A missionary tour, Uganda

MISSIONARY CORRESPONDENCE

A MISSIONARY TOUR TO FORT-PORTAL Toro District, Uganda

By FATHER THEODOROUS NANKYAMA

A first-hand account of the everyday conditions of the Orthodox mission in East Africa, written by one of the leading figures of the Church in Uganda


Father Theodorous Nankyama in front of the church in which he serves on missionary trips to Tanzania (Geita district)


Some of the East African Orthodox clergy (1-r): Rev. Frs. Basilios Nsubuga, Irineos Magimbi, Athanasios Atim, Reuben Spartas, Cyrillos Pasha Kasule; Rev. Deacon Emmanuel Mulunga


IT IS TWO HUNDRED MILES from Kampala to Fort-Portal, the queen of the West of Uganda, on the Congo border. Previously we had gone to Fort-Portal with Archimandrite Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos (the first Greek missionary to East Africa), before he left us to settle in Kenya, and we used to make this trip with him using our missionary car. But when he left us, it became much more difficult to visit the fifteen Orthodox centers in Uganda. What I did was to use some money from my own ample salary ($70 per month!) which I get as a teacher from our School, in order to visit these centers; I do all that is possible not to leave these scattered sheep without a shepherd. I hire a car, which usually costs from seven to ten dollars, according to the length of the journey. But to go to Fort-Portal I have to take a bus. This is the longest journey I have to make in Uganda, although it is very far also to the Lango District in the north; but I do not go there frequently, as there is a priest there.

Of the 200 miles from Kampala to Fort-Portal, only 70 miles is talmac; all the rest of the road is under construction. Some of our Orthodox friends helped us to buy a car in April, 1967 for which we are so grateful to them – and from that time the word of God was preached unceasingly in the different villages of Uganda each Sunday. But when our Doctor came back he had to use it all the time in order to be able to visit different villages, and it was obvious that I would have to leave the car for him; thus my struggles began again.

I visit Fort-Portal once each three months, and the last time I went there was the first Sunday of December, 1968. This is a rainy period and there is always the chance of having a very muddy journey. Sometimes the bus can take two to three or more days to reach Fort-Portal or Kampala, but we were fortunate enough to have a very good trip. In the middle of the journey we met another bus coming from Fort-Portal to Kampala, and, as is their custom, the bus drivers stopped to inform each other how the road was ahead. As they were talking, the other driver saw a snake, and he slowly drove over it. Later he reversed and we could see the snake, struggling with death, with the lights of the bus; it was very large and about six feet long.

I usually leave Kampala on Friday night so that I may be in Fort-Portal the next morning in order to settle some matters concerning the School with the local Government authorities. This time I arrived exactly at 6 a.m., and it was still dark. Our Orthodox Center is on the Kampala-Fort-Portal road, about three miles from Fort-Portal, and I got off at that bus stop. Fortunately there is a shop right there, and the owner knows us all very well and is my good friend. Although I am still suffering from my old operations, I immediately carried up to the shop my three suitcases, which contain all the materials needed for the Orthodox Divine Liturgy. I took the opportunity of sitting in the veranda of the shop, since it was too early for the shopkeeper to open or for me to climb up the hill to our Center. I sat there until 7 a.m., when he opened.

But hardly had I been there five minutes when it started unexpectedly to rain heavily. All my things were safe, although strong winds caused a little water to reach me; in the meantime I looked uncasily around me, since the veranda was surrounded by grass in which snakes could move easily or hide. The rain stopped by 7 a.m. The shopkeeper found me there when he opened up, greeted me and asked me to enter. I asked him only if he could keep my suitcases until I went up to the church and asked the teacher to send people to carry them. He agreed and put them in a specially clean place. But before leaving I wanted to take some tea leaves, sugar, and bread, so that we could have breakfast up there. When the order had been made, I put my hand in my pocket to get change to pay the bill. To my surprise, all my change – about a dollar – was missing (the pockets of my cassock often let such heavy things slip down). I could do nothing but ask pardon and leave the things I had ordered. Of course the shopkeeper was so good as to want to give me the things and allow me to pay when the money might be found, but since I had only a little money left for the journey, I did not want to put myself in difficulties, and so I left.


Orthodox faithful in front of the church at Fort-Portal.
The cross was overturned by the wind.


I went up the hill to our church while small drops of rain washed my head and the damp grass of the footpath made my shoes wet. When I reached the church the teacher, Mr. Daniel Kahirima, was sleeping; as it was raining, there was no chance to cultivate, and moreover it was Saturday, when all schools in Uganda are closed. Someone told him of my arrival, and so he came to the School building where I used to sleep and greeted me; he asked me right away to go to the Education Officer on the other side of town, some four miles away.

