Barry The Beefy Badboy Beast!

Many of you may recognise this picture of an exuberant Jamal, from Slumdog Millionaire, post-voluntary dive into a pit latrine.  Before we continue, might we reassure you that this is not one of the things that we have delighted in since arriving in Uganda (yet).  However, we were reminded of this scene, on a recent excursion to visit the project farm, on a typical day during Uganda rainy season.

Tim, having got the church pick-up stuck in the mud, gallantly proceeded to try to escape, whilst our friend Rob (amongst other manly individuals) endeavoured to push.  Neither had realised that the wheels have a catch that needs to be turned in order to engage the 4WD.  So Rob ended up looking much like little Jamal, or perhaps even Augustus Gloop after a dip in Willie Wonka’s chocolate River.  Happy days!

Which leads us on nicely to Barry!  Still traumatised by the premature demise of our elderly rover, Ethel just prior to our departure to Uganda, (may her metallic carcass rest in peace), we have been on the hunt to find a fitting Ugandan equivalent! We therefore would now like to proudly introduce our Toyota Rav 4, which we have named Barry The Beefy Badboy Beast (a.k.a. Bazza)!

Barry was purchased from the wife of a Catholic priest (get your head round that one if you can!) and is a welcome addition to our family.  We feel extremely blessed to have found him, since he has all the main requirements: 

• 4WD;
• 5 doors (easier to put car seats in, when the need arises in the future!); 
• Boot space for medical supplies;
• A youthful sprightliness, that understates the 170,000km on his clock!

We hope that seeing his photo will entice you from far and wide to come and enjoy the soft caress of his seats on your booty!

Patience is a Virtue!

James 5:8 “Be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”

This week, we feel that this verse is very fitting as we get to grips with life in Uganda once again, and for 2 reasons:

1. Firstly it is fitting, as one of the paramount virtues that one must possess in Uganda is patience.
2. Secondly, a number of times in this 3 weeks, one, or both of us, have found ourselves wondering whether in fact we may see the return of the Lord before we actually manage to: 

• Tuck into the starter we ordered about 5 years earlier from the lovely, albeit rather sloth-like waitress;
• Find the elusive electrician who is always going to be there in 1 hour - (5 days, and many phone calls later, he’s still just an hour away from arriving!);
• Get our visa sorted - of course, although the office should be open every day, so far it has only been open once, and of course the man was far too busy with the very important task of testing the comfort of his chair whilst picking his teeth to help us on that day!
• Setting up our Ugandan Bank account and receiving our bank cards - 4 days of waiting for our account to be registered was followed by 2 hours of waiting at the bank card window, only to then be informed that the machine was a "bit slow," and then another hour later, (after some pushing on Tim’s part), the admission that the machine was actually broken! 5 days later, after trying each day, and another hours wait and our bankcards did, astonishingly, beat the return of the Lord! Hallelujah!!

He’s coming soon people – be ready!!!

Team Crow Are On The R.O.L!!

We are sitting in our house in Bwala, Masaka, reflecting on a busy first 2 weeks, much of which has been taken up with sorting out the house and scrubbing away layers of filth that have doubtless been here for many years! Tim has done some expert DIY (no sarcasm here!) and has managed to blow a few things up, while Sarah cheerily proceeded to nearly burn the house down by leaving electric hobs on whilst the cooker was directly under the wooden kitchen work surface!

Other than that, here are some of the stand out moments so far:

Being clamped on our second day whilst borrowing our friend’s car;


Sarah being attacked by a bat, then accidently half squashing it, and then making Tim dispatch it brutally with a door stop whilst it made traumatising squeaking sounds;

The White Eagle boys putting on a welcome home production, featuring the story of how Tim and Sarah met (including Ivan Mujuzzi in drag, shaking his booty. There was some confusion as to whether he was representing Tim or Sarah!!).

Sarah making the schoolboy error of confusing the very similar Luganda words for “water” and the rude word for “poo” and also finding out that her ipod Luganda app had given her a word for “please” that actually means “dog”! Classic!

It’s great to be back!

World's Scariest Police Chases - Uganda Edition!!

Well my freinds, I've always said: "There's one thing I can say about living in Uganda, it's never dull!" Today I bring you another example but in order to take you through today's encounter let me hand you over to everybody's favorite Sheriff, Sheriff John Burnell (Ret.) - Channel 5 late night viewers know who I'm talkin about!

