On African Time

For months I have been talking with my neighbour lady, who runs a hostel for girls who are boarding for school in Soroti. This semester Sarah has 68 girls living on her compound and she feeds them 7 days a week. We had been planning on having the girls come to a Bible study at my house and it was supposed to start tonight. I planned for the 7 pm Bible study, but when no one was here by 7:05pm I walked across the street to say hello to Sarah and the girls. She introduced me to one of the high schoolers who will make a great leader. She apologized that the girls were studying hard tonight and would not be able to make it to Bible study until next week. They were bring me a list of all the girls who would attend, so we could start in a more orderly fashion.... and so the saga continues. Ministry is postponed for a week.

But in the mean time, I was able to hang out with the girls more and had a wonderful conversation with Sarah. She is a very giving lady, as she runs a hostel, a business, and has three children who are all in school. And school is not cheap here, especially when you put your children in boarding as well. I enjoyed roasted corn with her and the family before heading home around 7:45pm.

When I got in the gate, my guard jokingly said "Hey, I almost shot you!" and we both had a good laugh. I am coming to appreciate Timothy more and more everyday and so glad that he is here in the evenings. Tonight we talked for 45 minutes about village life and dowries, and hopefully some day soon I will be able to stay with him and his family for a few days in the village. Rural life is totally different than town life. I look forward to that trip.