Day one in the field

If today was supposed to be a day to ease into things, we've got a crazy schedule ahead of us.

A psalm, to the tune of "12 days of Christmas":
30 pastors preached
40 pigs a-counted
50 patients treated
And one bookshelf by Pete. (a very nice, hand made, hand planed bookshelf)
All together now!



While yesterday, jet lag was my ally for excuses, today it's too much sun... the point is we hit the ground running. We had a welcome service in the morning hosted by Peace Portal Community Church, then we all went our separate ways.




Gerry & Heather Roberts, Sharon & Heather Hastings & Tammy headed with us (the film crew) to the medical clinic. It's about a 20 minute drive from the church, and to us seems like it's in the middle of no-where. But as the day wore on, more and more people seemingly just appeared out of the jungle to wait for treatment. Gerry and a Ugandan doctor ran the clinic, with the expert help of the nurses and crew. Gerry saw 57 patients, plus a similar number by the Ugandan doctor.



Ross spent the afternoon getting warmed up preaching... for six hours. "Just greasing the gears..." (slight paraphrase) said Ross, in his interview on national television... but I'll get to that in a moment. Ross preached to a number of pastors from the surrounding area and as far away as Entebbe (about 70 kilometres). He spoke on pastors as visionaries, and the importance of a strong marriage. Then he spent time answering tough questions from the pastors on everything from women in ministry to divorce.



Richard went around with Michael, visiting various projects the church has on the go. They stopped at the medical clinic, the piggery, and the school built with money donated through Peace Portal. We hope tomorrow to spend some time with Michael and see the 10-acre property and hear about his vision & plans for it.



Aimee & Martin were able to go to a few schools and talk with upwards of 150 kids. They talked about Canada and why there were, and answered questions.

Pete spent the day working away in the back with a couple of helpers and a dozen spectators. He commented that carpentry is a lot of fun back home, but it is very different here - it's a lot of hard work. He had to plane & sand each board, cut with a hand-saw and measure meticulously.

The evening was capped off by an appearence on national TV. Ross, Michael and Richard were invited to a general audience show to talk about the work in Mpigi. They did an excellent job, communicating clearly and sharing how the gospel is core to the work we are a part of for widows and orphans.



The TV studio was quite the site... formerly a colonial-era british hospital, cum dictator Idi Amin's compound, cum delapidated & deserted TV station.

The team had a quiet meal together before heading off to bed. We're expecting another busy day tomorrow. Continue to pray for the team, for strength and that God's love would be shown through the practical help and the teaching we are bringing to these people.

Here's a few more pictures to give an idea of what the area is like: