Altogether Now

The other 12 members of our team arrived today - a little late and a whole lot tired and missing seven pieces of luggage which remained in London (we're hoping they show up in Entebbe on Sunday morning before we head east to Jinja); it's good to have the group together and, despite the torture that characterizes international travel these days, everyone seems to be in good spirits; lots of laughs at lunch.

Two days in Kampala were taken up with many meetings and confirmation of our group's plans (hotels, transportation, etc.) and ingesting diesel fumes and being mesmerized by the traffic (the amount and the chaos with which is conducts itself). Last evening, we had supper with some students from Canada at a restaurant they recommended as serving the best steak anywhere (and at the normal Ugandan price for restaurant meals); turns out the owner is from the same Vancouver neighborhood where I grew up and returned after being exiled during Idi Amin's reign of terror.

This morning, another John (this one from D.C.) joined us during breakfast having noticed our perfect English and inquisitive about our purpose. A graduate of Waterloo Lutheran Univeristy (of course), he had been in Uganda for years as the supervisor of schools. He emphasized the importance of what he called the "ministry of presence" (as opposed to presents, I suppose) and the encouragement and hope Ugandans receive from those of us who take time to extend a hand. Timely wisdom.