Thursday, October 23, 2008

Ever Wonder What that REALLY meant?

Hi there. We are in Kampala, Uganda. It is not nearly so hot or muggy here as Ghana (35). It was rainy and cool today (around 23)

We flew from Ghana to Dubai (8 hours overnight), 3 hrs on the ground. Then, 3 hours to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to drop some folks off. Then finally about 2.5 hours to Kampala. Needless to say, we were tired. When we finally got to bed in Uganda, we had been up nearly 24 hours. We went to bed around 8 and needed an alarm to wake us at 6:30! I haven't slept that long in years. Pastor Scott has an update on the day here. It went really well!

On a side note, while out in this village today, we were joking to each other about now we know why Jesus had Mark 16 in the Bible.(regarding ingesting deadly poison and it not hurting you). We had boiled and mashed bananas, ground nut (peanut) soup, corn boiled and mashed into a paste, rice, a 'stew', and some sweet potatoes. Nothing was bad, but when eating in the village, you are always a bit more concerned. People eat with their hands and get their food from a common dish with their hands. We were blessed to use forks and get our food first. You might wonder why I mention this? While, I read in a newspaper in Ghana that over 90% of people don't wash their hands with soap after using the washrooms. And, not to be too graphic, the outhouse didn't have any TP...I'll let you guess the rest. I'm a bit of a germaphobe at times...Ok, lots of the time! Needless to say, I was really blessing my food and praying Mark 16 over my life. :-)

The food was actually good. We are very thankful! It reminded me of when I tell my kids, "If you want to travel, you have to be willing to eat things that are set before you." Well, girls, dad got to experience that personally today. And, praise the Lord, I'm feeling great!!

It has been so great to see and hear testimonies from pastors that are encouraged and excited at what God is imparting to them through the ministry. They are going to go back to their churches and build these things into their churches. One of the highlights for me is that there have been many different denominations represented at the conferences. The churches of the community are coming and gathering together in worship and training. It is exciting to be part of equipping the church of the city!

Thank you all for praying for us and supporting us here and always. We really are blessed to be able to extend the reach of Northgate in this way. We could not do this without you holding us up! THANKS!!

2 comments:

kim said...

Be encouraged...think of how strong your antibodies are going to be by the time you get home! Hope you have a safe, excellent trip and we look forward to reading more updates.

Heather K said...

oh my...that's hmmm pretty gross...the lack of handwashing..and eating out of the pot.... :S at least they let you dig in first!! I think a trip to Africa would be a good weight loss program for me!! oh well...the people are so gracious and have no idea that we're so "fickle" about things like washing/eating etc..cultures are so different. glad to hear that things are going well. take care little brother!
:)