If you missed the District Convention in Abilene, you missed a load of fun.  A golf tourney on Friday afternoon, a fish fry and Cloggers in Clyde on Friday evening.  Then Saturday we had food, fun, speakers like PIP Jimmy Ross, queens contest and wine theft.  Yes wine theft, someone stole a century old bottle of wine from the oldest distillery in Texas at Del Rio.  The wine was to be auctioned to raise money for the camp, but it disappeared and a bottle of $1.75 cherry wine from Stephenville showed up in its place.  Someone blamed the queens for having it, but Lion Jodie Dearing somehow made the Del Rio wine suddenly appear.  This was after she was confronted by PIP Jimmy Ross about the missing wine.  Both wines were auctioned off for over $700.00 plus a “flasher Lion” (who has shown up three times now) sold for $150.00 (again).  All proceeds went to the camp.  It was a great time for all who were in attendance.

On Monday, April the 29, my daughter Erin, and I traveled to Stephenville to a bar-b-q and to hear rev. John Mutambo speak.  He is the Lion liaison who helped Stephenville Lion Les Maxwell go to Africa and take eye testing equipment and eye glasses to the Kamina Region.  Les Maxwell is known as “Bubba Max” in Kamina, a title of honor in Rev. John’s homeland, but a totally different meaning  here in Texas.  “The Kamina vision initiative” was started by Dr. Charley Dayton of Stephenville with a phone call from a doctor friend five years ago and has grown considerably with the help of Lions in Stephenville, Dublin, Hico and Bubba Max.  There was also $6000.00 raised by the Lions of Stephenville, Dublin, Hico for a water well in Kamina.  Rev John’s English is rather broken and he began his talk by stating, “English was born in England, grew up in America, got sick in India and died in Africa.”  Rev. John  told about the tradition of a woman in his homeland and that they must bear children or be cast out of the family.  His mother was unable to bear children and was cast out by his father’s family.   His father loved her very much and took her back and after ten year she finally gave birth to John Mutambo (Mutambo means curse broken), Rev John has 5 brothers and sisters.  He had dreamed of being in the army and becoming a general but his mother wanted him to become a Minster of  the Lords word.  He told of the men who did go to the army and the women left behind who fell to immorality, drug abuse, HIV and the many children left in the streets. 

Things have begun to change with the advent of the eye clinic and medical doctors.  People would travel 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the clinics and still may not be helped because of the large number of people.  The youth are their future and scholarships are being given to young girls so they can go to school, with many becoming nurses.