Giving up on Chronology

I have decided to let go of putting all my adventures in chronological order and instead intersperse current events with past vignettes, which include:

Past events - Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Dubai and Italy
Current events - China and Vietnam
Future events - My European heritage tour and Romania

I figure it will be more fun for all parties involved! Hope you don't mind.

Guess What?

No, I haven't purchased a home in southeast Asia, nor have I decided to work at the Funky Monkey in Hanoi. I took a huge step and purchased my return ticket to LA for July 25th. Cheers!

My updated travel itinerary until then is as follows:

• 6/24/07 Hanoi (Vietnam) to Nanning (Guangxi, China)
• 7/03/07 Nanning to Hong Kong
• 7/05/07 Hong Kong to Paris (France)
• 7/07/07 Paris to Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• 7/09/07 Amsterdam to Paris
• 7/11/07 Paris to Glasgow (Scotland)
• 7/15/07 Glasgow to Paris
• 7/16/07 Paris to Iasi (Romania)
• 7/19/07 Iasi to Paris
• 7/22/07 Paris to Dublin (Ireland)
• 7/25/07 Dublin to LAX (USA)

How many countries is that? I put them in parentheses in order to count, not to insult your intelligence. I'm laughing as I put it on paper. A little crazy, but coming down homestretch put a sense of urgency in my planning.

Thank you for your continued prayers, comments and e-mails. The fact that I have remained healthy and safe throughout my entire journey thus far is truly a miracle. Beyond that, thank you for praying for my next steps when I return. God is answering those as well. I will update you on that subject in a later post (but not too much later - don't worry!).

Asia Update

I am currently in Hanoi, Vietnam. Until I am able to post my own updates, please check out what I'm doing at http://www.kidsaroundtheworld.com/photos_2007_hanoi.htm.

Boat to Bethany

My first outing in Africa, other than the bus ride to the hotel, happened on my 3rd day in Uganda. A group of us conference-goers had the opportunity to visit Gaba Community Church in Kampala, about 15 miles from our hotel on Lake Victoria. How long was the bus ride? That's right - an hour. TIA.

Our tour guide was Pastor Fred Sekyewa, the executive director of Africa Renewal Ministries (http://www.africarenewal.org/), which is part of the church. ARM ministers to adults by introducing single mothers to cottage trades and men to business mentoring and pastoral training. They also administer Compassion International funds through their child sponsorship program that allows children in dire circumstances to be fed, clothed and educated.

After a quick tour of the church, we listened to a few stories from young men who came through the program and were given an opportunity for education at Gaba's school. They each had completed a university degree and shared their dreams for the future. It is amazing to see the difference education makes in the cycle of poverty.TIA moment - In Uganda, we are quite a spectacle to the locals. Whenever they see a foreigner, they yell "Mizungo", meaning white person, to get our attention.The next part of our tour was visiting Bethany Village, one of the sites where orphans are educated and cared for through Compassion International. The "fastest" way to get there was by boat, so most of us climbed in and headed to the village.We had quite the bon voyage - thanks, Monique!Lake Victoria provided beautiful vistas on our hour ride to Bethany. There were many fishermen bringing in their catches for the day. They used nets to haul in the fish. . .. . . and laid the nets out on land to dry for the next day (I think).We arrived a short while before the sun set. Here is the view from Bethany Village. Ironically, it looks more like a tropical resort more than an orphan village, doesn't it? We were taken to the children's homes. There are generally 13 children between the ages of 5 and 12 in a house with one "mother" who cares for their needs.I was given a tour by Paul (tall one on the far right). He obviously had done this before and was so proud to show his home. He explained a typical day in their lives at Bethany: wake up, eat breakfast, read the Bible (he loves to read the Bible), go to school, play football (soccer, of course), eat dinner, pray together and go to bed. I was touched by these kids, so much so that I almost missed the boat literally. Pastor Fred had to come retrieve me. In fact, one boat had already left. Oops. The room mother asked if I would return. I sure hope so!We rode the boat back under the stars, took the hour bus ride to the hotel and arrived around 9 PM.

Last TIA for the day - The field trip was scheduled from 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM. Hmmmm. By this time, I had come up with the theory that you basically double any time estimate given. TIA.

Amahoro Africa

My main reason for going to Uganda was to participate in Amahoro Africa (www.amahoro-africa.org), an international gathering of 150 African church leaders from mainly East Africa. The African countries represented were Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, Sudan, Nigeria, Liberia and South Africa. There were also about 50 participants from the US.

The meeting was held at the Colline Hotel in Mukono, which is near Kampala. Did you see "Hotel Rwanda"? Colline was the chain of hotels referenced.

Besides the bus ride from the airport, what I saw of the outdoors for 3 days was through a window. This was the view from my hotel room.Amahoro Africa's conversation discussed the post-colonial Church in Africa. It is a topic I hadn't pondered much beforehand. In fact, during my sabbatical, my brain has become quite underutilized. To go from inactivity to heady theological, social, political, psychological and spiritual discussions was overwhelming, but in a good way. We spent a total of 40 hours over 4 days in this conference room. Buzz words used included orientalism, post-modernism, post-colonialism, marginalized, context, apartheid, accountability, leadership development, partnership, transformation, reconciliation and empowerment. Does that give you an idea of our time together?

