Africa...

Where do I start? I guess at the beginning… I was concerned about luggage space for a two week trip with one checked bag and one carry-on. I ended up with tons of extra room which was nice. I also had lots of spare time before heading in to the airport. Upon arrival at the airport, my travel started getting “interesting.” I waited in line for almost an hour to check in then was told my carry on bag was too heavy. The airline’s website said 13 kg limit and the person behind the check in counter said 7kg. Nice to know. So I had to move things to my checked bag and some of the things were the gifts I had bought for my sponsor girl, Scovia. From there to Bangkok was good with a nice airplane, decent leg room, good food, and amazing service. I got to Bangkok with a little over two hours to get to my next flight. Another ½ hour in line to find out that I wasn’t at the right counter to get my next boarding pass. Nice to have the correct instructions on arrival. Off to the next counter ½ mile away in one of the biggest airports in the world; and then another hour waiting to get my boarding pass. This is where my experience with Kenya Airways began.

The hour spent in this line was to with only 9 people in front of me. Well, I got the boarding pass and went on my way to the boarding gate. I waited a little longer and started the boarding process 10 minutes late. We all got on the plane and sat. And sat. And sat. My knees up against the seat in front of me. “Can I have your attention please… This is your captain speaking. Due to uncontrollable circumstances, we have missed our departure time. We were to leave 8 minutes ago and as you can tell, we haven’t. We’re just working out a new departure time with air traffic control and will hopefully be on our way shortly.” ½ hour later… “This is your captain speaking. “ok folks, we have a new departure time almost worked out. Unfortunately, we now have had to adjust our route and the flight time will be ½ hour longer than originally anticipated. We are just refuelling the ship and then we’ll be on our way.” 15 minutes later… “Could I have your attention please…we’ve now finished refuelling the plane and we’re waiting for clearance from air traffic control. There’s another plane in front of us and we have to wait 10 minutes after they take off before we can leave. (nothing like the 43 seconds they take in Chicago). We’ll be on our way just as soon as we get the clearance.” 15 minutes later… “Cabin crew, prepare for takeoff.” …And off we were – less than 1 ½ hours late. Welcome to Kenya Airways! As we flew, I decided to put my seat back a little and try to sleep. I had already been up for around 20 hours and thought that might be a good idea. I pushed the button and got no movement. I pushed harder and got nothing. The seat was broken so sleep wouldn’t come. Realizing this, I turned on the TV to watch a movie; plugged in my earphones and got no sound. Broken. Maybe I can read something – wrong again, my light didn’t work. I pod time. The only problem with that was my battery was starting to run low. Ok; so maybe the food will be ok and I can entertain myself with that. Wrong! It was the worst food I’ve had yet on a flight. Morning came as we flew and I saw the most amazing sunrise over the Indian Ocean. There was the deep blue water below, a deep, bright red on the horizon, and the lighter blue of the sky above. It would have made for some spectacular photos but I couldn’t get any because of the three people between me and the window.

So we landed in Nairobi 1 ½ hours late and I ended up with 50 minutes from the time the wheels touched the ground till my next plane was to leave. Thankfully, it was a really small airport so walking clear across it and going through security again took only15 minutes and I even had time to stretch my legs, sit down, and take out my computer. As it turned out, I didn’t need to get there on time because that flight left late too. I arrived in Entebbe ½ hour late, spent a long time in line for my visitor’s visa and went to get my luggage.

As the rest of this trip had been, it continued. I searched and did not find. The belt turned on again and I searched some more – and did not find. So I went to the Kenya airways desk and took care of the paperwork for lost baggage. That was something they did really well. I could tell they have much experience. Finally, I’ve arrived – late, tired, one bag short, but here. I walked out the door in hopes of finding the person there to pick me up and was met by 15 taxi drivers – but not my ride. He had waited a long time for me and with my delays and no way to contact him, he left without me. Having experienced this before, I just got into a taxi and went to my hotel.

Thankfully, they were expecting me and I could check in.




After my challenging journey, my sponsor child was waiting for me at the hotel. No time for a shower or a nap. I put my bag away, changed my shirt, and put on some fresh deodorant before running back out to meet her. She was really shy but happy to see me. I explained that I had bought some gifts but they got lost on the way and that I would get them to her as soon as I could. As it turned out, someone from the organization came a few days later once my bag arrived and picked up the gifts to deliver to her. We talked a bit, I showed her some pictures, and we went for lunch. We were joined by someone from Childcare Worldwide who could also translate since she doesn’t speak English very well yet. It was good to finally meet her.




