The Ignite Kaleide Event

At least once a quarter, Crosspointe cancels regular services and instead of coming to the church to be blessed, we go out and bless the community.   Since David-the-Artist-Pastor has been teaching the past several weeks on the life of John-the-Baptist being a light life that ignites others, Magical-David-and-Kylie came up with the idea to make this Kaleide event about blessing firefighters.

So this morning, we met at the parking lot of Killian Middle School and prayed together, then set out into the community with hams and steaming dishes in hand.

I love this concept of blessing.  In fact, I was trying to think of a different word to use in this post, and just couldn't find one.   So, blessing it is!  Anyway, it was really great to "bless" people with a meal who serve our community. And as it turned out, they blessed us by giving us a glimpse of a life we'd heard about, but never really get to see.

AWA

I've finally connected to the internet again to complete my last entry. I decided that waiting in line for five hours only to have to return the next day did not appeal to me. I asked our driver if there was another branch of the bank nearby. He agreed to take me there. The only challenge is that fees are scheduled to be paid at specific branches and the fee slips I had declared I should pay at the bank I had just left. I decided I could put on my best dumb Mezunga look and get away with paying them somewhere else - especially if I had waited for a long time on line. I stepped into the new branch of the bank to a line of 100 or so but instead of only one teller, there were 4! Awesome. A five hour wait at the last bank was reduced to just under two hours! Great deal to get 8 students paid.

We have a saying among our Uganda trip veterans - africa wins again - AWA for short. Today, AWA. As I've recounted in my earlier posts, our van has been pulled over several times during our stay. In the previous 8 years we have been coming, we've only been stopped 3 or 4 times. Something was definitely up. We began to query some other missionaries about whether they thought this was random or if something was amiss. Their immediate response was that it was school fee payment time for all Ugandans and so the policemen and policewomen are pulling over vans for what are normally inconsequential offenses in an attempt to procure bribes to help them pay fees. A typical policeman would earn approximately 100,000 Uganda Shillings per month (that is roughly equivalent to $48). Even an inexpensive school fee would be in the neighborhood of 29,000 USh plus lunch fees of 10,000 and an enrollment fee of 10,000 for each child. With average families having 4 or more kids, you can see why they would resort to these kinds of tactics.

We had such an attempt this morning. We left our compound and were immediately waived over by a team of three policewomen. One asked for Robert's driving permit while the others perused the van for other possible infractions. They once again suggested that our insurance was expired even though we had paid for a new sticker just two days earlier! Then they got on us for having shoes piled in the back seats for distribution up in the village. The three met together, spoke quietly in Lugandan and then informed us that they would need to impound the van because our driver could not produce the proper permits and we were illegally hauling freight in a passenger vehicle. The process would be that a ticket would be written and that Robert would have to go to a specific precinct to pay the fine. In the mean time, Jim and I would be impounded with the vehicle until he returned with proof of payment.

Then came the shakedown. If we would pay the 40,000 USh fine on the spot, she would let us proceed on our journey. Once Robert heard what they said, he launched into a tirade that we later learned was a threat to them about turning them in to their superiors. Suddenly they gave Robert his keys and told us to drive away. We decided then and there that Robert would need to straighten out the issue with his permit (something to do with applying for a new one after his other expired - a process that takes up to six weeks here) before we try and proceed any further in our program. It cost us half a day. Jim and I used the time to do some other paperwork before heading out to distribute shoes up north toward Gulu.

Banks, Banks and More Banks

We took a break from shoe distribution today in order for me to help the team make school fee payments. It sounds simple but Uganda makes it difficult. At the conclusion of each of the three terms of the school year, students are sent home with report cards from the semester just completed and fee slips for the semester that will begin 30 days later. During the holiday period, parents are expected to bring those fee payment slips along with the money to either the school bursar (most of the schools on the outskirts of Kampala and in the rural schools) or to a bank that has been set up with an account for fee collection. January also marks the beginning of a new school year in Uganda. That means that we have dozens and dozens of students moving from primary to secondary O levels, from secondary O levels to secondary A levels and from A level to University or technical schools. Approximately a third of our students have fee payments to be made at local banks.

Our morning began with a trip to Standard Charter bank where we remove the money from the Project account and then are assigned banks in downtown Kampala where we bring the fee slips for payment. I was assigned Centenary Bank, a popular local African bank run by the Catholic church. When I arrived at the bank, a new process had been put in place. A single line had been formed for a single teller to handle all fee payments. The problem was the line snaked back and forth through the bank a dozen times and had well over 300 people crammed together, each one in touch with the person in front of them and behind them (use your imagination). After I entered the line, a kind bank employee said she was sorry that I had to wait in line but that I may not be served today even after waiting all afternoon on line. They would close the bank on schedule at 4 and anyone still on line would have to return the next day. I will give you part two of the story when I can connect to the net again, hopefully later tonight.

On the Road to Jinga

Today we headed East to the city of Jinga. Jinga, a 70 km journey from Kampala, is one of my favorite destinations in all of Uganda. It is a beautiful city that is a popular tourist destination because it is the beginning point of the Nile River. From a very calm place at the foot of a mountain the Nile begins its life-giving flow northward to Egypt. The river is a major hydro-electric source for much of east Africa. It's awesome to watch the rafters negotiate the challenging class five rapids that are formed from the waters being released from the dam.

