July 21st

Breakfast was good as always. It has been nice to get to know Asher with talks over tea. I also got two cards today from Mom Jackson. I need to back up a little…

Asher got with Jason to get him to gather letters and cards for encouragement along the way. This has been so great! The first/second day, Sunday, I got an email from my daddio! Monday or Tuesday, I got a card from Gurney and one from Mom. This morning, I got two from Mrs. Jackson. They have really made me feel supported and encouraged, and I thank Asher, Jason, and all of my family for doing such a nice thing for me.

We met with Joseph around 9:00… a little later actually. We went over the game plan for the team and covered projects, transportation, and other things. During this meeting, I learned the Ugandan handshake. I would share it will all of you, but its only for cool Ugandan people and their inside crowd, like Asher and me.

Then we were off. We first visited a paint store. We figured out about their pricing, their scheduling, and all of that fun stuff. We want to be prepared when our team gets here. Then, we went by the church. It was supposed to be a quick trip, but it didn’t turn out to be so. Henry was in office, and it was a pleasure to meet him. Between Jana and I, we email him pretty much daily. He is a nice young man. We discussed letter writing among other small details.

We also met Pastor Chris, which is Pastor Jackson’s dear friend. They have been friends since before the church was started 15 years ago. He was a jolly man. I think he said Amen ten times in our short conversation, mixed in with God is Good and Bless you.

We saw the inside of the church. The church offices were very modest. A small office, what I would call a small walk in closet, housed two people. An L-shaped desk had a computer on each leg with two chairs squashed in there.

The main church hall was basically a large building with a naken metal roof. I imagine it is LOUD when it rains! It was filled with plastic chairs. I cannot describe this fully. It was huge and humble. You can tell churches in Uganda are simply places to gather to worship and serve. They are not fancy in the least. Christian Life Church in Bwaise is no different. It is just a very large gathering space.

The parking lot was smaller than I would have imagined to host that many people. To make it even more amazing is that the church had roped off all of the parking lot close to the building as a precaution due to recent bombings in Kampala. I keep having to remind myself that many people do not own a car.

Speaking of precautions that the people of Uganda are taking, it is amazing how much security is present. Pretty much everywhere you go, you have to get searched at the door. They wand you, search your bags, and let you on your way. For example, we went to a hardware store. We got searched. We went to a grocery store… yup, searched. It is pretty much everywhere you go.

After our miscellaneous shopping was done, we left for the hotel. We bid Joseph farwell and got to work with some of the businessy stuff, like bookkeeping, etc.

The drive is always interesting to me. You see more and more trends in the people here. First, they all seem to spend much of their time outside. A/C is very rare here, and some people’s houses are really only a room large. In addition, there are so many private vendors here. I imagine a good 75% of people here would be described as self-employed. It doesn’t matter where you are, there is someone wanting to sell you something. Stop at a traffic signal… buy some kids shoes, screw drivers, sunglasses, or air cards. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is a residential area or a commercial one, they will be there. I saw a bicycle today with janitorial/cleaning supplies, like brooms, mop buckets, etc. I think riding a bicycle is hard enough without any other weight but my behind… I cannot imagine how these people do it. They must have a lot of coordination and strength.

In general the people here are hard working. Most of the people you pass are busy doing something extremely back-breaking, whether it be carrying 5 gallon pails of water, washing clothes in a small tub sitting on the ground, fixing something, anything! On top of that, most, if not all, of the vendors move their merchandise outside then back in every single day. Since there are not many car owners, the Ugandans find a way to make what they have work. We saw a man carrying a bed on his bicycle. You see Boda Bodas loaded down with so much stuff. Today, I noticed a Boda Boda that had a huge box on the back. After reading the box, he was a traveling meat salesman. I can only imagine how much fun it is to not only balance the motorcycle with that much weight, but do it all navigating through the insane traffic here. I admire the people here. I feel like a fat and lazy Mzungu when I think of how hard they work.

If working hard wasn’t admirable enough, you would not believe how generally happy the people are here. They smile all the time. You can’t go very long in the car without hearing someone laughing hysterically with others in the streets. Among the dark faces, there are many, many white smiles standing out at you. When you pass, if you are kind enough to give them eye contact, they will smile, say hello, and genuinely ask you how you are doing. This seems to be across the board, whether you are in Seeta or in downtown Kampala.

Speaking of using what they have to make it work, I notice more and more things. I have been paying attention to their new constructions. You have to check out the photos! It is just amazing! It looks like a forest! They use manual pulleys to get materials to higher stories. There is very little scaffolding, so I can just imagine how scary it is not only to get up to the top but to walk around up there as well.

At the hardware store, I noticed that the men were carrying huge bags of concrete, probably double our quikrete bags back home, so 160lbs or so, on their heads!! They were so dirty. Not one of them was complaining. They would grab a bag, walk it down a steep ramp about 50 yards into the basement where they were stored and hustle back to get another. Next time I see a forklift, I may just kiss it.

Another thing that is very apparent is that emissions are a lot less strict here. Many times I find myself holding my breath because if I breathe what is coming out of the car, Boda Boda, or truck beside me, I will instantly get a headache. I’m surprised Boda Boda drivers and bicycles that ride and drive in the traffic don’t die of carbon monoxide poisoning!! Okay, so maybe it’s not quite that bad, but it is bad.

Well, its about 4:00pm. I might have more to add later, but for now, I’m out.