A Whirlwind
It has seriously been a whirlwind since we landed
in Nairobi, Kenya a month and a day ago.
Between my leader and our ministry duties everyday our first month in
Uganda has flown by.
Here are so highlights of the past month:
prison– When Sara and I first made our schedule our contact said it would
be a good idea to go to the local prison each week after church on Sunday. We thought it sounded like a pretty cool
experience so we said okay, not having any idea what to really expect. Three weeks ago, after church, we loaded up
the van and headed outside of town to the prison. We pulled up and it wasn’t like anything we pictured. We walked into a small building and thought
we would just visit with people as they sat in their cells and we were on the
other side of the bars. We ended up
walking though another door and straight out into the prison courtyard where
all the prisoners were just walking around in their neon yellow outfits. Sara and I were in shock and at first said
our team wasn’t going in there until they continually re-assured us that it
would be safe. We walked out of the
building and into the dirt filled courtyard and surrounded by giant holding
cells the same color as the dirt below, where the prisoners slept on straw mats. They pulled up some benches for us and right
in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by prisoners doing laundry, chopping
wood, and laying around we had a church service. It started with different prisoners standing
up and thanking God for everything he had provided them with- everything from a
place to sleep to getting a tooth pulled. Each week we have gone back and have been
amazed at how much joy these prisoners have, when most of them are just
teenagers and were arrested for being at the wrong place at the wrong
time.
School: EveryTuesday afternoon we go to the primary school (elementary in Uganda)and brace for the crazy hour and a
half there. When we pull up the kids are
just getting out of class for the day and they are all ready to play. We get out of the car and as soon as we do
there are 5 little boys climbing all over me ready to go play futbol at the
field. The first time we were there all
the little boys decided it would be fun to dog pile on me, then they all
grabbed and carried me off to the opposite side of the field. They are all crazy.
least once a week we go to one of the local clinics to visit and pray with
patients there. The doctor also lets us
scrub in on surgeries. This coming week
a non-profit is bringing in people from the villages injured by the LRA to
receive treatment. We are all hoping to
scrub in on a few good surgeries soon.
Leader trip
down to Kampala: This weekend Sara and I had to go down to Kampala (6 hour
bus ride) for the night so we could DHL all of our receipts from the month back
to the office. We kept a going timeline
as things happened to share with the team once we got back, here are some
highlights-
Friday Travel Day:
5:45 wake up.
6:35 head to bus station
6:45 figure out our bus already
left and find another bus leaving at ‘8:15’
7:07 local man walks on with three
chickens tied together… Numerous available seats, picks the one right next to
us
8:26 depart from bus
station.
8:40 windows closed… Smells like
cheese and popcorn…aka Africa
9:45 drove over the Nile River and
saw a bunch of monkeys! Total tourists
10:25 it starts pouring and so
does the water from the closed window. Sara is now currently getting soaked
10:28 stuffed Glenn’s quick dry
underwear in the hole
1:21 still haven’t made it to
Kampala yet. Hopefully soon? We are hungry
2:30 we made it. Kampala is
disgusting
2:31 man steps off the bus, got
his foot run over
3:03 DHL office…so hungry!
3:35 made it Fang Fang. Drop 50,000
shillings in two minutes
4:52 leaving Fang Fang so full of
delicious Chinese food
5:15 enter Game (Africa’s Walmart).
Pee our pants, see Christmas trees
5:20 find Doritos, become attached
to good smelling things… soaps and deodorant
5:45 head to Shoprite (a real grocery
store). Walk every aisle…
5:55 realize it’s not that
satisfying after all.
6:35 get in taxi and head to
hostel
6:51 driving down a road and all
of a sudden all four wheels are in the air and my head has slammed against the
ceiling as the driver doesn’t see a speed bump and we go flying
6:52 the taxi driver continues to apologize
about not seeing the bump
7:01 check in at Red Chili Hostel
8:30 order and eat pizza then call
the bishop (our contact) to figure out the ride to get back the next day
8:32 can’t get a hold of anyone
8:45 finally got someone on the
phone but then it cuts off
9:00 learn there isn’t any room
for us in the van and we have to take the bus
9:10 talk to the bishop again and
he also says we have to take the bus
9:15 give Sara the phone
9:39 she got the driver to pick us
up and pay for our bus tickets…score
9:55 get in the shower and it’s
hot!!!!
9:57 it’s hot no longer
9:58 screw the rest of this shower
10:15 in bed and alarm set for 5am
Saturday
5:00 alarm goes off.
5:45 finally picked up
6:00 go to pick up more white
people
6:15 turns out they are really
Africans.
6:19 try to convince driver to let
us squeeze in the back seat but he doesn’t want to be inconvenienced
6:40 made it the bus stop but the
driver won’t get out to help us buy our tickets
6:53 who is shaving their face on
the bus?
6:55 by this time the entire
Walmart has rolled down the aisle selling everything you can think of, including
books in French and solar panels
6:57 the mobile Walmart finally
gets kicked off the bus.
7:40 finally leave
8:00 fall asleep then a bag falls
on our heads
8:15 first bathroom stop….
Whattttt?
12:17 cross over the Nile again.
Take pictures this time. About an hour and a half till home!!!!!!
