Face to Face with Bishop Daniel Wandabula

[CORRECTION: Aeri teaches at Reformed Theological College in Kampala, not at Humble United Methodist School. Click here for address.]

Good news! The Great Eight have received word from Bob Kisubi (Director of Communication, Education & Planning, of the East Africa Annual Conference office) that they can meet with Bishop Daniel Wandabula in the morning of Thursday, July 9th. After Aeri emailed him and after he received the letter of introduction from our own Bishop Warner Brown, Bishop Wandabula was able to fit into his busy schedule a meeting with our team. In his correspondence, Bishop Wandabula expressed interest in the work that our team will be doing in partnership with YCVM, and wanted to know more about this ministry. Just last week, he was in Southern Sudan and this week is in Rwanda. However, he will be traveling back to Kampala on Wednesday and agreed to meet with our team on Thursday. It is also fortunate that our team was able to change their itinerary in order to meet with the Bishop.

Also, the team was invited to visit (Humble United Methodist School) as well as Namboole UMC at the invitation of the Bishop's office.

Hey, don't forget to click on the links to find out more information about Humble United Methodist School, or about Bishop Wandabula!

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Day 1: Blog Post by Donna

Hi CCUMC! We'll, we've made it on the first leg of our journey to Uganda. Daily we will update our journey. In the daily blog we will also give you a few questions regarding the team members and you'll have to read the blog the next day to discover the answers.

Pre-flight snack in SF

Question #1 - Whose bag weighed too much when checking in at SFO?

Our scheduled flight was to be taking off at 7:17pm, but the flight was delayed and take-off was actually 8:20pm. Our plane came from England, so they had to do more security checks before we could board.


London dinner (see the fish-n-chips?)

Question #2 - We saw six things being off-loaded from the plane that we had never seen on a plane before. What were these things? (This question is not about a team member, but something we observed.)

Question #3 - On the flight, who had the seat with the most leg room?

Question #4 - Who only slept for 15 minutes on the plane?

Question #5 - Who almost peed in their pants, because there was turbulence and the fasten-seat-belt light was on?

The captain did a great job landing - it was so smooth. We touched down at 6:30am Pacific Time, 2:30pm London time. We disembarked and then had to find "Waldo". We mistook several people to be Waldo trying to find him.

Question #6 - Which team member was "Waldo"?

Acapella quartet rehearsal at SFO




To transfer to another airline, we took a shuttle bus to Terminal 4 from Terminal 1. The bus looked like it didn't have a driver, because it was right-hand-drive. As we were riding along, Becky and Peter noticed all of the barbed wire around the airport. Becky also noticed all the signs on the bus that read, "Mind your head when leaving the bus." -

Question #7 - Arriving at Terminal 4, which team member was a hero by saving a baby in a stroller?

The big 777
After going through security and getting our boarding passes, it was time to eat, so after much walking and checking out the two restaurants, we decided on the Bridge restaurant.

Question #8 (the last one) - In our group, name the persons who ate fish & chips, who ate spinach salad, and who ate hamburger?

Resting at Heathrow

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Where in the World is Uganda?

Are you wondering where Uganda is actually located? Do you wonder about the cities bordering Kumi? Do you wonder about the distances that our Mission Team will have to travel while in Uganda?

Check out the Map of Uganda provided by National Geographic. It's an interactive map that allows you to zoom in and out (bird's eye view), and it also provides a satellite view as well as a 3D view of the country.

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Do You Have the Time?

Now that our team is in Uganda, you might wonder about the time difference between California and Kumi. While we sleep in our beds, what are they doing? While we sit in our offices or toil in our gardens, are they sleeping, eating, or worshipping in a church service?

Check out the Africa Time zones map from Worldatlas.com to find out the time in Uganda.

And if you want more information about Uganda, visit the Uganda page on worldatlas.com. (Do you want to know what the weather's like in Entebbe, which is located southwest of Kumi? As this post is being written, it is 73F/23C and mostly cloudy in Entebbe.)

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United Methodist Volunteers in Mission

Did you know that our Uganda Mission Team is an official UMVIM Team? You might be asking what is a UMVIM Team. Well, click here and you'll find out what it means to be a United Methodist Volunteer in Mission!

