Monday 17th December

Friday 7th Dec

Tuesday 27th Nov

Friday 30th Nov

Thursday 22nd Nov

Ian is fine and was still in the internet café when I rang so was surprised to hear from someone so soon!   Climate is similar to Kampala.   Time difference is only 2 hours ahead.   He answered the phone in French!   Re language, he says he can understand enough to not be lost as there are similarities to Swahili and other languages.   English is not spoken, however.   He thinks the team will understand more than he does, and of course Silver will understand it all when he arrives.   Everything is organised and he is preparing to speak at a church tonight so will discover what sort of translation is required or if he has to attempt French. 

Saturday 10th November

7th November - Burundi plans:

"My plan is to travel to Kigali, Rwanda on 20th November, spend the night there and then proceed to Bujumbura on 21st arriving by lunch time. This would give me all day Thursday (preaching Thursday evening somewhere), Friday and Saturday before the advance team arrives on Saturday night - 24th November. Sunday morning I am preaching twice in Florent's church then the discipleship training begins Sunday afternoon. This continues Monday to Thursday but just in the afternoons.  Florent wants to take us to different school Christian fellowships at lunchtimes so I am expecting the days to be quite full. The rest of VOW will arrive Thursday evening - 29th November and will have a full day for rehearsal and meeting with their Burundi counterparts on the Friday. Saturday will be a day to finish preparations and hopefully relax a bit before the Worship event in the evening. Sunday I am anticipating VOW being invited to participate in Church services etc and relax on the lake beach in the afternoon. All the team except me will then leave and travel straight back to Kampala on the Monday ( 3rd Dec). I plan to stay on for about 2 extra days before I head home to tie up any loose ends.

Ian"

The Wedding

On 27th October Collin and Lynette were married. Click here to see more about the big day.

15th October 2007.

It is 5 busy weeks since I wrote the last update. During that time so much has happened including 2 weeks away in Kenya and the house has been re-shaped so that Collin and Lynette have a home after they are married. (Wedding day 27th October 2007)
Most of you will also have been following the news of floods in Uganda. Here in Kampala we have not had flooding but have endured very heavy rain and too much mud. This slows everything down, especially development of the campsite. The rains are still continuing at present but we hope will reduce soon so that we can catch up on this work.

Thank you for your support, both in prayer and financial gifts. We really appreciate your partnership in this work. It has also been good to hear back from many of you who have been reading these reports and logging on to the website. Please keep on writing to us. It is very encouraging.

I will attempt to update you on some of the main areas of work below as briefly as possible to avoid this report being too long:

CAMPSITE: Despite the rain we have completed the shower and toilet block and work has begun on the meeting/kitchen area. Hopefully we will continue this week. The next phase after that will be landscaping and building the cabins. We managed to get 3 ten man tents at a good price as well. We still hope to officially open this site in December and pray that the rains reduce so that construction is not further delayed.

BURUNDI: We are beginning to work in Burundi next month. VOW choir and some of the YEA team will be travelling over to Bujumbura 23rd November to 2nd December. This visit will have dual purpose. We will be meeting with Florent Bahizi and other Pastors he is in relationship with to plan how we can assist the churches there to disciple their youth. We will also be partnering with the youth in Bujumbura for a Youth Worship event which Florent is organizing for Saturday 1st December. The VOW team members are each raising 50% of their costs for this trip and we are looking for partners to help cover the other 50% ( 45 UK 90 US$ ) so if you would like to be part of this please contact us.
I will try and send round a separate report on Burundi later this week so that you can pray with us as we begin this exciting new work.

COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL: This work is progressing well. Collin and Prosper have been moving around the different centres researching the need for discipleship. In the next few weeks we will be meeting with the Project directors to plan how to develop the discipleship program.

MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT: This week we will be starting to put our discipleship notes together into a format that can be used by all our volunteers to lead sessions. The plan is for this to end up as a flexible manual that can be used wherever we are asked to develop work. This will take time to produce so we will keep you all up to date with progress.

