Kisenyi with Matt & Bec

Wednesday brought us to Kisenyi, Uganda's largest slum. Friends of ours; Matt & Bec, visiting from the UK, had come to Uganda for 2 weeks to volunteer at an orphanage and they also wanted to join us in the field. So Kisenyi it was, about as field as field can get in ministry. Dirty, dungy, stinky, hot and sweaty! We met at 9:30am, and by 10am we'd joined up with other friends from Amari Uganda, a Street Kids Ministry we are partering with.
We headed out through Kampala, it's chaotic busy streets, people shouting, cars tooting, boda's swerving in and out, and trucks and coaches bullying their way into traffic. Once we got to the Slum, the boys swarmed around us, 'Auntie, who is this?, Auntie, you have been lost, Auntie, I am ......, what is your name? Auntie, Auntie, Auntie!'
To say the least, the boys were thrilled to see 3 muzungus come out to see them! They knew me from last year, and indeed, i've been lost! I hadn't made it out to the slum for a few weeks, so they had missed me, and they were curious to see who i'd brought along to meet them! Matt and Bec were overwhelmed by the living conditions of the boys, and several times we stepped out of the wind, as Sulfur smoke blew our way. The sights, the smells and the atmosphere had captivated Matt & Bec! The sight of the boys in torn, filthy dirty clothing, clinging to bottles or handkerchiefs of alcohol, trash heaped everywhere, some burning, some being scavenged by other boys. Women washing their clothes, as the wind blew the dust around, filling your mouth with grit. To one area, a man was carrying his collection of empty bottles, after showing us his work for the day, it had earned him 2,000 shillings! To another direction, a man working with a bellows, melting down metal to cast some weigh scales for the market. He would stand up and go stir his sulfur, a gust of wind blowing it to us, as we hurried out of it's direction! In another area you'd see some littly snotty nosed barefoot toddlers playing with eachother in the trash.
However the situation, we loved on the boys, and they did the same to us! When Matt & Bec hauled out a big bad of soap to give out, the boys were beyond excited, trying to get as much as they could! We encouraged them to go bathe with it, and wash their clothes, so they looked smart, and not dirty!
After spending a few hours with them, we headed out of the scorching sun, all of us burnt to a crisp, and went to get some lunch. Sitting and reflecting with Matt and Bec, made me realize how Ugandan I've become, where I no longer see the poverty as they see it. To them it was fresh and new, but i've been in it for so long, I see the need, but not the fresh pain they see.
We had a lovely day together and it was wonderful to love on the boys as they loved on us!
Pics will follow...I'm just waiting for Matt & Bec to email them to me!