Eden

Hello again!  I am back in Mbale and starting to delve into some administrative work here in the office. The last couple of days I have been writing current ‘blurbs’ for all of Jenga’s projects to update on the website. I think all the info on there is from 2009, so a lot has happened since then! Later this morning, we will head to the hospital again which I’m looking forward to. I’m not sure if David will still be in there – part of me hopes he is because I want to see how he is doing, but part of me hopes he has healed so quickly that he is already back home and his mum has been able to return to work. I am taking my camera this time, so hopefully I will be able to take some photos to give you a better idea of what Mbale hospital is like.

Our week in Jinja was pretty amazing. We stayed at a retreat centre called Mto Moyoni which was the closest thing to Eden I can imagine. You might have seen the photos on Facebook, but even they don’t do the place justice. The transformation of the heart course was incredibly enlightening, refreshing and true to its name! It was run by two Dutch ladies who have some pretty interesting stories to tell – one of them was shot in the arm several years ago by some men who thought she was a witch doctor and wanted to kill her (long story), and has the scar to prove it. I started reading a book called ‘Captivating’ while I was there, which God really spoke to me through. It’s quite a few years old now, and I remember lots of girls were talking about it when it came out and I thought it was just a whole lot of mushy girly crap about flowers and princesses and lame stuff, but it turns out I was wrong. I got less than halfway through, but it really changed my thinking on a lot of key spiritual issues and theology and I realised I believed a lot of things I didn’t realise I believed that just weren’t true. I have since downloaded the book to my Kindle so I can finish it J

The grounds were very beautiful and peaceful and I enjoyed just sitting and enjoying nature for long periods of time while overlooking the Nile. We even saw a whole heap of monkeys and a chameleon which was very cool. I didn’t really want to leave Jinja because it was so lovely, but it is good to be back home in Mbale too.

We have another wedding to go to this weekend! The younger brother of one our Jenga staff – Pastor Vinnie – is tying the knot and we’re all very much invited! I bought a semi-African style dress at the market a couple of weeks ago which I’m going to try out. Stay tuned for photos. What else is happening? We are most likely going to get another dog next week – a German Sheppard puppy that is very cute. We’ve come to the realisation that our guard dogs are not so great at guarding, but they’re very good at jumping and licking. They’re the diet coke of guard dogs. Tiff decided that we should get a dog that’s a little more hardcore, so we’re hoping to train this puppy into an intruder-shredding machine. Wish us luck.

The volunteer boys plus Tiff and I are going to head to Kampala next weekend to check it out and enjoy all the luxuries that a main city provides. I’m very excited about the prospect of a proper salad. And the cinema. I feel very out of tune with the world over here – I have no idea what songs are playing on the radio or what movies are showing on the screens. But yet, the world still turns.

I should probably go do some work, but kudos for keeping track of my blog and I will try and keep it updated as much as possible without boring you! Until the next instalment…