Well if they can write it in the paper it's got to be correct right?

So the newspapers over there have some funny stories.  One headline talked about people making counterfeit 500 shilling coins.  With the exchange rate that's about $0.30.  Don't you think you could get a little more adventurous than counterfeiting a quarter?  In another article it talked about how who I believe is the surgeon general of Uganda saying that men should not be in the delivery room during birth.  I guess "evidence" shows that it makes labor longer, harder and more painful.  It also, supposedly, makes that man less attracted to his wife (due to what he sees) and thus more likely to avoid his wife and spend more time in the pub.  The papers also had some pictures of Chris Tomlin which I'm sure they contacted Passion to get the proper permission to use.  Well if they can write it in the paper it's got to be correct right?

More Pictures

To see the rest of my pictures, click below!

passionkampala.snapfish.com/snapfish

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First Day Back and More Stories

OK, so I borrowed a few of these pics from the official Passion blog, but they used a few of my pictures so I figured turnabout was fair play.

Well today was my first day back at work and it actually went really smoothly, no real effects of jet lag, go figure. My feet and body feel pretty good. I guess that's just as the song goes, "Amazing Grace." Today I sort of feel like Jack from the show LOST in last year's season finale, "We have to go back!" Note, I am a huge LOST fan, I didn't watch it the first 2 years, but am hooked now and am watching season 1 and 2 on DVD now. If I could watch 1 hour of TV a week, that would be it. I just can't wait to be involved in another Passion event either on another stop on the world tour or in the next US event.

It's amazing how a trip to Africa changes your perspective. I rode MARTA from the airport to downtown through south Atlanta and remember thinking, "Wow, this is a pretty nice neighborhood." I don't think I ever thought I'd feel that way about that section of track and, although I know Atlanta is building, I don't think it changed as much as I did. I'm sure over time some details and memories will fade, but some changes will be forever. We had such an great group of volunteers that worked so hard and gave so much, but I know we all received back more than we gave.

Passion Kampala still seems almost surreal. Some fun stories. So it's the last night and I'm sitting in volunteer central on a chair and there are maybe 4 other people off in the distance. This huge Ugandan man comes up to me and totally straight-faced says, "Get Up!" I was like, "I'm sorry?" and he said again, "Get Up!" I was a slight bit worried and got up slowly and he proceeded to wrap me in a bear hug and thank me for coming to Kampala, an amazing moment.

Final story for the day, driving. Speed limits, lanes...mere suggestions. The ride to the airport is a 2 lane road and there are some slow cars in Uganda and tight turns, making passing interesting. We were riding in a bus back to the airport and we were 4 hours early for our flight and our driver was passing like crazy, sometimes too close for comfort. Matt was screaming, "Patrick (our driver) I want to see my mom again!" or "We're 4 hours early!" We put our hands up like on a roller coaster for one picture. Sometimes we'd be in the straddling the middle line with a car on each side going in opposite directions. I expected a NASCAR announcer or someone from the movie Cars to be screaming, "Three Wide! Three Wide!"

Well more stories to come and I'll also be uploading all my pics soon.

Welcome Home..Customs Just 1 Mile That Way

I'm back home in Atlanta and my flights were all actually early! Went through customs in Detroit and had to walk forever from the plane. Well more tomorrow when I get a chance to recover a bit!

Going Home

Well I leave for the airport in about 2.5 hours, so it will be so long Africa at that point and the beginning of the 24 hour journey home. We have the "Passion" flight, some 50 people associated with the event flying out. If you want to see some really cool crowd shots from last night, check out the official blog:

http://www.268blog.blogspot.com/

This trip has been amazing and I leave having experienced and seen things that leave me changed. As I get home I have no doubt I'll post more funny stories from our food backstage being delivered by a taxi onto the field with other people in the back sharing the cab waiting for another destination (the fit like 16 people into a taxi van) to half of us getting loopy at night from the malarone side effects (for malaria).

I leave Africa feeling satisfied and happy, yet eager to get home. So far no strange bugs or sickness for anyone on our team, except for one who had some ice and had one bad evening. The people here took such good care of us all around. Also I guess the kids last night gave a ton of money to Paris, that's amazing!

See you all at home!