SMOi

Hello everyone,
It has been a long time since everyone has received an email from me
but no worries I will keep the past two weeks concise but hopefully
entertaining.
First off. I got to attend the Uganda vs. Niger futbol game. It was
intense!!! I got some pictures but Ugandans go crazy during the
games. The Cranes (Uganda) dominated Niger but the final score was 1
to 0. The foot work and ball handling skills were extremely
impressive. I got to take a few pictures but I was warned that you
get mugged while you watch the game so I was very careful. It also
helped that I went to the game with some local friends of mine. You
could say we were quite the oreo during the match. They watched out
for me and demonstrated the Ugandan cheers (one sounds like a high
pitched ya ya ya that I definitely could not imitate). It was a great
game and I did not get mugged. I will show the pictures when I get
back in the states.
I took my first African bus ride last week. It was great. It was a
touring bus that had been handed down to Uganda over the years. Sadly
enough, people kept their goats at home and only brought themselves (I
was told I was fortunate because I could have had to share my seat
with a goat).
The bus would make random stops for us to get out and make "long or
short calls" (use the bathroom). The bus however did not communicate
when it would leave. We learned after running the bus down and
jumping on that the rev of the engine means you have 20 seconds to get
on or you will be left. No sympathy. A younger man who was a street
vender hopped on the bus to sell some of his food products. The bus
took off before he had the chance to get off and they refused to stop
and let him out. They finally stopped after 45 minutes of driving.
The poor guy had eyes of terror because he probably could not afford
to make it back to town.
Another great feature of the bus ride was the Nigerian movies. I kept
thinking of my cousins Kevin and David during these videos because
they were more than cheesy. They consisted of "who's the daddy to the
baby" to "evil spirits with knitted kittens on their scary (not
really) togas. These videos made me think of my cousins because they
are gifted imitators of cheesy films and shows. I could only imagine
their clever dubbed in voices that would send the whole bus into
laughter. I know my imagination couldn't have done justice the the
actual duo but regardless, these videos were less than B rated. It
seemed like they recorded each one in the shower (loud echoes) and
used a standard hand held camera.
Before I make this email too long I wanted to tell of my experiences
in Kigali, Rwanda. Rwanda is a country still in repair from the 94
genocide between the Hutu and Tutsi people. This is horrifying ordeal
that all the people of Rwanda experienced. We went to the genocide
memorial to be educated on the causes and aftermath of the genocide.
In just 3 months over a million people were killed. There are many
children who have lost all their parents and relatives and women who
have lost their children and husbands. It is sad to know that all
this occurred with no outside help from any countries. Anyway, to not
leave this email in complete despair - it is very encouraging to see
the response of the Rwandan people and the well used aid money to help
rebuild and establish a clean unified country.
It is so good to be back in Uganda. I missed this place very much and
I am so excited to continue relationships with some of the people.

Prayer Requests:
- I miss Andrea a lot and I find myself battling wanting to stay here
and wanting to be home with her. So please pray that I will be
patient and content with where we are in life right now.
- I would work hard and finish correctly my engineering work for the
Theological school
- I would be intentional to continue relationships and really empty
myself in serving the people of Uganda.

Much love from Africa friends and family.

John