"Hollywood Hilton" to "Heartbreak Hotel" &'Chicken Tonite!'

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

From Dallas to Entebbe, Uganda, 'more or less'

                            
                        From Dallas to Entebbe, Uganda,....on KLM/Delta,....'more or less'



August 9, 10, 11, 12:



     August 9, 2012 was the BIG day.  8 of our Mission Team from CrossTimbers Church in the Dallas area,  were checked in and ready for our flight.  This included our Team Leader, Dave Schmille, as well as myself and my son-in-law Bob Veach,....a big blessing in itself,-to do African Missions with Bob!   The other 10 Team members also left on the same day, however, with a different plane(s) and different itinerary(s).  Our itinerary was as follows:  DFW to Atlanta;  Atlanta to Amsterdam, Netherlands;  Amsterdam to Kigali, Rwanda;  Kigali to Entebbe, Uganda.   We planned for almost 24 hours of flying.  Our flight out of DFW was scheduled to leave around 12:15pm,..however, right off the bat that didn't happen!  Due to major storms on the US East Coast, we were delayed over 5 hours on the ground in Dallas, before getting underway.  While waiting at DFW, I dropped my new Bluetooth Wireless Headset in the latrine, UGH!  After fishing it out and cleaning/drying it,.I discovered it only worked in one ear!  Better one than none, as my phone was loaded with 150+ songs from Contemporary Christian to '60's Rock to Country, for the long hours of plane trip(s).  (Remind me to take my headset off next time I use the 'restroom'!).  I was particularly excited to get started on this return trip to Uganda, God Cares Schools, and Orphanages,..and then, to continue on to my "other homeland" the Congo, DRC!!  I could hardly sleep for the anticipation and excitement I felt.



     You guessed it, we missed our connection in Atlanta, for the flight to Amsterdam!  It looked like we might have to sleep in the Hartsfield, Atlanta, airport,-a place with which I'm all too familiar, from 30 years of flying thru Atlanta on business trips.  God intervened for us in two ways, however, so we didn't sleep in those wonderful airport chairs,-nor on the floor!  First, He gave us a caring gate agent, who wanted to do everything she could to get us going;  secondly, He had the KLM flight crew and pilots stuck in Atlanta traffic, so they were late to our plane!  Thus, we were able to get on the delayed flight to Amsterdam,  arriving at Shiphol Airport mid afternoon.  (BTW,..my wireless headset returned to normal/full duty, YAY!).

Our next leg to Kigali, Rwanda, on KLM had already left the airport.  And, all the flights to Entebbe, Uganda,...thru ANY hub,..ie: Dubai, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg,  had left for the day as well.  God 'showed up' to bless us again.  KLM gave us vouchers for a nice overnight hotel, transfers, and meal vouchers.  I say it was God, because since our delay was 'weather-related', the airline is not required to 'put us up',..but they did!  So, our 'resting up' day that we had planned for after our arrival time into Uganda was spent instead in Amsterdam.  Just fine with us.




      The next day, we boarded KLM once again for the rest of our journey to Entebbe, Uganda.   Thankfully, everything went according to plan.  We also used my International phone, (purchased online from China for just $39.95US), to alert the rest of the Team and Pastor Dongo and others,  that we were a day late,-and needed transportation from Entebbe to Kampala.  Arriving at Entebbe airport after dark we quickly cleared Immigration and Customs, changed some currency into Uganda money, and then, met Pastor Dongo and his son, for the one hour drive to Kampala. What a joy to see Dongo and his family again!  By the way, the Entebbe International Airport is the same one used way back in the day when a TWA jetliner carrying Israeli athletes to the Olympics was hijacked by terrorists and forced to fly to Entebbe, Uganda.  At that airport the airplane, crew, and passengers were held hostage.  Finally, the Israelis carried out a daring commando mission to rescue the athletes and passengers.  You can read that story or see the movie, "Raid on Entebbe"!  The old terminal building and some planes are still there where you can see them from the main road, too.



