Happy Easter to all my family and friends across the world from the U.S.A to Australia and now Uganda. I am writing this blog late afternoon on Easter Sunday. I am 7 hours behind Australia and 8 hours ahead of Houston. It's been a very "normal" and "usual" type of Easter Sunday. By that I mean we went to church to celebrate Christ's resurrection and victory over death. After church a group of 17 friends gathered at "Le Chateau"to enjoy Easter lunch together. We ate steaks, fish, vegetables and salad much like some of the foods all of you reading this might have enjoyed also. I have discovered that it's really nice sometimes to do things and go places that have more of the "at home" feel to it. Makes you feel like you are not that far away from what you have known all your life and that living in a world that is so unfamiliar just disappears for a little while.
By the way the Aid Sudan team for Uganda is sitting in the forefront.
Enjoy your day, wherever you are!

Boston marathon

Today I walked the Boston marathon! Yes, I did walk and not run, but I was in Boston. Right outside the gate of the home I am staying in is a village named Boston. My walk was probably a lot different than those who ran in Massachusetts. The weather for one thing I am guessing, was a lot warmer. The sun was bright in the lovely blue sky. I walked on the dirt road, watching out for all the large pot holes and kept a mindful eye on passing cars and motor cycles. While I was watching what was going on around me I was being watched by the neighborhood. You see the road through the village is flanked by many stores. There are lots of fruit stalls, some charcoal stands, a cobbler, and a cell phone recharging place, just to name a few. If you don't have electricity you can come and get your phone recharged. As I made my way along, many children came out to shake my hand or just call out hello "Mzungu" That means white person.
I made my way through the village and then up a very steep hill. You can see it in the attached photo that I took from the balcony of the house. My destination was the 3 towers you can see on the left of the photo. What a view! There's an interesting mix of modern homes with indoor plumbing and electricity and those families who live in one tiny room with no amenities. You will also note the green leafy plants and trees that are so abundant here. Well that's all for now. I'll keep blogging and you keep checking on my updates.

Hello from Makindye. That's the name of the area in Kampala that I am staying in. My brother has googled it and you can too if you would like. I'm kind of near Lukuli Rd if that helps. How about Kabalagala? Some interesting names to find. The photo you see was taken from the front porch. It's Lake Victoria. Such a pretty view. I enjoy sitting out in the very lovely weather when I get a chance. I am meeting lots of people from all over the world who have chosen to make Uganda their home for a while.

Well I have only been here about 48 hours and decided to get behind the wheel. My host family has a Nissan Patrol 4WD manual transmission. I was so thankful that I had driven a stick shift for 10yrs. I guess God even prepared me for driving here long ago. I was already used to driving on the left since that's the way us Aussies do also, so that helped. The dirt roads and huge pot holes will take a bit of getting used to. The terrain is quite hilly so have to be mindful of shifting gears. The actual traffic is .... I don't know what word I want to use... horrendous! I must be a very aggressive driver or I will never make it. I had a good strong grip on the steering wheel I can tell you that. Anyway we all made it safely home.

Can't believe I am actually here :-) After a very long flight from Australia that took me via Singapore, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Addis Ababa and then onto Entebbe airport I was so happy to see my fellow Aid Sudan team members and their families waiting outside the customs area.
Just a couple of strange sights as we drove from the airport. the first was a passenger on a motorcycle (otherwise known as boda boda) holding a very large pane of glass in front of him. The next sighting was a man with a huge, dead fish strapped on the back of the boda boda. It was the size of a marlin! After settling into my room I enjoyed some local pineapple and mango and could barely keep my eyes open so tucked myself in under the mosquito net. Thankful to God for finally being here.

Bet you thought I had fallen off the planet? Well almost. I am way down here on the island of Tasmania, one of Australia's 7 states. My parents, 83 and 90 yrs old needed some help. My dad was hospitalised for 3 1/2 weeks and then has spent the past 10 days in rehab. The photo shows him about to enjoy one of his favorite desserts. Pavlova! Actually it's a favorite of most Aussies. I am getting to have some of my childhood favorites as well. Tim Tams, Twisties, lamb and of course Vegemite on toast.
If all goes well here I will be on my way to Africa on March 28th. Until later mates.

Commissioning Sunday 27th 2011

After Director, Peter Swann, read from Acts chapter 13:1-4 my family and I were prayed over. You can just see my grandson. Looks like he's being commissioned with his "Mema". It was a very memorable and special occasion. I am much blessed to have so many wonderful friends and supporters.

Hope you can find me in the photo :-) This group of wonderful new friends are Ugandans, living in Houston. My co-worker, Stella "coincidentally" is from Uganda. She arranged a wonderful send off for me. The group bestowed upon me my new Ugandan name, MIREMBE. This means peace. I am looking forward to meeting some of their relatives in Kampala and many new friends that God has for me.

First Post

Hello, welcome to my first blog :-) Never too old to start, I say! Watch for updates soon.

New Years Eve 2011

Well sadly, Daniel left just after midnight on the 30th to travel back to Houston so he could celebrate the new year with his girlfriend and others. I will miss him.

Fellow Aid Sudan team members, Bob and Suzy invited me to see the new year in with them. We watched lots of fireworks from the top of their garage. There were some impressive displays over many of the hills around us. Fortunately, they live just around the corner and down the hill from where I am staying so I didn't have to worry about being on the roads with a lot of party goers.

Went to bed wondering about what 2012 holds for me. Here are some thoughts I really liked:

No Fear in the New Year
(by Chek Phang Hia, from Our Daily Bread 12/30/08)

Hours before 2007 began, some friends of ours in the UK were aboard their boat, anticipating the arrival of the new year, when a violent storm struck. But they were able to send us this reassuring note: "John and Linda are sitting on board the good ship Norna, and happy to say that we are secure. . . . The wind is storm force ten [48-55 knots]. Hope that all of you have a happy and prosperous new year."

Jesus' disciples also encountered a stormy experience. They were on the Sea of Galilee when a windstorm whipped up (Mark 6:48). The storm was so violent that despite being experienced fishermen who knew the lake well, they feared for their lives. But Jesus walked out to them and saved them.

No one can predict with certainty how stormy the new year will be. We do know, though, that everyone will face storms. But we who have Jesus have our future securely moored to Him. Jesus, who did not fail us in the past, will not fail us in the future.

Lewis Edgar Jones aptly described our situation in his old hymn:

I've anchored in Jesus, the storms of life I'll brave;
I've anchored in Jesus, I'll fear no wind or wave.
I've anchored in Jesus, for He hath power to save;
I've anchored to the Rock of Ages!

How will you fare in the storms of the new year? If you're anchored in Jesus, you have nothing to fear.

Faith in Christ will keep us steady in the stormy sea of change.