The ultimate discovery

Don't ask me what they're doing in there...

Work has been going well. Mostly I’ve been putting together materials for the project report. I had done some GPS surveying, so I also spent some time transferring some of that data to an AutoCAD map.

Wednesday, I had a nice break from the office. I went with Brad to do some structural inspections at a ministry called New Hope Uganda located north of Kampala maybe 40 miles or so. That had to be the absolute worst ‘paved’ road I’ve ever traveled. It seemed like we were on some kind of racecourse weaving in and out of traffic cones, but instead we were trying to avoid potholes (actually rather, we were trying to avoid the intermittent chunks of lingering pavement). Most of Brad’s maneuvering was in vain because the span of many of the potholes was wider than the car itself and often greater than the width of the pavement itself. It was amusing watching oncoming traffic swerve all over the place in their futile attempt to improve their ride quality. I was just about to use to use the term ‘lane’ but I didn’t want to give the wrong impression. Lanes as we know them are nonexistent here. Thanks to the obstacle course along the way, fierce traffic getting out of Kampala, an overheated engine, and a road construction zone, we arrived at New Hope four hours later. We were right on time, well at least by African standards, which we conveniently adopted for this situation. Oh yeah, I mentioned an engine overheating. The office car has this practice of shutting down without warning. I think it has some feature which kills itself when it’s about to overheat. Unfortunately, the temp gage prefers not to report this reality until it is too late. After the car’s death, we discovered that it was also low on coolant (which certainly must have either caused or compounded the problem). Fortunately, we landed near someone’s residence along the ‘road’ (groping for a suitable word here) who kindly spotted us for some water. Back on the ‘road’ our next stop was in Bombo to purchase two Jerrycans and fill them with water to keep for future emergencies. I love adventures…

The Ugandan DOT could use a few more of these...

Our inspection was equally remarkable. The guy in charge of the ministry had asked Brad to come take a look at a few things that were causing him concern – rightfully so. We witnessed several trusses that had been assembled sketchily, a new ring beam which was literally crumbling as we examined it, and some other alarming stuff. The contractor responsible for the problems had already been replaced, but not soon enough. Needless to say, the new contractor will have his work cut out for him.

Much to my delight, Sunday afternoon I hunted down a group that plays Ultimate Frisbee, my favorite sport. As far as I know, there’s only a handful of Ugandans who have even seen a Frisbee, so I was thrilled to find a group that plays. Not only did I have a blast playing the game, but I also enjoyed making some new friends. The guys I played with had really great personalities and I look forward to getting to know them better. My only reservation is with regard to my motives. I have a lust for this game, which I think can be utilize for God. If there’s something you’re passionate about (can I use that word?), why not find a way to use it for ministry? I guess my concern is that I not be driven out of selfishness. I want to approach this situation with integrity. Will I forfeit other more important ministry opportunities so that I can just have fun? Do I want to make friends with these guys because I’m comfortable around them? Or because they seem well-to-do? Don’t know, but I need to regularly evaluate my intentions.

I’m still teaching PE (recess supervision is probably a more accurate description) twice a week at the primary school. Lets just say I don’t plan on changing my day job. It’s been a stretching experience in a positive way, but I’m probably not going to complain about it when I leave town. The fact that all three soccer balls had disappeared while I was gone for two weeks on the project trip was not at all surprising. Fortunately, I bought a spare ball, so at least one group was easy to occupy. I still haven’t had the chance to purchase any more balls, but every class reminds me of the urgency to do so.

Last night we had our first Bible study with a group of brothers from Amazing Grace. I thought it went really well. We studied the first chapter of James and we plan to continue through the book in the following weeks. I gotta say I was impressed with their spiritual maturity. Except for the communication and cultural barriers, it was a great blessing.