     After retrieving our luggage,..which was a mountain of suitcases full of everything from clothes to shoes to pens and pencils for the Buyamba School kiddos,....we piled all our stuff and ourselves into a bus and Dongo's SUV for the hour and a half drive to our hotel in Kampala.  Some of us were sitting on baggage, and some on another person's lap. !!  After checking into the Olympia Hotel,..(we affectionately call it the Hollywood Hilton),..we got settled in, now very late Saturday/Sunday overnight.  The Olympia is, what shall we say,..'adequate'.  No hot water on many days, no electricity on many days, of course no air conditioning, no heat, no elevators, and most days no Internet.  Oh, and sometimes no glass in the windows, either!  It may or may not have mosquito nets or fans, and definitely you WILL be awakened by Muslim prayers at 4 AM every morning.  They are broadcast on loud speakers all over the city.  Waking up to those sounds is disconcerting, until one gets used to hearing it. Well, as I learned to say...TIA,..meaning 'this is Africa!'.  Oh, did I mention the food in Kampala is 'sketchy' at best?  I've been sick there more than  I want to remember.  Happy to be reunited with the rest of our Team in Kampala, the night passed without incident.  Thankfully, I slept quite well,..something I usually do NOT do on the first night anywhere, despite my lifetime of travels!

 
     Sunday, the 12th, found us all up early for a breakfast of papaya, pineapple, bread, instant coffee or instant tea, hot/boiled milk, bottled water, and some kind of eggs: (you quickly learn 'don't ask what's in there!').



     We enjoyed the church service at Kabalagala church,...led by Pastor Dongo.  The exuberance of these worshippers always gets my attention.  In the midst of relative poverty, they are a very happy people.   The service is conducted with an interpreter, in Lugandan and English.  The British legacy is that English is the national language,...however, many Ugandans, especially from the bush areas, do not know English.  After church our Team walked about a mile to a place called "Chicken Tonite".  Yep, all they serve is chicken, fast food style.  Pretty decent, actually...



      After eating lunch, we walked back to the "Hollywood Hilton", to rest and get packed again.  Our next scheduled item was to be at God Cares Primary School/Orphanage at 2pm, to help load over 700 kids onto buses to the site of the Summer Mission Bible Camp and Retreat.  With much pushing and shoving of kids, we loaded them all onto 6 buses.  Then, our Team took the last bus to a different hotel, clear across town,  much closer to where we'd be serving at the Camp.



     Stay tuned,....the fun was just beginning......

God Cares, Uganda, February, 2012

                         Febr. 2012 trip to God Cares, Uganda, Buyamba, Inc., Kampala, Uganda
This picture shows myself with a young African man, Shafique, in the bush outside of Kampala. He was willing to show me his mud/stick house, his wife, and their young baby.  It is my favorite picture of the trip, since he is Islamic, and not real outgoing with our Team.  However, he was thankful when we prayed for him and his family.









     I was able to visit God Cares Primary and High Schools, and to serve with Pastor Dongo and his wife, Florence,-who are the directors of the schools and orphanages.  What a thrill to deliver letters, Christian t-shirts, 'Live for Him' bracelets, and Christian bookmarks to the over 700 kids.  Two American manufacturers donated these items to give to the kids.  (They are Kerusso, Inc., and Universal Designs, Inc.,-whom I had worked for earlier in my sales career). Also, our Team from CA did painting on the new girl's dorm, provided by my church in Texas, Cross Timbers Community Church.  Another part of our Team provided school supplies from the Met Church, also in Texas.

Later, we spent a day visiting people in the huge slums of Kampala, getting to know them, and praying with them as well.  The trip into the slums was nothing short of amazing.  No sewage lines,..just wide open pits and ditches.  No running water, nor electricity,..no natural gas,..just shacks with only a curtain for a door covering.  What a thrill to feel like we were making a difference, one child at a time.

Still later, our Team visited Jinja, Uganda, on the shores of Lake Victoria,....the biggest fresh water lake in the world.  Jinja is also right on the Equator.  In Jinja we met over 200 ladies who make beautiful beads from discarded/used paper,-like magazines, newspapers, and such.  These ladies are "outcasts in their own land", due to the scourge of HIV and AIDS.  They are THRILLED to have what I call a 'thimble full of HOPE', simply by having a job and their ensuing feelings of self worth. Because of the goodness of a major CA shoe manufacturer,.these beads are then shipped to China-where they are attached to shoes.  The shoes are then shipped to the USA and other markets. The 'Buyamba Soles' were then made available through all Target stores in the US, on their website and in their stores.  Proceeds of all those sales went to the Clinic for the women in Uganda. What a blessing to see the ladies hard at work making the beads, for the shoes.  (To this day, you may view and purchase Buyamba Soles Shoes online, to help with this ministry in Uganda).


