How can six days feel like a month and a blur all at the same time? I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all. Z Squad launched out of Atlanta on 09 September and arrived the evening of 10 September in Entebbe, Uganda just outside of the capital of Kampala after a very brief layover in Amsterdam. Upon arriving my team, Team Liora, was greeted at the only international airport in this African country by one of our hosts, Reverend Enoch, for the month along with three other individuals. Hugging this man felt like hugging a long time friend despite the fact that I had never had any contact whatsoever with him prior to this moment. His warm smile was the first of hundreds I have received since arriving.
Walking out of the airport I was immediately confronted with some very familiar smells. I recognized the smell of burning trash and rubber from just about every Third World country I’ve ever visited. It was not exactly pleasant yet it was extremely inviting. It felt like home in a very strange way. This smell somehow has a way of leaving a slight burning sensation in the back of your throat, much like the effects of a strong whiskey or cheap cigar.
Team Liora loaded all of our hiking packs, daypacks, and snacks (yes, we know how to travel) into the ten passenger vehicle then proceeded to pile in along with the four Ugandans who traveled from Rukungiri. We drove off into the warm Ugandan night around 2330 (I’ll save you the math…that’s 11:30 pm). We were not entirely sure how long the drive would take because we had heard everything from four hours to ten hours. Keep in mind we had just landed after traveling for about 24 hours so we were obviously hoping for the shorter of the choices.
By this point I had not truly slept since Tuesday night prior to leaving. I believe I slept maybe an hour on the first leg of the flight and an hour on the second leg. It was now the early morning hours of Friday in Uganda and we were making our way across the Pearl of Africa in the pitch black. I thought my team mates were sleeping but come to find out we were all awake but thinking the others were asleep so the van was silent. Every once in a while I would catch an African deer grazing alongside the road. Alexa kept saying, “I just want to see a giraffe walk across the road.”
Having no idea how long this road trip would take was my first lesson in giving up control on this race. Ultimately it turned out to be an eight hour trip so I likened it to driving from RVA to Georgia except I have never left at midnight to make that drive. Needless to say I was a zombie upon arriving in Rukungiri around 0730 Friday morning. We drove up to the small house we would be staying for the month on the grounds of the Diocese and a young American female greeted us at the van. Little did Team Liora know we were meeting the newest member of our team! Pastor Enoch decided to surprise us and not tell us that we would actually be staying with a woman named Amanda Johnson, a graduate of Liberty University who started a non-profit called Unified in Mission to raise sponsors for the children in Rukungiri. She was a blessing from the moment we walked into that house. It would take entirely too much time to outline every single thing she has done but let’s just say that having a 24 year old American to help us with the transition has been absolutely incredible.
I know everyone is wondering what our living accommodations look like. The house is split in two and set up much like a townhouse. We have a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. Amanda stays in one room and the five of us stay in the other. One bunkbed has three beds stacked and there are two single beds on the floor. Every bed has its own mosquito net (praise Jesus). The bathroom has a toilet, sink, and shower without any separation between anything. There is a small drain in the floor so once a shower has been had we use a squeegee to push the water into the drain. Water conservation is of utmost importance here so we do not shower every single day and we only flush when it is absolutely necessary. With that being said we have it much better than the majority of the village as well as most of our squad mates as far as I know. Squatty potties are the standard around here, which is pretty much a room with a hole in the floor. We have one in the backyard that we use frequently to save water and quite frankly I prefer the squatty potty because then I have total alone time.
We have spent the first few days starting ministry as well as getting acquainted with not only the village but the customs and ways of life around here. Building and construction codes do not really exist so most of the structures are put together for functionality, not safety. The majority of the roads are dirt and they are often lined with goats and cows grazing. Rukungiri is quite frankly the image you imagine from a National Geographic magazine. We watch hundreds of children ranging in age from about three to sixteen frolicking through the village on a daily basis. Schools have uniforms here and each school has a different color so you will see groups of children wearing the same colored shirts walking along the road. Needless to say a group of white females stands out. We have grown accustomed to being stared at everywhere we go and we actually embrace it at this point. More often than not the locals yell “Muzungu!” when they spot us, which is their harmless world for “white person.” The Ugandans are some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered. At first they appear extremely stoic but as soon as you smile and wave they burst into a huge smile and converse with you. The majority speak English so that has made it a beautiful experience getting to truly connect with them.
This village is small enough and safe enough that we are able to go for runs in the morning. The weather is absolutely perfect at around 70 degrees in the morning and a high of maybe 80 degrees or so during the day. Morning runs, although few thus far, have become my favorite part of living here. The village is still relatively quiet with the exception of children walking to school. They never quite know what to make of the Muzungu running through their village. Jogging is not exactly something the majority of Ugandans do in their spare time. I have had a few chase me down the road…as long as it’s not a cow I’m okay with that.
Speed bumps. This requires a paragraph all by itself. I have never in my life seen so many speed bumps. They have standard speed bumps like what we have in the U.S. but they also have a series of anywhere from two to four skinnier, shorter bumps. They are almost a cross between our standard speed bumps and those annoying bumps that alert you that you’re driving off the side of the road. Coming into every single town or village along any route through this country brings with it the joy of having to slow down to an absolute crawl lest you pop a tire or toss your passengers around like kernels of popcorn exploding on the stovetop. It has become a joke with our team at this point. I’m guessing I have driven over at least 1,000 by now.
I had the opportunity to accompany Amanda to Kampala in order to transport a friend to the airport and we were able to drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park where we encountered elephants, baboons, buffalo, gazelle, monkeys, and lemurs. The team is currently planning a two day safari towards the end of the month prior to our departure for Rwanda.
I just wanted to take a moment and try and give y’all a picture of what our first long travel experience looked like as well as where we are living for the month. At the end of our first week in ministry I plan to post a blog outlining exactly what we did for the week. I look forward to sharing with everyone the amazing ministries we have had the chance to conduct. Thank you for your continued prayers and support and I would ask that you not only pray for my team but also my entire squad as some of the teams are going through some significant struggles right out of the shoot.
Stay tuned for more to come and don’t forget to sign up to follow my blog by clicking on the “Follow Me” tab to the left!
Team Liora along with Allie (the blonde to the far left) who is a friend of our room mate Amanda (in the charcoal shirt) and Seth, the son of our ministry contact Enoch.
