Thief Magnet

(This post was actually written on Saturday)

I got back from Gulu on Wednesday night, spent Thursday with our volunteers, then took the day off Friday, but more on Gulu soon.

Right now I just wanted to comment that my purse was stolen last night.  FORTUNATELY, praise God, it was returned!  I went with some of the interns to a worship night where the African Children’s Choir was supposed to perform.  (Side note: EMI designed and oversaw the construction of their new school and dorms in Entebbe!)  We showed up half an hour late and saw 6 different acts, but no children, so we assumed they had performed first.  Oh well, we still had a good time.  We saw several Ugandan singers and groups and a worship band from Texas .  It was a fun night of watching performances and singing worship songs, but I think my favorite part was when a popular Ugandan worship leader got up and everyone started jumping up and down and waving around their handkerchiefs to the songs.  It kind of showcased the equally good but different worship styles of contemporary worship from the US and from Uganda. 

At almost the end of the night, we noticed some guys kind of making a disturbance in front of us and I looked down and realized my purse was gone.  Someone at the door had somehow stopped the guy who took my purse and I think made him come back and show them where he had taken it from.  I am SO SO thankful that I got it back this time!  (For those of you who are new to my adventures, so far I’ve had the following stolen in Uganda/Kenya: purse [complete with phone, camera, & ATM card], phone again [pick-pocketed out of my purse], and Merrell shoes [taken off the porch of an apartment].  GOOD GRIEF, what is it with me???)  This time, not only did my purse contain the only copy of my apartment door key, it also had some important property belonging to someone else.  I even purposefully put it in front of me instead of behind me on the seat (we were standing most of the time) so that I could keep an eye on it.  I’m so annoyed with myself.  Well, I guess it will make me more cautious next time.  Thank you JESUS, that it was returned this time!  The guy who took it didn’t take anything out of it, and the security people at the event told me they were going to take him to the police afterward.  Ah, another night in Uganda.

Well, now that that drama’s over with, I’m spending most of the day indoor baking.  It’s a wonderfully cool day (low 70s), and I’m enjoying the breeze that my 3rd-floor apartment provides.  (We're solidly into rainy season now, with a downpour or at least shower each day.)  I’m having the 6 interns over for dinner tonight, so that they can finally see where I live.  I utilized my American brown sugar (very different in Uganda) and chocolate chips (non-existent in Uganda) to make some cookies.  YUM!

And speaking of apartment, here are a couple pictures of my new place with my new furniture:

Living Room (looking out to front balcony)

Kitchen/Dining Room (looking out to back balcony, where I installed clotheslines)