HOT!!!!

Before I came to Kampala, I looked at different web sites showing the average temperature in the city. Both the websites and the Brandt Travel Guide for Uganda stated that the temperature in Kampala was quite mild, between 20 and 28 degrees Celsius. I thought, well that can't be that bad. Well it is! It was the hottest it has been since I arrived 11 days ago. And of course, yesterday was the day that I decided I wanted to go for a walk (at 1:30pm) up a large hill and down to the Italian Restaurant Cafe Roma for lunch. I was a sopping mess by the time I got there. Then once I had cooled off, I had to do the walk all over again. Every time I go out walking I am always passing everyone on the street. I finally realize why Ugandans walk so slowly:so as not to over heat! It is my natural inclination to walk fast. To get somewhere quickly, for exercise, or because walking slow doesn't seem to accomplish anything. But here, it is the only way to get around without looking like a mess when you get to your destination. Ugandan lesson #1 learned!!

House Hunting

My most frustrating experience so far in Kampala has been finding a home. Being a single women with no means of transportation presents a particular problem both for me and for the logistics team here at FH/Uganda. The area that the office is located in is called Muyenga. It is the second most populated neighborhood with Muzungus (white person). It is a very safe area and one where I can walk at night provided the house is near the main road (Tank Hill Road). Now in order to find a house you have to work with a broker. And when you work with a broker you have to pay them a finding fee to have them start looking for you. A landlord only works with one broker. So as you can see, that makes it a difficult process. In order to look at a variety of places you need to use several different brokers and you have to pay each of them a finders fee. This can get a little ridiculous. In the past week I have looked at at least 10 places. Most of them have been too far from the office for me to travel to both during the day or the night if I am on foot or on bicycle. The only other way is to travel by Matatu (public taxi - more like a small bus). I have found a few locations that are close for the day time, but would not be safe to travel alone at night unless I took a special hire (what we think of as a taxi). The reality is I should have had a car in my budget. That would widen the area I could look at. I've actually found the most perfect apartment. It is brand new, spacious and has views of lake Victoria. It is in lower Muyenga and is perfectly safe to walk during the day time, but not at night. Having a car would allow me to take the apartment right now. Not having a car means I have to wait. But I am trying to remember that God has a plan and that He is working on finding me the perfect place, and that it will be in His time not mine. I read this verse today in daily devotions and it seems to have a special meaning for me as I keep looking:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Moses

For all those who have been to Bufukhula, you will understand how excited I was to see Moses yesterday. He was in Kampala for two days of training. He knew I had arrived and came to find me as I was checking emails at the GoEd guesthouse (which is on the same property as the office). I was overjoyed to see him. He brought news that our friends in Bufukhula remember me and are waiting for me to come visit. He also told me that work on the clinic is progressing. But most of all he brought news of Peace and I have been diligently passing that information along to Angela. Peace is doing great. She recognizes all the FH staff and smiles and tries to talk to them when she sees them. Sylviah and Andrew are in charge of her care and they have made sure her grandparents are getting trained on the proper nutrition for her and for her regular medications. She has undertaken some tests to see if more than just malnutrition is a factor, and plans are in motion for her to stay some time with the FH staff to ensure feeding and medication is administered appropriately. But Moses assured me she is doing better than great.

I was able to send Moses back with some Christian books and a bible, as well as my old mosquito net and some CFHI T-shirts that were too big for me. I know he and the Mbale staff will be able to use these items. I am anxiously waiting for the chance to visit my old friends in Bufukhula and to answer again to Mwanguisi.

Meeting New Friends

I have been very lucky here in Kampala. There is a SIS (Seconded International Staff - that's me) from the US named Luke Runyon. He had been in Kampala for about a year. Also, FH US runs a semester abroad program called GoEd. The program in Uganda is run by Bruce Nicely and the students are managed by Julia and Kenny. Bruce is married to Sonya and they have three children. These people have been absolutely amazing and have made the transition here so much easier than if I was the only SIS at the office. Julia and Kenny, of course, picked me up at the airport, but Luke has been helping me find a place to stay. There are also 13 GoEd students here for their semester abroad, all ladies. I've had dinner at the guest house with the students, at a great Indian Restaurant with Julia and Kenny, a grilled cheese and Settlers of Cattan night with Julia, Kenny and Luke, and an evening of making pizza and chocolate chip cookies with the GoEd students at Bruce and Sonya's house. Then there have been trips to the American Recreation Club (an ex-pat country club - although not super posh), shopping trips with the ladies and a BBQ at the church with members who live in the Muyenga district (this is the area the office is located). It always seems strange to me when there are a lot of Muzungus (white people) congregated in one place. But it was neat to meet other people with a passion for missions here in Uganada. And such a range of people. There were Brits and Aussies and Kiwis and Americans. And everyone has such facinating reasons to be in Uganda. I made some great contacts among the ladies. The BBQ was held at the Heritage School. It is an ex-pat school and also the location of Kampala International Church. This is the church I will be attending (I'll post more on that later). But one of my favorite new friends is Janet Shaver, I had met her at Cap Church on her last trip home, but she is down from Kitgum right now and we are getting to know each other better. In fact we had a girls night last night and I slept over. It was like a little holiday for me and a chance to tap into her knowledge of being a single Canadian Girl in Uganda. So as you can see I have been keeping busy and starting to form a social circle. I am looking forward to meeting more of the ex-pat community here in Kampala. While it is important to make Ugandan friends and experience Ugandan life and culture, it is also important to surround yourself with a group of people who understand your frustrations and concerns and with whom you can just be yourself.

Arriving in Uganda

I'm on day 5 of 1095 days in Kampala...and so far so good. God has provided in every way since I left Vancouver, actually before I even left Vancouver. If you have ever had to pack up your life and move it for three years then you may understand the difficulty. My new life in Kampala turned out to five suitcases! However, since I was only allowed three by British Airways, I had to pay for the extra two to a tune of $512 dollars. But God had anticipated this problem and provided a last minute donor who's donation covered this unexpected cost. I was also a little anxious about the travelling to Uganda, the flights and layover as well as getting through customs in Entebbe. Again God anticipated and provided the company of a family of four from Mission travelling to Uganda for a three year mission. I was overjoyed with God's gracious provisions. These two instances combined with my smooth sailing through customs made for a great start to my trip. But it only gets better. I was met at the airport by Julia and Kenny (Americans working for the Go-Ed program run by FH US), not Jimmy the driver as I was aticipating. It turned out that there was some confusion as to the date I was arriving so there was no FH driver available to pick me up at the airport. There plan was to send a random taxi driver to pick me up. Julia and Kenny, bless their hearts, felt that this was not the best impression to make on a single women arriving scared and unsure, so they volunteered to pick me up. Again God provides. We came straight to the office and broke into morning devotions for introductions. I met most of the office staff and sat down with Sang Hoon Lee the country director and Jung Jin the new Finance Minister. Then it was off to the Guest House with my five very heavy bags. Of course my room is at the top of two flights of stairs. It is comfortable enough if a little small. I had no hot water for the first few days, but that was only because the power was off and the generator does not heat the water, just keeps the lights going. Such is the problem in Uganda. Power is a luxury and is not a very reliable one at that.