     At the end of the February trip, I had made up my mind to return to Uganda for the Summer 2012 Mission Youth Camp and Retreat.  In addition, I made the decision to contact old friends Tom and Kathy Lindquist, who still do Mission work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In fact, I had grown up with Tom and Kathy in the '50's and '60's in Congo, and wanted to revisit those places I had left as a teenager,..some 52+ years ago!  Thankfully, throughout the Summer of 2012, plans came together for me to leave Uganda alone, at the end of the Summer Camp.  I then would travel through Uganda and Rwanda, to meet Tom at the Congo border town of Bukavu.

It is very necessary to have what they call a 'protocol', ie: local person, to assist with EVERYTHING in Congo!  This is to help with Immigration, passports, Permits, Visas, something called a Go Pass, and, to accompany me on my travels for personal and safety reasons.  Congo is on the US State Dept. "watch list", which means that things are amazingly unpredictable. In fact, fighting broke out just 80 miles from my destination, only a week before my arrival!  With the full blessing and prayers of my kids, friends, and families, - the trip was made anyway.

I'd come to call my trip(s) Journey of a Lifetime: Africa Revisited.  The Summer 2012 trip back to Africa began from Dallas, Texas, with 18 members of a short term Mission Team to Uganda on August 9, 2012.

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       AMAZING JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME; MY RETURN TO AFRICA, AFTER 52 YEARS!!!







                                                                   

      As 1950 began,  my parents, Ernest and Hallie Green, were answering God's












call upon their lives to go to Africa,- under The Berean Mission, St. Louis.  My dad went as an












Evangelist/Bible teacher, and a translator, and my mother as a Registered Nurse. My oldest brother,












Eldon, age 9, next oldest brother, David, age 7, myself, (not quite 5 years old), and our baby sister,










Patricia, - who was in Mother's arms -, were all set to go. The Belgian Congo was a colony of the










country of Belgium,..a situation that was not uncommon in the early '50's.  The country is 5 times the










size of the state of Texas, with over 200 African tribal groups and languages!!  At that time, the










Belgian government ruled over the Congo.  They built roads, developed industries of mining, rubber,








and logging, and created a system of schools and regional medical facilities. While the Regional










Centers were fairly well developed, the Interior was very Primitive, and in some cases barely








passable.  Malaria, typhoid, pneumonia, yellow fever, jaundice, hepatitis, and a thousand other








Tropical diseases were rampant, not to mention snakes, scorpions, gorilla, baboons, leopards, and








other dangerous creatures!  Witchcraft, witchdoctors, curses, tribal conflicts, polygamy, and even








killings were commonplace. Our safety was clearly in the hands of the God who had called our






family to Congo, Africa.  The missionaries' task was to bring the Gospel of God's love to the native








villagers of Equatorial Belgian Congo.   So it was that on my 5th birthday, May 31, 1945, we docked








at the port of Matadi, Belgian Congo, Africa.  Along the way we had braved storms at sea, endless








days and nights with no land in sight, and we boys had even lost several softballs, gloves, and








baseballs, 'accidently' tossed overboard!! Our family, fresh from Nebraska and the heartlands of








America, were beside ourselves with excitement, and ready to dive into the middle of this new








adventure.  After a 21 day voyage from New York City on the freighter SS Steinstradt, our family








could not have been any "Greener",-raw rookies in fact-, certainly living up to our family name!!

   


     After disembarking on the African coast there came days of driving on barely passable roads to








the capital city, of Leopoldville, (now named Kinshasha).  The Tropical sun, heat, and humidity were








noticed immediately.  Among our earthly possessions was a 1950 Ford, donated by friends in








America.  I vividly remember watching the huge crane unloading our car from the bowels of the








ship!!  Our travelling companions on the drive were a British doctor, and 5 snake hunters from








Florida.  We 12 passengers on that freighter made quite a group!  After catching our breath for a








couple of nights in Leopoldville, we booked passage on a Sabena Airlines DC-3, to the Interior








regional post of Bukavu, Congo. Upon arrival we were met by veteran missionaries, waiting to drive








us on our trip Downcountry over the infamous Route de Kimbili,...climbing mountains, skirting








cliffs, and travelling an average of perhaps 15 miles per hour!!   For a good part of the 'road', - really






a kind of overgrown path, - it was one way only,..every other day travelers could proceed only that






one direction.  Road hazards included landslides, trees down across the road, violent thunder storms,






bridges washed out, and deep holes to avoid!! Also, we dodged people walking, and animals running






across the road.  We drove the next three arduous and sometimes terrifying days to our first posting,






Katanti, Belgian Congo, Africa, set upon a hill in the middle of the jungle!  We were met with a






jubilant celebration, by the Africans and the few white missionaries at that Mission post.  What a






moment for us newbies!!








