Friends and Family,So much has happened since you last heard from me. First off, last Friday we went to town called Ndere where the Ugandan people perform the local tribal dances from every region in Uganda. It was very facinating and I cannot fully describe it so I will just have to show those interested pictures and film when I return. I will say this, never have I seen hips move so fast or huge drums balance on someone's head while they beat on it. When the performances where almost over the speaker asked if people from different countries were here. There were probably 15-20 different countries represented that night. We all went down to the stage of the amphitheater and we danced with peoples from all across the world. The speaker said if we could get every government official together to dance, then their would be peace. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.One of the local staff friends of mine named Richard Otim invited me over to eat at his house with his best friend called Samuel (they pronounce it Sam-well). Richard is the best friend I have here in Uganda. He is a great guy who works hard but enjoys life. We could not have asked for a better night. A friend of mine from the states gave me some cards the previous day so I took them to the dinner. We spend a good bit of the evening playing American and Ugandan card games. There were several children around and they were really cute. One kid was named Ivan and he was probably 5 yrs. old and wore these pants that didn't quite fit him so when he ran, half of his backside would be showing - it was hilarious. Ivan's friend Aaron was really shy at first but then opened up. I would take each boy and toss him in the air and them catch him as he came down -- a trick my Dad did to Laura and I that we always really liked to do. A big form of entertainment for the Ugandans is the radio. They love to listen to sporting events and music. When Richard brought out the music Aaron and Ivan danced. It was so funny to witness these little guys try and imitate pop culture dancing. We took what pictures we could but they did not do the little one's moves justice. There was one child there who was very young. He was so cute but he was so scared of white people. Richard said it is common in Uganda because the children think we look like ghosts. When the child would get close to us we would fix his eyes on our face and just stare. When we would go for him to hold him, he would bury his head in the shoulder of his sister. Dinner was amazing, the food was absolutely delicious and was relatively healthy. We ate in a house smaller than the average living room in America. Richard has a family of one boy, one girl and another on the way (he is really excited). We all had a tight squeeze but I will never forget this night of fellowship and laughs.A completely different couple of friends live near Entebe and wanted me to come over and visit their place (their names were also Richard and Samuel - no joke). To keep things less confusing I will name these two Rich 2 and Sam 2. These guys are my age and are trying to make it on their own. They have both lost their parents so they have no one paying their school fees anymore. They are currently working but are hoping that an opportunity will allow them to finish school. There house was the size of a small bedroom and they had only a bed and a dresser in the room. We enjoyed tea and casava (grilled root that tastes like a big french fry).These are all very brief descriptions of my past week. I hope that it was not too long for each of you to read. I have some funny stories that the speaker for the tribal dancing said comparing Africans to other nations. I will save these for in-person. Much love.

John

Prayer requests - work deadlines are Monday and Friday, pray that I will be able to meet these.- Relationships with the locals and the church, pray that with my short time here I will make the most of it and encourage and share the Gospel with many adults here- health - I have been around a lot of sick people and some of the food does not always agree with me the second go round so please pray for health