day to call the family back home. Unfortunately we didn't use the proper code for international long distance so instead of using a small portion to call (3 cents a minute!!!!) we used up the whole card :-( Everyone seemed to be doing just fine without us.
When we called, Steven was making lunch for himself and Lee and didn't seem to have much to report except that the recent storm still had the internet knocked out at the house. It warmed my heart though, to have my grandson get on the phone and say, 'Hey, Ni Ni !!!!' When we got out of the car at the airport to begin this trip, he was crying because he couldn't go on the plane, too. [It didn't help that he'd missed his nap!]
Daryl has driven into town with a borrowed vehicle since the rain has stopped to get more time on our cards. We are finishing out the day by grilling chicken kabobs...another night of shared meals and conversations. Priceless!! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 8
Meetings, meetings and more meetings!
Today is the designated meeting day for all the different groups I've mentioned in earlier posts. It was broken up by a chapel at the school and then a surprisingly 'American type' restaurant for lunch. They had everything from pancakes and oatmeal to Mexican food. Daryl got fish and chips, I got nachos and others in our party got chicken enchiladas. My understanding is that the restaurant is owned by a Ugandan, but the decor, menu and free WiFi ideas [along with brownies and Coke floats] came from a woman who's from Texas. It's always nice to have touchs from home when you're in a foreign land.
My first impression of Mbale was not very favorable as we drove through town full of jetlag. Now that my sleeping is back on schedule and I'm actually looking below the dusty surface, I've been quite pleased with what we've found. It's so important to look beyond the surface and not dwell on first impressions in whatever circumstance you find yourself in. Gotta go, leaving again for another meeting. _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 9
Today we attended a special class at the University/ Institute. The classes were combined to allow Dave Vick (our former teammate in rural Kenya & traveling companion for this trip) to teach an abbreviated version of Walk Thru the Bible. It's a method of teaching the bible using hand gestures to remember facts. For example, he laid out a 'map' on the floor and described where things were located. He then had us 'dip' our finger in the Persian Gulf then put it on our mouth to taste the 'SALT' to remember Sarah, Abraham, Lot and Terah.
It was fun to watch the normally shy and quiet students going through the motions. A lot of laughter would occur when he had the men do it all together with the women giving them hints when they got stuck and then the women doing it all together with the men helping. He also taught the students that it was good to know how all the different events fit together and to have other methods to teach all kinds of people.
We have a friend who taught this class way out in the 'bush'. After the class he had an illiterate woman who was 80 thank him for teaching in a way she could better understand. And she proudly said that now SHE could tell the whole story of Jesus, not just bits and pieces. She didn't seem to mind that her 4 year old grand daughter had learned the class with her. Nelson Mandela is known for saying . . .
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
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Day 10
Here in Mbale, instead of the van, truck and car taxis, or matatus, that are used in Kenya, they use motorcycles and bicycles, called boda-bodas. Consequently, they are everywhere!!! [Thankfully, they don't drive as ferociously as they did when we were in India last year.] The regular bicycle/motorcycles, have an elongated padded and tasseled seat for the customer(s) to sit on and an added bar to hold onto for the bumpy roads; ladies ride 'side saddle'.
There are 'taxi stands' everywhere. It was on my 'to do' list when I knew we were coming here, but I've since changed my mind and am SOOO thankful that we have been allowed to use a vehicle during our time here. What a blessing! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 11
It's amazing how we in America take water for granted. Everywhere we've been here in Africa, we've seen people of all shapes and sizes carrying water containers either filled or to be filled with water. It's because of this need that the GNPI/ LIU/ MTI teaching/training compound in Mbale has designated an area to the community with a well and pump put on it to be used with no charge.
I have been impressed with the way they are truly trying to make a difference for Christ in this corner of the world. They didn't just barge in and say this is what we are going to build, but got together a council of African leaders and missionaries to share their vision for the compound and to see if putting in a Christian University would be something they felt would be a good thing. This whole process has been a joint effort and it's a great thing to see!
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Day 12
We traveled to Bungoma, Kenya yesterday. What a trip!!! The Uganda roads were under construction and took a much longer time to travel than we had anticipated. Then once we got to the border crossing, it was so confusing. First, we had to pass out of Uganda side and pay needed fees to exit. And then, we had to cross over to the Kenyan side to repeat the same process. At some junctures we drove by and just flashed our passports, at others we had to park the car and physically hand over documents. Thankfully they had agents there that would guide you through for a 'small fee'. It was a little unnerving to hand over the vehicle registration to him [after checking his ID
to make sure he was legit] and watch him walk away into the sea of vehicles, huge trucks and people on foot. But we found him waiting for us at each new place he told us to go to next.
