Things have been soooo busy!
I've gotta keep it quick, so here's the deal:
1.) Finished with the Sudanese visas process...I'll post pictures tomorrow... it's sweet
2.) Spent lots more time in the prisons. We bought and delivered everyone in the Ramand and Women's prison soap... often they go 3-4 months without soap.
3.) Went to Jinja
a. Took us 2.5hrs to go 30miles in a taxi.. sweet
b. Went to the point where Lake Victoria turns into the Nile River
c. Boat ride around the Nile
d. Watched some Africans ride down some SERIOUS rapids, only holding (1) little water jug
e. Bungee jumped over the Nile (150ft)
4.) Went to a 3 hour African Anglican church service today-- we led worship... weird.
5.) At lunch with the my host family... beef liver, goat, pineapple, matoke, rice, avocado and a peanut sauce. p.s. Africans call peanuts 'G-Nuts' ... as in 'ground nut'
Tomorrow we'll be in an aids clinic all day, and they're letting us film and take pics... and that's it-- thanks for your prayers
I've been thinking about this post for the last few days. I'd like to... enlighten/expose/share with? those who haven't spent time in Uganda with the three primary means of transportation in Kampala (capital city).
From most expensive to least:
Special Hire - the special hire is basically the taxi that we're all familiar with. The only difference is that you call one in advance to pick you up, rather than flag one down on the side of the road. It's a pretty big to deal to hire a personal taxi here and most don't do it.
Boda Boda - This is mos def my favorite means of transportation in Kampala. Everywhere you look there are motocycles dodging in and out of traffic, carrying 1-3 passengers (not counting the driver). The principle of the boda is very similar to the American taxi... flag one down, haggle about the price a bit and get from point A to B as fast as possible. I used my little point and shoot (SD750) to take a few quick shots on the Boda on my way here to the café. And know that this is LIGHT traffic:
(sorry for the lame quality... I'm keeping things as simple as possible and super small files)
Taxi - the taxi system here is basically like public transportation. 15 passenger vans everywhere, on route with cheap fares. on every taxi there's the driver, of course, and a 'conductor'. The conductor opens and closes the sliding door and also takes your money. During the day when there are 'traffic police' standing on the roads, Taxis generally keep it 1 person per seat... however, at night they'll pack 'em in.
and that's it for now... I'm gonna go find a boda boda and see if I can track down Sam.
* the previous post has the Sudan updates etc
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Sooo... went into the prison today... i t w a s n u t s. We had to get rid of everything on us, watches, money etc, so I obviously don't have any pictures or anything to show you... The mens prison was amazing, but the womens blew my mind. The lady who led the service is in the 'condemned to death' section for killing her husband... she was the most glowing, wonderful person in the world. Side note-- I've never been one to go on a mission trip and get all sappy about things, but the ladies blew my mind... their singing, their dancing, their testimonies... amazing. Another crazy thing is that if you come into prison pregnant, you keep your baby there until he/she is old enough for primary school. Wild. It was such a blessing to see so many women filled with joy, in such a terrible place.
Another side note, in the mens prison the housing is built for 300 inmates, but houses 1,200... just to give you an idea of how crowded and crazy it is here.
So here's the rundown for the Sudan trip... leave a comment and tell me how awesome my hair looks... joke.
Hey mom, I'm guessing this whole Sudan business might be a little... well... I understand if you're worried :) But I want you to know all is well. All of our travel plans have pretty much been finished up and everything looks pretty legit. I made a little video for you and map that I'll put online tomorrow morning. I'm sitting at the bomb internet cafe that I told you about and there's about 20 people here with their computers... so things are slow. Love ya and I'll talk to you soon!
* Meant to post this on Sunday..
We just moved into our host family's home. Sam and I totally lucked out and have a sweet place for the next few weeks. The mother and father of the family are wonderful people (I was told their name when we first met, but have no idea what they are now)-- The father was involved with parliament a few years ago and now works for some international grain consulting business or something... and the mother was once a computer programmer-- she and I have actually had a few nerdy conversations about programming and computers... odd. They have six children-- four who are living and working in the UK and then two still in Uganda. Andrew is the oldest at home- he's 23 and is at Bugolobi University, and is on winter break right now. Trevor is the youngest... he turns 13 tomorrow. Sam and I will mos def be getting him a present he shouldn't have... like a knife, or a gun or something?
So we went to church this afternoon. In short: The Service = Anglican + Country+ African. And after 3.5 hours, I've had enough church for the afternoon. However, the sermon was bomb and I thoroughly enjoyed it... just no more right now, please.
Tonight we'll be going downtown to some sort of local art show... should be schweet... pics/video to come.
Annnd... it's been amazing meeting new people and seeing how the Lord is working in across the globe. There's a lot more on my mind about the Lord etc... but I'm not sure what or how to write about just yet. Sooooo... peace :)
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Couple updates:
1) we started working at Luzire Maximum Security Prison yesterday... mos def one of the craziest places I've been to. (Side note: at a crime scene, it's very common for the police to arrest 50+ people surrounding and take them to prison-- and generally they keep suspects in prison between 4-6 years)
2) our travel arrangements for Sudan are almost complete... we're working with a cousin of a friend, of someone we met at a 'travel office' to get our Sudanese visas... I can't say more than that, but it's totally sketch... but it's all gonna work out :)
I'm super tired... so here's the run down:
Over the last few days we've been spending time with Uganda college students who are involved with the Anglican Church of Uganda. Great people. I'll hopefully have some pictures/videos up soon.
Today we moved in with our host family. Sam and I are mos def staying with the bombest family in Uganda for the next month.
Tomorrow we'll be going to church-- a good 3 hours of church and still getting to know our host family. And beginning on Monday we'll start working in a local prison.
I'll have decent internet access now every night, and I have to keep this post short. Buuut, tomorrow... expect big things.