GULU: We are planning a Youth Conference in Gulu for January 2008 in partnership with local churches in the area. We will update you on this as the planning progresses.

PARKLANDS INDA TEAM: Parklands Baptist Church in Nairobi has a team each year of students leaving High School who commit to 8 months of training and mission experience. We are in discussion with Pastor Nick (Parklands Youth Pastor) to host the team in 2008. If this goes ahead we plan to take the team to strengthen the work in Gulu with Schools Ministry and running a Bible club program.

MUKONO: Our work with the Anglican Diocese in Mukono is continuing well. Douglas (YEA team member) is currently working with Liverpool Lighthouse Church (UK) and will be coming to Uganda next week with a mission team from the church who will be working in Mukono. During their time here they will be working in Kasoga SS in Mabira forest.
We are also planning with the Diocese to run a series of 1 day Youth Conferences in some of the rural areas of Mukono District and also training workshops for village Youth Workers in the local churches.

HOIMA: Our partnership here continues and we have another Youth worker training scheduled for January 2008.

BAPTIST UNION UGANDA: Last week we met with the National Youth Director of BUU and agreed to meet with the National Youth Executive on 17th November to help them plan a strategy for Youth discipleship in the Ugandan Baptist Churches.

KEST: (Kampala Evangelical School of Theology) We have been requested to help develop the Youth Ministry component of their Pastoral Studies course.

VOLUNTEER TEAM: Our regular volunteers continue to juggle their home/work/school commitments while working alongside us in the YEA work. They are a great bunch and need your prayers and encouragement.
We are planning a volunteer training day this next Saturday to help strengthen this team.
As the workload increases we would love to be able to take on 2 volunteers on a regular basis and support them to do this. Especially this would help with materials development and building/running the campsite. If you would be interested in helping to support a volunteer for a limited period of time please contact us to discuss this. To take on volunteers in this way would not just help us in the work but would also act as a training/discipleship for those who work with us. This would not replace our volunteer team as we would still be needing their support for regular programs, but it would help us to keep up to date with our heavy workload of planning, developing and administration.

Thank you for reading this report and for your prayer support. We would love to hear from you personally. Our contact details are below. Although it is expensive to make phone calls out from Uganda most countries now have cheap calls into Africa. It would be great to chat with you. You can also now find us on SKYPE. (youthworxea)

Youthworx East Africa. PO Box 26430 Kampala, Uganda. East Africa.
youthworxea@hotmail.com
Tel: 00256 772 437990 (GMT+3)
 

 Ian's HOLIDAY JOURNAL

22/9/07

I am writing this in a very old & crusty wooden floored dining room while waiting for breakfast to be served. This is the “Pig and Whistle” in Meru , a lodging that probably has not changed much since colonial times, except for crumbling.

I had a comfortable and relaxing night although Meru is quite an un-inspiring place to be. Despite its position on the slopes of Mount Kenya it is a typical dusty hectic and not very pretty up-country town. I quite like the hotel though. Supper last night, served on the terrace, was excellent & the shower had plenty of hot water. Even a TV in the room.

The trip here, once clear of Thika was pleasant; hills, rivers & a reasonable tarmac road. Today I will go on to Nanyuki.

The short and easy journey from Meru to Nanyuki was good. Beginning through thick montane forest we dropped down into neat wheat fields with the Northern plains stretching to the right & the foothills of Mount Kenya looming to the left. It took about 2 hours to reach Nanyuki. I found an excellent coffee house & enjoyed a cappuccino. Unfortunately that appears to be the highlight of Nanyuki town for me. Unless I missed something it is a dull service station for the surrounding farming community. It also has an overload of British army parading the streets as there is a large training field base just outside the town.

The lodging was adequate (although the shower refused to work), supper was excellent, but otherwise not really “the place”. I made a call to “Camel camp” & reserved a hut.

