Well, I made it, and with no bumps in the road, no flights were off schedule. This is, of course, due in full to the amount of prayer I have been shrouded in. Thank you all! Please don’t stop. I remember seeing the banana trees and mud brick houses when we touched down. Tall grasses and acacia trees spotted the red dust of the land. “Well, this is Africa,” I said to myself. I wondered if Chris, the man I was to meet, would be waiting for me or had traffic in Kampala slowed him. I remember warnings not to take pictures of the airport, police or the dam at Jinja. I was worried that my passport would not get stamped and I would need to spend 30 US dollars a day or return home. I wanted to be careful how I acted in front of the immigration officer, so he would not deny me 90 days. I got in line and waited. When it was my turn I had my passport and vaccinations certification. I handed them to the officer. He checked them, then asked for 50 US dollars. I tried to unzip my vest to reach my wallet, but the vest would not unzip. I fought, tugged, pulled, massaged and tore, but my wallet was as good as untouchable. I tried to go in from under my vest, but no avail. The officer, now very impatient with me, waved me to get out of line, as I had taken the time three normal un-David people would have used. Well, I got it out and handed the money to the man and he stamped my passport for 3 months. Again, your prayers. Then I wondered if my bag had come on the same flight or would I need to hold up in chairs for hours till I received it. But as I walked to the revolving baggage claim I found it just fine.
I had not waited long until Chris Sperling greeted me with a hug. Chris has a large Canadian accent and very clear pronunciation of words. He speaks in statements and requests, stern, albeit polite. Then I met four of his seven children – Kenny, 9, Albert, 8, Isaiah, 6, and Ezra, 3. They are intelligently curious little boys and well-mannered, as well. As we drove from the airport my senses were 134% - so much to see and take in. Chris walked me through a few key cultural differences and sayings in Lugandan. It was a three hour drive with no speed limit to Jinja from Entebbe and he had to go through Kampala, a city well known for traffic and accidents. It takes hours to get through it with no way around. But it was Sunday and not only that, but the day before the first day of school, so no one was out and about and we made it within an hour -another grace of your prayers! Then we drove through a rainforest, where I saw my first wild monkey. The people walk alongside the road and actually in the road. The other drivers will pass and try to run you off the road. No defensive drivers allowed. That is the most dangerous thing you can be here. You do not pass from Entebbe to Jinja without seeing at least one bad, bad wreck on the road. Many die in car accidents here. But Chris, living here for about 15 years, has never been in more than a fender-bender. I wonder Who be the cause of that?
Munzungo is what white people are called here. We are very few. Chris and I were the only ones I had seen before today, when I saw two, no doubt white teachers here to teach school. I have settled in well and gotten over jet lag. Chris and his wife Jane are gracious hosts, their children are delightful and the scenery is so beautiful. I am learning much and praying often. The lord has definitely prepared this, there can be no doubt. I fell asleep after lunch on the first day. I had not slept in two days due to my time traveling around the earth. The food here is all homegrown and fresh! Pineapples, papaya, tomatoes, corn, beans, potatoes and bananas have so much more flavor! There is no comparison. I had heard this was true, but until I tasted... There are usually a minimum of ten people around Chris’s table and many hot bowls of food - chicken, rice, gravy - all fresh. We just killed our dinner chicken today. I got it on video. The Sperling’s have two home workers, Jethro and Feona. They are relatively mysterious and hide some times. They don’t speak English very well. They cook our meals out on charcoal fires in a cooking shed outside. It’s hardcore. They are also clean.
Chris’s house has a large wall around it with an iron gate. Ugandans do not respect property laws very well and there are many wild beasts of the field. The next day I went with Chris to help teach Farming God’s Way. I got to see how a missionary works. We went to a place called Kira farm where we met several Ugandan students. Chris taught the lesson in English and Lugandan. Farming God’s Way is a holistic Christ centered way to farm.
First, he asked us if we had problems farming... “What are a few of the problems?” he said. People listed their problems, and then he asked us if God was a farmer. We thought and said “yes.” “He gardens through fields and the forests,” said one elderly Ugandan. “How does God farm?” Chris asked, “What does his garden get and what does ours get? “We made a table - both gardens get sunshine, rain, soil and food, but man’s garden gets plowed, burned and has one crop and open soil and weeds, whereas God’s garden has biodiversity, no plow, no weeds and God’s blanket. The earth’s natural layer of plants is an eco-system untilled. Later in the lesson he showed us that farming is the best way to fight poverty with Uganda’s fertile soil. We need three things to fight poverty: technology, management and God’s word or biblical keys. Seek ye first all the kingdom of god and all other things will be added unto you. Chris tied in several Bible verses, always turning to the Bible for the answers, keeping God at the center and illuminating new life through faith in Jesus Christ. Then we went out into the field to mark out plots of student gardens. Today, the third day in Uganda I did housework, as there were no classes to teach. I got to know the family better and get settled in. I made friends with the neighborhood boy and a deaf mute child who is discarded by the community as stupid with no chance. I spent extra time riding bicycles with him. With the children who did not understand English I constructed simple games such as throwing rocks at some yellow flowers in a tree to knock them down. They giggled and understood without words what I was trying to do. I may have found an audience for my proclaimer, but more relationship is needed. I have been in and out of town picking up parts to help Chris convert his house to solar energy as at night we only have one light. As I type, Chris is evangelizing a neighbor man. I love it here. My senses are at 134% taking all this in. It is amazing how exciting snapping beans off a vine can be when you don’t know what you are being told :) Keep praying for me, I am learning so much so fast and enjoying it all.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto thee.
In Christ,
David Greene
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