The drive to the village of Ssembabule was uneventful, except for Tim telling us it would be one hour to Masaka and it was more like 3-4 hours. Typical African time. We arrived at our lodging, The Rainbow Motel. We basically took up the entire hotel. Each room contained one or two beds and a little bedside table. Some got a roll of toilet paper, some got soap, some got mosquito netting...others did not. We did not find the sink until it was time to leave, so that wasn't very helpful. Sue and Michaela must have had the honeymoon suite, with had a "bathroom" in their room, so they got lots of visits from the rest of the group. After a brief rest at the hotel, we left for the opening of the Peace House for Jja Jja Brenda. The drive from the hotel to the village wasn't too long, but the road from the main part of the village became very narrow and bumpy. The Children of the Corn was referenced, not because it was a particularly creepy drive, but because there were literally a hundred children running through the corn alongside of the van, shouting and waving at the Muzungus. The celebration took place by light of the moon and headlights. No one got her exact age, but she had never slept in a bed her whole life, until last night. We're guessing she is around 70ish. For the last three years, her mud house has been collapsing, so she had to live with a neighbor.
God moves in ways we don't even know. We were originally supposed to open the Jja Jja house on Sunday morning, but we ended up doing it on Saturday night in order to get back to Kampala on time Sunday evening. Because of this switch, we were able to see the Jja Jja after she had spent her first night in her new home. Often we get to see the previous house, but we were not able to this time because it had been washed away. As she was going through the bag of gifts and the cross to hang in her home, she was overcome with gratitude. All of the Jja Jjas have such joy and love for us. This was a moving experience for all of us, but for Sue even more so. Sue and the Jja Jja seemed to have a special connection. :)
Another brief but powerful testament to the power of God's love comes from the Jja Jja dedication ceremony. (As Kelsey sits here typing, tears are already welling up in her eyes.) The surrounding area of dirt around the house was very thick, watery mud. Since it was so dark outside, it was difficult to see and avoid the mud. Kelsey stepped down from the porch avoiding the mud, but right behind her Greg stepped down directly into the mud and it splashed and covered her feet and legs. As she stood there uncertain of what to do next, a Ugandan gentleman saw what had happened and immediately, got down to his knees and began scrubbing her feet with his handkerchief. She tried to get him to stand up and not to worry about, but he was relentless. She stood there in complete awe of the love and service of this man to a woman who was a complete stranger. In that moment, she stood there with tears steaming down her face feeling completely humbled and loved as a Child of God. As the gentleman rose to his feet, she had no words. All she had was a grateful embrace, hoping to express to the man that he was the hands of Jesus.
In the morning, we went back to the village for church. Park Place congregation should be prepared for our return because Pastor Dave has mastered the art of a 12 minute service. At least that is how much time passed on the clock that was hanging in the sanctuary. He is quite the spiritual superhero as he was able to complete all of the following within that 12 minutes: a sermon, baby/child dedication of 14, 3 weddings, and communion. You may be wondering about the discotec referenced in the title. Any who are tempted to complain about the drums and guitar at our church, may want to reconsider. It could be replaced with a squealing sound system and synthesizer. We joke, but we also understand that this congregation was providing the best they had available to worship God and welcome us. We were very honored to share in worship with them this morning. After the service, we gifted 8 goats and 1 pig that is prego with piglets. The experience was referenced as being a peaceful chaos. And in all actuality, the service was more like 2 and half to 3 hours long. The Director's Liaison, Logan, informed us that we were part of Uganda's history, participating in the shortest church service to ever happen. We at a quick lunch at the Rainbow Hotel and rushed home to see Tim off. Sande and Moses required Logan to drive between their two cars, creating a Logan sandwich anytime we drove anywhere. It turned out to be a good thing since he was having car trouble on the way back.
It may have already been mentioned, but we really can't say enough how fortunate we are to have Moses and Sande with us all the time. The road rules here are merely suggestions and travel with anyone else behind the wheel would be terrifying. Our team never has to worry about anything. Whatever need comes up: if we need to use the bathroom, know what someone is saying, know where to go or what to do in any situation, or if we ever feel threatened - often we don't even need to ask because they have already taken care of us. For example, today in church, the speaker was BLARING towards us, so Sande got up and turned the speaker around to face the opposite direction. Today at lunch, food was being prepared rather slowly at the hotel so Moses took charge in the kitchen, prepping and delivering our food to us. So if anyone at home is worried about us, there is no need! We are in the best human hands possible!
We look forward to a relaxing evening together.
P.S. Sandra arrived safely 5 days ago and we put her to work immediately.
--Laura and Kelsey
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