Fortunately, on our way to town a neighbor who was going to work in a Government Land Rover was kind enough to give us a lift, even though he was a member of the Full Gospel Mission, with whom we are not on good terms (because the land they wanted was given to us and not to them). He dropped us off one mile from town, and from there we went on foot through the town and another mile to the other side, to the Civic Center of the Toro District, where the District Education Officer was.

Before going there, we went to the bus depot to check whether my pocket money had been found; but it had not turned up. The teacher insisted then that we should take some tea before going farther. We entered a small restaurant such as one could find in a town like that, and had tea with some locally-made cakes. After this we went to the Civic Center, where we were warmly received in the Office we were looking for. Our matters were all examined with sympathy. It seems that the Officers respect our work, even though our buildings and school equipment are very poor.

From there we hurried to get to the bus stop to catch the next bus going back to the side of town where our Center is located. We had fifteen minutes before the bus was due to arrive (11 a.m.), but it did not come until noon, and that one was full of people and there was no place. We waited for the next one, which came half an hour late at 1:30, but it was also full, as was the next at 2 p.m. The teacher finally decided to go on foot in order to prepare food. He fortunately saw a friend of his who was going near the School on a bicycle, and so they left.

I waited there another half an hour and tried to stop many private cars, including several police cars and Land Rovers, but no one would stop even to hear my request. Seeing there was no chance of getting a ride, I decided to go on foot. I started right off walking and had gone two miles when a bus came on its way to some villages. They were so kind as to stop and take me for a mile; and since I gave the ticket examiner a pound note and he had no change, they told me I didn't have to pay. But in checking more carefully, I found after all some other money from which I should have received change, but as I had no time to wait I tipped him and off I went, leaving a surprised ticket examiner.

Arriving at the School, I found that the teacher had already prepared food and a bed in his house, which was only half built and its walls and floor both wet. I had no appetite, and so I lay down to rest, but couldn't help thinking about the snakes that might appear any time under such favorable conditions.

At six o'clock we began the Vespers, while the sun was still shining before disappearing behind Mount Rwenzori with its white crown of perpetual snows, which separates Uganda from the Congo. There were about 80 or 100 people that evening. Unfortunately, the winds had torn away some of the iron sheets of the building, and there was no money to repair it.

After Vespers and my sermon, they were all given a chance to ask questions. The discussion was very interesting. Some of them had confession, after which we departed until the next morning. During the night it rained frogs and toads, and the winds went through the new house just like anywhere in the forest. I was thinking not only about snakes, but also about the iron sheets which had been torn off the roof of the church by the winds, and about the School building, which has seven classrooms, the last of which, not being covered with iron sheets, was always in danger of collapsing.

The catechist and candidate for Priesthood, Mr. Peter Bagenda, has done his best to teach all the believers, young and old, to sing both in Matins and in Liturgy. Therefore the next morning (Sunday), the Liturgy was so moving and touching. Five persons were baptized during the Divine Liturgy.

After 4 p.m. I went again to sleep and slept until evening, since my health did not permit me to walk and visit some of our believers. At 7:30 I had supper and after an hour I left with some people for
the main road in order to take the night bus going back to Kampala. The bus came at 9:15 and we had a rather good journey, although several times we were asked to leave the bus when going through very muddy parts of the road. We arrived in Kampala exactly at 6 a.m., very tired, but satisfied with the discussions that had taken place, with the singing, confessions, and baptisms.

Communications and contributions may be addressed to:
Rev. Fr. Theodorous Nankyama, P.O. Box 3970, Kampala, Uganda

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A CORRECTION

In the March-April issue of The Orthodox Word, p. 72, it was incorrectly reported that Metropolitan Philip of the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of New York was one of the "celebrants" at the "Ecumenical Doxology" held on January 26 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in New York City. The source of this error was the official text of the "Doxology" as printed in the February issue (p. 19) of the organ of the Greek Archdiocese, The Orthodox Observer. Metropolitan Philip has informed The Orthodox Word that he was not present at this service. In answer to our apology to him, he replied as follows:

"We thank you very much, in advance, for the correction which will appear in the May-June issue of The Orthodox Word in regard to our presence at the "Ecumenical Doxology" of Archbishop Iakovos.

"As far as our relations with non-orthodox are concerned, we would like to refer you to our Pastoral Edict no. 1, published on page 5 of our Word magazine, volume 10, December 1966. This Edict was signed by all the members of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America. We have no intentions whatsoever to violate the principles of this Edict.

"We pray that the Almighty God will crown all your efforts with success for the Glory of His Church."