Football, Petrol Stations and Church

Thanks for many messages since last Thursday. I'm currently working on a video from our Tuesday travels...but until then, a quick update under the catchy name of Football, Petrol Stations and Church...

Football

Thanks for your messages re the kids and football. A great answer to prayer was Zion Football Academy which we joined on Saturday! They are a local kids football group who train on Wednesdays and Saturdays and which the boys loved! They've now got full kit and, as hoped, the novelty factor wore off quickly. So much so, in fact, that Theo received some critical feedback on his goalkeeping yesterday!

Petrol Stations

One of my observations this week about life in Kampala is that, while the UK seems to be eschewing personal contact wherever possible (self-service checkouts, online check-in), Kampala does the opposite. My favourite example is the petrol station (closely followed by the supermarket and the mobile phone top-up booth). The process is that you drive in and get waved at madly from the attendant at each pump...you choose your attendant/pump of choice...you park and they gesticulate at you to open the fuel cap lid thing...you tell them the amount and that you want to pay by card...they ask another member of staff to fetch the card machine while they fill the car...a number of other attendants ask whether you want the air in your tyres checked...you close the filler cap and get waved out by another attendant on the gate. All in all, I counted 10 employees at our local Shell where the Old Kent Road BP has one!

Church

Last Sunday we visited Senge Baptist Church, a church in the northern outskirts of Kampala (think Welwyn Garden City in terms of location...but nothing else!). It was a great introduction to rural-ish Ugandan ministry. The church is run by Bosco and Heidi Bukeera, a wonderful couple who have lent us their car while we're here. They have a service at 9 in Luganda (the local language), then chapatis and tea at 10:30 before the English service at 11.  We woke early because of heavy rain at about 5 so decided to go for the second half of the first service in order to give our Luganda skills a test (so far I've memorised the first five words of John 3:16 some of which turn up in very surprising places!). However, we hadn't counted on the rain-effect. The last few km to the church are the red, ubiquitous murrum and had become a complete quagmire in the early morning rain. We arrived at about 10:30 to a very quiet Luganda service. They explained to us that, when it rains, anyone without a car is pretty much housebound...indeed, often bedbound given the size of local houses. That reduces church attendance to the select few who have cars capable of coping with boggy clay along with a few from the houses directly next door to the church! It also delays everything basically until the rain eases. As such, we joined in time for a sermon on Nehemiah 5 in Luganda (which included a number of my words from John 3:16), some excellent chapatis and then the English service which finished just after 1, included some great Phil Wickham anthems, a more accessible sermon on Nehemiah 5 and a Sunday School which, to the kids' delight, ended with giving out sweets! 

More updates to follow!