The Team Disperses

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts....doesn't equate to lack of action!

Monday morning we did a good day of work, played with the kids in the afternoon, and then headed for Entebbe (airport) to stay overnight in a guesthouse and start our debrief process. After a good meal and a good first group discussion we all went to bed. I awoke to my roomate puking...and throughout the night I heard others. Food poisining! How many? I wondered throughout the night.

The morning revealed that four of us ate something wrong: Cam, Gabby, Farrah, and Matthew....and possibly Geoff. They were all sick during the night and spent the next day lying in bed trying to recover. Most of them were still a little sick by Tuesday night....but were definitely on the road to recovery.

The rest of the team did meet to do our debrief, and then went into a market in Entebbe and a late lunch by the shores of Lake Victoria.

Tuesday night we started saying our goodbyes and Scott, Farrah, Gabby, John & Cam left for the airport for their 12:30am flight. Sherri and Cheryl went with the Dycks to spend a few more days up in Jinja....and five guys (Allard, Geoff, Jan, Mark, & Matthew) were off on a safari the next morning.

Thus the 'team' portion of the trip has reached it's conclusion, and members are going their separate ways.

As I write, the first 'batch' to get home are in Heathrow airport...sleeping and anticipating being home soon!

Thanks for your prayers!

Sunday's Update

Hi Everyone,

First, there are new pics up of the team in action on Jeff & Shannon's blog so be sure to check them out (blog address in a post below).

Sunday was a great Sabbath. Cameron & Goeff taught adult Sunday School, Mark & Allard taught the Young Adults, and the girls had the kids for both Sunday school and during the service. Scott preached again....and for the first time, Muzungu's dedicated babys! Farrah and 'Elder John' got the privilege of doing so and, in typical Ugandan fashion, it was planned a bit 'last minute'. This became evident when Joshua, one of the 8-9 babies being dedicated (there was only supposed to be 6!) got dedicated twice!! Or at least one and a half times....we're not sure! Ahhh Uganda.

After church we headed to the Equator (30 min drive) for our traditional team picture. Unfortunately Jim could not join us as he as a bad head cold....so he stayed on the 10 acres and slept. You can pray for a quick recovery. On our drive, we passed, and then stopped to look at, a 10 foot python that had just been killed on the side of the road...that was a bonus!

After the equator, we stopped at Michael & Juliet Masembe's house for a light supper. Michael shared his story with the team and I think we all left there thinking that we have a LOT to learn about 'expanding our lives' so we can make an impact on other people. It was, once again, humbling to hear him tell stories about people we have met here or who even work on the 10 acres that were given a chance a life because of their generosity (which includes opening their home and having children live with them for years on end...sometimes as many as 14 at a time!).

Have I mentioned before that we have a lot to learn from our Ugandan brothers & sisters?

Now it's off to bed to prepare for our last work day. Thanks for your prayers!

Experiencing Kampala

Morning Everyone,

Saturday morning...after some morning showers the team is back working outside on the buildings and with the kids.

Yesterday, after a full day of work, the team drove an hour into Kampala to go to an Anglican guesthouse for a somewhat North Americanized Ugandan meal. Kampala is very different from the rural setting of Mpigi....and it's always great to see the looks on the team's faces when they see the throngs of people in the streets, the apparent chaos of traffic, and the city life....there is a lot to take in!

We enjoyed a great BBQ meal...and arrived home late. Tomorrow the team will lead three different Sunday school classes and Scott will preach at the service...so our 'free time' is spent preparing for Sunday.

Thanks for your prayers

Thursday Morning Update

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your continued prayers for our team. As I write this, it is Thursday morning at 9:40am, it's humid, and there is the possibility of rain...although that is always difficult to predict.

A small group (Jeff, Geoff, Sherri, Michelle, & Jim) have already headed out to do our second day of Care & Compassion visits (Yesterday Cameron, Farrah, John, Jan, & Matthew went)...another group are hard at work putting the water system on the second building (the kid's eating shelter)...and the girls are almost half way through their morning VBS program.

Care & Compassion is always one of the most impacting things we do on these trips. Last night the team that were out on C&C during the day told the story of a grandmother who was taking care of 11 grandchildren because all 7 of her children were dead....and she has been blind for the past 8 years. It is difficult to process those kinds of visits...and the ensuing state of shock/numbness/confusion/etc... is where we ask for the Spirit of God to come and speak His words to us. It's a chance to grow and change.