Sheriff Burnell: "Crazy Taxi Drivers....., Some of the world's most ridiculous police....., Cars built for 5 but carrying 10...., put these elements together and you have....THE WORLD'S SCARIEST POLICE CHASES.....IN UGANDA!!"

"Today: Wrong Taxi, Wrong Time! coming in at number 3 in our Top 10 List, Timothy Crow recites his experience of a hectic Police Chase - Ugandan Style!!"

Tim: "I was just doing what I always do, getting in a Taxi to Nyendo. The fact that it was carrying far too many passengers was nothing new, it's an everyday occurence here. What was a new experience however, was when a Ugandan Police Truck screeched to a halt besides us. 2 Policemen, armed with rifles, jumped out and ran towards our Taxi. The Driver started shouting! The 2 policemen pulled open the drivers door and front left passenger door. However, rather than handing himself over for whatever he'd done wrong (and the list could be rather long I'm sure!), the driver slamed his foot on the accelerator, swerving like a complete lunatic with the policemen still grabbing onto the doors!!"

"We narrowly missed hitting the police truck and nearly mowed down one of the policemen and then sped away at a speed which I was rather suprised that this ramshackle old Taxi could manage. As I and the other passengers looked back, the policemen were shouting: it seemed as though the driver of the police truck had stalled and they were some distance back!"

"I thought about jumping out, but knew that I would probably break a fair few bones so decided to enjoy the ride! And what a ride! Speeding past other road users, bouncing over potholes, narrowly escaping an abbrupt end with an oncoming Lorry."

"Still, on the up side it's the fastest ever trip I've made bewteen Masaka and Nyendo!"

Sheriff Burnell: "Tune in next time, for number 2 of our Top 10 Police Chases from around the world as a dangerous criminal makes a nifty getaway on a large goat in Nepal."

OPERATION A.R.K. 2009!

James 2:17 says that "Faith without Action is dead!" Operation ARK is all about putting our faith into action by blessing our local community through Acts of Random Kindness!

It's also about UNITY and we were very excited this year to link up with youth from 6 other local churches here in Nyendo. In total over 115 youth attended over the course of the week as we hit the streets of Nyendo to show the Love of Jesus through meeting people's practical needs. It was a real triumph to see so many youth getting stuck in and willing to get their hands dirty and it's awesome to see how this vision has grown from the small beginnings of 15 River of Life Church Youth in 2008!

This year we focussed mainly on an area called Kakyafu which literally translates as "Rubbish." It's quite a fitting name, being one of the most notorious slums of Nyendo. But together, this week we have managed to make a real impact, cleaning the streets, painting people's houses, digging and cleaning out wells, and giving boxes of food and other essentials to those most in need. we have now decided that it should be re-named Okuyonja which means "Clean!"



Many were blessed, some became Christians, and many were challenged about their perceptions of Christians. One woman couldn't beliveve it when we didn't want any money for the box of food we gave her and commented "Wow - you guys are really showing a true Christianity!"
One Muslim man said "Hmm.....this is a real challenge for us Muslims, I wish we would do more practical things to bless our community!"

my favorite quote of the week comes from a 7 year old child however who ran to his mother saying "look what these people are doing, I think it shows that everyone should get saved!"

We have been so blessed by the efforts of our youth and are looking forward to Operation A.R.K growing in the future! It goes to show that actions really do speak louder than words!

Our Newest White Eagles!!

With a week left now before I head back to the UK for Easter I thought I must make sure I take the time to introduce you to the 2 newest member’s of the White Eagle family – Kellen and Kelvin.

It’s actually quite a tragic story, as many stories are here in Uganda, but as always God has the power to turn these things round to good! Kellen in 13 years old, and was found by our project manager’s Emily’s husband who is a doctor, at Kitovu Hospital where he works in the paediatric ward. Kellen was raped by 2 men on the way to see her aunt one night and as a result became pregnant.

She had been staying with her grandmother, but it was very clear that her family were not in a position to give her the care she needed as a child herself who was about to give birth to her own child after such a awful assault. We decided to take her into the girl’s home and a week after being taken in she gave birth to little Kelvin on 28th February.

Miraculously, even though Kellen is so young, she had a normal delivery which from start to finish only took 1 hour and 15 minutes! We were concerned about how Kellen would feel about her baby but so far things are going very well and all the girls are very excited to have a new little brother in the girl’s home! Kellen is an absolute star and is settling in very well. Obviously there is a lot of emotional healing that needs to take place, but she’s in the right place for that to happen!

So there you have it, the White Eagle Family grows ever larger!

