2-week “mini newsletter” Apr 7-21

Our kids are home on break which is why I haven’t posted much. When they come home, I try really hard to drop everything and spend time with them. So I haven’t blogged and I really haven’t been all that productive. But I wanted to share some of the things that have been going on, so I’ll try this format. Don’t expect a lot of details. That might make some people who think I’m long-winded very happy.

We picked our kids up at the airport. :-)

The kids return. Makenna is with me.

While in Kampala, we found some cool locks. I couldn’t afford to buy them though. They were $30-50!

Locks. Expensive. $50.

I spotted a boda in Kampala with a “Repetance” (sic) shirt. I know. Hard to spell. Harder to do.

Repetance. Hard to spell. Harder to do right.

Jen’s dad and stepmom visited for a week or so. I was good to see them, and they enjoyed their brief time here. They also loaded the kids up with lots of cool stuff from The Merca. We visited Sipi falls which is a real #UgandanEyesore.

The extenxed family at Sipi falls.

Since there wasn’t any power there, I brought along the donated JuiceBox to try it out. It worked like a champ!

The Juice Box at Sipi falls.

We also went caving. Very cool, but this is where Ebola started, and there were lots of bats. I remembered this AFTER we left the cave. Crap. #CouldBeBad

Caving in Sipi. #Ebola.

We also visited the Source of the Nile.. in our front yard. Another #Ugandaneyesore.

Ugandan fisherman at the Source of the Nile.

My friend Ryan bought shorts in the market. They’re actual, real Abercrombie shorts. For the visually impaired.

Aber..wha?!

We had a visit from Ben and Don, some tech friends with Samaritan’s Purse. We had a chance to show them all the programs we’re working on. Ben was the one that originally connected me with Bill Harrison over at Portable Universal Power. That was a huge connection for us!

Ben and “Elvis” outside the Hackers for Charity Computer Training Center.

I spent a day working with Jaja Barb on a video about her program. The video is here:

I had a fifteen-hour day last Saturday between meeting with new folks in town that are running a new Guest House and Cafe as a ministry in Jinja, a blues and folk concert at the Keep and various other things. The concert was terrific. We were standing room only.

John, Andrew and Ronnie, Blues and Folk night at the Keep.

Travis and “Noble Traders” is a cool story. He started dealing in Djembe drums in Senegal and felt led to come to Uganda to seek out other “beyond fair trade” organizations that he cold help support. He raised money through a kickstarter and basically cold called Uganda to seek out someone that was making cool products. At the top of his list: leather journals. He found us through Brad at Amazima and we connected. Travis spent a week with us, learning about our shop and the team and placed an order for forty leather journals. He did research about shipping (we can ship to the US now!) and took tons of video to tell the story of our program. This was huge for us, and I look forward to what will become of this partnership.

Travis’ Journal order in the Ngozi Creations workshop.

Every year, during Easter and Christmas, we help organizations show the “Jesus Film” in local languages. This week Makenna and I visited Amazima, but we had a VERY different setup from previous showings. Normally, we bring huge speakers, a mixer, a generator, and loads of mics and cables to run the event. This year, thanks to Bill Harrington (for the JuiceBox) and James Bray (for the GoSpeak) and “Anonymous” (for the Pico projector), we had a much smaller footprint. In fact, all the gear for our presentation to over 500 Ugandans fit in a single backpack! We had plenty of volume and the clarity of the projector was superb. Amazima did a great presentation and dozens of Ugandans turned their lives over to Christ just before Easter. It was pretty amazing!

The sun sets before the Jesus Film.

I worked on a few items for our friends at Serving His Children including a broken keyboard and an iPhone unlock.

Broken keyboard, Serving His Children.

Jen and Johnson worked on a few leather bottles for Defcon and Makenna worked on a few bracelets for her friends. We also worked on a knife sheath for one of the kids’ “anonymous friends” at school. It’s a surprise.

Makenna’s bracelets.

Bottles for DEFCON courtesy of Jen and Johnson.

We had a bee infestation. Tim came and worked to get the bees out. It was pretty spectacular. We watched from inside because HELLO! African killer bees and no epi-pen!

Bees. Problem. Tim. Brave.

I also taught Makenna how to build a Raspberry Pi, and get Minecraft up and running on it in preparation for an upcoming course. I’d love to teach Ugandan kids how to build these.