It is early Sunday morning here in Kampala; we arrived around 9:30 last night after a 3-hour plus drive from Jinja. Jinja Road is always busy, but there was a truck that had run off the road and was blocking traffic. While traffic is always a bit of a rat race here to those of us from the US, the jockeying for position last night rivaled anything I've ever seen. It was truly best to not look out the front window of the bus! Saturday morning was spent in meetings at the hotel. We met with each staff member individually to discuss their new job descriptions, as well as projects and goals for the coming year. What a blessing to watch this team come together and align on plans for the future! To a number, they are passionate about helping the kids of Uganda and I look forward to seeing all that can be accomplished. Around 1:00 we took the bus to the home of Henry Ballidawa for lunch. When I asked how far the drive would be to Henry's house, David said "just over the Nile." You don't hear that every day! Lunch was fabulous and it was nice to enjoy the hospitality of Henry and his family. After lunch, we dropped everyone off back at the hotel where we would have access to wifi so that everyone's email could be updated as well as some other technological updates. Violet and I seized the moment to do some shopping in Jinja. Afterwards, we sat and talked and shared a snickerdoodle at the Source Café until Charles came by to pick us up. Everyone met at the Total station on the outskirts of Jinja and we headed for Kampala. When we arrived at the Hotel Africana, we sent the Uganda teams home to rest and we had a late dinner. Fred Magezi, a member of the LCMU Board and his daughter joined us. Fred's daughter has some special needs and we are looking into ways that we can provide support for her. She is a sweet little thing and I fell in love watching her drink her orange Fanta. We are up early this morning, ready (?) to make the long drive to Masindi, where we will worship with a congregation there. We hope to visit a village this afternoon where we have never been and then will spend the night in Masindi for the first time. Looking forward to the adventure! This is the time in the trip where we start to wind down; we are all physically and emotionally exhausted. We've been bombarded with joy and sadness and sometimes you wonder if your mind and heart can take anymore. And then you see one more child that you know needs help and they smile and you summon up the energy to do it another day! It is a blessing to be a part of this work!
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About USHearts & Hope is a nonprofit organization focused on unlocking the potential of people in Uganda through relationships with people in the US. Archives
February 2020
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