Greetings from Uganda!  Saturday morning it was time for us to pack up and set out for Kabale in southern Uganda.  Once again our luggage was piled high on our van, and off we went, picking up our friends Generous and Boaz along the way.  We crawled thru bumper to bumper traffic on our way out of Kampala, surrounded by a swirl of constant action, with traffic lanes mere suggestions. As we left Kampala we saw fields of papyrus, plantations of matooke, and taxi vans with names on the back like “Choose Jesus Today” and “Never Give Up”. Every now and then a random police checkpoint would stop us to check our license, and you could see pretty much anything for sale on the side of the road. We stopped at the Equator for lunch, shopping and pictures. With rain threatening, we made a stop for a tarp to cover the luggage, and it was a good thing we did!

The further south we drove, the worse the road became, with long stretches of road only half paved, and some places still under construction.  11 hours after leaving Kampala we finally reached Kabale, arriving well after dark at the Jopfan, where we’ll be for the next 2 weeks.  The staff welcomed us warmly and had dinner waiting for us, which was much appreciated.  We settled in for the night, and are very much looking forward to seeing our friends the next day at Muko!

Sunday we were off to an early start at 7:45 on a typically misty morning, making the winding 45 kilometer drive to the village. We soon broke through the mist as we climbed and were treated to the sight of the beautiful green hills and patchwork fields of Muko sub-county.  We were greeted so joyously and warmly by Josiah, Alexander, and a number of ACT volunteers, Francis, and Haward.  Karen, David and Elizabeth were overjoyed to see old friends again, and Diana, Lisa, Dave Molzahn and Barbara were quickly introduced to everyone and made to feel welcome. We enjoyed seeing the new building built behind the center where the potatoes grown through the HANDS program will be stored, and how the garden in back of the ACT center had grown.  We had a quick look at the new baskets being produced by the MEP program….beautiful!  Dave Molzahn was particularly thrilled to meet his sponsored orphan, Andrew, and his grandfather and uncle.

The plan for the day was to have each member of the team visit a different church in each of the seven parishes included in the Muko sub-county, accompanied by the ACT staff and volunteers.  Rashid ferried each group to their various churches, most of which had never been visited by a “muzungu” (white person”), and were not familiar with the ACT program.  Churches visited included different Catholic and Anglican churches up to an hour away from the center.  Those of us with orphans were sent to churches they attended and able to spend some time with them. And we definitely drew a crowd wherever we went! Each one of us had so many special stories to talk about…..Funny stories of bidding on donated produce (ask Karen about her chickens!), commiserating about the rough roads, sharing the awe we felt at the joyous worship, dancing and singing, and the beauty of the countryside. It was a very, very long day, but so worth it to have made some giant steps in the process of developing relationships with the people of the area.

Our drive back to Kabale, accompanied by our new chickens (!), was followed by dinner at 7:45, devotionals and planning for the next day. We’re so thankful for the opportunities we were given today, and look forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow!