Along the way, we
saw this overloaded truck filled with cattle and baskets and people. And it was not the only one - there were
three such trucks in a row!
Another
interesting aspect of the drive was how we drove from light into the darkness
of a massive rainstorm. You can see here
how the sky ahead was so dark.
Once we reached
the place where it was raining, it was really raining. We crossed several spots where the road
became small rivers.
But by the time we
got to Pallisa, the rain had slowed down and we passed through areas with beautiful
scenery. The rocks reminded me of the
Needles in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
So we picked up our friend Boniface in Pallisa town and then drove from there to his home in the village. The roads were very muddy from the rain, but we managed to get through...until we reached the path leading up to Boniface's house. There our vehicle got stuck in the mud in a spot where we had to squeeze between a stack of bricks and a ridge and couldn't avoid the mud. Thankfully, all of Boniface's family and his neighbors came running and helped us get out.
The kids from the
neighborhood had a great time drawing in the mud on our vehicle. This picture only shows you a little bit of
their fun - they would draw pictures with their fingers, then would wipe them out
and start drawing again.
It was very fun to see our friend Boniface again and to see his family and where he lives.
Boniface was a
very good student at the Bible college and also the oldest student. He is currently 60 years old and still very
active and energetic as a person and a pastor.
We enjoyed sitting with him and talking over the evening.
Here are some
photos of his house and some of his family:
The next day, Sunday, we drove to the church where Boniface is the pastor. We drove off and suddenly realized that there were children hanging onto the back of vehicle. After stopping to tell them to get off, we found them there again. Finally, we left them behind. Unfortunately, we later discovered that the bumper had broken off on one side because they were standing on it. This later led to all sorts of excitement with car repairs that lasted a whole day, but that is a story for another time.
We arrived at church and met a very lively congregation. It is always a joy to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Anthony preached
and enjoyed himself thoroughly in telling the story of Joseph and his brothers
from Genesis.
There was more
music from talented young people.
After church, we headed over to the home of one of the church members. They fed us and all the church leaders quite the feast. There was a very wide variety of food:
Eventually, we had
to leave and go back the way we came.
Although there was no rain on Sunday, the rain from the day before had
made its way down to low points in the area.
When we reached a certain swampy area, we saw a huge crowd on the road
ahead and wondered what could be going on.
As we got closer, we realized that the road was covered with water! There were lots of young men there who were
earning some extra money pushing vehicles through the two-foot-deep water. It was a good thing they were there because
we only made it halfway across before getting stuck and needing a push. In the end, we were thankful to make it home safely.
Hi Sara and Anthony --
ReplyDeleteThanks for your continued, very fascinating blog posts. It was interesting to see what look like Chinese letters on the truck in the first picture. I understand China is making trade inroads in Africa. Is that common in Uganda?
I continue to remember you in prayer, and thankful for the good things God is doing through you, even in the tough times.
-- Sharon