Seeing the countryside

The project team with the staff and locals



Moms wait for their baby's checkup



Setting up to discuss the project

It feels like I have been here for a long time already but it has only been 2 weeks. Last week I had the privilege of going on two trips to small villages. The first one was for a medical clinic approx 5hrs west of Kampala near Fort Portal. It was my second experience going to a small Ugandan village but this time it was to do work there instead of seeing the work already done. This small clinic has three full time staff but they are not enough to serve the people from the village and the ones that come from the nearby Rwenzori Mountains. Right now they have a small day clinic and a three room maternity ward both of which are not large enough. We were called to complete a master plan for the site so they could plan for future buildings. It took about 45mins for the introductions and greetings at the site. Is always a difficult thing on project trips where Ugandan culture is more concerned about relationships and we are more concerned about finishing in the time we have. With all the greetings done and a group following us we set up the RTK unit which looks like something they would put on the moon. I got to use the GPS Survey equipment for the first time and after being there for 4hrs we had completed the topographic survey for the property. The next morning we met with the local medical staff and some Canadian doctors(who are helping there for 2 weeks) to show them the site plan and we discussed where future buildings will go and services they will provide. It will be very exciting to see what this site looks like five years from now, I feel like I will say that about everywhere I go.




Erland surveying with the local wilflife




On the drive

After arriving home on Thursday night we were off once again on Friday to rough in and take grades for some school buildings and a chapel. Getting to this small village was awesome we drove on rutted dirt roads for about an hour passing through little villages, coffee and matooke farms until we finally arrive at a large clearing. The background of this area is that it saw very heavy fighting and the rebels did awful things to the local people during the civil war. The closest school is about 7km and that is pretty far to walk everyday. It is a very cool site and I know that God will use it to teach and heal the people from the surrounding area.

I leave for Kenya tomorrow we are flying instead of driving because it will be a tenth of the time. I will be doing more surveying; it seems that my many summers of surveying are going to good use over here. It is one of the interesting ways that God works, how he prepares use for things even when they aren’t even thoughts in our heads. This trip should be great we will be working with a Kenyan Architecture firm and there will also be a Kenyan civil engineer on the EMI team. The main project will be at the Africa International University but I will going to do some surveying for the Kijabe Hospital. More details to come on both those projects. Please prayer for safe travel for all the people coming on this project trip especially the volunteers coming from North America. And as always that God is given the glory.

Blessing, Aaron

Getting Settled in Kampala

This blog post is a little late in coming but here it goes. 

We left Colorado at 8:40pm on Monday (Aug 29) and Arrived in Kampala at 7:45am on Wednesday(Aug 31). It was a long journey but we were able to go to central London during our 9 hr layover in London. As I stepped off the plane the warm most air Ugandan hit my face and it became real I am in Uganda. My first two experiences in Uganda were seeing Jeremy Clarkson in front of me in the customs line and then seeing a bird control officer shoot a monkey in the parking lot. From that time we went straight to the EMI office where we met some of the staff and we shown where we will be living for the next 3.5 months. The guys are staying in the same compound that the office is in. It is quite different compared to Victoria where we don’t lock our doors to here in Uganda where we have a compound surrounded with topped with razor wire and a guard 24 hrs a day. During the day safety is not an issue but after dark it is not advisable to go places by yourself.

Well let me get on a happier note because if I continue on that stream you may never want to come to Uganda and you would miss out meeting these amazing people and seeing a beautiful country. Ugandans are super friendly and will spend the time to make sure you feel welcome. The food is delicious with so many fresh local fruits and vegetables incorporated into it. We have not had too much of a chance to explore the area on our own but through the orientation from Wednesday to Sunday we have got to see little snippets of the Ugandan way of life. Whoot, the power just came back on in time to go to bed(One of the things you get adjusted to here). We have been to downtown Kampala which is the busiest place I have ever been and is just awesome there are taxis and motorbikes (called bodas) everywhere. The taxis are ‘14’ passenger vans that often have 18 people in them and on the bodas there can be 3 people plus cargo like rebar or clumps of bananas. Wow this is getting long so I will end it here for now. But before I end could you keep a few things in prayer- the local people we meet everyday that we can connect well with them and develop good friendships; the people and ministries that we are designing buildings and systems for.

Blessings,

Aaron

The Journey Begins 

So I guess it is about time to get posting on this blog thing. As most of you know I am not great at English, maybe I will find my true first language in Uganda, but I will do my best to write posts that are easy to read and give you insight in what the Lord is doing in my life and journeys to Uganda.

Right now I am in the Denver airport waiting for a connecting flight to Colorado Springs where I will do a week of orientation before going out to Kampala. During my flights and layovers today I have been reading Mack & Leean’s Guide to Short Term Missions and it seems the more I read it the more it applies to our daily walk with Jesus. One thing that stuck out to me is the Missions Mindset- 1) knows Christ is Lord 2) missions are the responsibility of every Christian 3) calls people to move out 4) God uses all people to the change the world, even you!

My hope an prayer that by reading this blog you are encouraged in your faith and God is given glory.

Please prayer specifically for each of the 5 interns that are going over- Jake, Katie, Erland, Kevin, and Me that we mesh well together. Also the projects that we will be working on but mainly the people the these projects are for. And travel that goes smoothly, that we will meet interesting people and have good conversations.

Blessings, Aaron