23/9/07

After breakfast I bought up some provisions & looked around for a taxi to take me to “Camel camp”. Just outside Nanyuki town this place is something very different. Greeted at the gate by a group of sleepy grazing camels I could be 1000 miles away from the town. The ranch is owned by and English/Somali couple who have a herd of 160 camels for breeding, milk production, limited meat production & tourism. I spent a lazy day strolling through the ranch, sitting by the Nanyuki River & now writing as the light fades awaiting my supper. Tonight I will be sleeping in a totally authentic woven Somali hut…no door… not much at all really…but very cultural.

The supper was delicious (pilau, sikuma & goat), maybe more so being eaten out of doors on carved wooden Somali plates (small carved wooden camels around the edges) & matching wooden spoon as a utensil. I was joined at supper by 3 hopeful puppies who all agreed that the food should be shared. I disappointed them.

Ali, the elderly Somali Askari (security guard) came to chat over coffee after supper. Not the most inciteful discussion as he only speaks Kiswahili; we seemed to vaguely understand each other. He originates from Garissa (north east Kenya) but migrated to Nanyuki in 1979. It would appear there was quite a wave of Somali immigrants into the region around that time. Many settled further north in Isiolo & Marsabit regions.

Chris Field, the owner of the ranch, originally worked for Farm Africa, & lived a semi-nomadic life with the pastoralists for some years helping with camel breeding projects to improve the livelihood of the local tribe’s people. It is reassuring to know there are other crazy Englishmen around!

24/9/07

More sleep than I expected but less than I would have liked. Living in an open hut in the bush activated my mind and kept me awake till the early hours. Then I awoke again at first light.

The 3 puppies have decided we are firm friends despite my unwillingness to share supper. Wherever I go they go, with great enthusiasm, with wagging tails and lolling tongues. Probably all the guests get the same treatment.

At 6.30am I walked up to a nearby Kopje and in the early warmth of the day’s sun got my first sight of Mount Kenya without cloud. The rugged peak thrusting skyward and the full bulk of the massif in clear view.

Time for breakfast. I wasn’t expecting bacon, eggs and croissant. But nothing could have prepared me for Biltong, Njera and Chai. (Camel jerkie, Ethiopian flatbread) Surprisingly edible!

After breakfast my steed was waiting and saddled up. Songa the camel (meaning “he who learns quickly” in Kiswahili) took me for an extraordinary and backside numbing safari. If you have never tried it make sure you do in your lifetime. Songa has a mind of his own & stops regularly to eat the local bushes and cacti.

Finally bade farewell to the camels & left Nanyuki on a Matatu headed to Nyahururu via Naro Moru. Much of the 2.5 hour journey was a free game drive. Great flocks of grassland antelopes & Zebra.

Thomson Falls Lodge is my home for the next 2 nights. Wonderful, colonial & probably hasn’t changed much since the 1930’s. Wood panel floors, creaking bathrooms & an open fire in the bedroom. Nyahururu is the highest town in Kenya (2360m, 7788 ft) & mighty cold at night. The spectacular falls are at the edge of the tropical gardens. They are in flood from the recent heavy rains, dropping 72m, 240ft into a deep ravine below the lodge. I have just enjoyed a sumptuous 3 course meal & coffee.

Great place! Time to sleep…


25/9/07

Contrasts. This morning was a full English Buffet breakfast washed down with endless coffee. This preceded a blissfully lazy day. I explored the town, gazed at the falls, lounged in the gardens & took a siesta. It was pleasantly sunny most of the day.

I’m now sitting in front of a roaring fire waiting for supper.

Tomorrow I need to find a public transport route to Lake Baringo (could be a challenge) & hope the campsite exists & has a room. Their phone number doesn’t seem to work.

