How do we celebrate Christmas in Uganda?

It is Christmas morning in Kampala, Uganda and we bounded out of bed at 5:55 A.M. as we had planned to SKYPE as a family.  Ammon and Paige and their families were all together and Megan and Garrett were going to connect by internet...BUT... we had no internet connection in Africa.  That is a rather frequent occurrence so it was no surprise.  In fact we have a saying:  "T.A.B." and it means "That's Africa Baby."

 BUT...where else could you harvest fresh mangos off the tree outside your apartment on Christmas morning?

Some were able to be snagged standing on the ground, but others were reached off our deck by Ray and off the stairs by the missionaries. 

One of our guards (Justus) had rigged up a long tree branch with a wire loop on the end.  One person had to play center field and catch them before they hit the ground. It was a fun morning and each apartment now has a fresh mango to enjoy.

Our mango harvest for today

Two of our sister missionaries

We do not have a Christmas tree but we have a nativity set that is from Rwanda.  All the characters have African features and will be a great keepsake.  It is wooden and hand carved.


Yesterday was such a fun day.  We all met at the Mission Home at 11 A.M. for a Christmas Party.
There were 65 of us.  There was not enough room in the house for everyone and so the President had rented a large tent and chairs for outside. Sister Chatfield had ordered pizza for lunch and we got a picture of 1/2 of it arriving on the back of a boda boda (motorcycle). 

It was "buy one and get one free" day and so she order 1 pizza for each person.  The missionaries were in heaven... a whole pizza to themselves.  The Elders finished theirs, but the sisters and couples all had left over pizza to bring home and enjoy.

After lunch we played "Minute to Win It."  What a hoot!  Everyone had fun.  We could have prepared a lot more of the "Minute to Win It" games as they loved them and we had zones and districts compete against each other.  They even started working together as companionships and tried to beat other companionships.

Remember the one where you stack 36 plastic cups in triangle form and then have to take it down so all the cups are back in a stack?  Well...our mission record was 35 seconds!

There was also a soccer game going in the yard (our African Elders have all grown up playing soccer and they are pretty good.  Ugandans love soccer)There were also board games going inside the house and outside.

Our President was a banker but a cowboy at heart.  He did a lot of rodeo riding when he was younger and still trains horses to compete in calf roping.  He is always willing to teach the missionaries how to rope.

Ray succeeded in roping the chair! (That was the pretend cow)










We ended the day with a Christmas devotional and each zone presented a Christmas song.  They were darn good.  Africans love to sing and so do most of our American Elders and they sounded amazing.  They even had solo parts.







For dinner Sister Chatfield had ordered KFC as it just opened in Kampala.  There is not much meat on chickens here and so it was mostly bones and coating.  But, I have to say...it remind us of home.  I think the African missionaries wondered what we saw in KFC.  They probably would have preferred matooke (steamed green bananas) and posho (a spongy bread).  With the chicken we had funeral potatoes, peas and carrots, salad, and rolls. For dessert we had the missionary favorite...ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.  There is never a drop of food left with missionaries around.

It was a fun, fun day.  Today the missionaries are all anxious to call home and talk with family.
As for us, all the couples are going to enjoy turkey dinner at the Sheraton... not having to cook will be a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Senior Couples Retreat to Northern Uganda

December 18-21 the Senior Missionary Couples in our Mission traveled to Northern Uganda for a retreat.  Our destination was the Paraa Safari Lodge in Murchison National Park.  It was an 8 hour drive from Kampala -- 50% of the time on bumpy dirt roads.  But the scenery was beautiful and we enjoyed getting to know different couples from the mission as we traveled.  The above picture shows us entering the park.  We traveled 50 more miles before reaching a ferry which transported our pickups and people across the Nile River to the lodge on the other side.

We quickly settled into our rooms and left one hour later on an afternoon safari game drive.  The following pictures are not necessarily in order, but we started with a sunrise and ended with a sunset. 

The savannah was picturesque at any time.  The weather was perfect -- not too hot nor too cold.  No jackets were needed.

Many "deer-like-animals" -- herds of them on the savannahs.

This was a Coke's hartebeest or Eland. 

 

The birds decided to decorate this tree for Christmas.  Never could find out the type of bird but they looked like large white doves.



Giraffes were plentiful but we never tired of seeing them.  This one was part of a group of eight we came upon.

They are so graceful and stood and watched us as we stood and watched them.  There is also a Cape Buffalo partially visible.

 

Thursday we took a boat ride up the Nile River to Murchison Falls.  This crocodile was sunning on the bank...

...and mouth open looking for lunch.

They open their mouths to cool themselves off.

Murchison Falls was gorgeous.  The Nile narrows down and tumbles over large boulders.  Water sprays high into the air.  It is the only un-navigable part of the Nile. 

Me celebrating having made it to the top of the falls which was about a 2-3 mile climb up from the river. 

This picture gives you a better idea of how high the water sprays as it falls.  The Nile is wide above the falls and wide below the falls but narrows down here to about 20 feet across.

Taken at the top of the falls.

This is a new part of the falls created after 1954 when they had a heavy flood season.  It joins the main part of the falls about 1/2 way down.

 

This is the main channel of the falls.

 

We came upon several groups of hippos in the river.

Baby hippo with its mother.

Wildebeest

 

Water buck

Hartebeest

 

 Steenbok

 

Eland

 

Warthog

 

Baboons outside our room at the lodge.

 

Not sure if this was an African wild dog or jackal.  

 

More hartebeest

 

Elephants and mother and baby hippo.

 

Cape Buffalo

 

Sunset on the savannah

 

Giraffe on hilltop at sunset

Acacia tree at sunset.

 

It was a fun 4 day adventure.  Besides the game drives and boat ride up the Nile, we spent time lounging by the pool at the lodge and participating in a training meeting.  Our final evening at the lodge we enjoyed a fun Christmas party and white elephant gift exchange.  All meals were buffet style and we enjoyed fish, beef, and pork...items we don't have very often.  We pretty much live on chicken and "minced beef" (hamburger) in Kampala.  Also, lots of fruits and vegetables which tasted wonderful.  Lunch and dinner always had a salad bar along with the main course, but salad bars in Uganda usually always contain cabbage instead of lettuce.  We are pretty use to that by now.