The next day, we spent time touring some of the Watoto work. I’ve never been impacted so much by the work of an organization and the vision of the leadership. Gary and Marilyn Skinner asked us to join them for dinner Sunday night and I really enjoyed the chance to talk with them for a couple hours. Again, I was so inspired by their vision.





This is inside a typical Watoto home










We stopped for lunch on our way to Kasese, where Chris’s sponsor child, Isaac lives. I ordered a hamburger and couldn’t believe the size of it. Obviously, I had to split the burger before eating it !








We checked into the hotel and spent the evening. This was our bathroom – not attached to our room . It had the old keyhole that you can look through and access from both sides – reminds me of heritage buildings. Sitting on the toilet meant having my knees up around my chin; and the shower was quite interesting with pressure being similar to holding a bucket of water above my head. I made sure I didn’t leave my clothing on the floor since the water went everywhere while showering; which I guess was a good thing because that meant the floor got washed for the first time in weeks.






We enjoyed the sleep inside our mosquito nets. See the nice romantic floral arrangements on the blankets? The air conditioning unit was noisy enough to wake us up each time it turned on; but then again, we were just happy to have air conditioning.






The hotel had a fitness area with a statue outside. Looking at this picture, I won’t ever believe again that women aren’t affected by big muscles – now if only I had some… big muscles that is…








Check the instructions beside the story of Adam and Eve… how to use a special toilet.









As we were walking around the site where Isaac goes to school, Chris was talking some crazy pictures with Isaac and I noticed this little guy, Gideon, imitating them and looking jealous so I handed my camera to someone and asked him to take a few pictures with me and Gideon. It really seemed to make his day. It was only later that I learned his name and seeing the way he carried himself, I just knew he’s one who wishes for better things and feels like he can’t so I spent a little extra time with him and gave him some encouragement.






After seeing the project, we took the van up a mountain dirt road in the rain. We really weren’t sure we’d make it without 4 wheel drive, but we got as far as the road went and then walked a ways down a slippery muddy path in the rain. This was what we were met with. There were about half a dozen homes in the village and they were fortunate enough to have a steel roof over their mud huts. Inside Isaac’s home are two bedrooms for the 4 children and two parents, one living area, and a kitchen area. The whole thing could have fit inside my hotel room! (except it was about a foot too high at the peak) Apparently there is a tap in the village where they can get running water. The whole community was so lovely and it was a great novelty for them to have us there. For many of them, it was the first time they had seen a white person. Everyone gathered either inside or just out the door of Isaac’s home. Isaac’s mother also made a beautiful handbag and hat for Chris and his wife.



One thing that really stands out here is the number of children. Everywhere we go, there are children; most places have adults, and only a few have seniors. The demographics out here are so different from the Western world. In many cases, there are children taking care of children. This was one such example and I just had to take the photo.





After meeting Isaac and his family, we went off to the next town where we were scheduled to see Kim’s sponsor child, Hope, the next day. We got to our hotel and thought it look quite good but realized later it wasn’t quite what it appeared to be. The shower had similar pressure to the last hotel, but ¼ the volume. This tap has water running at full force. Oh well, we hadn’t really expected anything different.




So after a less than refreshing shower and a trip to find an ATM that actually works so we could withdraw cash to pay our hotel bill, we went on our way to meet Kim’s sponsor child Hope. They had 50 or more children lining the road, waving flags to great us upon arrival. Another 200 or so were singing by a tree close to the building. They were in the midst of a morning service and set up chairs for us at the front. One 7th grade girl preached a message from the book of Job and did a fantastic job. This picture shows 1/3 of the group there. Seeing the crowd and the view, I thought of Jesus teaching on the hillside and saying “Let the little children come to me; and do not hinder them…” Pictures can’t do justice to the sight. They asked the three of us to say something to the children and one of the staff members translated for us.




The children did a cultural dance for us









Chris turned the viewfinder on the video camera so the children could seen themselves. As the picture shows, they loved it.









We then went to Hope’s home which I dubbed the brick hut with a million dollar view. It really was a spectacular view. Hope’s family seemed to be much better off than Isaac’s family, but they are still in deep poverty. The home was just a touch bigger and was made of brick. They had something covering the dirt on the floor, and they owned a few animals. The toilet was a hole in the ground, just find one and bend down.





