Hi everyone.  It's Jill D. here filling in for our amazing blog writer Jill P.  We just wanted to let everyone know that we have arrived home.  It was very hard to leave Uganda and the wonderful people that we met along the way, but we are happy to be back home again.  Thank you all for following our adventures and for keeping us in your prayers!

Love,
The South Salem Nazarene Watoto Team

On our way home ...

Our time in Uganda is coming to an end, and we are all sad to say good-bye even though we are simultaneously eager to be reunited with family and friends back home.

We enjoyed our last big outing yesterday afternoon - a river trip up the Nile River to the bottom of the Murchison Falls.

This smaller boat tied up at the rock just before our boat, and this is as close as we could safely get to the falls. The white foam is a natural and never-ending occurence caused by the force of the falls and a combination of dirt and animal scat. Our boat was larger and a double-decker with a covered top which thankfully protected us from the scorching mid-day sun .

Once we had our turn at the rock, the boat crew temporarily tied up there and said we could get out onto the rock for a quick photo. Jill P. and Heather were the first to jump at the chance. Surprisingly, our SS Naz group and one other man on the boat ride were the only ones to take advantage of this great opportunity. the other passengers had no interest or were too scared. Their loss!!

The one "new" creature we saw along the river, which we had not see on our previous safari outings, was the crocodile. The first few we spotted slipped into the water so fast that we barely had time to get our cameras out. But this one, about 6 feet long, was very accommodating and stayed put for several minutes so we could get plenty of snapshots.

We also saw so many groups of hippos (called "schools" just like fish) lazing in the water that they became commonplace and not worth photographing. There were also many interesting varieties of birds, such as the African Eagle - similar to the American Eagle but with more white feathers.

After the riverboat trip, We spent our last afternoon at the Paraa Safari Lodge relaxing in the swimming pool before dinner (maybe inspired by the hippos?), then packed our bags and prepared for the long trip home.

This morning we headed out at 7:00 to take the ferry across the Nile and drive back to Kampala.





The ferry coming from the other side had such a full load that it took 3 tries - and required rebalancing the load by moving cars back - before it could make it up onto the shore for disembarking.

We waited patiently on the shore for our vehicles to get on and then we boarded, bidding a very fond farewell to the Murchison Falls National Park.

We are now back in Kampala the Guest House, preparing to leave for the airport at 6 p.m. and take off at about 10 p.m. for the first of our three flights to get home. We needed to stop by the Watoto Central Church en route back from the safari, so we couldn't resist one more quick shopping session at the Living Hope craft store. Then we enjoyed a nice lunch at the same American-style restaurant where we ate on Saturday as our final group outing in Kampala.

It's been an amazing trip, filled with heartwarming as well as heartbreaking experiences, wonderful people we will never forget, and more blessing than we can begin to count. We are so thankful to Watoto and the many friendly Ugandans we met here for making us feel so welcome and so appreciated!!

We'll send another post when we arrive back in Salem. Thanks again to all of you for following our adventures and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

Blessings,

The SS Nazarene Watoto Team

Another Game Drive

This morning we left the Lodge at 6:00 for our second game drive in Murchison Falls National Park. It's the largest of Uganda's parks, at 5,861 square kilometers. Shortly after entering the park before daylight, we saw a small pack of hyenas in the road. They crossed to the side and gazed at us for a little while before heading off into the tall grasses. We tried taking photos, but the darkness made it tough to see them.

We saw huge herds of antelope - much larger groups than we saw yesterday - in open areas where they gather for the evening to have a clearer view of approaching predators and strengthen their protection from attacks. We also saw numerous giraffes as we drove along the dirt roads but no groups of 10 as we saw yesterday. They are so graceful and majestic, each time we see one feels like a special treat.

The Cape Buffalo also gathered in big herds alongside the road (see the dark shapes beyond the brown antelope). They lifted their heads to smell us as we approached, since they have poor eyesight and must rely on other senses to detect danger.

Periodically we also viewed some warthogs, which looked incredibly similar to the Pumba character in Lion King.

Now you see him ...

... and now you don't !

In the distance we could barely see a pair of lions that appeared ready to begin hunting for the day, as nearby antelopes were on "danger alert" and ready to spring into action as soon as they detected which direction the lions planned to take.

And our biggest excitement was seeing two elephants - not that close to our bus, but the closest we have come yet. The tusks on the male were huge and helped us spot him moving among the grasses.

Unfortunately, Uganda once had the greatest variety of animals in Africa, but under the regime of Idi Amin in the 1970s many were hunted and killed for their horns and tusks or as "target practice" for the Ugandan army. Rhinos completely disappeared from the park area, but thanks to a successful breeding program, there is a growing herd that will eventually be re-introduced to the National Park to continue multiplying. The park also shares its revenue from park entrance fees with the neighboring territories, giving locals an incentive to immediately report poachers and help enforce the rules protecting animals.

We came back to the Lodge in time for breakfast - a delicious buffet with a combination of some local African dishes plus American standbys such as omelets, toast, hash browns and waffles. We have some free time now until lunch at 1:00 and then we'll board the boat for a 2.5-hour safari cruise along the Nile River.

