WE HAVE ARRIVED IN UGANDA!!!!!!  We all landed safely at Entebbe Airport in Uganda at 15:00pm our time (12 noon your time) on Monday.  We then  had a five hour journey to Mbale town in the  East of Uganda, arriving after 9:00pm at night.  The team had the culture shock of a lifetime, beginning with a drive through the roads of the Capital City (Kampala).  Cars, motorbikes, cycles, people, goats, chickens all bumper to bumper. People cutting each other up, no lanes, no traffic light, roundabouts with no rules and people with no fear of being run down.  We were rather frustrated with our hire car, spongy brakes, the automatic gearbox didn’t change gear smoothly, and there wasn’t really enough room which meant that Jess was crammed in the back surrounded by our luggage.
	We arrived at Martin’s house and everyone settled in very quickly, although very tired from over 24 hours of travelling so we went to bed very swiftly under our mosquito nets.

Some traditional Ugandan wooden scaffolding. 

TUESDAY 22nd July
	We were all up before 10:30am ready and raring to go for our first full day in Uganda.  The team endured the cold shower (which is directly above the toilet basin), before enjoying breakfast of toast, bananas and Tea.  We stayed around the house in the morning, allowing people take in the culture at their own pace.  After lunch we all got in the car and headed into Mbale town.  Again there was more for the team to take in, from mud huts to crazy driving.  We went to the bank to withdraw money, which was a challenge in itself, it wouldn’t let me withdraw enough for all that we needed, and the machine ate Brian’s card.  We then went down to the market where I (Matt) set the team (split into pairs) a task of bartering for a Pineapple and a Mango.  Jess and Brian got the cheapest price for the Pineapple and they all got the same price on the mango.  We then came back to the house before heading off to the Beersheeba project for Street girls.
	The Beersheba Project is a very efficient and successful project, aiming to educate and train vulnerable girls in the district. There are currently 19 girls on the scheme, who will all leave with the skills and knowledge they need to make their own way in the world. After having a brief tour, we made our way back along the road – only to be flagged down and informed there was a ‘small problem’. After some frantic discussion and translation we learned from the crowd that a lady had just given birth on the roadside and was in need of a lift to the hospital. We were already late for the meeting at Redeemed Church, so the guys hopped out of the car and began to walk, whilst Martin and Jessica drove the lady to find help.  After picking up Martin’s wife Jasinta (an almost-qualified nurse) we headed over to the nearest hospital. The lady was bleeding and in pain, but she and her new baby girl were doing ok. When we arrived at the hospital, things happened at the usual African pace – we took the woman in and told the nurse the issue and nothing really happened! The woman sank to the floor in weakness, still bleeding, and was waiting a while until she was taken to a bed (with no blankets). The baby was put in an incubator and we left to meet the guys at Redeemed Church. 
	The Church was more than welcoming and the singing – unbelievable!! Highlight – Dom taking part in a song about taking your possessions out of Egypt, in which the actions required you to pick up and object (in his case, a chair) and dance with it over your head! Matt preached well and encouraged the team by demonstrating how to teach with a translator.
	After church, we went over to Pastor Nelson’s house for dinner (in the middle of a glorious African thunderstorm) and enjoyed a time of fellowship and jokes about linguistic misunderstandings. 


Some kids outside Martin and Jasinta’s house

	Today the team got up early to prepare for the first of the two days of the church leaders’ conference. After a brief visit to a photocopying shop we headed over to a beautiful village nestled amongst plantations and mountains and greeted the leaders. Brian, Scott, Dom and Matt preached with boldness and authority, and Jessica enjoyed it all! The teachings covered the Trinity and how the three persons of the Godhead interact, with each session being followed by questions.  The leaders were all eager to learn and we were humbled by their enthusiasm and dedication to their churches.
	After the conference, we headed over to Mbale District Hospital to see how things are done, and to check how the lady we picked up was doing. She was not there, which was a good sign according to Martin, as she must have been well enough to go home with her new daughter. After seeing the new maternity wing (which was basically a building with partitions and beds and mats for sleeping on the floor), we toured the rest of the hospital, which was a harrowing experience. Our evening ended with a stark contrast as we ate in a very modern and Western restaurant (chips – woo hoo!!). Tired after a long day we headed to our beds, only for some of the lads to be kept awake by the noisy wildlife!


Playtime in the plantation	

	The morning began in a similar way to Wednesday’s, with team devotions and a visit to the photocopiers. As we arrived in the village we received another warm welcome and got straight into prayer and worship. The teaching today was about the church – from worship (Dom) to discipleship and baptism (Scott) to finances (Matt) to leadership (Brian).  Dom then spoke briefly about healing and Jessica brought a testimony before spending time praying with people and seeing instant healings. 
One of the best parts about the conference was the question and answer sessions. Questions over the two days included: ‘I have ten children – should I tithe one?’, ‘After women give birth, we make them stay away from church for 2 months, is this right?’, ‘How much money should I pay to get the gifts of the Spirit?’ and ‘We know of people who are baptised by flags and in fire, should we just use water?’. 
	Another highlight was spending time with the children of the village, who seemed to come out of nowhere to join in with Dom’s crazy antics. One of the greeting customs is to knock fists, which the kids loved to do with us, at least they did until a slightly over-enthusiastic fist-punch from Dom landed on a child’s lip and floored him! After Nurse Matt administered first aid the lad was fine and we carried on having fun.
	Leaving the church we felt tired but happy, knowing that God had done a mighty work in both them and us. After a short visit to an internet café (brief because there was a power cut so we didn’t actually go in) we made our way home to enjoy a night off.


The church leaders’ conference