Monday was a quiet day. After doing some washing, I wandered into town to change more money. Here's a tip for anyone planning to come to Uganda - take large denomination US dollars; the exchange rate for anything under $50 is lower. Mine were all lower, but I managed to get a slightly better rate than the published one. My bargaining skills must be improving. Two young Americans on a mission trip were behind me in the queue and only got the published rate.


I took the chance to look around the town centre and take more photos. With a little help from one of the locals, I also managed to find a Ugandan football shirt! Everyone I've met has been friendly and helpful.


I spent the afternoon enjoying a longer time of Bible reading and prayer. With all the travelling, it has actually been difficult to find long times for these things, so it was great to have this chance to reflect on my experiences and pray for the people and situations I've met, and also for you back home. I also started reading a book which has been much talked about among the mission partners. It's entitled 'When Helping Hurts' and is about how a lot of what we do as Western Christians in developing countries can actually be counter-productive. I'm looking forward to getting a copy and finishing it when I return.


The washing was soon dry, so I did most of my packing ready to leave in the morning. In the evening Zillah came round with a wonderful chicken casserole she'd made. She was accompanied by Grace Aldis, an occupational therapist and ex-Relay worker, who is a friend of Zillah's. She's come out for a month during her holidays to help in the hospital.


Early night as I still wasn't feeling great and we had an early start again in the morning.


The day began with a Bible study at 7.30a.m. for a group of guys all doing mission work. Most are Americans, but there was one Brazilian guy who is working with AIM in a Creative Access Nation, which means I can't tell you where for security reasons! He's in Mbarara for a couple of weeks to visit his girlfriend, Martha, who he met at their Africa-based Orientation Conference last October. The study was just ending when Zillah and Grace arrived to drive me the short distance into town to get the Post Bus to Kampala.


The bus arrived just before 10.00a.m. and we were soon underway. The bus was quite hot and stuffy, but reasonably comfortable and at least everyone had a seat to themselves this time. The guy next to me turned out to be another Man Utd fan - my shirt was doing its usual trick of acting as a conversation starter. We chatted on and off between periods when we both dozed off.
I discovered his name is Grace (yes, Grace is a popular name for guys in Uganda and why not?) and that he lives and works as a prison officer in Jinja, but his traditional home is in Kabale. He was very interested in life in the UK and wants to come to work there. Whether he'll ever be able to afford the fare I don't know.


It's not all too expensive in Uganda. I found that he can watch English Premier League games at home for a modest monthly subscription or go to halls where they have big screens and watch for about 25p!


Towards the end of the bus ride, I also made a new friend who was about 5 or 6. I didn't discover his name and he was happy just to call me 'mzungu' (white man). You often hear children shouting it whenever they see someone white. He was quite puzzled that I don't have a sister - he has three - but he enjoyed seeing the pictures of my family that I'd brought with me.


The bus trip lasted just over 5 hours, the last hour of which was spent negotiating Kampala's horrendous traffic. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of traffic control. I only saw three sets of traffic lights. One of those was completely burned out and another was being over-ruled by a traffic cop. To my relief, Lawrence Jnr, my taxi driver was patiently waiting. After a brief alarm when my rucksack couldn't be found, it was eventually located amongst sacks of various
produce belonging to other passengers. Then we headed off to Matoke Inn.


Matoke Inn is located in one of Kampala's more affluent districts on a hill overlooking the city. It is a haven of peace for mission partners on their way to and from assignments and for the occasional visitor like me. I was soon shown to my room, where I'm sharing with an American student named Spencer (Californian), who is part of a team here for six weeks to run a sports programme at the SMILE orphanage at Tororo, east of Jinja. They head off tomorrow morning.


After the long bus ride, I was glad of the chance for a walk down to the nearby supermarket and shopping mall just to browse around. It was cool and very quiet, with not many customers, apart from a couple of other 'muzungus'. I suspect that this area is probably popular with ex-pats.


We had a lovely meal of chicken wings, Irish (the Ugandan name for potatoes), pumpkin and salad, with mango to follow; one of the better meals I've had here. In the evening I chatted and played cards with more of the American team - Ryan (leader and short-term co-ordinator in the AIM US office), Rachael (who loaned me her computer to send a couple of emails; I'm using it now), Marshall and Lisa, plus Chelsey who is heading for Bunia in D R Congo on another short-term team. For most of them it is also their first time in Africa.


I had a reasonable night and today has been another quiet day, with slowly improving health, though I'm still quite tired and lacking in energy. I walked, took more photos, read and generally relaxed among the temporary community here. Among them are three families with young children, the youngest only 5 months old, headed to D R Congo and South Sudan. The Congo team left this morning. I continue to be humbled and challenged by the commitment of these young men and women, who are willing to sacrifice a lot to serve God in some pretty tough situations.


Much of this blog so far has been very much focused on me and my travels When I get back I hope to say much more about the people I've met and the impact they have had on me and are having on the situations in which they work.


I now have one more night in Uganda (at least I hope so!) before I leave tomorrow evening for the journey home. This will probably be my last blog on Ugandan soil, but hopefully not the end of my African adventure. Having said that, I can cope with an un-adventurous return flight.


Thank you to those who have prayed faithfully. Please don't stop now. My next post will hopefully be from the familiar surroundings of 4 Oak Road.


God bless