On the way into the park, we saw many baboons in the road and in the bushes alongside the road. Our driver Moses barreled along barely slowing down for them - causing all of us animal lovers on the bus to yell out "Get out of the road" to the baboons, as if they could hear us (or understand English, even if they did hear us). We laughed at ourselves afterward and quickly realized that these baboons have plenty of experience scooting out of the way of the tourist buses.  Our host Paul told us these baboons are shy - but the ones near the Lodge are more aggressive, and will climb in the bus windows if left open to look for food that tourists have on hand or even grab purses and backpacks that might have food.  Reminded us of the bears in Yellowstone and Yosemite!

We finally snapped some photos of a baboon when we dropped our off guide this morning - the first time the bus has been going slow enough for our cameras to capture the animals.

Sarah promised the baboons would be out in force when we come back this afternoon, as they will be looking for food they can scavenge from "clients". 

It's hard to believe that we leave tomorrow night to fly home. Meanwhile, we are taking advantage of the free Wifi at the lodge to touch base with loved ones back home (Internet access in the middle of the African jungle/savannah - who knew??).

 We'll be savoring these last hours in Uganda and soaking in as much as we can of the animals, natural beauty and friendly people. If we don't get a chance to send another blog update before we leave, we'll see you soon back in Salem!

Blessings,
The SS Nazarene Watoto Team

The Lion King in 3D

What an incredible day!  We were amazingly fortunate today to see several lions in real live 3D in their natural African habitat at Murchison Falls National Park. We have so many spectacular photos from today's adventures that we'll share when we get home. But meanwhile, here's a sampling:

After a 5-hour drive from Kampala, our first stop at about 10 a.m. was at the top of the Murchison Falls, where the turbulent Nile River surges through the rocks and creates a breathtaking waterfall with perpetual sprays shooting high into the air. Where the sun hits the spray, a gorgeous rainbow arches over the falls, seeming to reach down into the waterfall.

From there we drove onward to our destination, the Paraa Safari Lodge. When the hotel staff greeted us in the lobby with ice-cold washcloths and glasses of fresh-squeezed passion fruit juice, we knew we would love it here! We feel like we have landed in the lap of luxury here compared to the chaotic, noisy streets of Kampala. The lodge is overlooking a more calm part of the Nile River, with scenic views from the restaurant of the riverbanks and beautiful native landscapes.

After lunch and settling in, we joyfully immersed ourselves in the swimming pool here - the first time we have felt completely cooled off since we arrived in Uganda. Garth, Jill, Celeste, Renee and Cindy are staying in the Queen's Cottage, which is an apartment-type building set apart from the main lodge. It was added when Queen Elizabeth first came to stay here, and it has the distinction of including air conditioning (something we have not experienced yet in Uganda). It also has a large veranda that provides a great view of the Nile River and is surrounded by various creatures such as warthogs, crocodiles and hippos. The rest of the team is divided among several nice rooms at the Lodge and has no complaints.

At 4:00 pm, we headed out in the bus with our wonderful driver Moses (Kibirango Moses, director of Marantha Tours and Travel www.maranthatoursug.net) and Sarah, a professional game guide who works at the park - who boarded the bus with her AK47 rifle in hand, to scrare off any aggressive animals that might not want us to be intruding on their turf. (Fortunately, she had no cause to use it today.)

The first wildlife we spotted in the partk were herds of antelopes. There are 5 varieties here, and we saw hundreds of each kind except the Bushback. We learned that the small and graceful Oribi mate for life, the large Waterbuck have meat that is too "stinky" for lions to eat, and the beautiful Ugandan Kob are the offical animal of Uganda. The males have uniquely shaped horns, while the females do not have any. Below is the Jackson Hardebeest antelope, which has a longer, flat face. In this species, both males and females have horns as a way of defending themselves.
 

The highlight of the day, though, was definitely seeing the lions. Our host Paul and the guide Sarah said it's rare to see lions at this time of day - and some groups who go on safari spend several hours and don't see any animals. But God blessed us immensely by showing us 3 of these magnificent "Kings of the Jungle".
 

We got incredibly close and personal to this lion (the same one pictured above). He was lying in the sun sleeping when we first spotted him, then he woke up when we approached. Thankfully, he wasn't cranky that we awakened him. Sarah  (our guide) explained that he lost one of his hind legs five years ago apparently from being hit by a Cape Buffalo, but he has continued to survive in the Park thanks to the female lions that do the hunting and bring meat back to the males.

 Later we came across this pair of lions who were more awake and basking in the sun, but still were mellow enough to allow us to come very near and watch their antics.

 

We got a big kick out of watching them as the female got up and stretched, and they started moving around more. Fortunately, they were not yet in the mood to hunt for their next meal, so they were not the least bit interested in us.

Our next treat was watching a herd of 10 giraffes casually saunter by alongside the road, and paralleling the Nile River (visible in the background). Moses did a fantastic job of keeping pace with them so we could snap some great photos. We were even close enough to see their beautiful long eyelashes, which Sarah had told us about. We saw other giraffes throughout the park, but these were definitely the closest to the road.

Before heading back for dinner at the Lodge, we drove past the "hippo pond" where more than a dozen hippos were relaxing in a pool off of the Nile River. Two of the hippos were playing with each other, and this one delighted us by showing off his big mouth - what's known as a "hippo yawn".

