UGANDA AND BEYOND!

Our mandatory two week exit from Tanzania to Uganda would have been an insurmountable burden without the prayers and support of many people. We praise God for you. Our journey started in Arusha on the 29th of August when we left on the bus for a 15 hr. trip to Kampala, Uganda. The trip took us through Nairobi, Kenya and around lake Victoria to the heart of Uganda in an amazing “24” hour bus ride over the roughest paved roads in the universe, with potholes the size of a suitcase and a couple of bus breakdowns. Since there was no toilet on the bus, we made a few stops in the 24 hours we were on the bus, for “restroom” breaks, which were on the side of the road with the men going to one end of the bus and the women going to the other, in the bush if there was a bush available. It was quite a shock for non Africans, they (the Africans) seemed to be used to the whole 24 hr “adventure”. We arrived in Kampala and met Faustino Ringe, who had waited for about 7 hours, with the people at the bus station telling him about every 30 minutes, “Oh, it should be here any time now.” We had to stay two nights in Kampala because of problems with the ministry team truck and finally headed for Paidha, Uganda, which is only about a mile or so from the border of Congo. The roads got worse because the potholes were more numerous and some of the roads were not paved, which is not always a disadvantage because the potholes are more rounded if the roads are not paved. But, there is also the rain on the dirt roads, which makes for even more excitement. On the road to Paidha, we saw several refugee camps that still had people living in them several years after the wars in Uganda and a saw the leftovers of the reign of Idi Amin, one of the worst dictators in the history of the world, who almost devastated his country. The area around Paidha is beautiful, it is in the mountains and you can easily see the border between Uganda and Congo. We also met Faustino’s wife, Florence, and his associate team leader and his wife, Francis and Mary.
After a night’s rest we loaded up and headed for Yei, Sudan, which was the site for the quarterly meeting with the teams from Uganda, Congo and Sudan. It seemed that every time we made a trip it ended up being a more challenging adventure than the one before it. The trip from Paidha to Yei would have taken about 3 hours at the most, it took us about 11 hours of one new experience after another. We experienced (on all dirt roads) a bus hanging off the edge of a bridge, trucks overturned, many long lines of trucks and other vehicles stuck in the mud and several detours. By the time we got to Yei, we had crossed part of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and part of Sudan and had to go through customs and get visas in each of those countries. (Because of our travels have had to purchase visas twice in Kenya, three times in Uganda, once in Sudan and once in Tanzania, to get back to our “home’ in Arusha.)

The Sudan visit was a real blessing for us, as well as an eye opener as to the difference in prices and standard of living in places just a hundred miles apart. The prices in Sudan, for food and petroleum products, were higher than anywhere we have been. Even bottled water was twice the cost ( U.S. dollars) that it was in Uganda. We stayed in Sudan for three days, got stuck for several hours trying to get to a Jesus film showing, had to do without running water, had no electricity at times and ate all the local foods including several types of ugali, chapati (like a tortilla),many kinds of bananas (some cooked) and boiled fish that is still looking at you as you eat it. We were blessed to meet Wilson and John, the team leader and associate, in Yei and found them to be very dedicated men with a real heart for the souls of the Sudan people. They face many hardships on a daily basis. We were honored to be able to take part in the quarterly meeting of the Congo, Uganda and Sudan film teams under the supervision of Faustino Ringe.

Our return trip to Paidha, Uganda was about the same as the earlier trip. After a night of rest at the hotel in Paidha, with no running water and electricity some of the time (our home for the next several days), we took several trips toward the Congo to show the Jesus film in small villages. We saw many people with very tattered clothes, no shoes and a joy in the Lord that was very refreshing. Many of the people, in the area within a mile of Congo, who looked terribly impoverished, were very industrious and had gardens, banana trees, cassava, jackfruit trees, pineapple plants, different kinds of greens, and other food items. One gentleman asked me to take his picture with his hoe so it would "look like I'm working". Their homes were very small with thatched roofs, dirt floors and no windows. They were all anxious to meet the mzungu (white) people. Some of the young children were frightened by our white skin, other children wanted to bow, shake hands or just touch us (we still have a great joy in thinking back on that area and the people who blessed us with food and fellowship in the Lord). We were able to witness many people receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior as a result of the film and the gospel being taught by the Here’s Life teams. While in Paidha, we attended church with Faustino and his wife Florence (who, by the way is a great cook and gracious host) for a great praise, worship and teaching service. The monthly meeting of the Congo, Uganda, and Sudan team leaders, associates, volunteers and their wives was held in Paidha while we were there. Pat and I (she taught the women and I taught the men) were asked to teach a 1 ½ hour session specifically for men and women. We were honored and blessed by the response and the dialogue which followed the teaching.

Our next adventure was the several day trip back to Kampala to catch the bus for the return trip to Arusha, Tanzania. We left Paidha, headed for Gulu, in two vehicles (eight of us) to have film showings and visit the site for a conference to establish a new Here’s Life team in Lira. By the time we got to Gulu, we had abandoned one vehicle (we had to push it about a mile to leave it at a church) and loaded all the film show equipment on the other vehicle and all of us had to squeeze in for the remainder of the several hour trip to Gulu. We had two nights of film showings (praise, aids film and Jesus film) and had follow up lessons during the days. I was privileged to be able to teach some of the follow up on security, relationship and fellowship in Christ. We were also blessed to be served local food at the pastor’s home each day. From Gulu, it was on to Lira for a one night stay to check out the location for a conference, in October, where local pastors and volunteers will be trained in preparation for a Here’s Life team being planted in the area.

The nineteen day adventure ended almost the same way it started, with a 21 (a bit quicker this time) hour trip from Kampala to Arusha. The excitement started even before we got to Kampala from Lira. About 20 miles from Kampala the truck died and we found that the diesel fuel filter had fallen off and the threads were stripped. We finally used a piece of tubing from the radiator for a bypass of the filter and made it to our destination. The Kampala to Arusha trip was during the night for a long part of the trip, just like going the other direction. You haven’t lived until you have ridden a speeding bus over naroow winding roads, filled with potholes, partially through the mountains, at night, in the rain. I guarantee it will keep the adrenalin going and you will spend much of your time in prayer. Remember, the bus driver goes nonstop for 21-24 hours over very challenging road conditions.

Finally, we arrived back in Arusha. We had a lifetime of excitement, blessings, frustrations, and close calls in a very short period of time. Our God it to be praised, His mercies are, indeed, new every morning!

We never cease to be amazed at how God is working in the hearts of the believers in Africa. All of the Here's Life Mission to Africa team leaders, associates and volunteers have an unmatched enthusiasm and desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Their love for lost souls takes them to the enemy's camp almost every day. The new believers accept their new life in Christ with a joy that is readily seen in their lives. As you pray for the lost people of the world, please remember that you are just as much a part of His plan to reach the lost as we are. God works through each of us in His way and in his timing.