Today began very uneventfully. We left our hotel for worship at 10am. It is just a short ride to Namboole UMC. In about 10 minutes we arrived at church and were getting ready for worship to begin when John Kiviiri, the pastor brought out a guitar for me to work on. While everyone was in the church singing and worshiping God- doing all the good stuff- I sat outside stringing an old Yamaha.
When I got it finished I was able to return to the service. There were songs by the choir- five young adults who sang beautifully, the children- about 10 elementary aged kids, and the congregation. Brad sang a couple of songs and I accompanied him on guitar. Chad preached this morning and did a great job. All in all, both of my teammates are doing good work. And I mean work. We are all working hard. Today we got one hour off to rest between five and six pm. Brad and Chad are both keeping a great and positive attitude as well.
After church- which lasted a little over two hours- we were invited to Pastor John's house for lunch. We were served rice, pineapple, boiled Irish (potatoes), a pan fried bread, chicken and a tomato sauce. It was all delicious. John said to me, "I am so honored you came to my house. You were so gracious to me when I came to America, I could never repay you." What a humble, lovely man.
As church was dismissing it began to rain. It is the rainy season after all. It rained throughout lunch and was still raining when we finished eating. We had to wait awhile because our van was being repaired. So we talked and relaxed and visited. After awhile we were still waiting for our ride. John made a phone call and we realized that the repairs were taking longer than we thought. We would need to walk home. We sat out for the mile trip in the rain. First down hill from the church and then uphill to the hotel. As we got to the last half block before the hotel, our driver pulled up to pick us up. We told him to go home we could make it the rest of the way. As he drove away, the sun came out and it stopped raining. Our timing was terrible.
Two things to especially note today-
When I got it finished I was able to return to the service. There were songs by the choir- five young adults who sang beautifully, the children- about 10 elementary aged kids, and the congregation. Brad sang a couple of songs and I accompanied him on guitar. Chad preached this morning and did a great job. All in all, both of my teammates are doing good work. And I mean work. We are all working hard. Today we got one hour off to rest between five and six pm. Brad and Chad are both keeping a great and positive attitude as well.
After church- which lasted a little over two hours- we were invited to Pastor John's house for lunch. We were served rice, pineapple, boiled Irish (potatoes), a pan fried bread, chicken and a tomato sauce. It was all delicious. John said to me, "I am so honored you came to my house. You were so gracious to me when I came to America, I could never repay you." What a humble, lovely man.
As church was dismissing it began to rain. It is the rainy season after all. It rained throughout lunch and was still raining when we finished eating. We had to wait awhile because our van was being repaired. So we talked and relaxed and visited. After awhile we were still waiting for our ride. John made a phone call and we realized that the repairs were taking longer than we thought. We would need to walk home. We sat out for the mile trip in the rain. First down hill from the church and then uphill to the hotel. As we got to the last half block before the hotel, our driver pulled up to pick us up. We told him to go home we could make it the rest of the way. As he drove away, the sun came out and it stopped raining. Our timing was terrible.
Two things to especially note today-
- I got to see my old friend Racheal Newumbe. I met Racheal on my first trip to Uganda several years ago. We have corresponded occasionally and I brought her a music book for guitar. Many of you will appreciate knowing that it was Racheal who taught me the song Wange Wange.
- Also this evening I got to meet Joseph Kanyike's fiancee, Carol. She is a very nice young lady who is committed to Jesus and loves Joseph. As they were leaving this evening she pulled me aside and said, "Thank you for loving Joseph." Of course my reply was, "Thank you for loving Joseph." They seem well suited for one another and I believe they will have a long and happy marriage.
Tomorrow we are going to be teaching some pastors in the morning at Jinja, a larger town about one hour from here. They have confirmed that there will be at least 30 pastors there. Following that we are having some fun time. We are going to visit Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile River and a water fall before we have a nice dinner out in Kampala. I'll update you tomorrow.
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