Tomorrow morning we head out again at 6 a.m. for another game drive at the Park, and later in the day we have a boat safari on the Nile, where we will get to see the Murchison Falls from below for a different perspective. It's hard to imagine that we'll see anything that tops our splendid safari today, but we know we'll enjoy it no matter what.  About the only thing we didn't get to see up close today were elephants. There was a group of about 6-8 elephants on a hill that we viewed through binoculars, but they were too far away to get good photos. Maybe God will bless us again tomorrow with an up-close elephant experience!

We already feel very blessed to be here, relaxing from a physically and emotionally time in Kampala and soaking in the beauty of Africa's natural habitat.  We spend lots of time laughing, enjoying each other's company, taking photos, and savoring the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables available here.

Sometimes it's hard to believe we're actually here experiencing all of this - in a part of the world none of us has visited before, and most had never thought we'd ever see. We are so appreciative of this opportunity and very grateful to all of you who have and continue to support us in this mission trip. We are all missing our families at this point and eager to see them soon - but we are savoring these last few days here and making the most of our remaining time.

Blessings,

The SS Nazarene Watoto Team

Going on Safari

It's 4:30 a.m. and we are packing up to leave for the 5-hour drive to the Paraa Safari Lodge for our next adventure. We'll be visiting Murchison Falls National Park, which looks gorgeous in the photos we've seen and promises to show us hundreds of species of birds and animals.

A pleasant surprise is that we have a different bus to take - one with comfy cushioned seats! The driver says this one also is less bumpy, which will make the trip SO much more enjoyable for us.

Hopefully we'll have Internet access there and can post more updates. Plus we'll work on sorting through the hundreds of photos we took yesterday at Baby Watoto in downtown Kampala (called The Bulrushes - think of the Old Testament story of Moses being left in the bulrushes) and post some of our favorites.

Blessings,
The SS Nazarene Watoto Team

Our last full day in Kampala

Our time here in Uganda is winding down, and today was our last full day in Kampala before we go on a three-day safari and then fly home.

Last night we celebrated the completion of our portion of the house with a special dinner out at a "one of Kampala's finer restaurants". After the questionable places we've seen along the road to and from Watoto, we were curious to see what a finer restaurant would look like.  We were pleasantly surprised that it was a beautiful place in a part of downtown Kampala that we hadn't seen previously. There were paved streets and parking lots, sidewalks, traffic lights and modern-looking bank and government buildings. The restaurant was called Fang Fang, and we joked that "If was called Fang Fung, it could be a Chinese restaurant." Turns out it was a Chinese restaruant, and the food was marvelous. But even better was the company. We were hosted by one of the Watoto pastors, Andrew, and his delightful wife Angela. They were such a fabulous couple and so passionate about their ministry and the work they are doing through Watoto.  Besides the Central church downtown that we attended on Sunday, there are 4 other Watoto churches in Kampala - and Pastor Andrew leads the Watoto West church. We loved getting to meet them and hear about how fast their congregation is growing.

Our team leaders, Garth and Jill Dettwyler, with Pastor Andrew and his wife Angela

Pastor Andrew also said we should attend the Saturday evening service at Watoto Central - so we cajoled Paul (our host) into bringing us there tonight. It was just as wonderful, upbeat and energetic as last Sunday's service, but was a "regular" service compared to the other service which was a special celebration to commemorate achieving the church's goal of raising $1 million to give to others. We were impressed that this service also was completely full - and we found out from Pastor Andrew that the Central Church actually holds about 1,200 people (not 700 as we had heard earlier).

At the end, there was a call for people who wanted to give their lives to Christ, and more than 20 people came forward to meet with pastors and counselors. What a great blessing!

Earlier in the day we did some shopping at an African craft village and bargained our way through many fun purchases of gifts to bring back home (and a few things for ourselves too :)  After a while, the merchandise in the little stalls all started looking the same, but it was fun to see quite a variety of traditional African jewelry, clothing, decorations, carved animals, etc. 

The women definitely relished their time there more than the men, but Garth admitted later, "I had more fun than I though it would."  And Paul, who serves as host for many visiting groups, told us later that we were bigger shoppers than the other groups. The way we looked at it, we were just doing our part to serve the Lord by boosting the local economy :)

We stopped for lunch at a shopping mall that was one of the more modern places we've seen, and ate at a restaurant that had "American" food like burgers, fries, sandwiches and some awesome ice cream milk shakes. And judging from the number of other white people we saw, it's a local hangout for non-African foreign visitors. Some of us loved the Heinz ketchup (made in Egypt, with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup) so much, we made Paul take us to the supermarket in the mall so we could buy some to bring home. He thought we were crazy, but was accommodating as usual.

The afternoon was a very special experience for all of us, even though it was probably the most heart-breaking time we've had here. We visited the other Baby Watoto center in Kampala, which is smaller than the one at Suubi and located in central Kampala in an older building that Watoto purchased and converted. It serves as the intake center for infants and toddlers who are handed over to Watoto by police, local agencies and others who find abandoned children in need of care. Because it's in town, with fast access to the International Hospital, all babies come here first for medical evaluation and treatment, and the younger infants stay here until they are 6 months old and can be transferred to one of the Baby Watoto facilities at a Watoto Village.