DOUBLE GLORY AS BALL-LINE TIGERS AND EMMANUEL HOTSPURS TAKE THE CUPS!!

Another LMC Cup of Masaka has come to an end and in two of the mos-t closely contested finals the tournament has known it was Ball-line Tigers who were crowned Junior Champions, and Emmanuel Hotspurs, formerly The White Eagle's Dappers of Devastation, who took an unprecedented 4th straight title in the Senior Section.


BALL-LINE TIGERS TAKE CUP IN EPIC PENALTY SHOOT-OUT!



In the Junior Final, no one could had expected the drama that would unfold. Ball-line Tigers, with their silky passing moves and pace up front had a dream start when Kabanda was upended in the box and the Referee pointed to the spot.

The dream turned into a nightmare however when Kabanda blazed his penalty well over the bar and out of the stadium. He redeemed himself only minutes later when a bouncing ball caught the Hipipo keeper in no-man's land and Kabanda slotted an easy header into an empty net for 1-0.

The joy was short lived. Hipipo were stirred into action and as they pressed for an equaliser they were awarded their own penalty as Kaketo handled inside the box. Semugenyi kept a cooler head then his adversary Kabanda had earlier done and cracked his penalty beyond Muyimba. 1-1 at half time.

The second half was a story of missed chances and moments of keeping brilliance. 1-1 it remained and the title would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

It was Hipipo who drew first blood, slotting their first penalty whilst the Tigers hit the post. Each subsequent player kept a cool head and left the score at 4-3 with Hipipo's Keeper stepping up knowing that all he had to do was to score in order to cover himself with glory and allow his team to take the cup. He powered it towards the bottom left hand corner but Muyimba went the right way and clasped the ball into his chest to send the Tigers fan's into a frenzy. Umaru still had to score for the Tigers, and did so with aplomb sending the shoot out into sudden death.

Both teams scored their first, 5-5....and their second,6-6....

…But with the pressure mounting Hipio's Kityo put his strike against the post. There was a moment of confusion as ecstatic Tigers fan's and even manager Walusimbi, stormed the pitch thinking they had won! The refs quickly dispersed the crowd pointing out that the Tigers still had to score their penalty.

Up stepped Kabanda, top goal scorer with 10 goals to his name. Could he put his earlier penalty miss out of his mind?? The answer was yes as he spanked the ball firmly beyong the flailing keeper. Kabanda fell to the ground and was soon immersed in his fellow Tigers and crazed supporters. An amazing end to a fabulous encounter.

EMMANUEL HOTSPURS RETAIN TITLE IN HARD ERANED VICTORY OVER NTAKE.



Emmanuel Hotspurs, defending champions and tournament favourites Vs Ntake F.C., arch rivals and the only real team capable of toppling the Hotspurs from their pedestal, was a game widely anticipated here in Nyendo.

As the sun finally beat down on a rain-drenched pitch that had only been made playable thanks to “Dan the Man” and his trusty jerry can, used to remove the standing water, the crowds were in good song at Kasana and knew they were in for a treat.

Like any good derby, the tone was set early with some crunching challenges and 2 yellow cards in the first 10 minutes. Neither side were going to take any prisoners!

As the first half moved on it was the Hotspurs who seemed to settle. Their tight control and one touch passing put Fred through on the right who’s cross was blocked providing the Hotspurs with a corner. Fred’s delivery from the corner was “Beckhamess” and Kalisa was left unmarked at the back to power in the first for the Hotspurs.

Into the second half and the match was well balanced. The Hotspurs pressed for the second but Ntake always looked dangerous on the counter.

Ntake had a glorious chance to equalise when Walusimbi, usually so sturdy at the back, played a criminal pass across his own box allowing Owen to steal in. Walusimbi scrambled across and did just enough to put Owen off who blazed high and wide. It was a sitter that should really have hit the net but instead the ball went clean out of the stadium, over the houses and took several minutes to retrieve. In this short interlude the crowd were entertained as Crichlow the Cow broke loose of his fastening and made a bolt for freedom across the pitch. Criclow was eventually subdued and showed his dismay by pooing next to the corner flag!

Minutes later the Hotspurs had the second they had pushed for, A sweeping move sliced the Ntake defence apart and Sam, bearing down on goal, unselfishly laid it off for Javira to dink past the keeper and give the Hotspurs some breathing room.

Ntake’s almost unbelievable miss from 6 yards 5 minutes later was a sign that it was not their day and Emmanuel Hotspurs saw out the match, 2-0 winners and Champions Once again!!