Almost Live from Uganda (Episode 7)

(a series of videos made for our home church back in the U.S.)

Visiting the Manna Ministry food recipients in their homes is such an amazing thing - It's so personal! We're continually blown away by how much people appreciate us just coming to talk to them. We've had the joy of seeing many people receive Jesus as Lord during these visits too.

Meet Livingstone, who has been bedridden for 1 year. When we shared the gospel (gospel means "good news" by the way) with him, he warmly said "yes" to Jesus. And that puts a warm smile on our faces &:-)}

For more about why we're here, what we are doing, and how you can support us & help the people of Uganda, go to www.ugandajourney.org

Photo of the Month

Gaaba "beach", Lake Victoria, Kampala (not the type of beach us Aussies are used to, but still...). Standing on the light-post is a Marabou Stork. Sharing the largest wingspan of any land-bird (with the Andean Condor) - up to 3.2m (10.5 ft), and weighing up to 9kg (20 lbs)! These are very common in Kampala. They look like dirty old men when they're on the ground, like terradactyls when flying low overhead, and beautiful & peaceful when soaring in the thermals. Pretty amazing stuff! (the snails here are HUGE too - see Jan 20, 2007 post).

And now for something completely different...

Last week we took some time off & went to a small town called Jinja ["Ginger"] - about 2hrs drive east of Kampala. Jinja is on the banks of the White Nile River - which joins with the other Nile branches to eventually form THE Nile. The segment of river in this area is world famous for it's white-water rafting and kayaking - a big tourist attraction in Uganda.

Upon visiting beautiful Bujagali ["Boo-jar-gar-lee"] Falls, we saw something incredible - locals going through the rapids holding onto nothing but a 20 litre (5 gallon) jerry can! It turns out that these guys are not only crazy, this is their career - tourists pay them to do it! They grew up on the river and have worked their way up to negotiating Class 5* rapids like this one (called "Overtime").

Not to be out-done, see Simon perform his own matching daredevil feat - something he's always wanted to do (and unlike the jerry can guys, will most likely never do again!)

*Appendix: Whitewater rapids are classified according to their degree of danger or difficulty - Class 1 to 6. Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Read here for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafting

Why we do what we do

We showed you an aerial view of Katanga (March 11). This video is an unedited walk along the main street - from one side of the community to the other, ending at the IMFC tent and truck set up on a Manna Ministry food distribution day. Yes, those are open sewers.

This type of footage (and photos) are really difficult to get here - if you want to be sensitive to people. This is actually the first time I (Simon) have tried it, and I was nervous - even with Aggie by my side. Ugandans are extremely friendly people, but when it comes to this, they can get extremely annoyed and indignant. Many Ugandans don't understand why the Mzungus (whites) want to take video and photos like this. They feel that we are ashaming them, and only show the bad/ugly side of Africa, and even that we do it with bad intentions. Aggie - my Ugandan wife - thought the same, until after we'd talked about it many times.

What we really intend is to raise the awareness of people in western countries - to wake them up to the reality that there are millions in the world who live in poverty like this. We intend to be ADVOCATES for these people - to cry out for help for them, on their behalf. That's why we do what we do.

For more about why we are here in Uganda, what we are doing, and how you can help us & the people of Uganda, go to www.ugandajourney.org

Photo of the Month

I read this in the news recently: "Doctor Close to Cloning Human: A US doctor claims he has cloned 14 human embryos and transferred 11 of them into the wombs of four women." That's pretty amazing, but it seems that although they have a lot of work to do on things here - like the roads - Uganda's biotech industry is streets ahead of the rest of the world. A couple of weeks ago Aggie bought this stuff in the taxi park for 50 cents. Since testing it on our chickens, the kids now enjoy chicken for almost every meal. We haven't tried it on them yet (the kids), though Aggie would like to. I still feel 5 kids is enough for the moment. Hang on, what's this cream on my arm...?

Almost Live from Uganda (Episode 6)

IMFC has been working in the urban slum areas of Katanga (Kaa-tung-gaa) and Butabika (Boo-ta-bee-kaa) since February. In this video, the 6th in a series of made for our church back in the U.S., join us as we look back at our first Manna Ministry Food distribution in Butabika.

For more about why we are here in Uganda, what we are doing, and how you can help us & the people of Uganda, go to www.ugandajourney.org

Photo of the Month!

The sign on a mens' toilet. I like it! &:-)}

From the heart of Sarah

Aggie and her kids have experienced a lot of suffering. They grew up in an urban slum area of Kampala, living in a tiny one room house with a violent man (the kids' biological father). Click here to read more.

This week we'd like to share with you a letter that our 14yr old daughter Sarah recently wrote to Aggie. It really touched our hearts. Through her eyes you can also see what life can be like here in Uganda.

Dear my beloved Mom,

I am so happy that you gave birth to me. Other people throw their children in the toilets, others kill them but you didn't you are a wonderful mother and I LOVE YOU very much. Each day I think about you I remember you suffering for me I hope everything is good for you. I thank you for buying everything. You working so hard suffering in sunshine and in rainfall and cold and in hot you didn't abandon me. You really worked hard for me to go to school. I will not let you down try my best not to do so. I will work very hard so that your money is not wasted for nothing. I appreciate everything you do for me.

"Have sweet dreams"

Said Sarah Paech S.P.M

(Posted with Sarah's permission)

Photo of the Month

Almost Live from Uganda (Episode 5)

Get an aerial view of both the community and the vision that we have for Katanga, an urban slum area of Kampala that IMFC has just begun working in, and will continue to work in for the next 6 months. The 5th in a series of videos made for our home church back in the U.S.

For more about why we are here in Uganda, what we are doing, and how you can help us & the people of Uganda, go to www.ugandajourney.org