I fly from Entebbe airport this evening arriving back in the UK after a short stopover in Amsterdam in the early morning. Jo and I then head off on holiday. I’ve enjoyed doing quite a bit of theological reading over the past 2 or 3 days and you can have a look at some of the issues I’ve been reading and reflecting on under the pull-down menu ‘Shame the Gospel and the Cross’ on my blog.

I thought it would be good to leave you with a series of different images.

First a variety of different images from Kampala which show the contrasts between rich and poor and which also show something of it’s beauty.

I also wanted to let you see where Jo and I will be on holiday – so here are a few photos to finish the post.

The Cottage is called Tigh SgeirGael and it is sited  a kilometre or so from any other building immediately above the sea under the cliffs of Gribun on the Isle of Mull.

John left today to drive to the farmland.

About 5 years ago John and Alice bought land to farm so as to provide food for the school they run in Rukungiri. They had to go quite a distance to get enough land ata price that they could afford. This is where John and Alice have their farm. It is a very under-developed area with no electricity or running water.

The village: Kijongobya

The sub-district: Mpare

The district: Kyegegwa

The nearest town: Kyegegwa

Region: Toro

You can find out about Kyegegwa on this site:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyegegwa_District

Their farm is a little north of the river about 20 km to the East of Katonga Game Reserve (there are maps below).

This is Katonga Game Reserve:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katonga_Wildlife_Reserve

The farm is around 3 to 4 hours drive from Rukungiri but the land was very cheap as the area was underdeveloped. Land is fertile in the area, so it is a very good investment. John has now been given care of the local Parish of 8 churches and John and Alice have already started a Primary School in the area. A friend from the UK is hoping to fund the first part of a project to build a Secondary School.

This link might give a good idea of the location of Kyegegwa District you might need to copy and paste it to your browser to get it to work.

Just for comparison, here is a map showing Rukungiri’s location.

Retreat Time

After a great deal of busyness I have had time to myself, doing some reading and reflection and looking at a second draft of a book about Shame and the Cross. The temperatures are not too high and it is good to be here.

Today, John has returned to the farmland in the Rwenzori area that they use to supply crops for food for Rukungiri Modern Primary School. Alice will probably set off tomorrow for Rukungiri. I am hoping to see Stephen and Brenda again over these next two days.

John wanted me to travel with him to the farm land today. I felt that  4 hour journey today, a 4 hour journey back tomorrow, a flight on 22nd, and travelling up to Scotland on 23rd was probably trying to do too much in 4 days. So, very sadly (?), we’ll need to come again soon! John and Alice really do want us to visit their farmland and the new parish that John has in the Diocese of Rwenzori.