Lesson's Learned

I know it is almost the end of January, but I think I am ready to share the horror story of my new years eve day and night. As with any horror story, it starts out all nice and happy. A group of us (Myself, Luke from FH/US, Yoshi from FH/Japan Jiin from FH/Korea and Jiin’s Korean friend) has made plans to go to Jinja for the day. Luke picked us up just after 7am. Getting out the door this morning involved unlocking 2 locks on the inside of the gate, getting through the door with my purse, large camera bag and day bag, putting everything on the ground while I crouch down, reach inside the little flap to lock the main door on the inside, then lock the little flap on the outside. (Normally Angela is home and I don’t have to go through this trouble, but she was away in her village for the holidays) I picked everything up off the ground, we got into the vehicle and off we went to Jinja.

As we were on the road, my very full purse emptied out on the floor of the car. I struggled to find pick everything up as we three ladies were squished in the back seat and my camera bag was on the floor at my feet. Our first stop was at the Rainforest Lodge in Mabira Forest. Mabira Forest is in between Kampala and Jinja; and the lodge is situated right in the thick of the forest. Luke, as CDP manager, was looking at different places that work teams could stay at for retreat after their time in the villages. BTW…the Rainforest Lodge is amazing. It will be my go to place when I just need to get away for a few days to relax and rejuvenate. We left Mabira forest and continued along to Jinja. We made a pit stop at the Kingfisher Lodge so Luke could check it out as well. It is a favorite destination spot for retreats hosted by my church. We tried to stay for breakfast, but it seemed they were “all out!”

After a quick breakfast of Spanish omelet’s and sausages in a small “restaurant” in Jinja town, we headed to Bujagali Falls. The name makes is sound more important than it is. It is really a series of rapids that are part of the Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking route. They are definitely beautiful, but once you’ve stared at them for a while, you’re ready to move on. We played a rousing game of Phase 10 (combo of Uno and Rummy) then each of us went off on our own for an hour. Jiin, Semi and Yoshi went for a boat ride on the Nile, I sat and read a book, and who knows what Luke did. It was then time for the highlight of our trip…the Mexican Restaurant at the Palms Guesthouse. Yes Mexican in Uganda! The owner’s wife is Texan and she has done a fantastic job replicating a darn good Mexican meal. After lunch we briefly shopped; I picked up a 4 3 foot wooden giraffe and a nice pair of heals while Luke looked for a motorcycle jacket at the market. Then it was home….and that’s where the fun starts.

Our first problem was trying to get gas. We didn’t know it at the time, but the post-election violence in Kenya was just beginning to take it’s toll in Uganda, most notably at the pump. We found some at an unusually high price then carried on our way back home. It wasn’t until we had just got into the Kampala city limits that I realized I hadn’t seen my keys anywhere (Oh yes!!!) After a frantic search through my purse, bags and car it was determined my keys were not there. Don’t forget, this is not just a house key. This is 3 gate keys plus a house key. Angela has a set of keys, and while she was somewhere in the city, she wasn’t answering her phone. Now the kicker is I was supposed to be at a New Year’s Party in just over an hour. Luckily my friend (who’s house it was at) called to give me directions so I asked if her dad had bolt cutters. Thankfully he did, so after dropping Jiin, Semi, the giraffe and all my bags off at the FH office, Luke dropped me off at a gas station to wait for Makinzi to come get me and take me to her house. After Luke had left I called Makinzi and told her I was there. She told me her brother, 15 year old Jesse, would come down and get me on his motorcycle. So I waited, and waited, and waited. It’s after 7pm and dark, and I am in a strange neighbourhood and the only Muzungu around. I waited next to the security guard who kindly brought me a stool to sit on. At this point I was pretty distressed as you could imagine. Loosing my keys and having to cut off all my locks was not how I intended to ring in the New Year. After around 25 minutes of waiting, I called Makinzi to find our where Jesse was. It turns out he had got in an accident on the way to get me and that Nat (another 15 year old from the youth group) would come and get me on his motorcycle. This was a bad situation getting even worse!

