african adventures!

I'm sad that I can't get pictures to upload...we have a million (for those who know me, that is no surprise :). So you'll just have to stay tuned...hoping to get some pictures up ASAP.

November 3 – Today we piled in the truck and headed to a town called Kigade. The drive was roughhhh but beautiful. We visited another vocational school there called URDT (Ugandan Rural Development Training). It is basically the kind of school that James and Bob dream of having, so they wanted us to visit so that we could better understand his vision. The school was incredible. We got to meet with one of the directors for a while and learned all about their history and their programs. They offer so much! Not only do they have vocational skill classes, but they also have classes on entrepreneurship and business management. They really equip these students for their future. It was great to literally “see” the vision that James has had for Kibbuse all along.

We got a tour of the campus and had lunch together. While we were at the school, Bob and David were with Bobby at another location, where he spoke to a group of people about discipleship. Apparently there is a cult that was started by a man in this area that many people were part of. The man claimed to be one of the “Spirits of God”, completely denies the existence of Jesus, and says the Bible was full of myths and fables. Recently there was a revival where a large number of people left the cult. Now there is a group of people trying to reach out and follow up with those who left the cult. ..these were the people to whom Bobby was speaking. An awesome opportunity for him!

James had to leave our group because his wife, Ida, has gotten sick. They hope it is just malaria but she went to the doctor to have blood work done to be sure. We still haven’t heard from them on the results.

We headed to the men’s hotel for dinner and just to relax for a bit then Bob, Matt, Amy, and I headed back to Niyamarwa. Our days have been full…we are TIRED

November 4 – I woke up this morning to some bad news. First of all, it has been confirmed that Ida has milaria. And Matt and Amy had been up all night because Matt got really sick. When we called the men (who were coming this way) to let them know, we found out that Bobby had gotten sick and wasn’t coming and David wasn’t feeling really well either. We have been racking our brains all day trying to figure out what it was that made everyone sick…we still aren’t sure.

Elias drove Lonnie, David, Amy, and me out to see the Kibbuse Foundation Good Samaritan clinic. It is the only clinic in that specific area and was only built about 4 years ago. The closest one to it is a good half hour drive away, which means that before it was built, people were having to walk all of that distance when they got sick. And sometimes they arrive at the clinic only to find out that the clinic doesn’t have the medicine they need and then they have to walk to the next one! We talked to the nurse who works at the clinic (which is basically just a one-room building and the nurse’s family lives on the other half) and heard from her about how the clinic operates. We also heard some stories about the corruption in the healthcare world here…it really is amazing how much we take for granted.

On the way back to Kibbuse, Amy started getting sick and she’s been down for the rest of the day. We got back, had a light lunch, and then just hung around the school for the rest of the day. I sat with some of the girls and watched them weave and sew, they taught me how to drum, David spoke to the students about flying airplanes (they were so enthralled…many of them have never even seen one), and we just got to work around the school and relax a little. We have a long day planned for tomorrow.

Our sicklies are still sick…please be praying for a QUICK and full recovery!