Overnighting in a Village

How many people can fit inside a land cruiser?

If you had asked me this weekend, you would have heard a muffled reply "All seven Canadians plus a couple of local students plus a couple of kids," coming from the backseat of one such cruiser headed to a village near Masulita (Mozz-uh-LEET-ah), Uganda.



Papaya Trees

Even though Masulita is only 40 km from Kampala, it takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours to drive there because of the road conditions! By the time we arrived at the house of the pastor we were staying with, everyone was quite ready for a walk.

First we visited the homes of a few of our hosts family members, and then toured the family farm.
Then, after a huge traditional lunch, we visited the associate pastor's home for tea.

 "Tea" turned out to include a meal with eggs, cassava
and (really good) fried gonja--plantain.

Coffee Growing

Cassava Drying
(Cassava root is another staple food, a starch source that can
be planted at any time and can stay in the garden
for anywhere from 3 months to 2 years before harvest.)

If I thought that the frog that had serenaded us to sleep later that night had been loud, the rooster and cows on the other side of the wall the next morning proved me wrong!

Despite this unusual awakening, Sunday morning proceeded as planned with a drive to church. After worship service, Mr. Guthrie preached while Alyssa and I attempted to teach Sunday School!

The Sunday School Class!

A Soccer Ball

Passion Fruit Growing

I feel like the pastor's family we stayed with this weekend really showed me what Jesus is like, right down to hand washing the red, rainy season mud off of all our shoes while we ate. How surprising--and wonderful--it was to find all the "lived in" footwear we had left outside the door suddenly lined up along an inside wall, ready for use and sparkling clean.