9:00pm (the night before): Still no power (out since 3am), so it’s candles, and lanterns and light via a JuiceBox and and a ReadySet. Normally we would use our inverter, but it’s in the shop. We’re really off the grid now.
8:00 Thanks to the power outage, the night was restless to say the least. But we’re up and out on time none the less to open the Keep.
8:15 Meet with landlord of the Keep over some pressing issues.
8:30-9:15 Take Declan’s carpool to School.
9:15 Return from school, quick breakfast.
10:00 I had to bring the police here to take a statement from a customer that had some things stolen. I also have a brief meeting with Mark, a local missionary who heard we do computer training. He didn’t realize we did free training. He’s blown away. (The fact that people don’t know about this is a PROBLEM). I turn him on to our website for more info.
10:30 To the bank for cash.
11:00 First grocery store run of the day in preparation for the arrival of the Rift Valley Academy (RVA) Interim team.
11:30 To UMEME (the power company) to explain in person that our power is out. They seem convinced that it’s not.
11:45 I meet Jonah, one of our leather craftsmen on the way home. He’s walking away from the house. Turns out he’s having real back problems because of making banana fiber greeting cards at night as a side business. We talk about ergonomics and I give him money for a stool at his house. I also make arrangements for him to see a chiropractor. The leather work is “fine” he says, but this card thing is wrecking him. I explain that he can’t let a side business sideline his primary job. He agrees that we might need to find a way to get him extra income through leather.
12:00 I arrive home and find the power’s back. I really really want to get a shower, but there are pressing emails. I also have to start downloading OPEN-WRT firmware images for a TP-LINK router. I have this idea.
12:30 Jen realizes she hasn’t eaten lunch. We decide to go out for lunch and visit our dear friend Jude, the proprietor of Ozzie’s cafe on main street. We run into Virgil and April and have a good time chatting with them about life in Uganda and their ministries.
1:30 We go to the Keep to grab some coffee and find it SLAMMED for the third day this week. It’s not even the busy season. Our staff is doing fine, but they could definitely use some help. I spend a lot of time helping customers with internet connectivity problems. We need a better solution for Internet at the Keep. I chat with Mark again. He’s so encouraged by our ministry and especially the training center and the Bed and Breakfast. He has some ideas about bringing in teams who want to explore service and ministry opportunities. We bring them in, and depending on their interests, we place them with different organizations, then they come together at the end of each day to compare notes, challenges and we help them with a way forward. This would be especially helpful because so many people have an idea that they want to serve but don’t know exactly what to do or how to best use their skills. In theory they could use the BnB as a base.
3:00 We head home to prepare for the RVA team. It’s a team of twelve Juniors and Seniors from our kid’s school and three adult chaperones. It will be a full house. It’s a great opportunity, and the second time we’ve hosted an RVA team.
3:15 I begin working on flashing a TP-Link TL-MR304. I bought it new in Uganda for about $65 (ouch) but these things are starting to pop up in most computer shops in Uganda. I think it might be possible to use it as a lightweight off-the shelf version of the Pelican Pi. I’m starting the journey with LibraryBox from Jason Griffey.
3:30 We say goodbye to Sam from (near) Karamoja. He was our guest for two nights. He had a computer problem and he travelled all the way from Northern (remote!) Uganda to get it sorted. He’s sorted out, and we were happy to take care of him. I think we might have spoiled him though.
3:45 I continue to work on the TP-LINK.
4:00 I make a second grocery run for the RVA team. They’ll arrive in a few hours.
4:30-5:50 I continue with the TP-Link and work on a customer’s iPad. It’s a 3G with the “No Sim” degradation problem. It’s not case related, and no other sims work. I’m afraid it’s hardware. Somewhere in here, we go out and hang out with the puppies. One almost died by choking on a piece of fat. Puppy Heimlich.
5:50 I get a call from Pacific. Our inverter is ready and repaired. I head out to pickup the inverter. It costs $30 for the repair. Ouch. The electrician can’t come until Friday, so it looks I’ll be rigging it myself. Sigh.
6:00 We head to the Keep to order dinner before the rush of the team.
6:30 RVA team arrives from Kenya. We load them up with food and milkshakes. Meanwhile, the Keep is busy again so Jen and I are “on duty” helping out.
8:45-9:30 We get the team back to the house and get them settled into their rooms.
9:50-10:15 I get a call from a contact in immigration. He needs money for our kid’s passport renewal. It was supposed to be processed by now. We need it by Friday otherwise the kids can’t come home for vacation. I suit up, grab my helmet and race into tow.
10:15 Jen heads off to bed. I’m in bed, but I sit up in bed working on the TP-Link. I have to stay awake to lock up the house when the team goes to bed anyway.
11:30 I have a working prototype and start loading content, which will take a couple of hours so I let it churn as I lock up the house, get everything settled and ..
12:00 crash. I never did get that much needed shower. Maybe power will stay on until morning.
