In Kampala with friends..with family

We had a good flight to Kampala. It was we basically noneventful. It just took all day. We woke at 3am to go to the airport in Frankfurt,and arrived at our apartment at midnight. The one thing I had feared was the price of the extra checked piece of luggage we had. But they did not charge us for this bag. So that was a giant relief I slept like a rock. I was so tired. And woke with the hope of a good cup of coffee. The coffee was amazing...Amazing! It is grown here. Freshly ground. And better than any coffee I have ever had. Sylvia and her family met us for breakfast. And it was so wonderful to see my African daughter with her adopted daughter, her husband, and their new baby girl. The baby is doing well by the way. Sylvia looks like a new mom...so tired. But she is managing. After breakfast, Sylvia's husband Emanuel took me and one of our team members around the street markets. On Sundays, the government does not charge taxes to people who sell on the streets. So there is a lot of action. Our next destination was Lake Victoria. It is one of the largest lakes in the world. We took public transportation. But we were with family. And we heard all the stories of how things really are. And I saw burnt cars, children carrying water, some people working very hard , and others not working at all for lack of education or opportunity. There is an emerging economy here. And like so many places in the world there are those who have, and others who don't. We had fresh sugar cane that was cut by hand. And we bought bananas. And the bus drivers argued about who could drive us. But we were so blessed to have Emanuel there to deal with it for us. He is such a gift. We talked about farming and why he loves Sylvia. She really chose a great man. He is a servant. Together they make a good team. Our last stop today was Sylvia's house. By the time we walked there, I felt so tired. The sun is brighter than you realize. I was sweating a lot from the humidity. And I think I have a sunburn. We had a good chat. And we started to open some of the bags we had sent. But Sylvia forgot to get boxes, so there was no place to sort all the stuff. The bags took up almost all of the house. We really brought a lot of stuff. They will have gifts to last the whole year to come. We got caught in the rain as we returned to our apartment. And we eat a great meal in the cafe Java. We are going on a Safri tomorrow. Before we see the slum, we want to see what is good in this land. We will travel with Olive (the group's finance person) and her family. Emanuel will also come with us. Emanuel has never been on Safari. He is a trained veterinarian but has never seen the wild elephants or giraffes. This will be a great two days of investing in the leaders here. When we return we will begin working with the women. I feel these days of looking around and safari are important. It is helping us to warm up to this land. And we can all see the needs, but also see so much good. The people are really very kind and have such great beauty. We will work hard when we return. But these days are important. We are not the saviors of the world. We are in partnership with some really amazing people. It is important we take this time to get to know them. To hear their stories. To learn from them. We are here to build them up. This is a cooperation. So it may seem like we are just being tourists, but these are important days. We are gaining perspective. And not all Uganda is a slum. The slum is only a small part of a big country. How do we help the women in the slum break free?




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