If you would like to follow some of the discussion, please check out the blog at www.amahoroafrica.blogspot.com. I'm also happy to interact with you more in-depth than what I will cover in my blog.

TIA moment(s): The electricity went out intermittently each day, sometimes for several seconds, other times for many minutes, always when Monique or I were showering. TIA.

A few highlights of the gathering for me were:

worshiping with Africans in Africa, . . .. . . discussing African womens' roles in the Church, and. . .

. . . interacting one-on-one with a large number of people.

My FAVORITE part of the conference was meeting each afternoon with my break-out discussion group. It was such a privilege to bring 7 nations together with our different perspectives and discuss the main session topics. From the left: John (Rwanda), Dan (Kenya), Nyantito (Tanzania), me (US), Onesphore (Burundi), Judith (Uganda), Louise (South Africa) and Rita (Uganda).

Being in Africa, we must dance! We had a celebration barbeque with traditional Ugandan dancers to inspire us.
We even had each country take turns on the dance floor. Once again, the stereotype was confirmed - white people can't dance.

The one exception was Brian McLaren. Way to go!

Into Africa

Monique and I hustled to London Heathrow Airport, returned the rental car and collapsed at check-in about 1 hour before our flight to Uganda was scheduled to leave. Due to a luggage conveyor belt being broken (they had PILES of luggage to be taken), a passenger without the proper documentation and the removal of their luggage from the plane, our flight was delayed. Hurry up and wait. Just an aside - in the States, there is NO WAY a broken conveyor belt would be allowed to remain broken for over a day. Americans wouldn't stand for it. Another cultural difference.

After almost 24 hours (time zone changes included) of travel from London to Dubai through Addis Ababa onto Entebbe, we arrived at the infamous airport. This is what we looked like:
Hey - travel ain't easy and it doesn't always look pretty, although our first vista of Uganda certainly was. Would you agree?

We were met by a bus full of Amahoro Africa conference-goers who had graciously waited for our late arrival. On the ride to our hotel, in my jet-lagged haze, I attempted to absorb all that was going on around me. What I saw was a great introduction to what I continued to encounter throughout my travels in Africa.The contrast of blue sky, greenery and red dirt captures the core of Ugandan landscape. In the background is Lake Victoria.The mainstay of Uganda is a dish called matoke. It comes from the bananas found in abundance on these trees.This type of open market is seen in almost every town we passed in Uganda. And, most importantly, . . .. . . the streets full of Ugandan people who are in constant motion and in abundance at all times of the day and night. The amount of outdoor activity is astonishing.

The other introduction I had within the first hour of arrival was what I have now labeled TIA (This Is Africa) moments. You may remember this acronym from Leonardo di Caprio in "Blood Diamond", but he didn't originate it - the Africans did. I will include these moments periodically in my blogs. To define their meaning, I will use examples.

"Trust in God Electronics" - Does this mean you must trust God because your faith will ensure these electronics will work? TIA."Hertz Lease a Car" - Is that the type of rental car available in Uganda? TIA.

"Animal Transport" - Would this be considered "driving cattle" in Uganda? TIA.

The final TIA moment of the day came when experiencing African time. How long were we told the bus ride to the hotel would take? 45 minutes. How long was the actual bus ride? An hour and a half. TIA.

Whirlwind Tour of London

Our London visit happened on our very last day in the UK. FYI - 5 hours is clearly NOT enough time to see this wonderful city. Our quasi-solution to this problem was to take the Original London Sightseeing Bus Tour. This is where the whirlwind began. . . and such a perfect place to start.

For those of you who haven't visited London, this is one of the first signs you'll encounter when traveling on the Underground. It sure is thoughtful of the Brits to warn us. . . . . . or so I thought until I saw this next sign: I had visions of having my purse stolen and filling out a crime report where the officer questions ME why I didn't take responsibility to look after my things. After all, there were signs posted. This is Great Britain. They take the rules and personal responsibility quite seriously.

Oh well. Nevermind the signs. Here's where the whirlwind begins, so pay close attention.

Here is Trafalgar Square (next slide).Here is Big Ben. . . (next slide, please)and Parliament (next).Here I am standing in front of Big Ben. . .(next slide, please). . . and Parliament (go on).

Here is Westminster Abbey (nexxxt).

Here I am standing in front of Westminster Abbey (next slide).

Here is the rear view of Big Ben and Parliament, with the partial obstruction due to someone's hair flying in front of my camera (we're on a bus, after all - next).

Here is the London Eye (I'm sorry - are you guys bored yet? Next!).

Here is St. Paul's Cathedral (a great shot - next slide, please).

Here is the Tower Bridge (not the London Bridge - that one's less aesthetic. Next).

Here is the Tower of London and. . .. . . here is where the tour ends abruptly due to the sudden realization that it is 4:10 PM, we have a 4:30 PM train to take in order to catch our flight to Uganda and we're not anywhere NEAR the train station. We literally had to sprint and just slipped in while the doors were closing. Whewww.