And so it is, the rainy season arrives in Uganda; but despite the tans fading and the cloudy skies above, the team remains on good form, and as enthusiastic as ever. For a month that started with great April Fool plans, scuppered by further intermittent internet access, April has been a productive, yet, at times, emotional, month for the team.

April has been a month where life at school has come to a close. The last lessons were taught, the final games were played and fond farewells were exchanged with teachers and pupils alike. It was a sad day for us all, but fortunately we knew that we would shortly be returning for another few days at each of our schools, as, although the official term was over and our role as classroom teachers was through, the fun of Holiday Club had not yet begun!

We had decided to base our Holiday Club around the story of Jonah, adapting sports, crafts, and music & drama to reflect the messages given in the morning and afternoon talks, all over-enthusiastically introduced by the Deep Sea Duo ‘Jumping Jack’ and ‘Diving Dan’! The talks, the Jonah drama, the ‘special discovery groups’ and dances, all seemed to go ‘swimmingly’, with a number of children becoming Christians having accepted the gospel for the first time!

So although things have come to a close (twice!) in the schools, we have still been having a number of new and exciting experiences! All this reckless energy for Holiday Club had to come from somewhere after all…

Easter weekend. A three hour boat ride from Entebbe, via a quick stop on a fake white beach, took us to Banda Island, and our home for the next few days. The island, situated in the middle of the bilharzia-infected Lake Victoria, and run by an eccentric 50-year old, bearded, drug addict who disliked people, turned out to be the perfect location for a few days of rest (apart from those times spent avoiding the hordes of ants that shared the island with us!)! Some good times were spent rowing in boats with holes in, using windsurf boards with no sails, and eating popcorn by the bonfire we built lake-side…! It really was as surreal as it sounds!

Anyway, the other headlines for April include highlights such as the arrival and slaughter of a third hen; the eating of the other hens’ eggs and other treats such as grasshoppers; the purchasing of Ugandan football shirts and African crafts from fantastic local markets; a visit from the Prince of Buganda; an afternoon in the studios of Radio One Uganda; and much much more besides…

And so it is that we head into a few days of rest, eagerly anticipating our safari expedition next week and more adventures around the currently unexplored areas of the diverse and exciting country that Uganda has already proved itself to be…

P.S – see if you can find the Holiday Club memory verse within the text…!

Amazing scenes in Africa!
Bible Clubs are brilliant!
Chickens have been chosen to complete the Big Brother compound!
Deep Sea Discovery is developing as our Holiday Club!
Enjoying the endless energy of Central Kampala!
Friday evenings filled with friendly street kids!
Gender debates getting girls going!
Hitch-hiking back from Jinja in a hair-raising Honda!
Intermittent internet access!
Jack Bauer!
Kayaking World Champion, Eric Jackson, kicking back with Kit!
Lots of posho and beans, leaving us longing for lasagne!
Mesmeric meanderings through Mabira forest!
National Hug Day – not official, but needed!
Opportunities to help out at the orphanage!
Peeling problems have passed away!
Quite surprised how much Giles enjoyed ‘High School Musical’!
Riding horses around Speke resort – what a riot!
Sharing songs in the school’s staff room!
The Hairy Lemon – time to chill together as a team!
Using umbrellas in Uganda is unheard of!
Very little room in virtually all vehicles!
White-water rafting was wicked!
X-factor-esque auditions for the church choir!
Yet again, the month flies by!
Zebras lined up for holiday safari!

Uganda continues to surprise, from
Ggaba beach (chilling next to Lake Victoria!), to visiting the Equator
And teaching the “Fields of Life Celebration Choir” how to use a knife and fork! But
None of this could prepare us for the hustle and bustle of Kampala city centre;
Dodging cars and motorbikes on dusty roads, fighting our way through the crowds
And being offered to buy everything from shower caps to sunglasses.

Unlike Ugandan Visas, churches have not been too difficult to find and we’re
Going to be serving at Calvary chapel Kampala for the rest of our stay,
Already enjoying an involvement in their work with street children.
Nineteenth birthday and Valentine’s Day celebrations, weird
Dreams and “earthquakes” have added to the enjoyment of working in schools
And the evening teaching has helped us to develop our faith throughout.

