Public Car

Could a new, more favorable trend be starting?  For the second week in a row my wait for a public car to bring me back from Mugujai was short.  Also for the second week in a row, the car was almost empty.  Until recently, the drivers would not start out from Busia (4 km away) until the car was what they call full (overloaded).  Now they are looking for passengers and fares along the way.  Good!  There are many of us along the way that need transportation.  Last week we went from one passenger, me, at the eastern edge of Mugujai, to one person shy of overloaded by the western edge of Mugujai (maybe half a kilometer).  This time we reached the next village before we were so overloaded that the driver sent one of the new passengers to another vehicle loading cargo nearby.

MTN

I received my latest ‘new’ visa.  Each time I get a new, or an extended visa I must visit the phone company’s service center and show them the new document.  They need to create a new registration form for my phone number, except they write the word ‘reconnect’ at the top.  This is because Uganda requires them to disconnect service for anyone whose national identity document (visa) has expired.  Ideally, I would be able to present my ‘new’ visa before the old one expires.  However, to stay in the mission field, I send my passport in for processing instead of taking multiple days to go across the country (currently a 2-day trip due to road closures/re-routing), visit immigration, and then return.  As a result, I cannot show that I have been granted a new visa until the passport returns, which is usually just after the old visa expires.  (As long as the new one is issued on or before the old one expires, I am okay, except for phone service.)  Such is life away from the national capital.

Roofing part2

They have started putting the iron sheets on the roof next door.  They are nailed directly to the joists mentioned in the previous post.  They have roofing nails, but the collar is metal, not rubber like I saw in the US.

The way they roll the sheets to make them easier for transport makes me think they are not iron.  They are thin, but the flexibility (and ease of cutting it to the right shape) makes me think they are really aluminum or tin and ‘iron sheet’ is just a name.

One unused ‘iron sheet’ and several partial pieces after the first day of roofing.

The new house as seen from my yard.

Roofing

Termites are common around here.  The Ugandans call them white ants and they like to collect them, cook, and eat them.  As a result, there is little interest in killing off the termite hills.

Houses are built out of mud bricks or concrete block with cement as the mortar in either case.  The joist for the roof are another matter.  They are wood.  I have seen them rough cut a beam from a teak tree using a chain saw.  I have neither seen nor heard of a lumber mill in country, but I want to believe that there is one, somewhere.  The roofing joists are built on site, not prefabricated like they are in the US.  Yesterday the team “painted” the joists with used motor oil.  The termites do not like teak.  They also do not like used motor oil.

Prison Ministry

The team returned today reporting that they were not allowed into the prison for ministry.  Red eye (the local name for pink eye) has been turning up in some of the schools.  It is also in the Koboko main (Gbukutu) prison.  I appreciate the staff’s concern for the health of our team members, although I wish we could have continued the ministry this week.  We will try again next week.

Meanwhile, we will use our contact information to check on the other prison we serve.  They are much smaller and frequently do not experience the health issues of the larger prisons.

Prison Ministry Meeting

The prison ministry team meeting is getting small again.  I expected more people to be available during the school holidays, but attendance indicates fewer are available.  One did return.  However, several are missing.

Today we finished our study of the Gospel of Mark.  When we started, we planned to just start over, to recall what we studied 93 weeks ago (we take it in small pieces, so we have time to translate and still talk about it).  Now we have changed the plan; we will begin a study of the Gospel of Matthew.  Still studying the good news, still focused on sharing the good news to the prisoners.

Computer Skills

I was able to get a public car immediately upon arrival in town; however, the wait for the driver to start the trip was over an hour.

When I arrived there were still computer skills students there.  No report of any having left!  In the past, when I have been detained like this, some, even all, of the students have left.

Two of the students that normally come, did not.  Those who were there also expected them and did not know why they were absent.  Those who did come took advantage of the extra computer time and made great progress.

Kiko Alobu

They did continue to work on the border road since my trip last week.  The first half (the part that was grated last year) is still in reasonably good shape.  There are a few areas that remind me of a roller coaster, but that does not slow traffic like the potholes did.  Now the second half is good.  Even the places where drainage conduits were put across the road to move the water to lower ground without washing out the road are smooth.  Previously they resulted in a speed hump (too wide to be a speed bump but the traffic is still impacted).  The grating resulted in a better, more gradual ramp up, over, and back down.

The only downside that I noticed was the speed bumps that the people of Mugujai installed to slow down the traffic near the school and near the market, are gone.  The drivers are taking advantage of the change, so I must make my request for a stop before I can see the place I want to get out.

Barter System

A member of the construction crew building the house next door asked Moses to help him.  He had guests coming and needed a chicken to serve them.  He promised to pay Moses back the next day.  They agreed on a price and Moses gave him a chicken.

For the last three weeks Moses has been asking for his money.  He keeps saying the boss has not paid him.  Moses noticed the boss was on site today and plans to inquire directly.  Meanwhile, new supplies have arrived, and construction has resumed, indicating a fresh supply of money for the project.

I have noticed a substantial amount of buying on credit here in rural Uganda.  Apparently most people make good because the system continues; however, this is not an isolated story.

Quarter System

The diocese changed its financial system to the quarter system.  I have no idea where the name comes from; quarter of what?

Each parish is assigned an amount to raise to support the diocese.  Likewise, the archdeaconry has assigned each parish within the archdeaconry an additional amount to raise to support the archdeaconry.  After these amounts are paid, all remaining offerings (for the balance of the year) can remain with the local parish for development.  Sounds like an assessment to me (assessment of each parishes’ financial strength), but this term is not used here.

Previously, a small part of the offering remained with the parish and the majority (I have not seen the exact numbers but I was led to believe it was over 90%) was sent to the diocese via the archdeaconry.