On our most recent travel days, we were to go from Jinja, Uganda to Morogoro, Tanzania (going through Nairobi, Kenya). We were supposed to have a thirty hour bus ride to Dar Es Salaam and then spend the night there. However, it took longer than expected.
On July 1, the bus was supposed to pick up six of our teams up at Noon. However, the bus did not arrive until 3:30pm. We left immediately after it arrived to start our journey. We drove all night only stopping for bathroom breaks.
On July 2, we stopped in Moshi, Tanzania to have lunch and use the restroom. While we were there, the bus was worked on for some mechanical problem. We drove on through a very barren landscape. We stopped for dinner and use the restroom at a local restaurant. After reboarding our bus, we started driving. As we drove the one to two miles, the driver said that the drive shaft was the problem.
At 5:30pm, we drove back to the restaurant where we had eaten our dinner to have the bus fixed. God provided many mechanics who were there at the restaurant. They looked at the problem and realized that the drive shaft had lost some nuts and bolts. The mechanics tried to call for the correct part to fix the problem.
At 8:30pm, we were told that the wrong parts were being sent so we would need to spend the night. We were blessed with the restaurant owner allowing us to sleep on the floor of his restaurant or on the bus. A few people even set up tents.
On July 3 at 2:30am, the new bus arrived to take us the rest of the way to Dar Es Salaam. Those of us who slept on the bus were awoken to move to the new bus. At about 2:45am, those of us on the old bus were told that we could go back to sleep on the old bus since the new bus would not need to be reloaded with our stuff until 4am. We leave at 5am.
At 11:30am, we arrive in Dar Es Salaam. At 1:30pm, those of us staying in Morogoro board a minibus. We arrive at our Guest House at 4:30pm.
I believe that I need to talk about the blessings that we experienced though. The bus did not break down in the middle of a barren landscape which it easily could have. The restaurant had mechanics who happened to be there. We were able to sleep at the restaurant.
