August 13,14,15
From "Hollywood Hilton" to "Heartbreak Hotel" to 'Chicken Tonite!'
When last we left our intrepid group of travelers,...(shown above are the 7 members stranded @ Amsterdam's huge airport),.....the Team had arrived in Entebbe, Uganda, and travelled to the Olympia Hotel,-affectionately dubbed the "Hollywood Hilton",-to be reunited with the other 11 members of our Team. After the reunion and 1 overnight, we enjoyed church at Pastor Dongo's Kabalagala Church, in Kansanga, Kampala, Uganda.
Immediately after church, you'll recall we all trekked about a mile to a place called 'Chicken Tonite'. This is a Uganda version of a fried chicken fast food,..and a favorite of our Team. (Actually, the food is quite good).
Sunday afternoon found us at God Cares Primary School, Kampala,- the Team walked the one mile to the school,- hanging out with over 700 kids who were to be bused to Seroma Christian High School across town, for the annual Summer Bible Camp & Retreat, sponsored by Pastor Dongo and my church in Texas, CrossTimbers Community Church. Somehow, we piled that major number of kids into only 4 buses! Then, our Team drove with Pastor Dongo and one of his sons across Kampala to a different hotel much closer to the Bible Camp. The hotel is called Hotel Deira,....but, we quickly dubbed it "Heartbreak Hotel". By comparison to the earlier "Hollywood Hilton",...it just seemed the right name for that place!! Upon checkin we discovered some of the 'features' of this new hotel:
No mosquito nets, LOUD bar right at the front of hotel=noisy music/laughter ALL night, lights that don't work, only some rooms with ceiling fans, a 'million' flights of stairs, of course no A/C or WiFi, sheets that were too small for the twin beds(!),......well, you get the picture.
One unique 'feature' stands out........each room's bathroom was right against the bathroom in the NEXT room. HOWEVER, the wall was only a partial wall!!!!!!!So, someone in our bathroom could pretty much hear EVERYTHING from the poor soul in the next bathroom, and vice versa!!! It IS true that on short term Mission(s) one gets to know his Team REALLY well,.....maybe like TMI!
Our Team didn't get much sleep that first night at the "Heartbreak Hotel". Also the air quality in Kampala,-as in much of Africa,-is TERRIBLE. Remember the saying, "smoke from a million fires"? Anyway, a couple of our group were coming down with major upper respiratory infections, and at least one with stomach issues. 'Let the games begin!'
Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday looked something like this: early wakeup for voluntary devotional time under the banana trees as the sun came up; 'breakfast' of coffee, tea, bread, juice, some kind of something, & some other kind of something else,--(remember, don't ask); off to Bible Camp to serve breakfast for the 700+attendees; teaching Bible lesson to small groups; review for small groups; serving lunch for the attendees; afternoon sports-soccer & basketball, (they love to beat up on us Americans(!); bath time for the attendees; giving out items brought from USA for the attendees; serving them dinner; then, back to "Heartbreak Hotel". Our Team served and taught at least 800 at each meal, including leaders,..so if you do the math we served 2400 meals a day! Meals consisted of: tea, rice, beans, some kinda meat, bread, poshu:-an African gruel from manioc that I'd had many years earlier-(not at all tasty, but makes a great filler), & matoke:-boiled & mixed up bananas. The Team ate whatever was left over,..and sometimes there weren't any leftovers. That's when our power bars from US would carry us thru!
While the routine didn't change much day to day,....the blessings did change. Especially the free time to hang out with different people each day is a special time. They love to hear about us, the US, our families, see pictures, etc., etc. We renewed old friendships with kids like Koko, Mary, Dorah, Songa, Glory, and Hope, whom I'd met before during my February trip.
By Wednesday we were pretty used to the ins and outs of the "Heartbreak Hotel", and, many of the Team were getting very tired. At least 3 more were 'down' with whatever disease the "crud" was. Wisely, our Team leader let us sleep late the next morning, before going over to Camp.
Only Thursday, Friday, & Saturday now separate us from the end of Camp. Time seems like it racing along a bit too fast. At least one night we ate at The Bistro Cafe,..which we like to call "The International House of Talapia"! Reason for that is: several Team members got the fish and it is the WHOLE THING,..head and all! I preferred the pork,..without its' head, of course!! BTW, you cannot always trust the menu(s). Often whatever you think you've ordered turns out to be something not exactly like you wanted,......
I'll leave you with this thought,...the Bistro Cafe is just down the street from the Ethiopian bar/cafe/nightclub where terrorists struck a couple years ago, killing a number of people........walked by there many times.
Rogers
