Hi from uganda

On Sunday I preached at Moses’ church. It was again an amazing time which has left me speechless. I am very impressed with the care that young Moses has for his parishioners. He has grown very much as a person since we first came here.

We went there in the car of a parishioner which has a windscreen with an incredibile networth of cobweb cracks. Apparently hail stones in a severe storm had damaged it. The engine was making a terrible noise and it sounded to me as though something was dragging on the ground underneath us. As you know it is incredibly slippery when it rains and we managed to skid through several 90 degree turns on the way to the church. (I came back on the back of Moses’ motor bike!)

I love to sit out under the trees here in Uganda. They offer shade and usually a little breeze and the most extraordinary birds vie for my attention. At Lwankuba we have some rough wooden benches under some avacado trees, and I call this the “board room”. We sit and dream dreams and sort out problems under the shade of the trees, looking out over the lush green hills.

I found that the men working for us on the farm had no boots, and were in real danger from snakes in the bush when they are ploughing with the oxen. Tomorrow I am doing to get some Wellingtons for them.

One of the men is called “Mambo”. He has been on the farm for so long that nobody can track it. Before we took over he was sometimes here alone, and received no pay, but although he originated in the Congo this is now his home. “Mambo” is not a real name here. It may be from Swaheli “Mambo Jambo” but nobody really knows. He is excellent with the cows and it is his responsibility to look after Sarah, Jean, Nina, Ann Potts and all the other donated cows.

Greetings from Mityana

I have been going out visiting and teaching at a number of small churches and schools. Some of them are only about 15 miles out of town, but they are away from the main roads up terrible tracks, and quite a few of the children have never seen a white person before. The older ones are very interested and want to hold my hands and arms, but the little ones often scream when they see me! That’s a bit disconcerting!

I went to a little village today where they have benefitted a lot from one of our animal schemes. They were delighted to see me back again. Hundreds of people in a number f adjoining parishes have benefitted from the scheme, and they have also had profits to put into community projects. What a difference a few pigs can make!

They have managed to build a very primitive school with rough bricks and a tin roof since I was here last. However, they still have classes for three different years going on in one room, and the teacher just has to go from one year group to the next doing the best he can. The main problem for them is water. They have to carry jerry cans a distance from a dirty water hole in order to provide for the children. I will give priority to raising £600 or so for them so that we can get the school a water tank and they can harvest the rain water.

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Another message from Ann

I drove to Kumi in a boneshaker bus which took 6 hours from Kampala. In all journey was 21 hours from Heathrow! At Mbale I was very close to the Kenya border. Hordes of unbelievably tattered children scampered on to the bus crawling and scavenging under the seats for empty water bottles and other treasures left by people rich enough to travel by bus. Chickens belonging to the person behind me kept pushing and pecking round my feet.

At one fairly remote place the bus stopped and wouldn’t start again. For a moment I was aware that I was alone in the middle of Africa with a bus full of Ugandans that I didn’t know. If we were stuck where would I sleep? However, a pushing party got us going again.

The Conference at which I was supposed to be speaking was curtailed through lack of funding. However the times we had were very blessed. Very blessed indeed. At a big Baptist Church I was speaking over the noise of a tropical deluge beating on the tin roof. Fortunately the sound system was loud and I had a wonderful time with them.

One day I visited Omatenga Village. This has to be the poorest most primitive village I have ever been to. The people are fishermen and live in scattered thatched mud huts by a beautiful lake, but the lake is becoming logged with weed. I met the LC1 and he took me round and introduced me. 375 people live here but there are only 30 pit latrines. Waste is put in the lake and next morning drinking water is taken from same area. Much typhoid, malaria and malnutrition.

No school here,and only a fewchildren travel to neighbouring schools. Just one villager has finished Secondary Education. One widow invited me into her little mud hut. One bed for her and kids and virtually nothing else but a bowl and a water container. All swept clean and tidy. My heart really went out to these people.

I saw several Bishops on my way through. They knew of me through being at Mityana last year for Bishop Stephen’s enthronement. One was expecting me to stay at his home, and is pressing hard for me to go back. Of course they all want me to start a charity in their areas.

Going to have rest day tomorrow! All well here in Mityana.

much love

A

Ann update

Today I have been to a very small church deep in a village. It was a lovely day with the congregation of adults and children, and deeply moving. God blesses our time together in wonderful ways. It was difficult to persuade one little girl to let go of my hands because they were “white” and she wanted to keep rubbing my arms. She came from the Monkey Clan who had given the land to the Diocese for the construction of the little church.
The rainy season has started early, however, I am looking at a brilliant blue sky at the moment with great pink flowers covering the nearby bushes and green life everywhere.