And what about our own, individual experiences?

Abi is enjoying teaching music in Children’s Corner. She will be working in the
Babies’ orphanage and has been relaxing in the Speke hotel, eating
Ice cream and making the most of Kampala’s taxi service.

Alice is officially “Slam Queen” at home but Madame Alice at Glory for Education.
Lately she has been teaching silly games and songs
In her music, dance and drama classes and chilling with
Chocolate, even atop the minibus on sports day. She has
Enjoyed swinging in hammocks on girly weekends.

Dan is trying to find creative ways of teaching English at Treasured Kids
And has nearly finished reading Narnia to the team. A few
Near-death experiences keep him on his toes in and around Kampala city.

Ele has enjoyed teaching baby class at Kitti School and helping make alphabet
Letter posters for the children. She has been drenched by an
Equatorial storm and has been swimming in her free time.

“Give me some structure in this country!” The
Immigration office visa section is getting to know Giles well.
Lots of preparation for weekends away and
Evening meetings have kept Giles busy but he looks forward to
Surfing white waters in Jinja next weekend.

Jack has been teaching at Children’s Corner and using his football
Ability to get to know both the children and some of the locals.
Currently lightly toasted by the sun, he boasts his knowledge that coconuts
Kill more people each year than sharks…

Jonnie is teaching mainly sport and music at Kitti school.
On his days off he “enjoys” being redirected around the Post Office
Having water fights and every
Now and then riding in a police truck, wearing Kevlar body armour…!

Katie has been invaluable in sorting out the team’s money,
And
The supply of chocolate from home and listening on her
Ipod to Anna Karenina has sustained her over the last 2 weeks.
Eventually she hopes to be involved with Fields of Life’s work in schools.

Kit is working at Kitti School and teaches sport every day
In his spare time, he has walked to Ggaba beach along water pipes and
Tries to beat the latest kick-up record. In a nutshell, everything’s “alright”.

Lucy is eating posho and beans daily at Treasured Kids School as well as teaching
Under 3s a variety of new songs. She enjoyed having her
Curly hair braided for her 19th birthday and a
Young man even gave her a ride on a motorbike!

Tom is teaching “bucket loads” of RE at Glory for Education.
On his school sports day he discovered pure glucose! He has saved
Money by having the girls cut his hair and is trying to avoid central Kampala!

“Yesu twagala! Hallelujah!” The truth of Jesus’ love rings true here in the local dialect of Luganda as strongly as we have all understood it in our own language, reminding us that, although we’ve travelled thousands of miles and are 17 hours away from home, the essence of our faith still remains the same. The same message. The same Jesus. The same Gospel to share our excitement about with the many other Christians we have already encountered here in Uganda.

It’s been an exciting, and sometimes challenging, first two weeks as we adapt to the local surroundings; the food, the heat, the people and the poverty. One of the most striking images so far came on a rather bone-rattling journey into the city centre as, on one side of our minibus children waved and begged at the window, whilst on the other an enormous Motorola billboard dominated our view. The blend of wealth and poverty in Kampala is startling as office buildings loom over a carpet of tin-roofed shacks, and poverty-stricken villages are disturbed by the sound of Nokia ring-tones.

The schools themselves have also provided a variety of experiences with some of us being placed in villages and others in schools situated near the city. The “African way” has proved to be very laid back, with structured timetables still failing to appear and many of us being spontaneously invited to conduct lessons, sometimes in front of around 50 children and many times on subjects that we have never covered before ourselves!

All of us have enjoyed leading Bible groups and talks, embracing the challenge of communicating the truths of Christianity in a different culture across the barriers of a different language.

Outside of the schools we have experienced a couple of the local churches, both Kampala International Church and Kampala Pentecostal Church, but have yet decided where we’ll be founded over the next few months. We have also visited a local paediatric ward, an orphanage and a pregnancy clinic in an attempt to establish a place to serve further in the community on Fridays.

So as we head into our third week, a 7-hour ‘African-style’ Engagement party later, we’re still counting Jack’s insect bites, looking forward to the next cold shower, eating pineapple and awaiting the next chorus of “Muzungu” (“white man” in Luganda) to pursue us down Kampala Road.