Uganda. The parts of Kampala, the capital, we drove through in the dark when we arrived over a week ago reminded me of the landscape in the movie Wally, a gray smoky landfill, but densely populated by a mass of humanity rather than a lone robot.
Now, after five days in Kishanje, a remote mountain village almost on the southern border, I feel like we were on another planet, or at least in the region of the Garden of Eden.
Kishanje is a place you cannot imagine.
-breathtaking misty, carefully tilled mountain sides
-an HIV positive ten-year-old doing all the work for an entire household each day before and after she attends school
-authentic joy
-vivid Ugandan colors
-red dank mud floors
-soccer games on a cow-dung-dotted field
My ‘getting a clue’ about what life is like in Uganda has included:
Meeting Patience, my sponsored child
Learning more patience being on Africa time
Sitting barefoot next to barefoot on the hillside with the women’s weaving group
Hiking up the mountain, and down again
Singing in impromptu worship service in a van on a narrow muddy mountain trail
Singing in impromptu worship service in a small church on a mountain top with village children
‘teaching’ a Commerce class in the high school
Listening to a CD on a laptop in an attic while the generator is running with two high-schoolers choreographing dance moves to a Caucasian choir performance of an African song
Meeting Christmas and Grace (teachers)
Being helped down the mountain by a young man named Trust
More later.
Getting a bit of a clue.
Connie



 Connie

Monday

Hello from it-feels-like-June-in-Iowa Kampala, Uganda.

I am in one of many internet cafes haphazardly strewn amongst the balance of haphazard Kampala.
Things you notice right away:
-chaotic traffic- U.S. demolition derbies have more regulation
-the irony of at least 2 traffic police per block standing on the curb
-the city landscape very much resembles a landfill with a population and crazy traffic added.
-people of all ages hawking wares at traffic lights (yes, they are mostly obeyed)
-the absence of wastebaskets and garbage cans
-the wide variety of vehicles carrying products (this morning: a bike with 6 full size mattresses on the back. The native woman with us noted only that he was overloaded
-the beauty of the Ugandans

My internet cafe hour is over.

Highlights So Far

Today is Tuesday, we left our wonderful accommodations early, journeyed through heavy traffic (Uganda style), to Lilian's new craft booth to install shelving and flooring and to drape the walls. See the picture below for a view of the final effort. Most of the cutting was actually done by hand since we couldn't charge our power tools the night before because of a power failure. Lilian was very grateful for our work, and she and many of the other shop people in the area were very impressed. This is where some of the hard earned money you donated has gone.


We're not sure of our internet access over the next week or so, but if we are able, we hope to be able to post a couple more updates.

Hope you are all doing well back home. We are very grateful for all of your prayers.

Team Uganda

Itinerary for the Next Few Days

Wednesday, Feb 3
- Leave at 6:00am for Mbarara and Kishanje, this trip will take all day.

Thursday, Feb 4 - Tuesday, Feb 9
- In Kishanje teaching classes, continuing construction on the school

Wednesday, Feb 10
- Travel back to Mbarara
- Going to Queen Elizabeth National Preserve to see the wildlife.

Thursday, Feb 11
- Going to Komwanje, to visit JAM children at their farm

Friday, Feb 12
- Travel back to Kampala
- Shopping in the market
- Fly out at midnight

Saturday, Feb 13
- Back in DSM at 11:00pm

On our way!

We leave Des Moines at 12:35pm Saturday afternoon. We are so excited to be under way! Amazing things are on the horizon! We leave Chicago by 5:10 p.m. (diner time). It will be another 10 long hours on the next flight to Entebee, Uganda, but we will finally be there! We'll pray that Ben meets us at the airport. We'll sure be tired and happy to see him. More adventures to come. Stay posted!

Getting Ready