Our journey was almost over before we began. Within a km of our departure from the guest house, we were stopped by the local police who inspected our vehicle and then began to converse intensely with our driver. They soon moved around to the front passenger seat and began challenging me as to what we were doing and why we were in violation of the law. He said our violations were serious and that we would face fines, the impounding of our vehicle and even jail time if we failed to pay the fines. I thought for a moment that we were in real trouble. Fortunately, we have a team member who helps us often who has a high rank within the local police. Our quick-thinking driver Robert got him on the cell phone and had him speak with the officer. Apparently, we had been observed for several days along this stretch of road near our guest house as it is the way we depart and return each day. The local police officer saw the opportunity to get a Mazunga in a pickle and then ask for a bribe to let him off the hook. Robert saw through the charade and intently challenged the officer until he let us go. The rest of the ride up to Jinga was uneventful.

Our shoe distribution point in Jinga was St. Joseph's Primary School. SJPS is in an impoverished area 15 km north of Jinga. When the people of Uganda talk about poverty stricken areas, this area is at the top of the list. The Garretts sponsor a brother and sister in this area and we have a dozen or so other kids here as well. The headmaster of the school was so excited that we were to distribute 100 pairs of shoes in her school. We ended up with over 200 kids pushing in to get shoes!

Our distribution point was a small classroom made of rough clay bricks with a tin roof. The rafters were covered with hornets nests and we were keeping watchful eye on them as they flew around us. A bite from a swarm of African Black Hornets would ruin your day and send you to the local hospital. Somehow, the kids seem not to notice them or they are attracted to our shampoo or other hygiene products.

Although there were way more kids then we could possibly serve, the distribution for the most part was orderly. I have never seen kids so excited to get their school shoes. For many of these kids, this was there first pair of shoes ever. It's easy to spot the kids who don't own shoes by the splay of their toes and the relatively flat arches, not to mention the leathery texture! Many of these kids were in primary 5 and 6 and were in men's sizes 9, 10 and 11 in order to accomodate the width of their flat feet. The look of joy on their face as they try the shoes and find that they fit is amazing. Those who have had shoes in the past have generally never had anything but hand-me-downs. It's not unusual to see grown boys with kids shoes with the backs cut out and their heels on the ground!

Once again, I am proud to represent all of you. We are agents of restoration in an impoverished nation!

Paying Bank Fees

Jim had a down day today after our long journey to Kassanda. As many of you know, Jim has a neuro-muscular disease that is slowly incapacitating him. He's been a trouper so far but he needed some down time today. I took that opportunity to get a jump start on paying school fees. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a national holiday so all the banks will be closed.

Those of you who follow the Project know that our main focus as an organization is sponsorship of children to go to public/private school. We have just under 300 students in 86 schools in the areas around Kampala, Kassanga, Jinga and Mpigi. Just over a third of those students receives a bank slip form (in triplicate) to bring to the local bank for fee payment. We collect those bank slips and go to each bank to pay fees. The lines are long and you can only pay for two or three students each time you reach the teller. Once you pay those fees, you turn around and get back in line and do it again. I spent the better part of the afternoon yesterday in just one bank! For those students who do not receive a bank slip, we pay for them at their local school. That will be Jim's task for the next five weeks after I depart.

Today we head for Jinga to distribute another 100 pairs of shoes. I'm looking forward to it!

Kassanda

Today was perhaps the most difficult day I have spent in Uganda in the nearly nine years I have been traveling here. We traveled just over 100 km south and east to the town of Kassanda where Crosspointe has been helping the local EPC church complete a building on their land. I've been traveling to Kassanda since the very first year I came over here. I anticipated that it will be a long and tiring day based on my past experience but today was a bird of a different feather.

It began with having to travel entire 2 1/2 hour journey in a shirt and tie - something that I seldom do here in Uganda and almost never at home. It is the middle of the hot season here and the dust was incredible. On top of that, it is an election year here in Uganda and President Musevini is doing several major infrastructure projects to garner support in the upcoming election. One such infrastructure improvement is a massive widening and paving of the road to Kassanda. That meant all kinds of detours and of all things, speedbumps. That's right, speedbumps on one of the five major "interstates" in Uganda. The only way to describe the ride is to imagine traveling along a road in Dallas and having railroad crossings back to back to back for 40 miles! Throw in over 100 speedbumps and a trip that normally takes 2 1/2 hours took nearly 4 hours.

We traveled to Kassanda not only to distribute shoes but to be part of the dedication of the new church building made possible by the generosity of Crosspointe. I was an honored guest along with the town mayor and the local member of Parliament. The program began at 10 am and we did not depart for Kampala until 4:30 pm. We had more tradition African dances, praise and worship and yours truly delivering the dedication message. We then planted a tree together with the senior pastor and celebrated with a meal together. Rice, spaghetti, matoke, beef and greens were the luncheon items. We washed it down with tepid water and we were back for another message and speeches from the honored guests.