There were 47 children there today, and the capacity is a maximum of 60. The facility includes an incubation area for newborns and preemies, with nurse specialists to care for the children. This afternoon the center was caring for 3 preemies and 1 newborn, plus about 12 special needs children. One girl was 4 years old, but looked less a year old and was not able to walk because of severe malnutrition, while another boy with a feeding tube was 2 1/2 years old but probably weighed less than 10 pounds and was the size of a newborn. Another little girl who had the most beautiful face and eyes we've seen was also considered special needs because of malnutrition, but fortunately had no serious health issues and will soon be able to move on to the Village.

As the babies awoke from their naps, we split up among the different rooms and spent time holding, cuddling and playing with the babies - plus helping out with diaper changes. Raelene got to experience this task for the first time ever, but looked just like a pro!

It's incredibly difficult to comprehend how so many women here can abandon their babies or even worse try to kill them, but thankfully God is looking out for these children and through Watoto is helping them become healthy, well-loved and well-cared for babies who will soon become part of a new family. Another bright spot was hearing that the center helps young teen mothers who are not yet capable of caring for their babies, to help prevent them from abandoning their infants out of desperation. The young mothers spend the day at the center to bond with their babies and learn how to care for them, hile having trained professionals on hand to help out and provide the necessary (and expensive) medical care for preemies and other infants with health issues. One teen/infant pair were just getting ready to "graduate" with the girl taking her baby home, which uplifted us.. 

We have a whole new appreciation for the tremendous prosperity and high quality of life we enjoy in the U.S. compared to what the Ugandans have. And we are inspired by their cheerfulness, friendly nature, resilience, and ability to put their faith in God and Jesus.

We are not sure about Internet service at the lodge while we're on the safari, but will post updates when and if we can.  So don't worry if you don't hear from us - we did not get eaten by wild animals!

Blessings,
The SS Naz Watoto team

Goodbye to the Crew, Hello to Baby Watoto

Today was an emotional day for us, bringing tears of joy and sadness. We started with a special dedication of the construction we did on the house. We sang, prayed and celebrated with the fabulous crew who worked alongside us to build a house for the manager of the Baby Watoto house. It feels like we've known these wonderful men for a long time, not for only 5 days.

It was very hard to say goodbye to the crew - a fun, dedicated and friendly bunch who were so patient with us when we didn't know what we were doing with bricks, mortar and trowels. Together we built the walls for the master bedroom, office and bathroom. The next crew will finish the second bedroom and living room/kitchen area.

Next was a highlight of our trip that we've been eagerly anticipating - a visit to Baby Watoto at the Suubi village. This is where infants and toddlers are raised in a beautiful, well-equipped facility until they are two years old and placed in a family home at the village.

 In this room there were 28 babies less than a year old. We got to play with them, hold them, feed them and simply adore them.

Garth Dettwyler, who is co-leading our team with his wife Jill, had his hands full - especially with the little boy in stripes who just wanted to be held and cuddle. He cried whenever Garth put him down.

Meanwhile, the toddlers enjoyed playing in the pools at Baby Watoto. A perfect place to be on such a warm day!

After finally managing to pull ourselves away from these precious children, we went downtown to the Watoto Central Church to drop off donations of sports equipment and outdoor playthings (jump ropes, frisbees, etc.) that our church is donating to the Watoto Villages. We also got to visit and go shopping at Living Hope, a ministry started by Marilyn Skinner (wife of Pastor Gary Skinner, who founded the Watoto Church and Watoto Childcare Ministries) that helps women in Uganda earn income by learning a craft skill such as sewing or making jewelry.

These women use old pedal-driven Singer sewing machines to create beautiful purses, bags, scarves, aprons and more.

We have so many wonderful photos, but with a slow Internet connection this is all we have time to share for tonight.

Meanwhile, within our team, we also had highs and lows today. Both Celeste and Kathy were not feeling well today and missed some of our activities, but seem to be on the mend and doing better now. On the positive side, we celebrated Dan Page's birthday tonight with a surprise birthday cake and a card from the group.  Dan will likely never forget spending a birthday in Uganda! We wish him all the best and are thankful to have him with us here!

Thanks Amelia, Jesslyn and Apryl for your comments to the last blog post. We loved hearing from you - and Dan appreciated the birthday wishes from his daughter and grandson.

Blessings,

The SS Nazarene Watoto Team



Candy for the Kids

Last night we were really tired so we skipped our blog posting and went to bed. It's now early Friday, and we wanted to at least share some photos before we head out at 7:00.

Yesterday we brought a bag of lollipops to give to the children we see on the road to Watoto who are living in a very poor area. As you can see, they were delighted to get the candy - and SO grateful.

As soon as they saw that the bus was stopping and we had something for them, they came running and seemed to come out of nowhere.

This little girl kept saying "Thank you Mzungu" (thank you white people")

This little one figured out immediately how to eat the lollipop, but another child put the lollipop in his mouth with the paper still on it. We kept trying to tell him to take off the wrapper, but we don't think he knew any English. He finally got it ...

