Uganda, here we come!

We rendezvoused with Libbi and Tamera at the London airport gate to complete the team. Our flight departed London on schedule and without incident (unlike 2 years ago). Most of us slept very well (although not long enough) after long hikes in London and a full tummy. We arrived at the Entebbe airport on schedule along with all of our luggage! One of many miracles yet to come, I’m sure. We were greeted by Watoto: Andrew – our host for the trip, Melvin – an up-and-coming host (today was his first day on the job), and Joel – our driver. All three of them are super nice people and we hit it off right away. Last but not least, we got our wish from the last trip – a BIGGER BUS (see picture)!! It seats all of us fine and even has a working air conditioner. After a prayer by Andrew, we left to exchange money and get a bite to eat. Along the way, Andrew memorized everyone’s names and was able to recite them at will. We were duly impressed! As tired as we were, he kept us awake with very interesting information about Uganda, Watoto, himself, etc. We are looking forward to spending more time with these fine gentlemen. We arrived at the Kampala Regency Hotel (don’t get any ritzy pictures in your mind) where we stayed in 2005 and it had not changed much. After off-loading the supplies we brought, we proceeded to the Garden Shopping Center to exchange currency into Ugandan shillings (1,700 shilling to the dollar). We partook of ice cream and light food and then went to KPC for orientation. There, we were reacquainted with staff members (Brenda – coordinator of teams and Robert - construction) and met some new faces as well. It was fun to see them again. The orientation covered the history of KPC, Watoto, and future plans, which includes building many more homes and schools in the existing villages. It is good to see continued expansion because the need is so great. After orientation, we watched a future Watoto choir practice and were able to meet some of the children – always a hit! Finally, we returned to the hotel to relax and take our first shower since Tuesday. Tomorrow we begin construction, so stayed tuned for more adventures to come!
Written by Dave Glover

Where’s Kelci?

Okay, before you freak out, it’s not as bad as it might sound. Now, on with the story… After going through customs in London, we purchased a group day ticket on the Tube (the name of their train/subway) to see the sights in downtown London. Just by chance, our group ended up in three different cars of one train. Terry, Dave, Andi, and Rachelle were in a car and Kelci was in one of the other cars with other team members. The groups could see each other but could not communicate. Our plan before we left the train station was to get off at the Picadilly Circus stop and go from there. For reasons unimportant now, the other two groups unexpectedly got off two stops early – with Kelci! Terry, Dave, Andi, and Rachelle did not realize it in time and remained on the train! Oops. So there they were waving at us while we were staring out at them. There was a brief freak out period by an individual not to be named. We also realized that Terry had Kelci’s ticket to get out of the turnstile at the train stop. Double oops. There were several ways we could have hooked up but it just wasn’t in the cards. So, both groups went about their sightseeing always watchful for the other group. We never hooked up again until we all got back to the airport; reunited once again. So, the headcount remains 23 as we prepare for the last leg of our trip – Uganda.

Written by Dave Glover

We’re off! So, are the Glover’s going or not?

The team met promptly at the Wichita airport at 2pm; all 21 of us, 42 checked bags, and 21 carry on pieces. Pastor Mehl dropped by to wish us Godspeed and it was much appreciated. After a team picture, we checked in without incident until the Glover’s arrived at the counter. Somehow, this first leg of our journey was “deleted” from the computer system; it had something to do with Libbi and Tamera leaving early. It will one of those unsolved mysteries. Anyway, after approximately 14,458 steps to fix it, all was well. The flight to Chicago left on-time at 4:40pm and was otherwise uneventful – which is a good thing these days.

We arrived in Chicago on schedule and proceeded to appropriate terminal. Of course, we had to leave the secured area and re-enter after receiving our boarding passes for our next two British Airways legs of the trip. All went well until Brenda Schewe tried to get through security with a boarding pass having Andi Schomaker’s name. Hmmm… But Andi went through security before her just fine! As it turns out, the British Airways counter agent issued two boarding passes for Andi Schomaker! Who wrote this software anyway? We left Chicago on-time at 8:30pm and arrived in London at 10am Wednesday June 6, dog tired but ready to see the sites.

Written by Dave Glover