Yesterday, our day started out a bit 'unique'. At 7am a large lid was banged by one of our kids signaling the beginning of breakfast. Each team member grabbed a coffee mug and found a place in line with the other 52 kids who call this place home. We were served a runny cupful of maize and a hard boiled egg and sat in the eating shelter to eat with the kids. Surprisingly, most of us found the maize easier to get down than the egg....let's just say the yoke was unlike the yoke we are used to in Canada. It is difficult imagine eating the same thing every single morning...every day....every year, no matter how tasty. We are blessed.

Last night Pastor Geoffrey and his wife Rose-Marie joined us for our dinner and shared their story with us. They are a great couple who have much to teach us about what it means to walk intimately with God.

In other good news: we didn't lose our last soccer game! We tied. Today we are having a shoot-out to determine the winner of that last game. I suspect another loss will soon be upon us! The boys love playing soccer with the 'Muzungus'...Canada vs. Uganda...and with 15 of them on a under-sized soccer field, it is difficult to move without tripping over a small Ugandan! Losing is worth it (not that we are trying to!)....just to see their joy.

The trip is now at the half-way point....just 6 days until we start the flight home.

Blessings on you all back home...

Uganda Pics

Hi Folks,

Want to see a few pics of the team? Shannon Dyck has been able to load some on their blog site. Go to http://jeffshan.blogspot.com/ to see a few pics of the team in Uganda.

Posting from Mpigi

Hi Folks,

Technology is pretty amazing. Buy a little gadget the size of a memory stick, plug it into your computer and you're somehow connected to the internet. Don't ask me how....just happy to be able to update you from our 10 acres.

It's Tuesday afternoon here and the teams are hard at work. Our work on the chicken coop is going quicker than we planned and our work on the water systems is going slower than planned...but relationships are developing between our team and the Ugandan workers that are working alongside us.

The girls are giving great leadership to the 52 kids. Each day they spend 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with the kids teaching them lessons on Faith, Hope, & Love. They love the attention, the great teaching, and the fun games and crafts.

I warned the team ahead of time that when it rains in Uganda it pours.....but the other day we experienced the strongest rainstorm that any of us (including Jeff & Shannon) have ever seen. In fact, it hailed too. That's right...hail in Uganda. It blew one tree over on our property and a part of the chicken coop wall also. Strong winds, tons of rain, & hail...lots of fun!

This afternoon is full of more work & kids...dinner...and a team meeting. Pastor Michael, who gives overall leadership to our program, is coming today to sit and talk future vision with myself and a few others on the team who help give leadership from Canada....it's always good to visit with him.

Pastor Geoffrey, who gives leadership to our church on the 10 acres, visited us briefly last night. It was humbling to listen to him describe his sleeping patterns: In bed by 10pm....up at 3am to pray until 5am...and then back in bed until 6am when he is up for the day. It's at those times that I think that they should be coming over to Canada to teach us stuff because we have so much to learn.

It's always humbling to visit Uganda.

I'll try to post a bit more consistently now.....technology permitting.

Grace & Peace,

The 2010 Team

A New Post!!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of updates....no internet in Mpigi. Jeff Dyck and I (Scott) are in Kampala today and by tomorrow (Tuesday) we should have a device that will let us update the blog more regularly.

Short version: Everyone is fine, healthy, and the building projects are going well.

Longer version: We had a no problems arriving....missed one bag but we are picking that up today. We arrived late and got to bed but that didn't stop the men from putting a hard day of work on the chicken coop and water systems on Saturday. No one is dealing with sickness so that is a blessing...although some of us are still trying to adjust to our new sleep schedule.

It's been great connecting with the kids again too. You past team members will be glad to know that we've already lost a soccer game to Uganda! Sunday was 3 hours of church--amazing to see their joy during worship--and the team's first boda ride (small motorbike) to the drum store.

Today (Monday) the girls are starting their 'official' VBS program with the 52 kids from the home....although there has been lots of crafts and games already.

We will try and keep you posted throughout the week....thank you for your prayers.

Now off to Entebbe to pick up our bag...