Martha had recovered from the fever she had yesterday and
insisted that I accompany her, Becca, and Sarah to do some more shopping in a
huge warren of tarp covered, rickety wooden stalls called the central market.
There were hot, dirty, open air stalls selling an amazing array of fruits,
vegetables, seeds and flours in one section, fish in the next, and animal parts
in another. In spite of her recovery, Martha seemed a little faint as we passed
the stomach and intestines section! When we got to the clothing stalls we found
seamstresses at work on heavy old sewing machines doing alterations and making
clothes to order from new cloth along with all sorts of used clothing, much of
it bought in bulk bundles from US thrift stores and collection boxes.
After shopping for supplies we headed to the more upscale
“mzungu section” of the city. There a
lady from one of Robert’s congregations gave us fair prices on souvenir items.
It was actually a bit of a shock to see white people not part of our team for
the first time in over two weeks, especially a few I noticed spending money
with abandon, practically buying out the entire stock of one store. No wonder
so many Ugandans automatically assume mzungus to be extremely rich.
After lunch we had the wonderful opportunity to visit the
home of our driver, Jawale, and his family. He cares for eight children of his
own, six grandchildren, and two orphans, on his taxi driving fares, in a tiny
brick home built in two days. His wife helps by raising four cows, six goats,
chickens, bananas, and other crops in their small back yard. Robert grew up
with Jawale’s wife and the two men were both observant Muslims who spent a year
arguing with Christian evangelists, until Robert converted to Christianity.
Jawale remained Muslim, but they remain friends and Robert continues to pray
for and witness to Jawale. Though our team filled Jawale’s front room so
completely that he and his family had to sit outside, they insisted on treating
us to sodas, avocados, and some incredibly sweet, flavorful bananas. We then
brought out the gifts we had brought, sacks of beans, rice, four and sugar,
which delighted his entire family.
This evening we decided to celebrate our day off by eating
American food at a restaurant with Robert, Sarah, Jawale, Bosco, Steven, and
Cedric. The food was quite good—burgers, sandwiches, and milkshakes—though all
the food we have had here has been good, and a better reason for choosing the
restaurant was that the American couple who started it use it to fund
charitable organizations through which they serve in Uganda.
Cedric is a friend of Robert’s from Kenya who now teaches as
an adjunct instructor at the seminary where they met in Jinja. He has a strong
love of and call to teaching Biblical theology, especially in rural areas where
pastors have very little training or background in the Bible, but is torn by
the fact that he must leave his family back in Kenya to teach for months at a
time, and when he returns to them they can’t make ends meet on an adjunct’s
salary. I really empathized with him and am praying his situation changes, as he
has such a passion for equipping pastors but also loves his family deeply.
Well, we just experienced a fairly pronounced earthquake
here, which I will take as a sign that it is time to go to bed. As I do I am
praying for those whose mud, brick, and stick shelters may not have withstood the
tremors as well as the house where we stay did.
Thanks, once again, for your prayers.
Kirk and the Shakedown Crew
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