Distributing the shoes was an ordeal simply because of the masses of kids pushing in from all sides. It didn't matter what we did, we were surrounded by parents and kids grabbing at shoes and pleading that they receive a pair. We finally got things under control and began distributing shoes only to those without any shoes at all. It took only about and hour to distribute 100 pairs.
Once again, I was proud to represent the generous people of Crosspointe at Kassanda!

We piled 15 people and their gear into the van for the trip back to Uganda. Did I mention that the van holds 12? I had the pleasure of riding in the rumble seat in front of the tallest Ugandan man I know. His knees were on both sides of me like armrests for the 4 hour return ride! We arrived so late that we missed dinner at the guesthouse. Jim and I stopped by the local Italian market and got a wedge of aged Gouda and some crakers made in Oman and happily consummed them with an ice-cold Krest soda. It tasted delicious. Sometimes it's the little things that give us the greatest pleasure. Now for a good night's rest and back at it tomorrow!

Kiwatule, Kiwatule

We took delivery of the final 140 pairs of shoes this afternoon while we were at Kiwatule, EPC. Kiwatule is the church that was founded by Brainerd Presbyterian and through which much of the project has been run for the past eight years. Slowly but surely we are working to extricate ourselves from the church and become a stand along NGO in Uganda. Until then, we do much of our work from the church in Kiwatule.

Upon our arrival just after 9 am, we were treated to a two hour special program put together in our honor. Along with two messages from young preachers, we enjoyed an extended worship time (featuring songs from the latest album from Hillsong Church in Australia), two dramatic skits and a traditional African dance. Then it was time to get down to business - distributing nearly 200 pairs of shoes.

Last year the distributing at Kiwatule was a real challenge with children pushing up against the stage trying to grab shoes of any kind. This year we were much more organized and the children came up in groups of 4 or 5 after their names were called and we fitted them for shoes. It took over 3 hours for the first 150 pairs but it was orderly and we were grateful for that. We had reserved 50 pairs of shoes for local children who are not part of the project but had come by to see what was going on. For some of them it was the first pair of real shoes they've had and is a ticket to school this term. It was awesome!

Tomorrow will be another long day as we travel north to Kassanda to distribute shoes and for me to preach at the opening of the new church building. Crosspointe has been generous in providing the building materials necessary for the members of Kassanda to build part one of their facility located on the land purchased for them by another EPC church. It is a long, bumpy, dusty ride and we get to make the journey in shirts and ties!

Hurry Up, Then Wait

We've completed our third full day on the ground in Uganda and begun to experience the best and the worst of the local economy. First, we were able to get an awesome deal on the shoes for the kids. Then we had to wait for a full day for the order to be filled from the warehouse! Hurry up and get the money to pay for the shoes so they can pull the order from the shelves, then wait as one by one, box by box, they find and load the sizes we need. There is never any rush!

After waiting all of Thursday for the shoes, we were finally summoned to the factory on Friday morning early to pay the remainder of the money so they could load all the shoes up to be delivered. That took about three hours. Then the fun began. We off-loaded, sorted and stacked 680 pairs of shoes and began the process of dividing them into groups for the first four distribution sites. The joy of the day was getting to actually hand out the first pairs of shoes! To do that, we traveled about 40 minutes East of Kampala to a town call Gayaza to meet Patrick,the headmaster of a primary school in this very poor community. He and three other partners founded this primary school as a for profit business. Part of their charter is to allow 40 children to attend for free. Our task was to provide these and other needy kids with shoes and socks so they can attend when the semester begins next week. For many of these kids it was there first pair of shoes! It was easy to see when we began attempting to fit shoes to their feet. Since they were not used to shoes, there feet were often very wide and needed to be fairly crammed into shoes. We were assured that the shoes will soften and eventually mold to their feet.

It was a joy to represent my church family in distributing these shoes to families who absolutely need them! Today we head off the Kiwatule to distribute close to 400 shoes. Pray for our stamina and strength for the day!

Shoes, Shoes and More Shoes

I arrived in Entebbe late Tuesday (1/19) and was greeting by our Ugandan team members. It was great to be reunited in this beautiful country. I was struck again by how dark the night is here, even as you enter the capital. As we maneuvered through the pothole strewn streets toward the capital city of Kampala, I was gripped by a sense of the need all around me. I am so proud to represent Crosspointe in this missional partnership with the Uganda Children's Project.

My main task for my first full day in Uganda was to meet with the production and sales manager at Bata, the local shoe manufacturer. Bata shoes are consider among the best in Africa and they have a division that specializes in shoes for students. They also are the most costly which is why we have not partnered with them in the past. We met a gentleman by the name of John who took us on a tour of the Bata facilities and shared the company's vision for helping the less fortunate among them. When we told him what we have been doing with the Uganda Christmas Shoe Project, he was immediately interested in partnering with us. In order to do that, he reduced his shoe prices by over 50%! We are so excited to be able to offer these high-quality shoes to these kids! We purchased 820 pairs of shoes and socks to distribute in the next week.
Later today we will take delivery of 600 pairs and begin the process of counting, lacing and dividing by sizes. I'll try and keep you up to date as we move forward!