The hotel has been host to several famous visitors before we arrived last night.... Ernest Hemmingway's made a legendary trip to the district, where he was involved in two plane crashes in the space of a week. The first at Murchison Falls and the second at Butiaba airstrip. Hemmingway stayed at Masindi Hotel whilst recovering. Humphrey Bogart and Catherine Hepburn also stayed at Masindi Hotel during the filming of "African Queen" at Masindi Port.
This is the third year Jim McAnlis (CMS Ireland and Fields of Life), Craig Dyer, training Director of Christianity Explored and I have assisted in equipping church leaders to use the course. Two years ago we launched the Luganda translation and last year the Swahili edition.
On Monday and Tuesday last week we participated in the national launch of Christianity Explored in Kampala, hosted by the Uganda Bible Society. We also held a second conference to train teachers from Uganda and Burundi, connected with Fields of Life schools, to use the youth version of Christianity Explored called CY.
At the invitation of the Rt. Rev. Evans Kisekkathe Anglican Bishop of Luweero, we then held a two day conference for about 50 clergy from several local Diocese in how to train others to use CE. Then we moved to Kiwoko Christian hospital to participate (for the third year) in the 7th Annual Kiwoko Bible Conference. Between 800-1000 pastors from a wide area joined in this Bible teaching week, and Craig, Jim and I shared in the teaching as well as encouraged them to use CE.
On Saturday I visited the Compassion Project UG-507, Wakayamba Child Development Centre which cares for about 260 children, many of whom are orphans. It is an amazing oasis of hope and encouragement providing education, health care, food and clothing, and above all, a future for those children.
On Sunday I preached twice at St John's Anglican Church in Kiwoko, at the Ugandan service and then the English service which is primarily for Expats working in the hiospital and local relief agencies.Then we drove four hours to Masindi and the famous Masindi Hotel for a good night's sleep.
Masindi is our base for the week and each day we drive north to Bweyale. The journey takes over an hour, on very dusty and bumpy unmade roads, and longer if we keep to the main roads with tarmac. People tend to ride three or four to a motorbike, two or thee to a bicycle or stand in the back of open cattle trucks - sometimes as many as 50 people in one lorry. Then there are the pedestrians and cattle to avoid that walk by the road side. Passing oncoming vehicles while dodging the motorbikes, cyclists and pedestrians requires precision especially where the road is narrow or has deep ditches on either side. Right of way tends to go to the largest vehicle or the more aggressive driver.
Bweyale is on the main Kampala - Gulu road and has become a bustling town, home to a wide range of people groups as well as refugees from the surrounding countries. Over 80 different languages are spoken in Bweyale which creates challenges for the civic as well as church leaders.
We are here at the invitation of the Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagalio of Masindi Diocese to assist with two training conferences for clergy and church leaders to help equip them to use Christianity Explored to reach their communities with the good news of Jesus Christ. Last year Christ Church, Virginia Water supplied two motorbikes for the Anglican and Pentecostal clergy to access their outlying communities.
To God be the glory and the future of the Church of Uganda.