Another sweet moment was when group of kids came running out and got their lollipops, but the littlest one - less than 2 yrs old - stood back near the house and was crying. Our host Paul said he was probably too scared to come up to the bus, but he was very sad that he wasn't gettting any candy. So we gave one to his brother and Paul told him to take it to his little brother. As soon as that lollipop was in his mouth, he instantly stopped crying. We all laughed and said it was a good reminder that kids have some things in common no matter where they're from.

We gave out the remaining candy on the way home, and when the lollipops ran out we gave away little bags of fruit snacks, and then tore open a bag of chocolates we had intended to give to someone else. The kids seemed to mulitply before our eyes, and we wished we had brought at least twice as much to give out. 

It was a special treat for all of us to be able to do something nice for these poor children who have so little.

Other updates:

Yesterday was our last day of building, and we made great progress - even though it was the hottest day we've had so far, and we were all dripping with sweat and feeling the effects of the sun by lunch time.

Now that the walls are getting higher, we had to use scaffolding to add the top layers. For several people. this represented a major victory over their fear of heights.

And here's the view at the end of the day! We're off now to go the site for a special dedication ceremony, and then to take a tour of the Watoto Village and Baby Watoto where they care for those younger than 2 years old.

Thanks Leanna and Ed for the comments - and "Irene" says hello back! Cindy Garrett (aka Cinderella) would like to hear from KISA ... so it you're reading this, please post a short comment to let her know.  We love getting comments, sort of like being away at camp and getting letters from home. :)

Blessings,

the SS Nazarene Watoto team

Our Best Day Yet

Today was a great day with many things to be thankful for:

1. Our 11th team member, Raelene, arrived safe and sound very early this morning - so our whole team is together now.
2. After a flurry of late-night phone calls and emails, our host Paul convinced the airline baggage office to release the 4 delayed bags, so they arrived at the Guest House with Raelene after all.
3. We continued to be blessed with good weather - meaning that it was relatively cool and foggy until later in the day, with no rain. The locals are wearing jackets and complaining it's cold, but to those of us from Salem it feels wonderful not having too much heat and humidity!
4. We made more progress on the house we're constructing and the walls are climbing higher.

We're all happy to have Raelene here with us, and the Dettwylers, Cindy and Dan are all very grateful to have their luggage again!

It's hard to believe that we have only one more day of working at the site. We've grown very fond of the work crew and already are anticipating that we'll be sad to say good-bye. We have gotten to know their names and created a nickname of "The Big Boss Man" for the older, heavy-set man who is there to monitor our progress, materials usage, hours worked, etc. They also have developed some nicknames for us. Cindy has been Cinderella since the first day, and it turns out that there's a popular local song about a girl named Cinderella - so that's why the workers had heard the name, but had never heard the story until Jill D. told it to them. They've played the song for us multiple times now, so at least the chorus sounds familiar now.  They also decided that "Heather" was too hard to say, so they were going to call her by her middle name - Ilene. Except that was too difficult to pronounce also, so she is now "Irene".

The men seem to be genuinely interested in getting to know us and hear about our families, work and lives in America. They also enjoy joking around with us and laughing at our antics - whether it is trying unsuccessfully to flick the mortar onto the wall and make it stick, or singing Disney songs to keep ourselves motivated when we are getting tired of stacking bricks.  Yesterday morning we did the "Hokey Pokey" for them, which they loved - so we did a reprise at the end of the day, and the foreman Moses even joined us! Our goal for tomorrow is to get even more of the crew to "shake it all about" with us.

Some of our favorite moments of the day, though, are when we see little children as we're driving to and from Watoto. We turn heads wherever we go, since many of the Ugandans have never seen Caucasians - let alone a bus full of them. Some stop in their tracks and stare, others point and call out "mzungu" which is the Lugandan name for white people. One guy went by us and yelled out, "Hey! Hey! I love you!"  Most everyone will smile and wave to us, but the very best reactions we get are from the adorable little children. Today there was a group of schoolchildren in a yard who squealed and raced over to the bus, waving and cheering to us as we drove by. And on the narrow dirt road that the Watoto Village is on, we always see at least a handful of children along the way who seem delighted when we pass by.  Today we got the feeling they were anticipating our arrival and waiting to greet us. We've decided that tomorrow we'll take one of the bags of candy we brought from home and pass some out to the children we see.

Here are just a couple of the many, many photos we've taken of Ugandan children. (Celeste already has taken almost 2,000 photos, but for now we are just pulling some from Heather's camera since it's a faster process.)

All of the schoolchildren here wear uniforms.

We continue to feel blessed to be here and are so enriched by the people we meet. We really appreciate the comments our family and friends have written on the blog and hope that all of you are enjoying our updates.

Blessings to all of you,

The SS Nazarene Watoto team

Bricks, bricks and more bricks!

Good news - we figured out how to get photos posted! As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so hopefully this will help you envision what we're experiencing better than our descriptions.


A typical view of the storefronts that line the streets in Kampala.

