For the final time this trip, we divided our group into 2 parts – 8 and 7. The eight women went to Namagoga for the Dorcas ministry and for home visits. The remaining seven went to the KCC school to visit with the children there.
We waited for Jared (the driver we had here last time I was in Uganda), but he did not arrive by 9:30, so Dickson (AMG National worker) hailed us a taxi and we all rode to KCC. When we arrived we could not get to the school, so we had to get out of the van early and walk, jump over a ditch dug in the road for plumbing, and then walk further to reach the school. Finally we arrived and the students were glad to see us.
Over 1200 students grades Primary 1 – Primary 7 were there to greet us. The Headmistress also greeted us – she reminded us that we had missed them on Tuesday, but they were glad we could make it there today. We were ushered into a room where many of the children had already begun gathering. As they were waiting for the remaining group to arrive, Dean got up on stage and as the kids began to clap, he began to sway and act silly. The kids thought it was hilarious. I was working my way through the crowd of children wishing them a good morning. I had made my way all the way to the back – surrounded by Ugandan children just excited to see this Mzungu shake their hand, hug them, talk with them… It is humbling, but also it is an excellent opportunity to tell them that Jesus loves them, and that we are here to show them that He does.
The program started. I made my way back to the front, and the kids began singing welcome songs and doing traditional African style dancing. Each class had a group of kids who presented for us. It was a lot of fun to watch. One of the songs the whole group cheered at when it was finished told a story about a guy trying to get a girl to “date” him, and she kept telling he was crazy. As the song drew close to the end and the dancers were leaving the stage, the crowd erupted in laughs and cheers. Obviously the message was received.
Another dance/song ended with the headmistress jumping into the end of the line of 3 dancers and again the children erupted in laughs and cheers. I looked at Dean, and together we jumped up on stage and “danced” (and I do use that term very lightly) with the children. The kids loved it – they were laughing and clapping – definitely not because of the quality of my dancing.
After the program, the headmistress insisted we stay for a bite to eat. They gave us rice, chicken, fruit, etc. the staple foods of Uganda. We ate a little but had to leave to meet the rest of the crew. It was sad parting, but it was a wonderful time.
When we all arrived back at the hotel, we prepared for our trip to Igamba. We finished our packing and headed off. By 5:30 we had arrived in Igamba. We played with the children, had a singing and welcome time with the workers, got settled into our hotel, and then had dinner. Dinner was spaghetti noodles with meat sauce, rice, fruit, greens, and a variety of other items. It was good.
I encouraged the team to take an early evening tonight – we have a long day tomorrow. We will be putting on the presentation for the children, and we will be doing a lot of playing. We have home visits as well, so it will be a long and emotionally draining day. Not to mention it has been a long week and the team is tired. Along with that, we are out of contact with home, and this weighs on the team as well.
Enough for now – tomorrow is going to be a great day!
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