Friday, July 13, 2018

Uganda Team 25 - Day 11 & 12

You might have noticed that we didn’t share a blog yesterday… this was because the group split into two – half of us going white water rafting on the Nile.  We were waiting out the front to be picked up by the driver – and two drivers from two different companies turned up.  Andrew had to make a quick phone call to check which driver we were meant to be going with, and it turned out that a new start-up company was poaching clients from the company that Hopebuilders have been using for years!  Only in Uganda!

It was a super fun day – Josh went on a boat that tackled the most difficult part of the rapids, while Leonie, Monique, Liesje and Philippa went on a medium difficulty boat.  Phil was the only one who ended up in the water, and it wasn’t too traumatic.  We loved seeing this stunning country from the water- it is so lush!  We ate out lunch with all the boats tied together and jumped in the water and let the current take us down the river.  It was just cool being on the Nile River!

The others spent their day sleeping, shopping, eating out for lunch sleeping again, and generally relaxing, which I think was much needed.  The power was out for most of the day, which meant that no one was able to use the internet, and Elisha actually started to read a book!

Today we had a late start – Juliet excelled herself again with delicious half cakes for breakfast – we found some cinnamon and they were so good with butter and cinnamon sugar.  Bananas and peanut butter is a bit of a hit too!  Josh led us in devotions – reminding us that we each have an ‘account’ with 8 400 seconds in it each day and that we are accountable for how we spend each of them, but also that there is time for each different activity under the sun.

YSU was our first stop this morning – a few of us had clothes made by the girls there, so we had a fitting and hung out there for a while, finding out more about the program ‘Wise Choices for Life’ and chatting with the people there.  Luke took us for a walk around the fishing village by the side of Lake Victoria which is right near his house.  Next, we went to Jinja Christian school to join the kids in their chapel time, once again enjoying the amazing voices of the kids, who led us in worship.  Far out, they can sing!  A few kids shared testimonies, we all introduced ourselves (again!) and Andrew shared a brief message.  Once chapel was over we came back to Suubi for lunch and an hour rest before going back to Jinja Christian School to join in sport with the kids.  First, we spent time with the P1 – P3 kids.  Liesje and Hillie entertained them with some singing – ‘I Love to Play the Old Banjo’ and ‘Rejoice in the Lord’.  The kids sang the Ugandan anthem and their school song to us.  We tried to play ‘Octopus’ with them but it was general mayhem trying to get them to understand the rules, so we played ‘Duck Duck Goose’ instead, which generated a few laughs, especially when Josh tapped a whole heap of heads in a row with ‘goose’ and had a flock of kids chasing him across the oval. Once the little kids left, we played soccer and netball with the older boys and girls (with the only two balls in the whole school!) until the end of the school day (4.30pm here).

Suubi is such a great place to ‘retreat’ to… it’s so comfortable, we can all fit around the big dining table and eat together, the doors open wide at the front to let a refreshing breeze through and at the moment we’re enjoying watching one of the dvd’s that Andrew purchased in town yesterday.    We are so blessed!  I can’t believe that another day has slipped by, and there are only three days left!

Check out the pics below.....









 







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