Today was our second work day, and the house is already starting to take shape with some of the windows and doors now installed. We started the day laying some bricks to build up the interior walls, then added more bricks once the doors and windows were installed (by the professional crew of course, not by our amateur team :). Then just when we thought we were done for the day, the foreman Moses said we could help out by moving another big pile of bricks into 3 stacks. We managed to get the job done fairly quickly, but we could feel our arm and back muscles getting more sore by the minute.

Here's a view of the house in progress, and one of the many stacks of bricks we created. I don't think any of us will ever look at a stack of bricks the same way again  :)  On the far right in this photo is another big pile of smaller bricks, but we've been secretly hoping that those are earmarked for the next team to do the stacking!

We took this photo while the crew was installing the doors and windows, and the man in black (borrowing Celeste's camera) is our host, Paul. He's a gregarious, outgoing person who loves to share stories with us, and he's been teaching us a few words of Luganda, the most common local tribal language. The official language of Uganda is English, but among themselves the people at Watoto mostly speak Luganda.

The Suubi village is located in the hills, and the house we're building is at the top of a big hill with a beautiful view of the surrounding lush, green hillsides. Unlike the city of Kampala, the setting is very serene and picturesque. We hear lots of birds singing among the trees, and we've seen lots of geckos and a few frogs among the bricks. Today when we left to come home, we spotted a family of monkeys along the side of the road, including a baby monkey. So cute!

Here's a photo of the wonderful Watoto Guest House where we're staying along with several Watoto staff members who have been visiting and, as of last night, another team from England that will be completing the house we've started.



Those who have been on other mission trips to Bulgaria and White Clay said this is a huge step up from the usual Work & Witness accommodations. The food has been delicious, especially the fresh fruit served every day. The climate here is very similar to Hawaii, with the same types of tropical fruits growing abundantly - pineapples, mango, papaya, passion fruit, sugar cane - plus the most prolific crop, bananas. We see fields of banana trees everywhere, huge truckloads being transported on the streets, and large bunches of green bananas for sale along the streets. They vary in size and are so flavorful compared to those we eat in the U.S.  (but that's where the similarity with Hawaii ends).

Today did include some very sad news that one of the Mamas (house mothers) died last night when lightning from the big storm hit her house. The family was having tea, and one of the kids had just relinquished her chair to the mother when the lightning hit the house, knocked two holes in it, and struck the 35-year-old Mama. Watoto has never had a lightning accident like this before, so the adminstrators have decided to install lightning conductors to prevent it from happening again. As we were working, teachers and the other Mamas came walking by on their way to the funeral service. Many were dressed in traditional African dresses, the first we've really seen women wearing them. Needless to say, it was a tragedy for the children from that home, who have already been placed with other mothers.

On a happier note, Raelene is scheduled to arrive in Uganda tonight to join the group, and the 4 pieces of luggage that didn't arrive with us on Saturday night should be coming on the same flight  and delivered tomorrow. It's not clear to us why we can't pick up the bags when picking up Raelene, but those who have been getting by without their bags are VERY glad that they will have them soon.

Thanks for the comments, prayers and encouragement we've received. As a closing photo, here we are on Sunday before church, getting ready to board the bus that transports us everywhere we go.

God bless you,

the SS Nazarene Watoto team



An Amazing Experience

We have had an amazing first two days in Uganda! It's been a bit overwhelming to soak in all the different sights and culture, but also exhilarating and hugely gratifying. We love the people here. They are so friendly, hospitable and truly grateful to have us visiting. One of the common phrases we hear from those we meet is "You are most welcome" - meaning they are so pleased to welcome us to their country, not as we would  say "You're welcome" as a response to "Thank you".

Our first day we got started early at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast, then went to the 9 a.m. service at Watoto Central church in the city center. What an experience! What impressed us immediately was the huge line of people waiting to get in when the 7:30 a.m. service ended. The church has a service on Saturday night and 5 more on Sunday - and all of them are full to capacity with more than 700 people! The service itself was like nothing we've seen before. At the front was a stage with an energetic band (drummer, electric guitars, etc), a choir of about 70 people, and a huge screen with a live video feed of the praise band and pastor. We loved the exuberant music worship and enjoyed clapping, singing and dancing along with the crowd. As one of us said, it was truly a celebration.
The church was in fact celebrating a huge achievement of raising $1 million U.S. in only 10 weeks, as part of what they called the "Miracle Mission Offering" to support churches in Jerusalem, a church in Burundi, and to help start a new Watoto church in South Sudan - the first outside of Uganda. The pastor seemed bursting with pride that they not only had raised so much money in a short period, but also that they will be giving the money away to others - as a contrast to Uganda always being on the receiving end of aid from other countries.
We also were blown away when it came time for the offering. After settting up big African baskets at the front of the sanctuary, church members came up front in a procession to put in their money. It seemed to us like such joyful giving. We also noted that everyone seems so clean and well-dressed, with most people wearing the same type of clothes as Americans do. You would never guess that we were in the midst of immense poverty by looking at those in the service. But our host Paul told us later to keep in mind that there are many unemployed people, and even those who do have jobs often make only $1 a day or even a week. It's amazing though that the people seem so postive and hopeful, and very earnest about wanting to create a better future for themselves and the generations to follow.
After church, we got our money exchanged to Uganda shillings. (Our host got a huge kick out of Jill P. getting money from the ATM at the airport, not knowing what the exhange rate was. She got 5,000 shillings, thinking it was a lot - and it turns out that it was only $2.00, at 2500 shillings a dollar!)

Then onto a wonderful treat - going to one of the 3 Watoto villages called Bbira, where we had lunch with one of the families and got to meet some of the kids. Each family consists of a house mother and 8 kids, and 9 houses are situated together in a circle to create a neighborhood-type grouping. We divided into three groups and each went to a house for a traditional African lunch that included purple yams, some purple-colored sauce to go over it (we don't know what it was made of :), a mashed banana dish that we can't remember the name of, rice, a flat bread that looks sort of like a tortilla, and beef in a thin gravy like sauce - plus a few more dishes in a couple houses. We also had delicious pineapple for dessert. Our host boasted that Uganda has the best pineapple in the world - even better than Hawaii - and we tended to agree!

The highlight was interacting with the children. They seemed delighted to have us there and gave us many hugs. Most seemed very outgoing and friendly, wanting their pictures taken and eagerly telling us about their interests, showing us their village, etc.  The village has a primary school for younger children and a secondary school (like high school), plus vocational schools to teach practical trades to those who prefer that to attending college. There are special buildings for art, tailoring, a science lab, a library and computer lab, and also a fabrication where they make all the furniture, desks, window frames, etc. that they use in the buildings there.

Despite the personal tragedy these orphans have experienced, nearly all seem genuinely happy and well-adjusted. They definitely touched our hearts and made the long journey here seem worth every hour.

By the end of the day, we were exhausted and ready to collapse - which we did right after dinner at the Guest House. Then today the real work began, as we started building the house for a staff member who is in charge of the "baby house" where infants stay until they are two years old and move to a family home. We're working at another of the Watoto villages, called Suubi, which is the largest and first established here.

Our first task was moving big piles of heavy bricks into stacks for construction, which we did by setting up an assembly line-type chain and rotating frequently as those of us who are not so young needed to give our backs a break. Meanwhile, the "professional" crew of Uganda workers mixed the cement. Then after a quick lesson in brick laying, we starting building the brick walls for 3 rooms of the house (another team that comes next week will do the rest of the house).  Most of us felt completely incompetent to start, as we either laid the cement mortar too thick or too thin, but the Uganda crew was very patient with us and we eventually got the hang of it. They also seemed to find our incompetence somewhat amusing, and they enjoyed chatting and joking with us. Dennis was one of the most engaging. When he asked Cindy Garrett her name, he repeated, "Cinderella?" Turns out he didn't know the story of Cinderella but had just heard the name - so Jill D. graciously told the story and gathered a crowd. After their boss called them away to do something, they came back immediately and asked Jill to finish the story. The rest of the day, Cindy was "Cinderella". Dennis also took a special liking to Heather and kept asking her questions and teasing her. He also told us he plans to come to America and was clearly hoping for an invitation from one of us to come visit.

We wrapped up about 3 p.m. but stayed to chat for a while. Then on the way home, the skies turned very dark and we suddenly had a big thunder and lightning storm with a torrential downpour. We are supposedly in the "dry season" of this tropical climate, so such a heavy rain was unusual. We also lost  electricity, which we hear is a common occurence. All's well now, the rain has stopped, and we obviously are able to use the Guest House computer and Internet again.

Yesterday we couldn't send an update because the Guest House "ran out of Internet", which we found both funny and frustrating for those who wanted to send emails to loved ones back home.

It's hard to describe what the general area here is like. Words that we'd use would be "chaotic", "lots of dirt", and "overwhelming". The streets are lined on both sides with ramshackle little stores - sort of like a flea market and farmer's market combined, with everything imaginable for sale, from bushels of bananas and crates of chickens to clothing and overstuffed chairs. The roads are narrow, crowded, very bumpy, and an accident waiting to happen. In fact, we saw two accidents today en route to Suubi. The bus we're in seems to come so close the pedestrians and bicycles along the side of the road, we keep thinking we will run one over (at least we were not involved in either of the accidents!). The roads are clogged with shared taxis, which are vans typically filled with 12 or more people, and motorcycle taxis called boda bodas.

There are a few paved roads, but all the side streets and many of the other streets are dirt, as are driveways and the areas in front of the stores. It was funny to see people out in front of their shops sweeping dirt off of the dirt.

Every now and then we see a luxurious building or expensive-looking home, which are easy to spot by the gates in front and barbed wire fences - or if it's an official building such as an embassy or government office, there are armed guards out front.

We have tons of photos but haven't figured out yet how to upload them to the blog - and we are rapidly losing steam at the end of a long day. We'll work on it tomorrow when we are fresh.

If you have read through this long blog post, THANK YOU! We appreciate your interest in our trip, and we'd love to hear any comments you have, or just words of encouragement. 

Blessings,
The SS Nazarene Watoto team

We have arrived!

We are here in Kampala at a beautiful guest house - much nicer accommodations than any of us expected! Our travel was fine with a few hiccups. We got started a little late because Raelene didn't make it to our departure rendezvous at 4:30 a.m. Turns out she had the wrong date in mind, but will join us here in a couple of days.  Then at the airport, our tickets were messed up in the system, so one of the managers at United had to manually overwrite everything to get our boarding passes printed. It took an hour to get through the check-in process, interrupted at one point by a very belligerent French woman who was yelling at the United staff, - I missed my plane and NO ONE CARES!.

