Semi-Annual Gala

So we had our first ever semi-annual gala recently for the staff. The clever name for it kept our staff in suspense as I don't think any of them had any idea what a gala is. And apparently I didn't have any idea either, or else we gave our staff an incorrect impression of what a gala is. Anything with the name of a gala makes me picture fancy clothes, ballroom dancing, formal speeches, and the like. While our head carpenter from Uganda named Belmos did bust out a tie and some of our staff dressed smart (the way to say when someone looks nice here), most of us had on t-shirts and shorts, some of which had been washed in the previous week. Belmos is a great guy who loves to talk about his wife and family and keeps trying to convince me to find a Ugandan wife. He laughs a lot and always has an interesting story to tell. On top of that, we keep him around because he can put together some incredibly nice doors, windows, tables, or anything else you would want to be made of wood. And since most of the wood we work with is mahogany, these things look immaculate.

Back to the gala: Well, after bringing back about 70 field staff from various church sites (a real logistical nightmare) we started in the morning a little late with devotions and a big thanks to the staff before the big soccer tourney. The carpenters beat the masons and the welders beat the mechanics and drivers in the first round with the welders winning the next round. Then, once we had tired them out through having them play two games (had to get an advantage somehow), the administrative/ex-pat staff took on the welders for the championship which we won 3-0 thanks to a hat trick by our Ugandan finance officer, Andrew. Quite a fun lead in to the main event for the day. . . the 7-8 goat roast. When you're feeding probably 125-150 people it requires quite a lot of food. The clothes line (steel post not the line itself) actually provided a nice place to hang the goats for butchering. And now we're trying to figure out where we would be able to butcher a cow for some other reason we haven't yet figured out, but would like the excuse.

It was a pretty fun day, and our staff we were able to laugh and play alongside our staff that have worked so hard to help us accomplish what we have. Good times. Of course getting staff back out to sites following the celebration was not so fun, but it was worth it. By the 2nd semi-annual gala (maybe we'll actually have another one in the next year) I'm sure our staff will probably have doubled or more and I'll wish we only had 60-70 people to worry about getting back.