HELLO FROM UGANDA
posted by: Ryan Anderson (Alpha Upsilon Pledge Class, Spring 2009)
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers over the last few days! I am happy to say that our Phi Chi team has made it safely to Bukaleba, Uganda! I am sorry that this is the first update we’ve been able to post. Most of our time has been spent traveling and we weren’t sure if we were going to have internet access here. That being said, I have a lot to catch you up on, so here is it!

We’ve been in Uganda for about two days now. Overall, our flights and travel arrangements went very smoothly. We had minimal layovers in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Nairobi, Kenya before arriving in Entebbe, Uganda. Our last flight touched down around midnight on Tuesday and so we spent the night in a nearby guest house. Luckily, traveling really took it out of us, and so although our bodies were at about 5:00 PM USA time when we finally got to our rooms, we were more than happy to hit the sack.

On Wednesday, we got to spend our first full day in Africa. We woke up and took a three hour car ride to a nearby city called Jinja. For me, this was the first time that it really sunk in that we are in Africa! We raced through the busy streets (on the left side of the road) while people went about their business. Of course, a car full of white college guys isn’t something people normally see, and so we quickly got accustomed to the stares and shouts of strangers at “mozungus” or white men. Uganda is an incredibly beautiful country. Think of the Austin Hill Country plus the greenery of Tennessee plus California weather and a little African flare and that’s basically where we’re at. Our view here at the guest house overlooks Lake Victoria and several surrounding hillsides. Cool.

From Jinja, we headed towards a community of villages outside the city called Bukaleba. This is where the I Love Orphans/Arise Africa orphanage and Secondary School is located. We went straight to the school where the students were ready to greet us and have a fellowship gathering. The school itself had only opened within the last year, but several of the buildings were a product of Phi Chi’s funding and manual labor. It was cool to see the fruits of our brothers’ work. The students, mostly high school age, were ready to lead us in song and prayer. So basically we were jumping around praising Jesus for about 20 minutes. It was a great time of fellowship and really got us pumped to begin this ministry outreach here.

Later that night, we got to visit the “Babies Home” or the orphanage, which is walking distance from where we are staying. So picture this: 53 kids around the ages of 3-5. Add in 8 college guys and our sponsor. Madness ensues. I’m talking screaming, running around, singing, crying, laughing for about three straight hours. We played and loved on those kids so much that by the time we were done it was not only their bed time but ours as well. One kid got a hold of my iPhone and started to play with the front facing camera. I now have about 150 new pictures on my phone. To see the faces and smiles of kids that Phi Chi supports through I Love Orphans and Arise Africa is an incredible privilege. Before we left, a little girl sat in my lap and sang me a song. It went something like, “We will never forget you. Although you go, back to America, we will never forget you.” Then she kissed me on the cheek and went to bed. Cool, my heart just melted.

So yeah that was Day 1. We spent most of today (Day 2) working at the school doing sanding and painting on one of their future classrooms. We got to meet with several of the faculty and staff with Arise Africa before we gave our official presentation to the school. The program was great! Christopher and I led a few songs, Kyle Howerton played guitar and led us through some worship tunes, Rob and Nick narrated a few skits we put together and most importantly, Cameron gave a message and invited the kids to come to know Jesus. We prayed with them and had a few students say that they prayed that prayer for the first time! Praise God! Please keep these young students in your prayers as they begin their spiritual journey.

That’s all for now, but hopefully now that we have internet you guys will get more daily and concise updates. Please keep the team in your prayers. Specifically, pray that the weather will allow us to do village evangelism tomorrow and that the hearts of the people we speak to will be prepared.

Thanks everyone! To Phi Chi, brothers twice!

Ryan Anderson

Phi Kappa Chi Alumni Member

Alpha Upsilon Pledge Class, Spring 2009