Feliz Navidad!

Ok. So Spanish isn’t the native language in Africa. However, we heard the Spanish song played loudly after church on Christmas Sunday. I sure thought I was home in Texas then. I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year’s. My family came to visit for ten days and we had a great time. Praise God for their luggage arriving with them. Several of the other visitors did not get their luggage until the day after their arrival.

Rachel, Jamie, & I at the airport. Jamie went to America for Christmas.

Mom (Jane), Dad (Gary), Brother (Gary), and I at Mabira Rainforest

Of course the first night my family was in Mbale, the power was off. They were able to experience a power-out night the first night. These days the power goes off every other day. I do not know why. Why questions just don’t get answered very often in Uganda. We are actually paying more for having less power. Sometimes it is nice to listen to the quiet of the night air without the noise of refrigerators and fans.

Gary & I with children at Bumwangu

We crammed as much into ten days as we could. I am going to share with you some of our adventures. We attended a church in Bumwangu which is in the mountains next to Kenya. My dad preached to the people there with a translator. It was interesting to hear his lesson and see how he would rephrase his words to help the translator understand. God spoke great words through him to the believers. He did a great job, especially since he had only been in Africa less than two days. We enjoyed a Ugandan meal after worship. We had chicken, beans, rice, and posho. The food is something to get used to. My brother ate well, mom ok, dad…not too bad. One night, my dad ordered a whole tilapia, served with the eyes still in it. Several years ago the sight would have made me sick, but this time I challenged my brother to eat one while I ate the other. It wasn’t too bad. Tasted like wet dirt. Africa has changed me in some ways.

Gary & I eating fish eyes.

Mom & Dad on Wanale Mountain overlooking Mbale.

I took my family to market to experience the bargaining and the business of the merchants. Our market has many booths, but narrow passageways. Almost like a Wal-Mart back in the 1500’s. We have a produce section, fish, hardware, clothing, and miscellaneous along the way. If you are in need of a cow stomach or intestines, you can purchase them at market. Watch out for the dumping of used water in the narrow walk ways. They were also able to experience a boda-boda ride home. The term “boda-boda” came from “border to border.” These boda men have a seat on the back of their bicycles and transport people all over town. Prices do vary and many times they cheat the muzungus (white people).

Mom on a boda ride.

One day we left Mbale at 6am to arrive in Jinja at 8:45am to go rafting on the White Nile. It is an all day adventure starting with breakfast and ending with a cookout. Dad, Gary (brother), me, three other tourists, and our guide loaded up in a raft and anxiously anticipated the rapids. There were two other rafts and a safety boat with us. We flipped three times, paddled long stretches, and took leisurely swims in the White Nile River. My mom was a trooper and battled the rapids in the safety raft. Unfortunately the bungee master for the bungee jumping over the Nile was unavailable the next day (mom was thankful).

Dad, Gary, and I after rafting the Nile in Jinja.

Kingfisher banda where we stayed in Jinja.

Towards the end of their visit, we headed out forty-five minutes North to SiPi Falls. Since it was the beginning of the dry season, the falls were not quite as full as the last time I visited. However, they were flowing strong over the 100 meter drop (about 330 ft). Next to the falls is a place for repelling. Being the adventuresome family we are, my dad, brother, and I decided to repel. After my dad checked our harnesses and the ropes, we were ready to go. My mom decided to hike on the path to the bottom of the falls to see us come down. Rachel (roommate) took pictures from a distance. The first 40 meters is repelling next to the side of the cliff, and the last 60 meters or so is a free fall with only the rope and you. It was a beautiful site to see, looking over the valley of green trees and plants. The trained repelling instructor was controlling the safety rope, so he would stop us in the middle of the drop and let us look around. God’s beauty is amazing. I don’t know what it is about waterfalls, but they are like a magnet for us as humans to be closer to God’s power and might. We all made it down and had a nice hike out of the canyon.

Me repelling.

We repelled next to the waterfall.

On Christmas Eve, we joined the team for a few carols to our friends’ and fellow missionaries’ houses. Sunday morning we attended Mbale Church of Christ. The Ugandan youth acted out the Christmas story. It is so intriguing to see their interpretation of stories I have only viewed one way. After worship, our mission team, seven Peace Corps singles, the four single missionaries from Kitale, Kenya, and three other visitors from the USA, had a Christmas cookout at Philip and Laura Shero’s home. Since the weather was between 95 and 100 degrees, we had an outdoor cookout with hamburgers and hotdogs. Later we had a gift exchange and we able to just enjoy each other’s company for Christmas Day.

Mbale Church of Christ youth on Christmas.


My family flew back to America on the 26th. It was a bit hard to say good bye, but I was thankful they were able to come visit me so we could have Christmas in Africa. One of the girls who is working with the orphans in Kitale, Alita Tombleson, rode with me to Entebbe to send my parents off. We stopped in Jinja on the way home and met the other three from Kitale, and yes, I went rafting again. I had to battle the twelve rapids on the White Nile once more (plus you get a discount if you go more than once in three months) We had a great time and enjoyed some really good Mexican food in Jinja as well. It is the first Mexican food restaurant I have heard of in Africa.
Kitale crew (Kelly, Greg, Alita, Carrie) at the source of the Nile in Jinja.

Alita and I at the source of the Nile.

For New Year’s Eve, there were many of us who gathered at Shawn and Linda Tyler’s home to visit and celebrate the New Year. I was a little under the weather because of some bug I think I acquired from swallowing too much Nile water. The group from Kitale returned on the 1st, three other visitors from the states (Shana Basom, Shayla, and Alison) returned on the 3rd, school started on the 4th, and Jamie (roommate) arrived on the 11th.

Many changes have come up within our team. Danetta Shelburne (part of the Shelburne family on our team) is expecting in August. This will be Ian and Danetta’s seventh child. They are planning to go back to the states on furlough in April. Shawn and Linda Tyler will also be taking a few months for furlough this summer with their children Natalie and Noah. Noah is graduating from a boarding school in Kenya and plans to attend college in the states (most likely Texas). The four of us teachers are searching our options for the upcoming fall. The search for teachers for the mission school continues. Let me know if you have contacts for anyone who is interested.

Pray specifically for the upcoming presidential elections for Uganda. There are several candidates, but the two who are most well-known are Museveni and Besigye. Museveni is the current president, and Besigye has just been release from prison. Do you think America would let a man run for presidency who has just been released from prison? There has been campaigning off and on in Mbale. It will probably continue to get worse as we are only one month away from the election date (February 23rd).

Overall, this Christmas was wonderful. Even though Christmas decorations and music were not all over town, Christmas trees were Mexican pine instead of Evergreens, and the sun was as bright as ever, my family was able to be together and share a time of family strength that Christmas season brings.

Continue to pray as I know you have been doing. You are welcome to join us in a time of fasting as our team takes the first Wednesday of each month to fast and pray. I pray for you all and know that God’s will is where you are. No matter where the wind blows us, God is there with his will and plan waiting.