The last 2 weeks went very quickly and the closer it came to the end of my stay the more it seemed I had to do. Our prayers were answered because the last two weeks were reasonably dry without to many power blackouts which meant we could mostly complete the home ready for occupation. Two dutch girls moved in with us at the home in the last two weeks. They had been doing work in Kenya, but it was no longer safe to stay there. During this period Michael and Jordan left and Cheree and Haley. So in the last week it was just Paul and myself. We worked till Wednesday that week tidying up plumbing items where we could. We took Thursday of to sort out remaining things on our own agendas, as we were leaving on Friday. We went to a children’s home about 1 hour out of Jinja that an American group ran. They had about 130 kids in these homes and were going to cap it at 150. They basically ran this home with there own staff. They also support a lot of other projects including pastor Moses home.
On the weekend that Rob left we visited Kawempe Church. I left by bus early Saturday morning as I was looking for land with Pastor Tom that morning, and visiting Lynette’s work Watoto sponsor child in the afternoon. Paul and Rob were coming up at lunch time and we were all going to stay at the Tick Hotel that evening so that we could go to Pastor Tom’s church at kawempe the following Sunday, as it is to far to drive from Jinja to Kawempe Sunday morning (3 hour drive). That was the plan and this is how it happened; caught bus from Jinja at 6:45 to Kampala as I had a very busy day and weekend. Arrived at Kampala after a 2 hour bus ride listening to some sport event being played very loudly in Luganan. Bus jamb packed Africans and some chickens. Arrived in polluted Kampala, after searching for a while found out Pastor Tom was waiting at different bus term, so lost an hour trying to find him. When I finally caught up with him I find out he was still trying to convince our land guide to come, which he finally did but lost another hour. So we didn’t leave to look at land till around 11 AM which was late because I still had to visit our Watoto sponsor child at Suubi village being 1 hour of of kampala. It took us approx 4 hours of catching buses, taxis and Boda Bodas to look at the land and come back to kampala, the land was just OK. I then headed of with a guy called Fred to Suubi village to visit our sponsor child. Arrived there at about 5. I was filthy dirty from all the travelling, a lot of it in red dirt. So fred who is a house father at one of the homes let me have a shower at that home. The house mother than insisted on feeding me a big African meal, which I tried to decline on the grounds that our sponsor childs family who I was about to visit will possibly want to feed me as well. But she insisted so I politely sat down and forced down as much food as I could manage without throwing up.( had lost my appetite for African food already several weeks ago). After showering and being fed. Fred and some of the kids walked me up to our sponsor childs home approx 1 Klm away. The family of our sponsor child were very excited to see me as I them. The sponsor child Justine who was 11 had 2 sisters in the same home Margy 13 and Jane 8. They were all beautiful children and I was the first sponsor to visit that home. Had a very enjoyable time with the family of 8 kids, apart from having tea for a second time. They thought I brought the rain with me because the heavens opened when I arrived along with thunder and lightning and it rained heavy all night. At about 9.00pm they walked me back to the home where Fred was as we were going to catch a ride together back to Kampala. When we arrived at the house where Fred was he informed me that it was to late for transport back to Kampala, so we would have to stay the night. I was not disappointed because it meant some more time with the kids. Slept the night at the house where Fred was staying. He had a taxi organized for around 7:00 AM. The taxi took me up to Justine’s house so I could say Goodbye. On the way up it was evident to me that he was only just learning how to drive by his erratic kangaroo hopping style driving. After having breakfast with Justine and the family, we said good byes and I jumped back in the taxi to pick up Fred and start heading back. It was downhill and slippery on the way back and the same erratic driving continued, we came to a sharp corner and he panicked, instead of hitting the brakes he hit the accelerator and launched us of an embankment, was totally bogged and stuck. Whilst it was still raining I walked back up to where Fred was staying. It took him about half an hour but he organized a Boda Boda to take us approx 5 klm down the hill to where the bus runs from. The two of us jumped on the bike, he started taking of and the bike stalled. For the next half an hour I watched them try to start the bike unsuccessfully. By this time the taxi had managed to free his car so we ended up getting our lift to the bottom of the hill with the original taxi. From there we caught a bus into Kampala and then a Boda Boda from Kampala to Kawempe. Arrived at Kawempe church at 11:30 it started at 10:00. (1 ½ hours late ) looking like a drowned rat, service had been going since 10.00 Not long after arriving they asked me to get up and introduce my friends. I responded by getting Paul and Rob to get up as I introduced them. We all shared a bit and Rob also shared about the bike ride. After this I was asked to preach a sermon, As I had no forewarning about this, and I was feeling like a drowned rat I graciously declined. When the service ended we were invited into Pastor Toms house for lunch. After lunch Jane ( Reverb sponsor child) took us to her grandmothers place as we promised to go there last time we were there. Jane and her 3 brothers who are orphans live with there grandmother Justine. This was a very special time and a real blessing for us and them. The Grandmother seemed very tired and a little sick. We prayed for the family and then left. Paul and I said goodbye to every one including Rob V, who was staying at Kawempe as he was flying out the next day. We left with Shamira ( my sponsor child) to go back to Jinja. Shamira had to come with us as she needed to get her primary school results from a school she went to near Jinja. On the way back she shared with me some of her life history. Shamira said she is a twin to Irene, but we have always questioned this because she has a Muslim name and her twin sister Irene has a Christian name. Also she looks nothing like her twin sister which made us wonder if she really was her twin. So She told me she was given to her Auntie as a 3 year old as her auntie was childless, and did not want to be. So Shamira was given to her. Not long after this the auntie married a muslim man. The auntie and Shamira were converted from Christianity to Islam. Her name changed from Evelyn to Shamira. The father whom she never met heard that Shamira was given away, became very angry at the mother, and they started chasing the Auntie to get her back. Because of this Shamira was constantly on the move from one place to the next which is why she did some of her schooling in Jinja. In May 2006 her Auntie died a sudden death at the age of 39. She was the only mother Shamira new. She had a photo of her birth mother and new what area she was in so she went and found her. Her mother lived in a 1 room rented shanty house with 7 of her 10 other kids. I met Shamira and the family 2 months after her Auntie died in July 2006.They were in a fairly desperate state. None of them went to school, and lacked the basic necessities, the oldest girl Carol who was 17 at the time had a 6 month old sick baby (the baby has since died). Shamira with her 2 brothers and 3 of her sisters are now sponsored by people in our church, and they live at the Kawempe church with Pastor Tom during holidays and boarding school the rest of the time. Shamira is now a committed Christian part of the worship team in church, and would like to be baptized, Praise God.
