We had an unusually early start for most of the group, it being a Sunday, with breakfast at 7am as we had to leave at 8am for Church which was across Kampala.
Watoto Church is a multi campus church with 10 celebration points including 5 in Kampala, in Gulu and South Sudan as well as others. They are clear that, though they meet in many different places, they are one church with one vision.
Watoto Central, where we went, has services at 7am, 9am, 11am, 2pm every Sunday and each one may have up to 2500 people celebrating at it. The church is in an old cinema building and there are also 2 overflow venues for when everyone cannot fit in the main auditorium.
The Service is a celebration with a big screen showing projections before the service and words of the songs and scripture during the service. The band was amazing, as well as the choir and the 5 people who led us in worship from the front of the stage. The PA system was loud and the lights helped create a fantastic atmosphere, although it did get very hot in there!
We felt very welcomed by all those at the church.
As we were leaving the church the next congregation was coming in for the 11am service.
On our way to church we experienced an African rain storm which showed why the deep gullies at the side of the streets are necessary as there was suddenly a huge amount of water everywhere, fortunately enough once we came out of the church the rain had more or less stopped and we made our way by bus to the Mall to change some more money, its amazing how quickly it goes, get some lunch and also some bits from the supermarket.
After lunch in the same cafe as on Thursday, we made our way to one of Kampala’s craft markets. There were 40 stalls based in shopping containers selling a range of products from clothing to bracelets, Drums to ornaments. Most of the group picked up a few bargains and had a go at haggling too!
We were back at the guest house by 2.45pm to rest before heading out to the cultural centre for the evening.
At about 2pm we set off for the Ndere Cultural Centre. The Ndere dance troupe was formed 30 years ago, they perform tribal dances from across Uganda to those who are visiting Kampala with the aim to pass on these traditions to the next generation. The money we paid to get in is used to pay school fees for those who are performing and we were introduced to a number of people who had been with Ndere for a long period of time and had now graduated from University. At the end of the 4 hour performance we were invited to the stage to dance and the group had great fun with the music. Many videos and photos were taken, the existence of which I am sure will soon be disputed once they have been viewed without the adrenaline of the night before!
We got back to the Guest House at 10.45, and with a 7am breakfast waiting for us the group collapsed into bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment