David Sunday January 31ST, 2010
So Mercy Home has a swing set now and I would like to thank those of you back home who contributed what you could to make this project happen. As it turned out the money we raised ended up being pretty much what it cost to build the swing set so thank you!

On Tuesday I was given the job of finding out what paint Mercy home had so that we could paint it. Mercy home had two green paint cans so we took them back along with some of the Mercy Home paintbrushes. We decided to paint it at our place because we figured the kids would get to excited seeing the new swing set and they would get in the way and get especially excited and curious seeing Mzsungus (white people working) because for some reason they don’t think white people should work.

We got home from Mercy Home and I showed Dane the paint I got. Unfortunately the lid was not on properly (my bad) and when Dane lifted to read what kind of paint it was a lot of it spilled all over the cement floor and on the welcome mat in the corridor missing Dane by inches. I began to wonder what to do but couldn’t think of a good plan. Dane was kind of in shock, and then Candice walked into the room and started laughing. We eventually got our act together and realized the cement was painted practically the same green color.All we had to do was mop the spilt paint around evenly and get rid of the old mat. It might have smelt of paint for a bit but it was all good in the end.

On Wednesday Candice, Detty and I started painting the swing set after breakfast (and if I can say so my self I thought we did a darn good job) although, I kind of pulled a Dane and spilt paint all over the grass.... guess what color grass is? Yup, saved again.

On Thursday morning Gershom (the manager) came with the Mercy Home truck and picked up the swing set to bring to the center. We hadn’t painted the seats yet so Candice, Detty and I went to kitale Gibson’s building supplies and bought a small can of blue paint, red paint, and yellow paint so that each swing could have its on color. When we got out to Mercy home we realized that the paint had not really fully dried and that alot of the paint job had been ruined transporting it from home to the center. Now Gershom does drive to fast down the bumpy dirt road to Mercy home but the fact is that it just should have been left to dry longer.

We realized that if we were going to paint the seats at Mercy Home we had no old clothes to paint in. Luckily their were some old stylish paint clothes there (recognize them Edwin?) there were enough paint clothes for two people so Detty sat out and Candice and I got to work. Now as I said before having a new swing set is a tremendous deal for these kids and also the fact that Candice and I were painting was pretty much mind blowing. I was busy painting away when I looked behind me and pretty much the whole school was on a field trip to see the mzungus work. Remarkably Detty had them all in a neat row and she made a line where they were not to cross that that Candice and I had our space and that they wouldn’t touch the wet paint. Candice remarked that with the large crowd watching us that it felt like we were in a competition. The same day we also dug the holes for it to go in and we cemented it.


Friday we really had to keep watch so that the boys would not go on it, because the cement needed to dry but on Saturday we gave in and now since then it’s been in constant use.
Thanks again for those of you who contributed!
David

A quick hello from mamaDetty

Well here I am into my third week in Kenya, and it feels like I have only arrived. It was wonderful to see Candice again, waiting for me at the Nairobi airport . Nancy was also there, she was on her way out to visit with her family in Australia. We stayed in Nairobi over night, and then began the adventure. We arrived in Kitale around 4pm on the 14th, and were soon at my new home of the next 6 weeks. The Ochana’s are very wonderful and God loving people who welcomed me with great enthusiasm.
The sunrises and sunsets in Kenya are absolutely magnificent, but far outshining them are the people, especially the children. Everywhere you go the children are so excited to see us mzungus (white people). They above all else have stolen my heart. There is one little girl 12 at Mercy Home who has attached herself to me as my special friend, something they do when someone new comes. Her name is Angelina,she is 12 years old, and very sweet, each time I come to the home, she is there to greet me and make me feel very special. We usually spent a little time together just her and I. Mercy Home is filled with many such children, all very special and just wanting to shower us with love and attention.
On the other side of things are the many poor, hungry and homeless street kids, always begging for food or shillings, some or I should say most of them carrying around there bottles of glue they sniff to ease the pain of hunger. I just want to pick them all up and take them home, but of course this is impossible. That is why what Mercy Home is doing is such a blessing , this is where many of the children have come from. With the help of God and Mercy Home they will grow up to be strong men and women.
Every day here is an adventure, and one thing I have learned, is to be very flexible. This is one of the teams motto’s and a very necessary one, cause no matter how well you plan things, chances are it will take not go as planned. This is not always a bad things, cause God’s plans are not always ours plans and we must be sensitive to His leading.
Candice, David and I are planning a day trip into Eldoride(about a two hour bus ride)some time in the next week, possibly Monday or Tuesday. There we will do some shopping and just look around town. Today we are going to set up the new swing set we had made, thanks to so many of you who donated. Candice, David and I painted it here at the our home yesterday, and it looks pretty awesome. The kids have no idea this is happening and I know they will be thrilled. The big problem will be making them wait for the cement footings to dry. It should be ready to go by Saturday!
I really could go on and on about everything here, but I just mainly wanted to let you know how blessed I feel to be here and help in any way I can with this great work that has been going on here at Mercy Home. God willing I will be able to return again one day, but for now my prayer is God use me in anyway you can.
There now, that wasn't so hard, wonder why I put it off for so long...talk to you again soon...God Bless

Cabbages and Rueben

Rueben is doing so well at home! Some of the children from Mercy Home and I walked down yesterday afternoon, to see how things were....I bought one big cabbage and was given another one,and some oranges, so after school some eager children walked down the dusty road (with me) to their house. Rueben is a bit of a little character at his own place.
He had a squirt bottle(plastic water bottle) and was managing to squirt his siblings,and having a good laugh,too. Margaret was to take him for physiotherapy today in Kitale. I sent Samwell, one of our oldest boys, to see what exercises they would suggested. I am hoping she can learn them at home. It is a long way to Kitale for the physio. We shall see how it works out.
The tomatoes are up at least six inches now in the greenhouse...at Mercy Home.
The little chicks are doing well, too. The broilers are four weeks old now, so they will look at marketing them soon.
Detty is doing well, learning curve is steep, but we thank God for her coming to join us in Kenya. God is working, as we see His hand daily in our lives.

Rueben goes home-Precious is Born!!

Hi Folks,
Exciting news....Rueben went home from the hospital.Yes! Praise God for answers to prayers. He is walking well and his skin is recovering nicely without a skin graft!
We picked him up yesterday afternoon, but before we did we went to see Esther, our accountant, who was in labour(her first child), she was walking and waiting....We drove Margaret and Rueben home, after getting some supplies for them, and of course, some of the children wanted to come. Detty and I were in the back with 12 eager students, wanting to see where Rueben lived. I think they were a bit surprised at the size of the house, and the lack of furniture. It was a good thing to show our children, because they are truly blessed to have such a life, with sponsors who care!
Margaret was so thankful, she even gave us back drugs and supplies that were NOT used, so Detty will take back the surgical knife, and saline solutions for refunds.
Now to Esther. We got a call this morning to say that little Precious was born,(actually born at 4am,)she weighed 2.9 kg and has a head of hair. I hope to put two pictures on, so the one, is Precious, and the other is Margaret, with her children, all five, and the house where they all live. Even small Sara, from Mercy Home said"They all live in that little house?" But God is good, and we thank Him for His many provisions for that family, and us, as a team.

Rueben part 3 -kuku and Gifted Hands-letters of love

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and if I had the right camera cord, I could have posted a picture of Rueben walking down the aisle of the ward and out the door, down the pavement, step by step, very pleased with himself. It was truly a sight to behold. Praise God for answers to Prayers. The doctors are extremely happy with his progress, and at this point they are NOT talking about the skin grafts.
Thanks to all of the Mercy Home supporters for all your prayers. We know that many of you were upholding little Rueben in your prayers.
At the farm, the broilers are gone, more are coming, and there is two hundred layers, and 140 males that can be sold as broilers.
The tomato plants are growing strong and healthy.
School is in full session, and the students are studying hard. One of the books we brought, or bought, called Gifted Hands by Dr. Ben Carson, has caused alot of reading and passing of the book, once read. It is a true story of Ben, an African-American, who grew up in a impoverised single family, and how at his mother's prompting started him reading at the library. From there, his marks improved so drastically, that he started to feel he could do anything. He is now a world renowned surgeon, taking on some of the most difficult cases worldwide.
Sponsors.....have you written your child this month, yet? All it costs is one stamp, worth $1.65........ a 15 minutes to write.........when your child receives your letter........PRICELESS!!!
Don't have a sponsored child yet? Phone Donna Ball at 604-886-7736
God Bless You.

Rueben Part 3

Yesterday when I arrived the nurse explained that they wanted to do skin grafts.
Then she told us the price....5000 shillings! That is alot of money for the average Kenyan to pay, let alone a single Mama. Our team quickly talked, and we went down to the Chemist to buy more cream for his burns. When we went back, we said"Yes" we will bring the money tomorrow morning.
We went on to Mercy Home and talked to all the children, to remember to pray for their Neighbour, little Rueben, as I reminded them the Bible says"Love your Neighbour as yourself".
Today when we arrived to pay the amount, the doctors have decided to wait on the grafting and see how exercising and gently moving the leg would help. So, God does Answer Prayers. Thanks be to God. Keep praying for the other little ones, who are burned on their faces. They truly need Jesus to overcome that burden.
Thanks again for praying for Mercy Home kids and little Rueben, your prayers are being answered. Praise Him!

Rueben Part 2

Just a quick update, when I went to see Margaret yesterday, they handed me a list of things to get. Rueben is in alot of pain, so please, keep praying!! On the list , to my shock, was a surgical grafting knife, to be bought, so I went to the Chemist and got the supplies. Hard to believe, the hospital does not have a surgical knife to do skin grafts. WOW! I believe that this will be extremely painful, so he will need a touch from the Lord, who is with him, to help him thru this most difficult time. Margaret has hardly left his side, remember her in your prayers, too.
One bright note, Kathy and Ernie B. sent some toys, so out of the bag, I found 5 small animals, which I gave one to each of the 5 who are suffering from the burns, there was smiles from the mothers....and some of the patients, too.....amidst the pain.
At Mercy Home some desks for Standard eight arrived, and some tables for the Sewing Room, along with sawdust for the chicken coop.
Thanks to all the supporters of Mercy Home, your contributions help so much.
Also those who pray daily, your support is so much appreciated here in Kenya.
The tomatoes are growing, and the sawdust is being laid for the next batch of chickens to come. Praise God for His goodness!

Rueben

Yesterday at Mercy Family Church, one of the women from the congregation(she is blind) stood up to tell us news of one of our Mamas, Margaret, whose son Rueben who was burned on Thursday evening.
After the service, many of the church family, along with Detty and myself went with the Mercy Home vehicle to see the boy. Margaret lives in a very small house, with only two chairs, it is about the size of a ensuite bathroom in some of your homes.She has 5 small children, and the husband left. Rueben was lying on a cloth moaning. We prayed and quickly got organized to take him to the hospital in Kitale. Once we got there, a man in a blue shirt assessed him, and steered Margaret into a small room, where they immediately saw he needed to be admitted. The little guy was in so much pain. We quickly went to buy the necessary things, such as rubber gloves, saline solution, cream and injection for pain/infection. NO, the hospital has no drugs or supplies. They had forgotten about the tubing for the IV, but we were fortunate, someone had an extra one, so as soon as we got back to his room, they put the IV in. Margaret will spend the days with him until he recovers, as there is NO nurses, or nurse aides to attend these patients. On the same bed was another boy, who had something wrong, and next to Rueben, sat at least three other small children who were also burned , one in the face, a little girl....heartwrenching to say the least.....
To all bloggers, please pray for Margaret, and Rueben, and all the other little ones who are suffering with burns.

welcome Mama Detty-Mama Eliz.arrives in Australia

We are happy to welcome Mama Detty to Kenya. Detty arrived on January 14 with Candice, right on time from the Easy Coach Bus. She has done well so far, no jet lag, and has already met the kids at the Friday come together, where they welcomed her with songs and poems. May God use you in a mighty way,here at Mercy Home.
It was Candice's 19th Birthday, so after the music, they sang a wonderful and loud Happy Birthday. It was a special day for Candice, and as a team we wish her a great year....her first as an adult, officially.
By Monday, all of our broilers will be sold, as another restaurant,one of our favourites, wants the rest of our broilers. We are happy about this,because it is after Christmas, and people just don't have so much in the way of finances.
I'm at the library with two of our Standard 7 students, two that I promised would come to the Kitale library(in December)but better late than NEVER! A promise is a promise taken seriously, here.(or anywhere, for that matter)
Tomorrow will be Detty's first Sunday at the Mercy Family Church, so I imagine that will be blogged by someone soon.
Nancy Miller has arrived safely in Australia, seeing her son, Jim, and his wife Claire, and her grandchildren, who she hasn't seen for 2 years, so God is good. We really miss your smile, Nancy, and your words of encouragement, but we know you will have a wonderful visit! God Bless You.
On a personal note, I want to thank everyone who has prayed for my ear to get better, it is finally feeling like it is slowly getting back to normal. Thanks be to God.

WE Will Miss YOU, Nancy. God Bless YOU

This is our last day to spend with Mama Elizabeth, as we called her out at Mercy Home. Of course, the goodbyes will be rough, as they always are when you say goodbye to a friend like Nancy.
She has been such an inspiration to us all, never complaining and just jumping on that "High up step" on the bus or matatu. Her friendliness with the people she has met has meant so much to them all. The children will really miss her wide smile and hugs.
She has played the keyboard for us, during devotions each night at our host family's home. She plays by ear, and knows almost everysong we requested.
We wish her a safe trip to Australia, and hope she has a wonderful time visiting her son, daughter in law and grandchildren.
Of course, for the team, it is bittersweet, as we will see her at home in Canada when we come home. And also with Detty Edgecomb coming, another grandma, we are excited to see what impresses her about Kenya, this being her first trip.

Mama Elizabeth Says Good Bye to Kenya and MCCH

Hi:

I thought I would write a short blog to let you know that I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Nairobi then off to Melbourne, Australia, to visit my son and family. I have enjoyed the most incredible stay in Kitale, meeting the people, their customs/culture, and interacting and making lasting friendships with the staff and children at Mercy Home. Trudy and Dane have been marvelous leaders - so much wisdom from their past two trips. David and Candice - could not have done half the 'physical' adventures without their help. I'm less sure walking than I used to be and they helped me all day long while walking 'the hill'/climbing into my favorite 'matatus'/going up and down stairs. The Team has bonded with a special friendship - a forever friendship!

Thank you for your prayers. They were answered as we traveled and lived in this welcoming country.

Will add a little photo of me with a few of the children from Mercy Home. What will I miss the most when I leave? Them!

Love,

Nancy

David Wednesday January 6, 2010

Today I met a very nice fellow. His name was Thomas. He was a very, tall man with a quite a long neck and a nice purple tongue. Thomas was very outgoing to all of us and I enjoyed meeting him a lot. Here is pictures of Thomas.

We had finally made some concrete plans to go on a little tourist outing to see African animals at a place called captain Davis a place David Ochana had wanted to take us too for a while since we had been here. As we were just driving through the gate of the place I spotted Thomas the giraffe standing in the field next to the driveway with a bunch of horses. We all gazed out the car window in excitement to see our first giraffe, but because it was standing so still, Trudy refused to believe it was real. When I tried to reason with her and tell her to see that its head was moving from side to side she said, “yes its head is moving from side to side but it’s in a mechanical way because that’s all it does.”

“Ok” I said realizing that I was going nowhere. I mean was it to hard to believe that there were real giraffes in a wildlife park in Kenya? This wasn’t no Disney land. When the giraffe actually started to walk towards us as we got out of the car I knew I had won.

We were led on a nice tour of the place, where we saw some gazelles, antelopes, zebras, and second best all behind the giraffe was two rhino’s. These things are pure beast. I was told they weighed around 4400 pounds and around 6 feet tall. Pictures don’t do them justice as to how massive these animal’s were up close. Rhinoceroses are also clever. Did you know they always sleep, eat and even do their business in exactly the same spots every time? The spot they had chosen to always they do their business was the most apparent. Not like cows where they they go everywhere

We spent allot of time with the very friendly Thomas the Giraffe and he seemed to want to get as close to us as possible. A staff member came with some brown sugar squares and it was fun for us to feed him. He would stick his long big purple tongue out and curl it around the squares in our hand and then suck his tongue back in. After amusing ourselves for a while and getting lots of pictures and videos we continue the tour and see the ostriches. But Candice and I didn’t just see them. We rode them. Yup, that’s I got on one of those huge massive birds and rode it like a horse. Sure it was over priced but who in their life can say they have rode an ostriche. Oh and say they also saw a unicorn, except it was really a large gazelles like creature born only with its right horn. Close enough right?

-David

Happy New Year

The Kenya team wishes everyone at home a very Happy 2010. Yes, we survived Christmas in Kenya, and saw the simple way it can be celebrated without any fanfare. On December 25,our Church was packed with visitors,and we were happy that the cooks had justprepared enough food, as some unexpected company(from Gershom's church)arrived to hear his sermon, and of course,eat the meal, also.
We have had a good week, trying to catch up on sponsorletters. Nancy Miller is doing a fantastic job of staying focused on that. heh? if you are a sponsor....how about a new year's resolution to write your child each and every month....what a blessing that would be to that child. We also were trying to talk with as many of the older students as we could, because, they will be leaving fairly soon, now to their various schools and attachments,that they are involved with. These fine young men and ladies are the future of Kenya, and from where I sit....it will be a great future. Thanks to all of the sponsors who support the older college kids....they really could not possibly be where they are without YOU.
God Bless you all. We miss you but know that God is looking after each and everyone of you.
Praise HIS name.

One big birthday party and a story about fainting

David Wednesday December 23,2009
First of all happy birthday to Nancy yesterday ! She was very excited to get her cards and Candice gave her a giraffe and I gave her a rhino. But today we weren’t just celebrating Nancy’s birthday but we were celebrating the birthdays of all the kids at Mercy home with party. The night before we had popped a hundred plastic bags worth of popcorn and put 5 candies in each one. Trudy and Candice had also spent a while putting together gift bags personalized for each child. Most of the toys and gifts were stuff from Canada so thank you to all the people who donated those gifts. We left for Mercy Home around 10:30 and the first part of the party was a talent show. Most of the kids would get into groups and do a choreographed song and dance while Joseph the guy in charge of the boy’s dorm accompanied them on the keyboard. They also recited poems and did some skits. My favorite skit was one that all the big boys from college did. There was also the fastest food-eating contest, which was hilarious because after the kids competed they had the manager Gershom and two other board members of Mercy home also take part. I had never seen the kids so enthused. Another highlight was a dance competition between some of the younger boys. They certainly bring it on when they are competeting. After the talent show all the kids received jelly sandwiches and juice, which was a real treat. Once all the kids had received one of each Trudy allowed them to have seconds only if they could repeat a verse from the bible from memory.

