Day Two in Namyoya

So we’re on our third day in Uganda and I thought I would start out with some random observations:

Whenever we enter Kampala, there is a huge police and military presence. They all hold AK-47’s. I can’t send any photos since you do not photograph any police or military personnel or any embassy or official building (I think I will go ahead and follow this rule).

The people of Uganda call us Mzungu (it means white). It is not derogatory. They tend to have a very positive impression of Mzungu. We hear “Mzungu” shouted everywhere we go.

The kids are fascinated by us. They love to shake our hands and be around us. They especially like when you take a digital photo of them, then show the picture on the LCD display (they’ve never seen anything like it).

There is extreme poverty everywhere we go. The people are hungry, do not have access to healthcare, adequate roads, clean water and many other things I take for granted.



So we left for Namyoya this morning and it was a similar entry into the church area. All of the kids came storming out of the school to great us the ladies ran down the road to great us. The church roof is nearly completed and should be up by Sunday for service.

We began moving bricks and almost immediately after we began, a bunch of folks from the village joined in. At one point, we were nearly shoulder to shoulder passing bricks and had to divide into two lines.

I was pulling bricks off the pile for a while when I picked up a brick and underneath it was the tail of a black snake. I pointed it out to one of the villagers and he immediately signaled me to get back. They dug through the bricks and the snakes headed popped out momentarily. They whipped the snake to death, then tossed it into the weeds. It turned out to be a Mamba Snake. I understand that a bite will kill you in four minutes. I have to thank God that he protected me by having only the tail of the snake under that brick.

We had a great opportunity to socialize with the villagers today. We gave them another soccer ball, which they loved. I had a bag of hotel bar soap and shampoo. We asked the ladies of the families who are not yet sponsored to come by and I started passing them out. They were thanking me, many kneeling down and grabbing my hand (a sign of great respect). It became quite bittersweet. Here I am giving something that to them has great value that normally I might use once, then leave behind in a hotel room.

A couple people in our group brought bubbles and started blowing them. It made the kids crazy. They kept laughing at them and jumping up to grab them. I can’t imagine that they had ever seen something like this.

We finished the day playing soccer with the kids. I am so out of shape. We will be playing soccer against a High School on Monday. I think it will be more like “chase the kids with the ball, running circles around us.”


The people fascinate me. There are women who I doubt get any regular meals, with babies tied to their backs, excited and happy to be working with us. There is a real sense of community and involvement. They love that we are here and there is a feeling of progress. There have been many people who have come in the past, promising help and then never returning. I think they are thrilled that we keep coming back (and that there is a now roof on a church that sat incomplete for almost ten years. I think it brings hope of a better future.

I have to thank everyone that through their prayers and / or sponsorship helped make this happen.


“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:11