Its hot in Uganda tonight. I am sitting in an arm chair with my feet
up, looking out the glass doors to the veranda that over looks the city of
Kampala. The view is great night and day. I can see all the way out
to Lake Victoria.
The earth is red here and dusty. Only some of the roads are paved so
we spend a lot of time bouncing around. Its not bad if you let your body
be like a rag doll but when I am strapped into a seat with Micah I can't
let myself just bounce around. I held him today on the way to Luke's horse
riding competition. A little African baby's head bouncing on my collar
bone and rubbing the skin with his Velcro like hair was fun to try to
balance without squishing him between me and the seat belt.

I start work tomorrow. I met the Kenyan couple that run Word of Life
school, the one I am teaching at on Tue and Wed. I am taking over the
wife's second grade class so that she can have time to do other things. I
am working Mon and Thur at the one room school that a few families started
for their kids. Its where Luke and Garret go. At church this morning I
managed to volunteer myself to lead the women's Sunday school for the next two
weeks and Inell says that if I do a good job they will probably ask me to
finish out the topic. Since the topic was my suggestion I guess it will help
to keep me studying something that I am interested in anyway. I will be
doing a study of righteousness through the Old and New Covenants. I also met
one of the college girls at church today. Inell and I have a meeting with
a group of the girls at a coffee shop this week to talk about when we
should meet for weekly Bible studies. There is a prayer meeting with the
other missionaries in CBI on Friday at lunch time. There is a House Group
meeting at the Slater's on Thursday nights and I am sure there is more that I
will learn about next week. Inell and I are teaching one of the Ugandan
women at church how to swim starting tomorrow, so that is another part of my
weekly schedule for the next few months. In March there is a group of women
who have been elected to run women's activities for their Baptist churches
coming to Kampala for some leadership training. Brent asked me the
other day to think about being a big part of that as well.

On the whole I am adjusting well and this is a great adventure. There
is so much to keep me busy and so many ways in which I am learning to get
streached. I am learning to pray allowed, which I am not wont to do
that often, I have been entrusted with responsibility to teach and lead and
to speak up and teach the Word among women much older than me. I have
been energized by this Christian community life that I am in right now.

The Slaters love to read so I have given Inell some Graham Green and I
am looking forward to talking with her abput them. She isn't anything
like the classical conservative Baptists and she said that conservative narrow
minded Christians are the hardest people for her to interact with. It's the
same with me so hearing that from her was refreshing. I think we have many
more great talks ahead of us.

I have had a chance right from the beginning to be so real with these
people, both the Slaters and the other CBI missionaries that we pray
with on Friday. Praying with people really breaks the walls down. This
intimacy that has developed so quickly has dispelled a lot of my fears and
knowing Inell enough now I think that I don't have to worry that I will end up
offending them and never being told about it.

Church was great today. Brent preached a good sermon on Mark 5. The
singing was fun, the African's know how to speed up those old hymns and
give them a beat. But by far the best part was communion which consisted of
bread, sourdough tasting, and coke. I guess with coke there is less
chance of spreading diseases. I also had to squat over a hole for the toilet
at church today for the first time since I arrived. I look forward to
more of that in the villages. It sounds like I will have some chances to
travel with the family when they go visit the church they worked with in
Kasesa and hopefully a chance to sleep in the villager's homes.

There are a lot of street people here in Kampala and a lot of wooden
shacks and people cooking over open fires. There is a huge need and I have
gotten over whelmed a few times. But, I have to reach out to the people I can
meet and give to.

I have been impressed with the immense worth of knowing and loving God
in this last week and I was reminded of the man who found a pearl of great
price and sold everything to possess it. To know God (in the power of
his resurrection, in the fellowship of his suffering, to be conformed to
his image) is worth everything.

That's all for now. I will keep you all posted. Not much in the way
of thoughts. Just learning things about teaching and styles of
leadership.