Guest writer Dan here!
Sarah Jane requested/forced upon me the blogging duties for the week…although, it is great to be here and to be able to do so! As one who also used to read these blogs, it is incredible to actually now be here and experience the things we have all been reading about since Matt and SJ have arrived.
This last week has been very eventful! We had been attempting to get into the Christmas spirit however we could, but it isn’t all that easy when it is sunny and 30 degrees outside, even with Sarah’s relentless playing of Christmas music! We were able to attend Watoto Church’s Christmas cantata, and I think it is safe to say that it was the first time any of us had truly been in the Christmas spirit. It was an amazing performance including actors, dancers, live band and live choir – 200-member cast in total! It was beautifully done, full of Ugandan humor and countless carols with heaps of African flavor! There was a great Christmas message of salvation running throughout the whole evening, which I believe will have an amazing effect as the performance ran 16 times and was viewed by over 2000 people each time! God is doing amazing things through this church.
Christmas eve day was spent working at the baby’s home, and was also one of the first full days that I had been able to spend there. It was great to see Sarah in action, and also to meet all the little faces that have been the focus of so many of their photos. It is pretty easy to get attached to those little critters! On the Eve of Christmas, in our continued quest to feel Christmassy in Africa we watched ‘Home Alone’ …what a classic. Christmas Day was again spent at the baby’s home, and in the evening we were able to attend a Christmas party for all the ‘Bullrushes’ volunteers. It was a wonderful night full of eating, dancing, games, conversation, and more eating – it was quite the experience to be around the world with Matt and Sarah for Christmas, along with so many other individuals from all corners of the globe.
On Boxing Day we boarded a shuttle and drove to the town of Jinja in order to do some camping along the source of the Nile River. The tents were fantastic, and the views were even better. We spent a lot of time lazing around in the sun, reading, playing games, hiking and exploring around. We had the best of intentions to simply relax while we were there, until we saw the video of the white water rafting that is! Sunday was spent rafting for 5 hours along 30 kilometers of the Nile – 12 rapids in total – five of which were grade 5. Each rapid contained three different ‘lines’, or paths of getting through them. They three were: chicken shoot, medium route, and hardcore. Much to Sarah’s dismay, Matthew and I opted for hardcore every time…and she has the bruises to prove it! But in the end we all had an absolutely unbelievable time cruising the Nile and basking in the sun.
Currently Matt is still on holidays from the production unit and is trying his darndest to get papers done and books read. Consequently, that means I also am on holidays from the production unit and am trying my darndest to distract him from his schoolwork and go on adventures with me. Sarah is a trooper and doesn’t really get holidays; she’s taking care of several very small very sick babies, prayer is always very welcome.
My time with Matt and Sarah Jane is quickly coming to an end here in Uganda - it has gone unbelievably fast. As I said above it has been amazing being able to experience everything they experience on a daily basis, and to be part of several unforgettable adventures with them. I wish you could all be here and see it for yourself, but mostly I wish you could be here to see how much the Ugandans love Matt and Sarah. To see how the men at the production unit love and respect Matt and how they get so excited whenever he enters the shop. And to get to experience Sarah being her crazy self with the nanny’s and the volunteers all the while teaching them and guiding them along; and to see the faces of the little ones light up every time she enters the room. But then again you all know them very well, and I am sure it doesn’t take much imagine, and you wouldn’t expect any less!
Over and out for me from Africa…Its been a slice.
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