Luke 2:9-10 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."

We have arrived in Uganda and are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior here in this new country. Things are different here and things are the same. 

Merry Christmas and yes Christmas is much the same around the world. Christmas in Uganda seems to be more similar to Christmas in the USA than Christmas in Tanzania. There is much more decoration here and thus commercialization. I will post a few pictures of our “new” Village and tell you how it is going in general.

Kent and I arrived in Entebbe which is the town just south of Kampala, very late on Friday evening December 4. We were met by two taxis, one for us and one for our 6 suitcases. The travel was pretty much uneventful except for the many checks for our COVID certification and checking our temperatures. We had in all about 5 different checks and 3 new forms to fill out before we arrived. We were reminded that travel in this current “season” is not easy and not really fun; however, we were thankful that if is possible when necessary. We arrived at the Village a bit past midnight and were met by Kelly Fore who is our teammate and the Village Administrator here. We slept like dead people then arose to begin the process of getting settled on Saturday morning. It didn’t take us long to get unpacked and semi settled into our new residence.

We spent most of our day unpacking and then had a fantastic lunch with Kelly and smoked ribs for dinner with the Kumpe’s who are leaving on the 14th of December. After touring their home, which is identical to the one we moved into, except for furnishings, we decided we will move into their house after they depart for the States.

The Village is like a lush park. Everything is very green and the Village is covered with mature trees. There are lots of birds, but the are good at hiding in the trees. I did see two Great Blue Turacos and that was a treat for sure. The missionary housing is at the far end of the Village and the acreage is about the same as Tanzania, however, there are 12 resident cottages instead of 7 and a girls dormitory and a boys dorm. There is also the senior secondary school and 3 missionary houses and 2 missionary duplexes. It seems like LOTS of buildings. The construction materials are different as you will see from the pictures. 

It is the “rainy season” here so there is mud everywhere. The rain is somewhat unpredictable as the sun is out one minute and it is pouring straight down the next. You learn that you do not look stupid carrying an umbrella with the sun shining. 

On our first Sunday, we went into Kampala, about an hour drive, for church with Kelly. After church we went for lunch at a nice restaurant then on to do some grocery shopping. I must say that after living in small comfortable Moshi for more than 6 years and small comfortable North Dakota before that, we were totally overwhelmed quickly. How does one shop in an unfamiliar grocery and not be overwhelmed by unknown brands and too many choices? We did manage to get enough food for the week, however, we will 100% be using a driver when we go to “town” and we are going to see if we can do it every other week and not every week. 

The children and staff in Uganda are all nice and helpful. The mothers mostly have been here 10 to 15 years. I was worried about looking after my 25 teenagers in Tanzania so now I have more than 70 teenagers! God has a sense of humor. Kent will have 25+ RICE teacher training students when school reopens. Like much of the world, we have no idea when school will open and when “life” will be normal. It is mandated here that you must wear a mask IN YOUR CAR, even if you are alone in the car!! We do not wear masks on the Village thankfully.  Kent is also in charge of maintenance and there is road project in process which will keep him quite busy. There is also a big electrical issue which will necessitate running a new cable underground the length of the Village. No boredom here. I would also say that the organization of the finances is done quite differently here so my learning curve is steep. We will enjoy getting to know the employees and the children as we proceed with this new work that God has called us to do. 

About 20 of the students here are involved in an orchestra from Kampala and it played here for a Christmas concert on The 11th of December. It was wonderful and there are many talented children here. Many have taken the opportunity during the “lockdown” to pursue and improve their musical skills. 

Nearly all the children will leave the Village for 2 weeks on next Thursday afternoon. We are so thankful for the two weeks of Christmas break to get comfortable with our new jobs here in our new Village. Kent and I are planning to hire a driver for the day and go to Kampala for the things we need for our new house. Not only is the traffic and driving insane, but there is no where to park. The little money put out on a driver will more than pay for itself in our nerves and exhaustion. 

I am sorry that this post is a bit fragmented but I think it reflects the condition of our minds right now. Transition is difficult and when we get totally settled I know we will be happy and contented. We are trusting God in this move and He is always faithful. 

Merry Christmas and may the New Year of 2021 produce many less “surprises” than 2020!

Kent and Peggy 

I want to get this published and I cannot for some reason, add pictures so you get the text for now and I will keep trying to edit and add the pictures later. 😕