Having seen the sponsor children, it was time to head back to Kamala. Our initial plan was to leave for Kenya on the 17th, but because of the violence happening there, the meetings Chris was to preach at were cancelled and so were our travel plans. We went back to Kampala and Chris preached at Kampala Pentecostal Church twice instead. This change also meant we had to find a different hotel to spend our last three days and we also had some extra time to fill.


We had unanimous consent on the thought of going back to the baby’s home and help out with some of our extra time so the day after we got back to Kampala, that’s just what we did. We basically sat down close to a group of children and then came flocking to us. We played with them and fed some of them. One little guy fell asleep in my arms as I tried keeping him awake to finish at least half his meal. The children are so precious and each of us had one in particular that really took to us. For me it was Hope – the girl in pink playing with my ear in the picture below. As we were getting ready to leave, Kim, Chris, and I were standing near a few of the children and Hope came over to us. Kim was closest to her and tried to pick her up. She squirmed free and came over to me with outstretched arms. I picked her up, hugged her, and just held her for a while. I lingered behind while the Chris and Kim started walking out and as I put Hope down, she tried to hold on and started crying. I could barely hold back the tears myself as I walked out after that!




































The only reason for this picture is that the little guy is so adorable. Need I say more?













Random pictures…




Bicycles are seemingly used for everything. This is a normal sight with the driver unable to ride the one speed bike up the hill. At least on the way down it beats walking.








Interesting trees in this nation. Here’s one.










We were there so we took the photo. I’ve now been to a northern country (growing up in Canada) a southern country (Australia) and the middle.








I used to wonder how big an effect the emission control laws around home have. Not any more. Most of the vehicles around here are in really rough condition and it is quite normal to have so much smoke coming from a vehicle in front of you that you can no longer see the vehicle. Bring on tougher emission control laws!





What a local man called the quickest way to Heaven - the Buga buga...

There are so many motorbikes on the road carrying one, two, or three people. They will hold anything from a bunch of bananas, to briefcases, to 12 foot planks of wood while riding on the back of these bikes. The danger comes from the way people drive around here – whoever is the most aggressive has the right of way.




Here’s a night shot of the hotel we stayed at the first few nights. It was quite nice and in a great, quiet area.









Another thing I came to expect was armed security guards. As most other people, there were really friendly. Chris asked this guy for a photo so I bummed off that and got one too. In case you’re wondering, the look on my face is not so much from the picture as from the way Chris was acting – completely random and free to do anything. Just a couple of examples were opening the window as we drove to do his best cow imitation if we passed some and stopping to yell at a man wearing a Chelsea (soccer team) jersey and tell him he supports the right team. I guess I’ve got a ways to go in letting loose.





Chris insisted on driving amongst the insanity of the road system. Notice anything peculiar about what he’s using his hands for – remember, the traffic here is the wildest I’ve ever experience (and I have been to Asia)!!!






Because of the changes to our plans of going to Kenya, we had to move to a different hotel on the day we were scheduled to leave for Kenya. As it turned out, it was a great hotel in a great location at a better price. We wondered why we had been at the other one in the first place.










I just have to leave you with one last picture and story…

Oh yea, before I do, the little girl on my lap was really excited to see Chris and me. “My Masungu” (My white man) is what she said. She loved the attention we gave her. There’s something about a father figure in the life of young children that don’t have one. This is especially true of young girls and also of young black girls in the presence of loving white men.

















On our second last day, Kim went with another woman who has been helping this woman out. She came to our hotel room that night and told us about Agnes as we decided to get some food and bring it to her the next morning as well as pay off some debts for her. It was such a blessing as we were able to give it to her. Agnes is the oldest child in her family and her parents passed away leaving her to take care of her younger siblings. She’s done the best she can but has had some serious trouble along the way. She got married and when she was pregnant with her first child was caught in an ambush in Northern Uganda. Of the 14 people caught, 9 died including her husband. Agnes was shot three times but survived with no major physical problems resulting from the attack and the rest were all blinded, crippled, or sustained some other serious injury. She went on to give birth to her daughter as a widow and moved to Kampala in hopes of a better chance of survival. She ended up with major problems there too and eventually was faced with the decision of taking a “Housekeeper” job or starving together with her family. She took the job but had to give some extra “perks” to the man who hired her. This man eventually left and she was again out of work and with no way to live. She managed for a while and just a few weeks ago was feeling really sick and landed in hospital where she found the cause of the way she felt was HIV – contracted from the man she had worked for. It was so sobering and heartbreaking to hear her tell the story and I thought of easy my life has been and how blessed I truly am. She’s made contact with a church and people are working on getting her the help she needs – including medicines that will enable her to live a long life despite HIV. Of all the ways to end this trip, I couldn’t think of a better one than this. It’s heartbreaking but so worthwhile.







