Sunday, April 1, 2007

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Hello from Mbarara, Uganda!

First things first . . . the name of our home for this week is pronounced Bah-RAH-rah. That’s one of the first things we learned. We are finally here and there is much to report.

Our flights here were uneventful, except for the 3-hour delay in Amsterdam when a catering truck poked a hole in our plane and the pilot deemed it unsafe to fly. We moved to another plane. All told, we spent 20+ hours in the air, and 7 hours on layover. But the welcome we received in Entebbe, Uganda made it all worth it. Father Bonaventure Turyomumazima, Sisters Margaret Katyoko and Gemina Keneema, and John Baptist Mujuni were there to meet us, and a warmer welcome I have never had anywhere. We exchanged hugs, kisses and handshakes in the humid Ugandan night, and met our first mosquitoes. Every moment was recorded by Sister Gemina on her videocam (she is the archivist for the Diocese of Mbarara), and dozens of photos shot.

From there it was 40 minutes to Kampala, where Fr. Bonaventure arranged for us to stay at the Thomas More Leadership Academy and guest house, where our host was Professor Peter Kasenene. Although it was 1 a.m. Uganda time, the professor and his staff had laid out a welcoming buffet of cold drinks, including an assortment of cold beer. Bedtime waited while we spent an hour with Peter – a former university professor and Ugandan government minister – learning as much as possible about Uganda. It was a very valuable hour.

Our host sent us off for our 5-hour drive in the diocesan minibus west to Mbarara. Our driver was Bosco, who skillfully shared the road with double semis, bicycles, scooters and goats. By the way, they drive on the left here.

About half-way we had an unexpected treat – we crossed the Equator, most of us for the first time. And what you learned in school is true – water goes down the drain in the opposite direction than in the northern hemisphere. We even had a demonstration, and it was amazing. And in case you are wondering, the water drains straight down when you are actually on the Equator. Another opportunity for lots of pictures, which I hope to post on the blog soon.

We also visited a possible site for the Holy Innocents hospital, about 30 km east of Mbarara. David Webb, the engineering/construction guru on this trip, asked Fr. Bonaventure and John Baptist some penetrating questions about the site and for me, at least, the project actually started to feel real.

We arrived in Mbarara at about 4 p.m., and went straight to the Monfort, which is the priests’ residence and visitors’ house. As a southern Californian, I was immediately reminded of a hacienda – a building where all rooms face a central courtyard. It is part of the diocesan complex on this side of town, which also includes the cathedral, the archbishop’s headquarters and all the diocesan administrative offices. And the banana plantation.

Speaking of the archbishop, we had dinner with him, his auxiliary Bishop Lambert, and the hospital committee last night. Archbishop Paul Bakyenga was very warm and welcoming. He also has a booming voice and a great sense of humor. (He refers to a bishop’s red-and-white formal vestments as a “combat uniform.”) It was something of a formal occasion. Dr. Hunter had to make a speech she didn’t know about beforehand, and try to come up with something nice about each of us. Then Bishop Paul gave us a formal welcome and a blessing, and let us go back to Monfort for more of the sleep we were craving.

Today is Palm Sunday, and we went to Mass at the convent of the Poor Clares, an order of contemplatives who live within the convent walls, and spend their days praying, making hosts and vestments, and cheese. Our minibus was met by hordes of costumed children preparing for their performance, to lead us all into the church waving our palm fronds. Another round of photographs, of course. The kids got a huge kick out of seeing their pictures immediately on the screens of our digital cameras, and John Baptist promised he would distribute them if we sent them back via internet.

Now we are resting back at Montfort and preparing to go into town for a look around with John Baptist, so a few general words to close.

Uganda is a beautiful, green country and it is working hard to modernize. The people we have met treat us like visiting celebrities and sincerely want to work with us to make the Holy Innocents’ project a reality. We begin the hard work of our project tomorrow, but in the meantime have been made to feel so welcome. It may be harder to leave than we expect.

More soon.

Joanne

April 1, 2007 2:58 PM