Arriving in Uganda...

On Monday 13th January we arrived into Entebbe Airport in Uganda from a night flight. The first part of my stay in Uganda was with a team including Mission Care staff as we attend Africamp, a Christian Conference organized by the World Trumpet Mission. The conference is attended by Christians from across the globe and provided a great opportunity for me to hear from God and think about these next seven months as I seek to serve Him here in Uganda and Kenya. During the conference I have experienced some real moments of wonder. The joy and passion of Ugandan Christians in worship has been awe-inspiring and a real challenge.

Mission Care has good links with the World Trumpet Mission and Lead Pastor John Mulinde has identified a rural town called Kannganda as a place for Mission Care to be involved in transforming a community where there is much poverty, as well as spiritual and physical suffering.

On Monday 14th January and Tuesday 15th January I spent a lot of time in Kannganda surveying the site before we choose how best to meet the needs of the people. Equipped with some odd architectural instruments I have been assisting Andrew Scott, Projects Director, and Jonathan Crisp, Finance Director, in mapping out the size and depth of the land before Andrew designs the buildings.

The locals spent much of their time watching and wondering what we were up to, but spending these two short days with them it was a reminder of the almost impossible situation they are in. Their clothes are dirty, torn and shredded, most have no shoes and although they are smiling and laughing the children are obviously malnourished. Mission Care intend to invest in the area by providing water and healthcare facilities, and providing social and spiritual help by building a home for a pastor and a church. All this seems some way off but our presence today seem to bring hope of a better future, especially in the lives of some of the young children. I look forward to sharing more news about the development over the coming months, and to seeing this community radically transformed.

On a slightly more trivial note I also enjoyed my time in Kampala by savouring some amazing cuisine the last few nights, an Indian restaurant, called Khana Khazana, served me a bucket of curry, a bit like KFC, while Fang Fang, a Chinese, included the tastiest broccoli some of the team had ever experienced. I made sure to appreciate these things while I had the opportunity!