26/9/07

Interesting day! Started with another filling cooked breakfast & then an easy & pretty drive into Nakuru down the Subukia escarpment (1 hr). Stopped for a quick cup of tea then onto a dilapidated Matatu heading for Marigat. Horrible vehicle but a great journey out into the Great Rift Valley. Once in Marigat I waited for an eternity for the next Matatu (even more dilapidated) to fill up. We finally set off only to conk out driving through a large rocky river where the bridge had washed away. Dried out the plugs, push started backwards & continued for a few more Km’s then ran out of fuel. 1.5 hrs later relief fuel arrived, another push start & we made it to the village of Kampi ya Samaki by Lake Baringo, narrowly missing an Ostrich. Besieged by touts I made it to the camp to find it full. I’m now in a run down dive that I bargained heavily for. The saving grace…. Lovely lake & nice supper back at the full campsite. Tomorrow ??? !!!

27/9/07

It may be a dive but the bed was clean & comfortable & I slept like a log. Woke early, showered then walked back up to the campsite for a slow, relaxed breakfast on the terrace. Excellent with good Kenyan coffee. The campsite is beautiful with abundant birdlife. They also have some rustic lakeside self catering cottages ideal for groups. But next time I should book….

After breakfast I decided to brave the touts & arrange a boat trip. I made an advance decision what I was prepared to spend & reduced by 30%. Then the bargaining began. End result. Blissful 2 hours exploring the lake in a good motor launch with guide. 11 pounds. It can be done at non-tourist & it was worth it. I saw monitor lizards, hippos, goliath herons and fish eagles. All in all I am glad I came. This afternoon I will take a siesta then see if I can gatecrash the posh lodge for afternoon tea.

Actually I went back to the camp after the siesta and drew cabin plans for our campsite. After this I took a stroll by the lake & nearly got eaten by a crocodile. Earlier in the day I had seen a Hamerkop nest high up in a tree by the lakeshore. I was busy looking up into the tree again and tripped over a tree root. Fortunately this disturbed the croc that I had not seen basking a few feet away. My heart was pumping fast after this encounter but the croc was more scared than me and launched himself quickly into the lake.

Later in the afternoon I took an exploratory walk of the village & ended up with about 20 Watoto (little children) joining me. We had an unusual English/Kiswahili chat about Uganda.
Wonderful supper but lousy sleep as my room appears to have become a mosquito sanctuary…..

28/9/07

So really this is the last day. Tomorrow will just be the run back to Kampala. I am writing this from the Eldoret Wagon Hotel, another colonial left over. I seem to have done a grand tour of decaying colonial hotels!

I escaped my “dive” room early this morning, bidding farewell to the mosquito population & hiked with my luggage up to the camp for breakfast. (Next time I come to Baringo it will be in my own vehicle, with camping equipment & a group of friends to share the place with)

After breakfast I sat on the roadside under the shade of an Acacia tree & waited for any vehicle heading back to Marigat. And waited……and waited. Eventually a kindly school teacher in an antique Nissan pulled over & offered a lift. We trundled back up the road, through the river and into Marigat.

The ancient Matatu in Marigat filled quickly & we soon began the mega hill climb to Kabarnet. With the poor old engine & transmission screaming in protest so began what must be one of the most spectacular road trips in Africa. For 40km we climbed the Great Rift escarpment. The Matatu terminated (almost literally) in the small mountain top town of Kabarnet & I continued my journey in a smaller shuttle bus. We plunged back down another wing of the escarpment into the beautiful Kerio Valley, across the Kerio River (this time on a bridge!), then the long hard, switchback climb back up the escarpment to Iten then on to Eldoret. This 3 hour drive has to be seen. No description does it justice.

I jumped out of the shuttle in Eldoret, swung my bag on to my shoulder & began to stride up the gentle hill towards the “Wagon” enjoying the highland air. The stopped quickly again & sat down at the nearest café shaking and with a throbbing head. I had not taken the 1126m (3716ft) change in altitude into account.

Ian is now back in Kampala and helping to prepare for Collin's wedding.

Monday 17th Sept 2007

The past week was dominated by rain, mud, power cuts and badly behaved internet. That is why I am writing a weekly prayer update from Nairobi a few days late. In fact I want this one to cover 2 weeks ahead as i am avoiding internet during my break.