We left Carla's house in Bolton at 2.30am, headed to Manchester airport and after a change in Amsterdam then a quick stop in Rwanda we finally landed in Entebbe at about 11.20pm that night! From there we drove about an hour to Kampala where we stayed with Mama Sarah who looks after orphans at Blessed Hill.
My first impressions on landing in Uganda included questions like "How can a place look so stunning even when it's pitch dark and I can hardly see anything?!" and I was really taken aback by the smell! It has a really strong smoky smell which you soon get used to but when I first stepped out the plane it gave me a real surprise. It amused me that on our return journey I had gotten so used to it that I couldn't smell it any more until we arrived back in the UK and suddenly I became aware of it again and realised all my clothes (and myself!) were oozing of the scent. I could still smell it in my hair after the first wash once back! The humidity and heat were also incredible considering how late at night it was (definitely not Orkney temperatures!) and the noises were amazing...crickets and all sorts of creatures must have been hiding in every plant and tree! |
Next we headed to Buwasunguyi (pronounced Bwa-sun-gooey), a village on Mount Elgon where we spent the rest of our trip. James and I mainly painted school walls and played with and taught the local children. We got to see the medical centre which helps 9000 people and on the Sunday we went to the church service. Carla did some preaching and taught the women crochet and patchwork crafts which they will hopefully be able to sell to earn a little more money, and Martin visited other villages of Uganda where he preached and had Paster Michael as his guide. |