I don't know if it was because it was Friday or what, but the line of semi-trucks went on for miles. But people would hoot at us and wave us to drive up the wrong side of the highway to pass them. We waited until we saw someone else do it, then followed suit. Once we finally got close to Bungoma, a storm hit and we wound up reaching there after dark. We don't like to travel at night, but we reached our destination safe and sound.
Thank you for your prayers of safety on the roads!!
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Day 13
Sorry for the big clump of notes, but we were in Kenya and everywhere we enquired (even at the hotel where they advertized they had it) we couldn't find any internet service. However, at Daniel's house, we were able to connect to some kind of wireless for the Kindle he was given as a gift by Trey Sicks, one of our members at the Fredericksburg Church of Christ. The electricity was off, but I was able to use the flashlight I had brought to give him instructions on how to use it and download free items from Amazon.
We met outside for church services on the land the church has purchased on their behalf. Thankfully they had tarps up to block the sun. A gas powered generator was used to power the mikes. After services, Daryl met with the men of the congregation and I met with the ladies to explain about the Clean (Home) Birth Kits the ladies at our Tuesday morning class had put together to give to them. Several of them who had babies sitting on their laps jokingly said, "Where were you last year?" It was humbling to see how happy they were to receive these few simple things to make giving birth at home more sterile and thereby saving lives.
We later went out to the village to visit Daniel's parents. We were warmly received there and they remembered us fondly from last year and inquired after the Halls and our son, Steven who had accompanied us at that time. Daryl shared with the many young people who were there about LivingStone Intl. Univ and the Theological training classes. One of the young men was interested in a degree in communications. Daryl shared that there was currently a 1 on 1 ratio of computers. [When touring the campus, we had been told that was a huge plus for the school. There was a university in Kampala where the students had rioted because they had yet to sit in front of a computer and they were due to graduate that year with a degree in Computers!!! LIU also uses Kindles instead of textbooks which also makes them a cutting edge school.) There is such an interesting mix of technology and things being done the same way that they always have for hundreds of years. Africa definitely keeps you alert and on your toes.
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Day 14
Bungoma is a huge sprawling, bustling town full of semis, bicylcles, motorcycles, people drawn carts and all types of street vendors. It's a town that has quickly grown and seems to be covered in a layer of dust from all the coming and goings. I told them that NYC was known as the 'city that never sleeps' in America and that maybe that should be the name of Bungoma, too. Even though neither Daniel or Judith are from Bungoma, they said, 'Bungoma is now our town. We are dedicated to bringing the gospel to these people."
My hat is off to them for their decision. It would be a hard town for me to work in. There's not a lot of green around it, more of an industrial feel that was a bit oppressive to me. Before we left, we had a nice long chat about how the work was going with Daniel and Judith and a chance to be off by ourselves to discuss the church's needs and future plans for the building and different ministries they want to develop for the people there.
The border crossing was uneventful and only took us 3 hours instead of the 5 it took on Friday. It was so nice to get back 'home' to the little guest room off of the Vigil's house where we are staying in Uganda. They have back up power on their house so we were able to shower off the road dust and go to bed early after picking up some 'take away' Chinese food in town.
Ahh, what luxuries!!
Laurie
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Final Entry
Following everyone's hectic weekend, we all decided to have everyone just stay at their own accommodations and just relax and get ready for the upcoming week. Daryl is teaching two classes at LivingStone International University this week and teaching the Sunday School class and preaching this Sunday. We leave right after services for Kampala to begin our trip back to the US. On top of everything else going on this weekend, the power was off and therefore some of the water, too.
While we were in Kenya from Friday to Monday, the Mbale Team was in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
They were gathering to bid a formal farewell to one of their team families, Shawn and Linda Tyler, who have been working in Kenya/Uganda for 30 years. It was an emotional weekend for everyone.
With Daryl working on his lessons, I'm preparing our first meal (other than simple breakfast stuff). I made spaghetti from scratch and garlic bread. It was a definite reminder of long it takes to make a meal as simple as that. Of course, I wasn't in my own kitchen, but it made me appreciate all the meals that have been prepared for us while we've been here. What a blessing the Mbale Team has been to us!
This will be my final entry. Daryl has lots of work to do on the computer and I need to start packing us up for the trip tomorrow. It was great sharing all these things with you and we have so much more we could share. But we'll save that for another time. See you all soon!!
We have now arrived safely at the Entebbe Airport and are headed out on the five hour drive to Mbale which is northeast of the airport. Thank you for your prayers for our safe arrival! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 2
Finally in Mbale!!
Exhausted, but so happy to be here at last. After getting to the house where we're staying we changed clothes into something a bit cooler. Even though it's the Ugandan 'winter' it's warmer than the Kenyan winters that I had planned for. Since we arrived on the 4th of July, the Mbale Mission Team gathered together for a grilled meal outside with hamburgers, hot dogs and all the works. Someone had even brought red, white and blue plates and napkins for the occasion.
Following the meal was a devotional and a prayer of goodbye for a team family [Shawn and Linda Tyler] that are returning to the States after working in Kenya and Uganda for 30 years. It was a wonderful ending to a perfect and loonnnnnggg day. Can't wait to get to bed!!! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 3
Livingstone International University, even though it has just started this year, is making an impact in this corner of the world. They are setting the bar high as a way to honor God since they are a Christian University and want to dedicate their success to the glory of God. It was very inspirational and made me proud that our fellowship is making such a difference in Africa.
All the families have been so friendly and helpful and understanding of our jetlag, questions and the sharing of their homes, vehicles, food and time! What a great group of people!! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 4
We looked at a grocery store the missionaries like to use because it has a mixture of local and imported products that make cooking everything from scratch a little easier. I was thrilled to see they carry Coke Zero so we bought some and a fewother items while there.
We finished the day by going to a Lebanese family's home for dinner and a movie. We had sloppy joes with homemade french fries and then watched Transformers 3. Another long, fact and fun-filled day! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 5
Yet, even though Uganda has lots of access to technology, there is still a slowness to life which is refreshing. Of course, I'm just visiting and not the one responsible for all the food which ate up so much of my time when I lived here before. But it's absolutely amazing that I'm able to sit out on the verandah (front porch) in the vivid green, flowering garden (yard) and hear all the singing birds as I tap out this bit of news on a laptop.
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Day 6
Went to the Mbale Church of Christ this morning. It was a nice cement building with ceiling fans and wooden benches with backs on them. The 'sanctuary' was about the same size as ours in Fredericksburg. Other buildings like the bathroom, kitchen and classroom areas were scattered about the grounds instead of all attached together. All of these different buiildings are used for other functions throughout the week so it's easier for that group to open up, clean-up and use that specific building instead of the whole 'church house'.
The church is currently without a full-time minister so the preaching/teaching is being shared among the Mbale Team. This morning, Phillip Shero, the Acting Vice Chancellor of Livingstone International University taught the Sunday School class in English and then for worship, a combination of English, Kiswahili and Luganda was used via interpreter. It was very uplifting to hear God's word proclaimed in all those languages. _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 7
When we called, Steven was making lunch for himself and Lee and didn't seem to have much to report except that the recent storm still had the internet knocked out at the house. It warmed my heart though, to have my grandson get on the phone and say, 'Hey, Ni Ni !!!!' When we got out of the car at the airport to begin this trip, he was crying because he couldn't go on the plane, too. [It didn't help that he'd missed his nap!]
Daryl has driven into town with a borrowed vehicle since the rain has stopped to get more time on our cards. We are finishing out the day by grilling chicken kabobs...another night of shared meals and conversations. Priceless!! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 8
Today is the designated meeting day for all the different groups I've mentioned in earlier posts. It was broken up by a chapel at the school and then a surprisingly 'American type' restaurant for lunch. They had everything from pancakes and oatmeal to Mexican food. Daryl got fish and chips, I got nachos and others in our party got chicken enchiladas. My understanding is that the restaurant is owned by a Ugandan, but the decor, menu and free WiFi ideas [along with brownies and Coke floats] came from a woman who's from Texas. It's always nice to have touchs from home when you're in a foreign land.