There also was a long line at security, and the officious woman at the Express line had no compassion for our plight. Jill flashed her expired United Premier Exec card and jumped into the Express line with Heather = then rushed to tell the gate agent that our group is coming. Jill D. had forgotten she had a big container of sanitizer and two dinner knives in her bag that at the last minute became a carry-on, so she was held up further. We finally had the last of us board at 7:40 for a 7:42 a.m. departure = WHEW! Definitely the latest I've ever boarded a plane.

the rest of the trip was thankfully smooth and without incident, except for discovering at the Entebbe airport in Uganda that 4 of our bags had not arrived. Turns out that the Brussels Airport baggage tracking system crashed and a whole cart of bags never made it on the flight. Fortunately we're well prepared with necessities in our carry-on luggage and enough things like bug repellent to share, so we're fine.

We finally got to our guest house about midnight, and were delighted at the relatively deluxe rooms. We are 2 or 3 to a room, with comfy beds of our own draped in mosquito nets. The showers felt great after our long journey, especially since most of us did not get much sleep on the flight - too excited to be en route to Africa to fall asleep.

The people we've met so far are all so gracious, hospitable and friendly. Our driver Moses and host Paul have big warm smiles and hearty laughs. We know we'll have a great time with them this week.

Our red shirts have accomplished their intended purpose of making it easy to stay together - and draw notice to ourselves as a group. We met several delightful people en route who are also here on mission trips - one group of about 30 from San Diego is here to build a playground for one of the orphanages, and one young woman in a wheelchair is coming here to teach at a school. Many people said they'd be praying for us and were so encouraging. God seems to keep blessing us every step of the way. And Pastor Chris' advice to be flexible and trust God has already proved to be very wise guidance!

We had a wonderful breakfast of French toast and the cutest, best tasting little bananas we've every had. Now we are gathering to leave for church - something all of us have been eagerly anticipating. Then we'll have lunch in one of the villages, get our money exchanged, have an orientation, and get to know a little bit more about our plans for the week.

thanks to all of you who are following us and praying for us! We all feel so blessed to be here!

In Christ,
the SS Nazarene Watoto Team

Ready to Go

We finally got the whole group together for a picture - now including Raelene! (front row, second from right)

Our flight leaves at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow (Fri., July 20) from Portland to Washington, DC., laying over there for about 2 hours before flying on to Brussels. After a 3-hour layover we continue to Entebbe, Uganda - with a short stop in Rwanda to drop off and pick up some passengers. At least we'll get time to stretch our legs in between the 5-hour, 7-hour and 10-hour flights!

We land in Uganda at 9:50 p.m. Saturday - which is 11:50 a.m. Saturday Pacific Time (i.e. a 10-hour time difference). By the time we drive to our guest house near the capital city of Kampala, we'll probably be tired from the 28+ hours of travel and thankful to be at our destination.

Fortunately Sunday will be an easy day, although our hosts have forewarned us they will keep us awake so we can get to sleep that evening. Then Monday we get to work!

Hopefully the next post will be from Uganda, reporting on how smooth our travel was and what a wonderful adventure we're having!

Counting Down the Days!

Only 3 more days and we will be on a plane for the long trip to Uganda! After months of planning,  we will leave on July 20 to work with the Watoto Childcare Ministries (www.watoto.com) to help build villages for children who have been orphaned due to AIDS or war.

Our team includes two married couples, a mother-daughter duo, another teen, and other adults from South Salem Nazarene church who answered God's call to join this Work & Witness trip.  Our travel experience ranges from never having flown on a plane, to having visited more than a dozen countries. None of us has been to Uganda, but we are universally excited and nervous to be venturing so far from home to serve in God's name.

Here's the team photo we took in our custom Watoto t-shirts. We should be able to easily find each other in a crowded airport with these on - and make it fairly obvious we are traveling as a team!

L to R, top: Dan Page, Garth Dettwyler, Renee Burchett, Kathy Page, Heather Kramer, Barb Stoner

bottom: Celeste Barber, Jill Dettwyler, Cindy Garrett, Jill Peters (& Raelene Cabrera, not shown)

We had our last prep/planning meeting Sunday to go over final details, divide the supplies and food we need to take, and decide what time to arrive at church Friday for a 4:30 a.m. departure from Salem to the Portland airport. Our Typhoid, Yellow Fever and various other immunizations are complete, we have our malaria pills and industrial-strengh mosquito repellent on hand, are bags are packed with rolls of toilet paper and bags of American snack food to provide some comforts of home. We are ready to go!

We hope to get Internet access at times from Kampala (the nearest city to the Watoto village) or possibly even the guest house where we will be staying. So please subscribe to this blog if you'd like to get updates on our trip.

We'd greatly appreciate your prayers for our team's safety, health and spirit of unity; for opportunities to share God's love throughout the trip and to support/encourage the people we meet in Uganda; and for all of our words and actions to glorify the Lord.

God Bless,
The South Salem Nazarene Watoto Work & Witness team