Finally Nat shows up to get me, but he has no shirt on. So here I am on the back of a motorcycle with a half naked 15 year old from youth group. I’m trying to sit as far back as I can and not touch Nat, but also not fall off as we bounce down a typically pot holed road back to the Makenzie’s (Yes my friend is Makinzi Mackenzie). We get to the house and it turns out Jesse had taken the motorcycle with no light and he didn’t put on a helmet. He got about 10yards from his house and crashed into a boda boda. He had a pretty bad concussion and his dad took him to a clinic to get checked out. I got the bolt cutters and Nat and Harley (Youth Group kids) to come with me to climb over the fence to cut the lock on the inside of the gate. There was no way I would be able to 1. climb the fence and 2. have enough strength to cut the locks. So we walked down to the end of the street and the boys haggled with a special hire. We agreed on a price and off we went. Of course it is after 8pm on New Years Eve and traffic is awful. We got halfway to my house when the driver decides he needs to get gas. In order to save time, I gave the boys money to pick up new locks and we dropped them off in Kabalagala (near my house) while I went with the driver to get gas. Remember that fuel problem I talked about earlier. Well know it is a full blown crisis. The first two stations had no gas and the third one which did, had tremendously long lines. When we finally go back to Kabalagala to pick up the boys, Praise God, they came almost right away. We picked up Jiin, Semi and the giraffe and piled into the car to make the short trip down to my house. As we pulled up to the gate, the headlights flashed on something shiny on the ground. MY KEYS!!!!! They had been sitting in front of the gate for over 9 hours. Why, you ask, didn’t I check there first. Well the answer is, I assumed that when my purse emptied onto the floor on the way to Jinja, they got lodged next to the door and probably fell out when I opened the door at the Rainforest Lodge in Mabira. Not once did it cross my mind I had left them in front of the gate. If I had left them in front of the gate, then someone would have robbed me blind.

So lesson learned…don’t curse God when He is watching over your gate. And get a third set of keys cut.

Note: I did end up at the party and had a good time. And Jesse is OK.

When Love Came Down

So the last time I posted I was telling you about my Christmas Day so far. I also said I would post later with the rest of the details. As today is January 1, 2008, it is obvious that I didn’t. But better late than never…right?!?!

Christmas Eve was spectacular! That’s the best word I can use to describe it. Jiin and I went with Sonya and Bruce and their children to Kampala Pentecostal Church (KPC) for their 5pm showing of their Christmas Cantata. It is something that the church does every year, 3 shows a day for 15 days, with the last show Christmas Eve. KPC is a very large church (1400 cell groups) with at least 4 “churches” that I know of. The Christmas Cantata was at KPC Central in the heart of Kampala. It used to be a theater, so it is massive; the scale of the Orpheum but not so grand. And funnily enough, the head pastor is from Alberta and the Worship Pastor is from Toronto. My friend Downie Mickler (her husband used to work with FH Uganda) is friends with the Worship Pastor and his wife, who also happens to be the KPC Choir leader. Downie arranged for us to have the entire second row reserved as we had several families attending together.

Right from the start you could tell this was a big production. There wall in front of us has a large screen in the middle, and all around the screen the wall was painted with an African sunset scene, complete with the silhouettes of elephants and giraffe. It was stunning. There was a complete band, with the drummer sitting behind plexi-glass to mute the sound. When the lights came down, the choir came in, and in, and in. It was at least a hundred person choir. The women were dressed in zebra patterned tops and black skirts with white trim on the bottom. The men were dressed in traditional Ugandan dress: black pants, white long robe and black suit jacket. And then the show started. There was a narrator who kept the show going and little movie clips on the screen, and an enactment of the nativity in the corner. But the singing and the dancing…it gave you chills. It was phenomenal, stunning, and electric. The choir was perfect and the dancing amazing. When the show ended two hours later, I stood up, looked at Sonya and told her,” I don’t want to go home now next Christmas. I don’t want to miss this!” (Don’t worry…I’m still coming home)

And that was Christmas Eve. Jiin and I came home, had a friend come and visit then off to bed. It was a great Christmas Eve, my first in Africa.