My first impression of Mbale was not very favorable as we drove through town full of jetlag. Now that my sleeping is back on schedule and I'm actually looking below the dusty surface, I've been quite pleased with what we've found. It's so important to look beyond the surface and not dwell on first impressions in whatever circumstance you find yourself in. Gotta go, leaving again for another meeting. _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 9
It was fun to watch the normally shy and quiet students going through the motions. A lot of laughter would occur when he had the men do it all together with the women giving them hints when they got stuck and then the women doing it all together with the men helping. He also taught the students that it was good to know how all the different events fit together and to have other methods to teach all kinds of people.
We have a friend who taught this class way out in the 'bush'. After the class he had an illiterate woman who was 80 thank him for teaching in a way she could better understand. And she proudly said that now SHE could tell the whole story of Jesus, not just bits and pieces. She didn't seem to mind that her 4 year old grand daughter had learned the class with her. Nelson Mandela is known for saying . . .
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
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Day 10
There are 'taxi stands' everywhere. It was on my 'to do' list when I knew we were coming here, but I've since changed my mind and am SOOO thankful that we have been allowed to use a vehicle during our time here. What a blessing! _ _ _ Laurie
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Day 11
It's amazing how we in America take water for granted. Everywhere we've been here in Africa, we've seen people of all shapes and sizes carrying water containers either filled or to be filled with water. It's because of this need that the GNPI/ LIU/ MTI teaching/training compound in Mbale has designated an area to the community with a well and pump put on it to be used with no charge. I have been impressed with the way they are truly trying to make a difference for Christ in this corner of the world. They didn't just barge in and say this is what we are going to build, but got together a council of African leaders and missionaries to share their vision for the compound and to see if putting in a Christian University would be something they felt would be a good thing. This whole process has been a joint effort and it's a great thing to see!
########################################################
Day 12
We traveled to Bungoma, Kenya yesterday. What a trip!!! The Uganda roads were under construction and took a much longer time to travel than we had anticipated. Then once we got to the border crossing, it was so confusing. First, we had to pass out of Uganda side and pay needed fees to exit. And then, we had to cross over to the Kenyan side to repeat the same process. At some junctures we drove by and just flashed our passports, at others we had to park the car and physically hand over documents. Thankfully they had agents there that would guide you through for a 'small fee'. It was a little unnerving to hand over the vehicle registration to him [after checking his ID
I don't know if it was because it was Friday or what, but the line of semi-trucks went on for miles. But people would hoot at us and wave us to drive up the wrong side of the highway to pass them. We waited until we saw someone else do it, then followed suit. Once we finally got close to Bungoma, a storm hit and we wound up reaching there after dark. We don't like to travel at night, but we reached our destination safe and sound.
Thank you for your prayers of safety on the roads!!
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Day 13
We later went out to the village to visit Daniel's parents. We were warmly received there and they remembered us fondly from last year and inquired after the Halls and our son, Steven who had accompanied us at that time. Daryl shared with the many young people who were there about LivingStone Intl. Univ and the Theological training classes. One of the young men was interested in a degree in communications. Daryl shared that there was currently a 1 on 1 ratio of computers. [When touring the campus, we had been told that was a huge plus for the school. There was a university in Kampala where the students had rioted because they had yet to sit in front of a computer and they were due to graduate that year with a degree in Computers!!! LIU also uses Kindles instead of textbooks which also makes them a cutting edge school.) There is such an interesting mix of technology and things being done the same way that they always have for hundreds of years. Africa definitely keeps you alert and on your toes.
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Day 14
Bungoma is a huge sprawling, bustling town full of semis, bicylcles, motorcycles, people drawn carts and all types of street vendors. It's a town that has quickly grown and seems to be covered in a layer of dust from all the coming and goings. I told them that NYC was known as the 'city that never sleeps' in America and that maybe that should be the name of Bungoma, too. Even though neither Daniel or Judith are from Bungoma, they said, 'Bungoma is now our town. We are dedicated to bringing the gospel to these people."
Ahh, what luxuries!!
Laurie
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Final Entry
While we were in Kenya from Friday to Monday, the Mbale Team was in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
With Daryl working on his lessons, I'm preparing our first meal (other than simple breakfast stuff). I made spaghetti from scratch and garlic bread. It was a definite reminder of long it takes to make a meal as simple as that. Of course, I wasn't in my own kitchen, but it made me appreciate all the meals that have been prepared for us while we've been here. What a blessing the Mbale Team has been to us!
This will be my final entry. Daryl has lots of work to do on the computer and I need to start packing us up for the trip tomorrow. It was great sharing all these things with you and we have so much more we could share. But we'll save that for another time. See you all soon!!
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