Then it was time running races the part where this day got interesting. Apong one of the big boys organized that I race against all the other big boys I agreed very excited to try my best against the highly talked about Kenyan runners. We were to run two laps around the soccer field. After many false starts we were off. I ran with all my might and began to take a good lead on the first lap, then I realized I had just sprinted it and had very little energy for the second. Half way around the second lap I was being passed by everyone I was just about to finish last when big Samuel totally face planted and I finished the race ahead of him. I had ran so hard I felt like my lungs were bleeding and I was going to throw up. I paced around for a good ten minutes not feeling any better and every time I breathed I felt a sharp pain. I then really felt the need to throw up so I went for the boy’s washroom and immediately started to dry heave. After that I felt a little bit better but then all of a sudden I become extremely light headed and lost all vision and some hearing, I could only see white light and felt as though the ground underneath me was spinning. This had happened to me once before and I knew I was just about to faint and if I didn’t get out of the washroom and drink some water then I could fall and hurt my self in there and nobody would have known. I staggered out clinging to the walls murmuring for some water when a girl named Howa saw me and got water and help. As soon as I drank some water my vision started to return and I felt more conscious. Andrew one of the big boys and vincent helped me to a bed in the boy’s dorm to lie down. My body was just soaked in sweat so they helped me cool down by unbuttoning my shirt and opening some windows. After a few minutes of resting I felt back to normal and I ate some food and drank ALOT of water. Nancy hung out with me the entire time, which I was very grateful for and she gave me extra water from her bottle. After all that I went back outside to join the party again. They were handing out the gift bags and popcorn and the kids were smiling from ear to ear.

So the moral of this story is, don’t try and outrun Kenyan’s

Merry Christmas everyone!

David

Merry Christmas from Kenya.

We have had a busy time during December. We first had a wedding of two of our staff. It went very well except the bride and groom were 4 hours late for their own wedding! It took one hour for the men to come a short distance...they walk slow....then it was the ladies, and many flower girls' turn....they were slow dancers, too. Just as the bride came out of the car, it started to rain(good luck,here) so they had an umbrella over her, as she walked to the tent. Everything was outside. Two tents were put up. All of the girls were allowed to wear their Christmas dresses(where else is someone going to wear it..otherwise,except at church). Some of the boys wore their new African made shirts, but the trousers were not ready yet. Of course, the highlight of any wedding is the food. The food was chapatis, rice, potates, soup, pork, kuku, and sodas. The cooks at Mercy Home did a very good job staying up late to make sure it was all done. Amazing!
Some of the children got to come to Kitale for the library. Most of the Secondary students got to read and study, and actually got a library card.
The next week the children were given a home visit. Some went to relatives and some stayed with friends of Mercy Home. It was like a ghost town out at the farm. We had the joy of having our sponsored girl, Alphine stay with us. She had a great time with David and Candice, and enjoyed new foods and experiences. One day we went to Eldoret(an hours drive) to renew our visas for another 3 months. They enjoyed that outing too.
This past week we have been busy doing sponsor letters, and we had a youth conference on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We had a guest speaker from a local church. I had the joy of talking to the young girls ( 8- 13 years) in three separate workshops on what puberty is. We had some interesting discussions. The bigger girls were also present.
This week we are preparing for Christmas at the Centre. The birthday party will be tomorrow, so yesterday we had to organize our suitcases full of toys, to make sure each child has something small, to celebrate Christ's birth. It was an exhausting, but rewarding day!
Tomorrow we are having the Christmas/Birthday party, with popcorn, bread and jam, drinks and a small gift. On December 25, we will have special meal, with meat, rice, chapatis, potatoes, and bananas for dessert. We look forward to seeing all the kids, and their new dresses, shirts and trousers. All the college boys are home now. What awesome young men they all are!
Christmas is all about Jesus. What a wonderful Saviour we have.
Being here for Christmas is a gift from God. Away from the hustle and bustle of the Canadian Christmas you can really see better the meaning of the holiday. Of course, we miss our family and friends...but God is good....and we feel His presence with us each day.
Merry Christmas from the Kenya team.

a book every parent should have

I found this in the Christian book store.

