On Wednesday morning we prepared to shift from Kampala to Jinja.  Our driver arrived and took us a different route out of the Kampala than I had experienced before.  It was good to miss the ubiquitous “jams” that plague the city constantly.  Even though we are a little tight in the car provided to us, we all could feel the tension of the city leave as we traveled further into the countryside.

We marveled over the massive sugar cane fields, the tea fields and we celebrated seeing monkeys swinging from tree to tree along the Jinja road highway.  The weather was temperate and the trip uneventful.  We arrived at our dear friend’s home in Jinja and were treated to scratch made pizza turnovers or calzone.  Soon afterward I attended a meeting with one of the administrators of the Uganda Baptist Seminary.  He was kind enough to share about his vision for the seminary and the impact well-trained students are making not only in Uganda but the entire region.  The seminary has 300  students from Kenya, Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda enrolled presently.

We finished the day with a meal with our host family overlooking the Nile river.  It was a beautiful setting a good food.

Thursday started with rain and scratch made cinnamon rolls.  Both were most welcome.  We went back to the seminary.  I attended a New Testament Greek class my friend teaches and the ladies took a tour of the facility.  We rejoined for a chapel service I was allowed to teach and then met for tea with most of the faculty.  The faculty excitedly shared their long-term experiences in Jinja and their knowledge of the student’s life as we ate cookies and sipped our tea.  We made prior arrangements to do video interviews with several students in order to share their stories with our family in the United States, so we began the process immediately after tea.

This is my third time to Africa and I listen to people’s stories.  It is an activity I enjoy.  I did not expect to be astounded, but astounded I was.  In two sessions we taped seven interviews and each unique story seems to be more incredible than the last.  We want to make the whole of the each story available if at all possible (Ugandans speak very softly so the audio may be spoiled).   I will only say we interviewed two people who were conscripted into a rebel army, one who endures constant and vicious persecution by his Muslim neighbors, one who cares for over seventy orphans, one who lost every earthly treasure for the sake of sharing the good news of God’s love in Jesus.  There is more, but my head still swims from the simply stated reality of devotion to Christ and rescue by Christ each one testified to.

We went to lunch at a local establishment in town and I was able to visit with my sons Isaac and Lionel.  I had not seen Lionel for well over a year and it was a deep joy to see him.  I had gifts to share and we talked about his studies.  He dreams of attending Makerere University like his older brother and to join the business world.  He is grown to be a thoughtful and fine man of whom I am very proud.

I then met with Jack Frost and the ladies on our team visited a local orphanage.  Dr. Frost is the founding member of the Uganda Baptist Seminary, and provided me a historical perspective of the ebb and flow of the work here in Jinja and this region from an “insider’s” perspective.  We also spoke about trends in the United States, I was able to share my perspective of what was happening on the “other side of the pond.”

Later we went back at the seminary campus for high tea.  The rain stopped and it was sunny and temperate.  We sat out on the veranda and we ate cakes, scones and baked goods, drank tea, coffee and pina colada juice (DeAndra can mark that off her bucket list) and visited with the faculty and adjunct professors.

Later we had dinner back at our friend’s home, a feast in every way (including the best fresh pineapple we ever ate).  We spent the evening talking with each other and our hosts. Danielle and DeAndra played Wii with our friend’s daughters and then mourned over the Louisville’s loss to Morehead State (DeAndra more than Danielle).

Friday is back to the slums of Kampala.  We are looking forward worshiping at a house church and seeing even more become followers of Jesus, weather permitting.