It's been a while!

Hello from Uganda! It's been a while since I have had a chance to post anything...it's been a busy week for sure! I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of last week in Kampala showing a group of UBC students around, and I also had a chance to meet with the head of the school of nursing at Makerere University. Then, on Friday, I went to Kampala with Jeff, Shannon and kids to relax, see the source of the Nile River (and a crocodile), and to watch Brent bungee jump!! The picture above is me and Brent on the boat that took us to see the source of the Nile. (the source of the Nile is where Lake Victoria meets the Nile River, which is actually much less impressive than it sounds! But you can't go to Jinja without going to see it!) In Jinja, we also visited Amani Baby Cottage, which is an orphanage for babies and toddlers. I almost took this little guy home with me...so cute!!

Now I am back in Mpigi, getting the medical clinic ready to go. Yesterday I went into Kampala and bought over a million shillings worth of medications and medical supplies, and today I have been trying to get it all organized...it has been a lot of work, but I'm making progress!

I am definitely getting used to the bugs and other creatures here, but these bugs are taking some time to get used to!! (especially since they look more like a crab than a bug!!) They frequently hang out by the medical centre, which is where I sleep, and this morning one joined me in the shower! Good times...the geckos no longer bother me...one is running around the ceiling above my head as I type, and I am still sitting here, so I am definitely making progress:)

So that's a little bit about what I have been up to this past week! I really appreciate your prayers and your emails/comments on facebook...even if I don't get a chance to respond, I love hearing from you! The team from Peace Portal arrives on Saturday, so you can be praying for them as they prepare and travel over here. Take care, and I will be in touch!

Hello from Kampala!

Hello from Kampala! I'm here showing a group of students from UBC around, and tomorrow morning I am going to meet with the head of the school of nursing at Makerere University here in Kampala. This post will be short, because I only have about 12 more minutes on this computer!

Yesterday was an eventful day...I went with Michael to visit the district director of health services in Mpigi, and by the end of the day the deputy director and the health inspector had come to the 10 acres to see the clinic building. This is a key step in having our clinic registered with the district, and getting Ministry of Health support for our activities. I also met with Andrew, one of the doctors who we will be working with for the clinic days in a couple of weeks, and we got a lot of planning done. Now I just need to order the supplies and drugs that we will need.

Yesterday evening, we had a hilarious time going through some medical supplies that some Finnish doctor donated to Michael a while ago. In the supplies was this old army bed/stretcher, which was all in pieces. So there I am with six Ugandans trying to figure out how this old piece of equipment goes together...it was really funny (okay, I guess you had to have been there:) The bed is very functional, but it looks like it comes straight out of MASH...quite funny:)

So that's a little bit about what I have been up to since my last post! Sorry, no pictures this time...I left my transfer cable back in Mpigi! Take care!

Hey hey!

Hello from Mpigi! Just wanted to give a quick update on how things are going over here! I'm still enjoying life in Uganda, and am getting better at remembering people's names! (it is hard, because everyone knows who I am, and I have met most of them before, so I am at the point where it is almost rude to ask again!!) Clinic work has slowed somewhat...I am working on getting an order ready for the drugs and supplies we are going to need, and I need to arrange a couple of more meetings with the doctors who we will be working with. I am also wainting to hear back from the District health services director...in order to purchase medicines, we need to be registered with the district, so I am having to wait on that right now. You could pray that this would happen soon!! Yesterday we (me, Shannon, Jeff, and kids) went into Kampala to do some shopping, and then today was church. This week I will be heading back into Kampala for a few days to meet some students from UBC, show them around Kampala, and then I will head to Jinja to see the Nile river from Thursday to Saturday (not sure if I will river raft yet...what do you think?). Jinja will be a good time to sightsee and relax before a week of hard work before the team from Peace Portal arrives!

Hopefully I will be able to post a few more pictures with my next post! Take care!