So I’ve now been to Africa… What difference does it make?

I’ve now seen, heard, touched, tasted, and smelled the reality of what this country is. I’m not in a position to say whether or not Uganda is the same as the rest of the continent, but I’ve also seen more of this country than most of the locals have.

I’ve seen the poverty in both the city and the country. I’ve seen the extreme contrasts of having expensive mansions right next to mud huts or makeshift wood structures that could fall down any minute. I’ve met the children taking care of children and held in my own arms others who have been orphaned due to sickness (often resulting from poverty) or abandoned by parents who couldn’t take care of them or fathers who didn’t care and mothers who couldn’t cope. I’ve been in the places where the locals shop and been served by the poor in hotels and restaurants. I’ve felt guilty accepting anything from people, knowing that I have so much more than any of them; and like I was taking advantage of people by allowing them to carry my luggage for me or serve me in any other way. I’ve also experienced what it’s like to stand out and have people make assumptions about me based on the colour of my skin. For the most part, I’ve benefited from these assumptions, but that doesn’t make it any more right! I walked through the markets and had people call out “Rich man” to me. I went to change money to Ugandan Shillings and had special treatment, being taken from the van directly to the front of the line and inside the office instead of waiting in line and going to the service window. Why should I be treated better than anyone else – especially considering that the only reason for it is that my skin is white and the skin of the others is brown? It’s wrong! You may expect that those being treated worse should cry out and those of us treated better would enjoy it and fight to keep the better treatment, but I’ve come to believe that we who receive these benefits need to stand up for the rights of the poor. We are the ones who need to stand up and make a difference. We are the ones who need to reach out and help those in less privileged conditions. It’s not up to them to pull us down; it’s up to us to pull them up.

While I’ve seen the conditions of the poor, I’ve also seen the difference made by a good organization doing something to help them. I’ve seen the joy of people coming out of unbelievably dire situations and being offered hope for the first time in their lives. I’ve seen in people’s eyes the undeniable look of hopelessness saying this is life and it will not change; yet I’ve also seen completely different faces on people in similar situations who simply believe. I’ve seen the physical difference in people stemming from the spiritual change of believing the message of Christ.

One of the greatest questions that rings in my head is what would this world look like if our churches got serious about helping the poor. This is after all, one of the over-riding teachings in the Bible. What would happen if we no longer saw humanitarian aid as a way to bring people into the church, and started seeing the Church as a way to get the aid to the people – no strings attached, no desire for recognition or reward, not even wanting a “thank you;” just simply helping them because we can and we must. What would it look like if we finally started to truly care for those in need? What would the results be if we laid aside our own agendas and picked up the agenda of God?

So what now? Well, I can’t say; but this much I know, I believe strongly in the ministry of the local church and I believe strongly that we cannot fulfill the call of God without centering our lives around a local church. Mission work is essential, but Jesus said he would build his church; and it is that church that must fulfill the great commission to reach the world for him. I still want to be involved in a local church and I believe that is God’s call on my life, but I really wonder what I can do through a local church to help people in less fortunate circumstances. I don’t know if God will send me to Africa someday. I don’t think so, or not for more than a month or two at a time, but that is up to him in his time. For now, I’ll continue to be involved where I am and continue to plan a move home to Canada when I’m done school in July; hopefully to my hometown in Manitoba where I would love to get involved in the church I call home. I’ll see down the road how that looks, but I also hope that through my involvement in a place like that I can also be involved in making a difference in the lives of people in other places like Africa. Within my first two days here, I said to my travelling companions that I don’t see how anyone can spend time here and not fall in love with the people. I’ve also come to realize over the last while that there is no way we can love God and not do something for the plight of the poor.

So there you have it. I’ve done the trip I never thought I would. I’ve been the places I never thought I would. I’ve seen the things and met the people I never thought I would. I’ve definitely been impacted and come home a different person. It may or may not be obvious on the outside, but there’s something different inside…and one more thing I’ve learned is that I need to raise my expectations for my life.