This post is more informative as to what we do all day as Public Affairs Missionaries. The first week we arrived in Uganda, Sean Donnelly, the Area Public Affairs Director from South Africa, came to Uganda to meet and train us and make some calls to influential people. One of the first that we met was Speaker of Parliament, Madam Speaker Rebecca Kadaga. The past Mission President, Eric Jackson, had met with Speaker Kadaga and invited her to visit Salt Lake City, Utah, as a guest of the Church. So while Sean was here with us, we met with the speaker and he extended the invitation again. From that time forward, Susan and I have been working out the details with the Speaker and her Senior Protocol Officer, James Bamuwamye. It took a few months for her schedule to open, but in March she contacted us and said she could go in May. Once the airline tickets were purchased, she had a glitch in her schedule and had to reschedule for June. All these changes took time to coordinate with the Hosting Committee in Salt Lake and the Travel Department in South Africa, but we finally got it put together.
The Speaker's trip was a great success and she and her aids were treated royally by the Church. She was able to meet with Elder Bednar, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church, who presented her with a statue of an African Family. She was given a VIP tour around the Church's historical Temple Square, Humanitarian Services, Welfare Square, etc. and attended the midweek practice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She was also taken to Brigham Young University, the Missionary Training Center, and the University of Utah. She met with the Utah State Senate President and was taken on a ride up Provo Canyon to Sundance. In addition she toured the Church's Family History Library and was hosted at a luncheon by the World Trade Center Utah.
Upon her return she had business trips to Canada and London, so we had to delay a follow-up appointment with her. However, in August she met with President and Sister Chatfield, our PA Director for Uganda, our Humanitarian Missionaries and us to discuss some projects she would like the Church's help with and to tell us about her trip to Utah. She is a dynamic person and has recently announced that she would consider running for president of Uganda if she got enough support. President Museveni is a very popular president but is also aging. It will be interesting to see how things progress in Uganda. We feel like we have made a lasting friend of her and her staff and honor that friendship.
Speaker Kadaga with her staff and members of the Utah State Government
The wood mural in the Uganda Parliamentary Rotunda in Kampala
Speaker Kadaga's Aid, James Bamuwamye, with Susan and me
The Speaker meeting with President and Sister Chatfield, Suzan Apondi, Susan and others
The Speaker presenting President Chatfield a shadow box of Uganda art
To read more of the articles we write go to....
www.mormonnewsroom.ug
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