Uganda part 3

David Friday November 27,2009
Today was to be our last day in Kampala, Uganda and we had to wake up at the ripe time of 5:00 in the morning. Our Bus would leave at 6:30 so we got ourselves packed and ate breakfast then we got driven to the bus station. This time I made sure I was not sitting at the back of the bus because last time I felt every speed bump and pothole to the tenth degree. I sat alone for the first 30 minutes or so until a young Muslim lady around my age came on board and sat next to me. She sat down said hello, I said hello back, and then she put one of those Muslim veils over her face and put on some black cloves. I’ve always been a little spooked by these veils and I wasn’t sure if it meant that she didn’t want to be talked too as well as be looked at. I turned up my Michael Jackson on my IPod and looked out the window as if I was looking at something very interesting.

Around ten minutes latter or so, the girl tapped me on the shoulder and offered me some home made snacks out of a big plastic bag I accepted and then she removed her veil and cloves. She introduced her self has Sophia and from there we got talking about how she had all this food because it was a Muslim Holiday and she was travelling back to Nairobi Kenya to see her family because school was out. Only hearing about Muslims in the media I figured now was my best chance to really get first hand information on what their beliefs are and about their religious practices. She cleared up allot of misconceptions for me like that having the long back robes and veils (she said they were called Ninja’s) that the girls wear doesn’t mean they want to be completely ignored but that its manly for safety and modesty reasons. She also said she and her friends wear “ninjas” because their fun. It didn’t take long before she found out I was a Christian, so I asked her what the main difference is between our religions. She told me that in Islam Jesus was just a prophet and that he never died on a cross for our sins. The person was died on the cross was just someone that was mistaken for Jesus. So basically their way of getting into Heaven is by doing good deeds and keeping their religious practices like praying 5 times a day. So we just continued talking, she asking me questions and me asking her questions in a none threatening way, it was actually quite a pleasure.

We eventually moved away from the topic of religion and just talked about normal things like music and movies and the differences between the Kenyan life and the Canadian life. It really helped time pass and in no time we were in elderit getting a Kangaroo back to Kitale to make it in time for the monthly missionary bbq that night. We made it in time and we enjoyed eating western food again!

Uganda part 2

David Thursday November 26,2009
Today was our last full day in Kampala and we started it off by having a nice breakfast and then making our own way into town. First we walked to the nearest road to try and get a matatu, but we had no luck so we continued to walk until finally one stopped for us. We wanted to go to the garden city mall, the one we went to yesterday so we asked the conductor if he was headed that way. He nodded vigorously and said “yeah, yeah, yeah” and hustled us into the van. We soon found out the had no intentions of going anywhere near the mall and that the conductor just wanted us to get in so that they could make money off of us. The conductor actually tried to cheat us and tell us the fare would be 1000 shillings to where it would let us off, but thankfully Dane had a guardian angel next to him, an older Ugandan lady and she told Dane that we were only to pay 600 shillings. She then got worked up about it and scolded the Conductor. The conductor by then feeling embarrassed allowed us pay the right amount. Even after we had gotten off the Matatu (which was not really anywhere near the mall), the lady very kindly showed us where to go and she tried to find a matatu that was headed that way but she couldn’t so she arranged a taxi for us.

So we got in the taxi but only went a few meters before we were stuck in a traffic jam. We waited and waited but we hardly moved an inch. So we decided to just get out of the taxi and start footing it and try and make it to the mall using Dane’s map. So we walked and walked and while Dane refused to ask directions, Nancy would ask every block or so, for directions from the locals. It was a real classic case of how men like to read maps and ladies like to ask directions.