     Thus began 10 years of Mission work,-until I was 15,-among the Balega tribe, and living in the








undeveloped provinces of Maniema and of South Kivu, in the midst of one of the largest and most








dense rain forests in the world. Although I wouldn't trade the experience for anything on this Earth,








the ending was pretty 'sketchy', to say the least!!  But first, we had to adjust and learn the ways of






the Balega tribe specifically, and Africa in general!!  In so doing, we were in many ways growing up






"Congolese".  Here's how all those adventures went down,.....



































      My family and I fled the Congo in 1960, after that country had received its' independence from




the Belgians,-and riots, lootings, killings, rapings, and various atrocities made staying there unsafe.



Word had reached us that some missionaries in our region had been attacked, raped, and killed.  So,




with fearful, heavy hearts, we formed a caravan of mission cars on the way to the border at Bukavu,




South Kivu Province. After being detained for 3 days against our will, and guarded at gunpoint 24/7




by drunken members of the Congolese military, we and 28 other evacuating missionaries were finally




allowed to leave peacefully, after those grueling, terrifying days of negotiating for our safety between




the US Embassy and the Congolese.  Were we threatened at gunpoint?..Yes!  Were the women in our




group threatened?,.Yes!  Were our lives at stake?,.Yes! Were we afraid of death?,.Absolutely!.  A 




miracle occurred when one of our heavily armed guards was recognised by my father, by his Balega




tribal markings carved on his face!!   My father was moved to speak to the guard in his own dialect,




and the highly explosive tension was miraculously broken.  Speaking to the other troops, he




said,.."these are our friends, the missionaries!  They have nothing, and we should let them go!"  




After those wild, crazy, and terrifying days we were driven at break kneck speed to the Rwanda




border crossing at the river Ruzizi, and allowed to leave the country!!  Thank you Lord,..God was




with us!!  Feeling happy and relieved to escape unharmed, I had no idea what would happen some 52




years later!!









                                                                                  II

     Fast forward to the Summer of 2011.  I was now living in Texas with my wife of 45 years, Carol. 




She fought valiantly against Dementia, Strokes, and other issues, with my kids and I her Caregivers.




She was called to her Eternal Home in June of 2011.  Throughout our years I had sometimes




had a desire to return to my adopted country, the Congo,..but my wife, Carol,-having heard too many




snake, scorpion, & witch doctor tales-, was not lining up to take that trip with me!  However, one




of the last things she did tell me was that "when I'm gone to Heaven, you go back to Africa, Rog!"



     So it was, that in February, 2012, I joined a team of 8 short term missionaries from California on a




10 day trip to Kampala, Uganda, Africa.  (I had been to Kampala several times as a kid). This was the




first step in fulfilling my dream of revisiting Africa!  We were on Mission to God Cares Primary,




High School, and Orphanages in the Kampala area.  The official name in the Lugandan language is




"Buyamba",..which literally means 'to help'. This trip did everything to encourage me in the return to




Africa,..and nothing to discourage me!  God Cares, Buyamba, is capably operated by Pastor Dongo, a




man I've since come to love as a dear friend and co-worker. Over 1,600 African orphans have been




provided a safe haven in a Christian environment and school.  Many of these 'at risk' kids are




orphaned by the wars, terrorist acts, plagues, genocide, AIDS, and hunger that continue across the




Continent of Africa.  The African leader of Buyamba himself was orphaned as a child, and with his




wife cares for 16 people in their own home, in addition to running the Orphanage & schools.

    


     Since Kampala, Uganda, put me only about an 8 hour drive from the Congo, I began to plan a




second trip to Buyamba, Kampala, which would allow me to then continue on to the Congo.  That




trip was realized in August and September, 2012!  The Ugandan Africans dubbed me 'Rogers', while




my Congolese friends named me "Banuamazi".  The Congolese name literally means, "he drinks




water from the stream in the forest, but he doesn't know who or what "pooped" upstream"!

    
The story of that trip, "Journey(s) Of A Lifetime: Return To Africa" is the story of this book.