Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th July 2008

Back to Kabale, but not back to normal yet.  There’s nothing like doing a week or so worth of dirty washing by hand!!  But it was nice to be by ourselves again, but I had to prepare for Sunday as Pastor Edward wanted me to preach.  So, Sunday obviously I shared in the morning, then in the evening we got a dose of Australia, although I never liked watching McLeods Daughters in Australia, I was hooked, must be a lack of Australianisms.  Thanks to the team for bringing it over, though by the time we get through to the end of two seasons I might be a bit more back towards not liking it again.

Friday 11th July 2008

Another long trip was started today.  It was extended by the printers that were doing some newsletters for a meeting Edward is having with VCCS and local Pastors later this month.  They had delayed and we finally headed off after 11am sometime.  It was a good trip though and it was good to be home, although our house was empty of everything.  With the team here we had not had a chance to be at home at all so our supplies were exhausted, not that I minded eating out after a long drive.

Thursday 10th July 2008

Goodbyes are always hard, but we had to do it.  It was farewell to the team but being in Kampala we were able to catch up on some things that were overdue and eat out at a nice restaurant for lunch and dinner.  Seeing the team depart reminded me of our first trip to Uganda in 2005 as part of a team to build a house for Watoto.  I could not help but think that some of their lives will be different from now on.  If they do not return or go somewhere else, then they will definitely approach life in a new way.

Thank you so much for coming, Taigum Uganda 2008 team.  We loved our time with you and miss the entertainment already!

Tuesday 8th & Wednesday 9th July 2008

Driving, driving, driving – we all love driving in Uganda!!!  Tuesday we headed off to Queen Elizabeth National Park with the team and the Roberts.  It was great to spend time with all the Aussies, just relaxing and sight seeing.  We went for a launch ride on the channel to see the wildlife before eating out at the fancy accommodation down the road from where we stayed.  In the morning it was a game park drive and then a trip to Kampala in the afternoon.  A day of 12 hours + driving, no wonder I was falling asleep at the dinner table that night.  We went out for a last dinner with the team to say thankyous and all that.

Monday 7th July 2008

The team’s last day in Kabale, so we headed to the drop-in for a quick visit and then a walk around town.  After lunch we went for a visit to see the land that Akanyijuka has purchased and the plans for future developments in building and agriculture.  A quick visit to the Wards house for a cup of tea before preparing for a night at Akanyijuka for dinner.  This was a great experience for all.  The team really enjoyed eating with the families at Akanyijuka and the families also enjoyed hosting the team.

Sunday 6th July 2008

Today the team visited Pastor Edward’s church to experience an African Church service, I think all enjoyed it.  They all got a chance to introduce themselves and say a few words.  There were about 3 or 4 who said they would be coming back (guys I noted it all down and will put it in my report to Gary!!).  It seems like the trip has been a successful one for them, as well as those that are here in Kabale; Kathryn and I, the staff and children of Akanyijuka have all benefited greatly from the team.

In the evening we went to the fancy place in town so the team could have dinner with the Wards, the Roberts and Peace and Edward.

Saturday 5th July 2008

Today was a rest day for the team and us, we travelled to Lake Bunyonyi and took the time to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.  In the early evening we dropped Yvonne and Michael to a local church to participate in a Praise and Worship conference that the Roberts were involved in.

Thursday 3rd & Friday 4th July 2008

Two days in a row we had the same itinerary on.  In the mornings of Thursday and Friday the team from Australia ran a program at Akanyijuka for the children and staff.  The children enjoyed some Taigum flavoured Sunday school teaching and games, while the staff had first-aid revision, care of the two nurses on the team. 

In the afternoons of both days the team were involved in some village ministry.  I think Friday afternoon will be a day that all the team will remember.  It started raining as we were getting ready to head off, so the first thing is the local people we were travelling with all jumped into the back of Edward’s ute and pulled over a few tarps to keep the rain off.  When we got there we waited about an hour for the rain to subside a little, then set up in the drizzle, with equipment and musos under the tarps.  All the local people in the village still came and enjoyed singing and dancing for about three quarters of an hour, before someone shared.   I think the team really enjoyed the two days:

Wednesday 2nd July 2008

ONE YEAR!!!

It’s hard to think about it but it is now one year from when we took in our first six children.  Not really knowing what we were doing that much, but now we have 38 children, three classes in a school and much joy and happiness for all involved over the last year.

It was a great day as we celebrated the anniversary with a party at our house for the children, staff and all those who have helped over the last year.  It was great to have the team from Australia come and join in and the Roberts also.  We had a great time with food, songs, dances and games.  Here are some photos of the day:

There were two events that made the day extra interesting.  On my last trip back to Akanyijuka to pick up children, we managed to be caught by the School Inspector for our division and three other big wigs.  We met and talked about this and that sort of things, until we could get out of there.  Their biggest concern seemed to be that they were not invited to sip sodas.  The other event was as we were driving out to meet the team for dinner we discovered that someone had tried to do a u-turn in our drive way and had managed to go a little too far, thus ending up with the front of their car about two metres down our embankment, with the car almost vertical.  After checking for any injured passengers(which there weren’t) we could not help so we left them to call a tow truck, they must have been ok as they were gone when we returned home.

Tuesday 1st July 2008

Tuesday we all started slowly, the team tired from travelling from Australia and us tired from the night trip and sorting out the chickens afterwards.  But we eventually ventured down to Victory Community Care Services offices to visit the drop-in centre.  Afterwards the boys from Australia went and played soccer with the drop-in boys at the stadium and the rest of the team went to visit a local school where a lot of the drop-in boys now go. 

Here are a couple of photos:

 

In the afternoon after lunch we headed down to Akanyijuka for the team to meet the staff and children.  It was a great time for all, the staff and children loved to meet the team and the team was excited to meet Akanyijuka, a photo of the team with the younger children:

Then in the late afternoon we visited a cultural show where the team got to see some local dances and songs performed:

Even Peace liked to join in:

Day one in Kabale and I think all are happy!