Along the way to the mall we came across a really good market, where we spent a while buying more souvenirs. We finally made it to the mall, and we went straight to finding somewhere to eat. As we were looking Candice let out a gasp and squeal of delight she had spotted a pizza restaurant. Now this was truly a moment where you think it might be a mirage. A legit pizza place is really hard to come by in kitale. In a way it was kida a mirage because we thought it said Pizza Hut but infact it said pizza hot but it was delicious anyway and we were thrilled to bits.

After eating Candice and I really felt like watching a movie at the cinema, so while Nancy and Trudy got hair cuts and Dane went back to the market, we went to see what this cinema business was all about. You see we had gotten used to things not being quite as what they seem to be or what were used to, so we were a little skeptical about what kind of cinema this would be. As it turned out it was one of the nicest Cinemas I had been too. And guess what we saw? The new Michael Jackson movie “This is it” Believe me it was the last thing I thought I would be doing while in Africa, but I really wanted to see it. It was sorta a live concert/documentary of Michael Jackson preparing for his last 50 concerts he was going to do at the O2 arena in London. It was spectacular footage even though it was only dress rehearsals and no audience and we enjoyed it through and through. Walking out of the theater I had to remind my self I was in Uganda and not somewhere like Vancouver. We then met up with the others and took a taxi back to the hotel.

Uganda part 1

For those of you who dont know our team went on a short Vacation to Uganda to see the city of Kampala. For some reason my journal entry from the 24th wont open on this computer, so I have started from the 25th. The 24th was just spent on a eight hour bus ride. The highlight was seeing the mouth of the Nile river from Lake Victoria


David Wednesday November 25,2009
We left Kitale on Tuesday on the 24 at 10 in the morning, and we arrived in Kampala around 9:30. After a comfortable sleep in our guesthouse we all met downstairs to have breakfast together at 8:30. After breakfast we discussed that we would all like to spend the day looking and shopping around the city and just use public transportation. We got ready and met outside, but we met a man who was on staff with Adoni guesthouse and who could drive you and be your tour guide around Kampala. So we decided that since we didn’t know anything about Kampala and where things were, we hired him. He first drove us up to a large hill where a large Muslim mosque stood and you could see all of Kampala from the top. We were allowed to go inside the mosque and take a boo, so we took off our shoes and the mosque man allowed us to go way up to the top to one of the four towers. After walking up a very spiral 79 stairs we got to see an even better view of Kampala. Kampala has 2 other hills, which are for the Roman Catholics and the Anglicans. It also had alot of tall modern looking buildings, which was a site for sore eyes.

Our next stop was lunch. I was very happy to see a western style menu that didn’t just serve just Ugali and chicken and chips like Kitale. We stopped by an impressive new mall that got us pretty excited because it was something like you would see at home. We only spent a short while because we decided we would check it out in more detail the next day. Next, our driver took us to a very cool touristy kinda market, where I bought a mid sized Jimba drum, two African shirts, and some other gifts for home. Nothing had fixed prices on it, so it was fun to bargain. We then went to another market but this one was mostly second hand clothes, but I did end up buying some nice dress pants. We wanted to see lake Victoria, so we made a stop by before dinner, and I Candice and I put our feet in the water, just to say we had put our feet in Lake Victoria and we got pictures to prove it. Our driver dropped us off at probably one of the most expensive and nicest restaurants in town. It felt like I was at a tropical resort because the roof was a grass roof and it was made off bamboo, and there were lots of fountains and palm trees and it had a nice view of Kampala. I ordered the tenderness steak I had ever tasted that only cost me 24 thousand Ugandan shillings which is around 14 dollars, where in Canada it would have cost be between 25 and 30. It was sure nice to spoil ourselves though and have a break from the small town of Kitale and experience new and also familiar things.

pics from Uganda

Here is us eating out on Wednesday for supper after our tour.

The one with the Dino's is in front of the mall. And there is one of me with my feet in lake Victoria and me up in the very top of the mosque tower we visited