Apparently I didn’t get the memos.
Jinja is the second largest city in Uganda, and while not
huge, it has its share of traffic. A
congested mixture of trucks, taxi vans, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and
pedestrians. While there are no lines on
the roads or traffic control devices (lights, stop signs, crosswalks…), traffic
generally stays on the correct side of the road for the direction of
travel. Thanks to our friends, the
Brits, who colonized this part of Africa, that side of the road is opposite of
what we’re accustomed to. Therefore when
we go to cross the street I tend to look left for an opening, which I can
usually find. As often as not, though, a
beeping horn, a shout, or sometimes the tinkling of a bicycle bell will remind
me I’ve looked the wrong way. Outside of
town there is an established hierarchy on the highway: Pedestrians to the far left, then bicycles,
bodas next (motorcycle taxis which we knew as motos in Cameroon), then the
cars, taxis, and trucks. Of course there
is the constant vying for position based on speed which makes for some very
interesting passing situations. We were
reminded of that last night when the mirror of the boda we were on was clipped
by that of a passing van. No one was hurt,
glass didn’t break, and we continued on apparently with hardly a second thought.
We’re not sure if they’re bedbugs yet, but I am covered with
itching bites which has me thinking maybe so.
How could there possibly be bedbugs here, right? But in the unlikely event that’s what it does
turn out to be, I will try to find some DDT, which I think is still available
here, and treat the room. The stork
population here is thriving, so I don’t think their eggshells are suffering.
As far as our roles on base and purpose for being here, we
are still in the very early stages.
There is a vision for a health care clinic and other health services,
and a men’s vocational training school.
None of which have been established, so we will be helping with
that. We will be part of foundation
building; physically, figuratively, and spiritually. It is intimidating, there will be many
challenges, but we are excited about what God has in store, and have no doubt
that we are supposed to be here. I know
that I have to be patient, not necessarily one of my strong points…
We have been able to spend a few hours with Bryan, so far,
and look forward to more in his last week here.
We both have commitments, but we will have more time spent together
which will hopefully include a trip to Musana.
That’s where this whole journey began for us, and it has now become a
model and standard for what can be achieved here. There are (too) many organizations here, especially
in and around Jinja, nearly all with good intentions, doing good things, but it
has also created a dependency which needs to be broken, and Musana has been
very successful in that regard.
Hopeland is the biggest YWAM base in Uganda, and right now
is very crowded. There are four schools
underway, and several individuals staying on base as well. There are also more families here with young
children than when we were here before.
We are staying in the same guest room as last time, but it’s supposed to
be only temporary, though that could mean several weeks. We’re still adjusting to the way of life
which I would call casually structured.
We will go through a staff orientation next week which should be
helpful.
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| temporary home |
We adapt