Also, did you know that we are not the only team embarking on a challenge-journey in 2009? There are teams going to Alaska, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Swaziland, Palestine, Phillippines, Cambodia, etc. Go here to find the list of all the teams, and then PRAY for them!

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Itinerary for Mission Trip

July 6: Depart California @ 7:17pm from SFO Airport (stopping in London, then Nairobi, before arriving @ Entebbe)
July 8: Arrive at Entebbe & proceed to Kumi
July 9: Resting from jet lag; presentation by the Band (@ Kumi hotel)
July 10: Construction (@ Kumi site)
July 11: Construction; Children’s VBS (@ Kumi site & Kolir)
July 12: Prayers; Nurses fellowship (Kumi P.A.G. church and Ngora Nurses Training School)
July 13: Construction (@ Kumi site)
July 14: Construction; worship rally (@ Kumi site; Ngora Girls SS)
July 15: Construction; worship rally (@Kumi site; NHS)
July 16: Construction; visiting the community (@ YCVM site & Katakwi)
July 17: Construction; visiting the community (@ YCVM site & Miroi)
July 18: Construction; Chilren’s VBS (@ Kumi site & Miroi)
July 19: Prayers; visit prisons (Soroti PAG church and prisons)
July 20: Tour; sightseeing (Cipi falls; Kapeworwa)
July 21: Traveling back to Kampala
July 22: Depart Uganda (departing Entebbe @ 7:50pm, stopping in Nairobi, then London, before arriving @ SFO)
July 23, 1:59pm, California time: Arrive @ SFO Airport

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Commissioning of the Team from CCUMC

Friday, June 19, 2009

Every year at the Cal-Nevada Annual Conference of the UMC, all of mission teams in the conference that serve in that year are commissioned for their work. Since the Conference is in June, some teams have already returned from their trip, while others have yet to go. CCUMC's team of 8 attempted to be on-stage with all of the other Conference mission teams, but unfortunately arrived 15 minutes late due to unexpectedly bad traffic between the San Francisco area and Sacramento, where the Annual Conference was being held. However, later that night, the team was announced and prayed for during the Bay View district dinner, which was very meaningful. It also gave the team some publicity amongst the churches in the district, and some of them will be praying for the team.

Be sure to check KumiKonnect every day starting July 7th for daily updates on the trip!

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Pastor Peter's Prayer for Uganda Mission Team

Although Pastor Peter and Jasmine are currently out of the country, and were not able to wish the Kumi Mission Team travel mercies in person, Pastor Peter has sent prayers to the team:

Dear Aeri, Becky, Ben, Burt, Donna, Dustin, Peter, and Valene,

When I learned that you decided to go on a mission trip to Kumi, Uganda, Africa, I praised God for your courage! This is no small decision! You are stepping out of your comfort zone and even out of your safe space to bear witness to the love of God. You are opening up yourselves to be transformed by our Triune God. I am very proud of being your pastor.

Your Home Team and I pray that God's love in your hearts increases each and every day as you prepare yourselves to meet and live with God's people in Kumi. We pray for travel mercies on your journey to Kumi and back home. We pray that God is with you all the time and all the way, giving you "authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (Luke 10:19). We pray that when you come home, you will "rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20b) and "take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world" (Matthew 25:34).

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Peter

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Dramatically New: Kumi Team Skit

This morning was the last Sunday before the team departs for Uganda. As part of Sunday worship, the team performed their 2 VBS songs (with hand motions!) and a drama, entitled “Lifehouse Everything”



This skit is taken from a performance done at Winterfest in Knoxville TN in 2006, and was written by Mission Baltimore Director Tim Houston. The team traveling to Kumi plans to use this drama to minister to youth in the community.

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Mission Team Member: DonnaCC

Donna is not quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up, so until then she is currently working as an elementary school secretary. She loves this job so much that the 26 years at the same school have just flown by. She loves children which is evident by her commitment to her job and as a Sunday School teacher at CCUMC for over 30 years. The love she has for her Lord and children has lead her to be a member of CCUMC's mission team to Uganda. She and her husband, Peter will be embarking on this life changing journey together armed with her love of children and his love of using his "handy man"skills.

While away on the mission trip she will miss Yogi, her Shiba Inu, working out at Curves and tap dancing with her sister.

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