Not a very eventful travel day, but another one nonetheless. Here's the latest from the field…
Friday, January 13th –
- 2:00pm – Finished packing and bored.
- 4:05pm – Goodbyes. Start the hike to the bus…
- 4:23pm – Meet other team at their host home and wait.
- 5:30pm – Leave for the bus station.
- 6:07pm – Arrive at bus park – one word – "chaos".
- 6:14pm – Our tickets are cancelled and we have to trade for a new company. The taxi driver wants to toss our bags so he can leave, but it's very muddy and wet. We try to tell him to wait, he does finally but reluctantly. Other people are staring angrily because we're holding up their bus.
- 6:30pm – Bus is supposed to leave now. Waiting in line for the metal detector. I step up, the man takes one look at me and waves me through. I guess I look trustworthy?
- 6:47pm – Bus begins to move. Ticket man is ticked at us because we're in the wrong seats, even though we all have a ticket and a seat.
- 7:34pm – lights off, complete darkness.
- 7:48pm – try to sleep with difficulty. There's a man standing in the aisle and leaning on my left shoulder.
- 8:04pm – Need some encouragement. It's been a long, long day and I am ready to leave the country. I turn on David Crowder Band's final album. Nice.
- 8:14pm – Guitar falls from the top rack and hits me on the right shoulder. This is the second hit. I grumble and mumble to myself and listen to more Crowder.
- 8:30pm – At the border – the man yells at us to hurry up and get off the bus. Wait in lines with forms in hand.
- 9:00pm – People are hassled to pay at the bathroom. I've been to this bathroom before and know it's not worth paying to use. I walk past the guy because I have no more Rwandan money and no more patience for their border patrol.
- 9:08pm – Walk across the border. So glad for my headlamp!
- 9:14pm – More forms, more lines, more money for visas to Uganda.
- 9:45pm – eat dinner – a hotdog bun, apple and mini can of Pringles. Start to read some Harry Potter with my headlamp.
- 10:28pm – try to sleep again.
- 11:15pm – just checking the watch. No sleep.
Saturday, January 14th –
- 12:02am – another watch check. Still awake.
- 12:12am – arrive at the gas station – Petrocity. Several more attempts at sleep are made throughout the night. None are successful. This rivals the bus ride from India to Nepal.
- 4:03am – arrive in Kampala! (Time change to 5:03am)
- 5:47am – shuttle arrives to take us to Jinja, Uganda
- 6:10am – finally fit everyone and our luggage into a van that only has enough seats as we have people. Not to mention that our bags take up 8-10 seats in the back. I continue to be amazed at how many people can fit into or on any type of transportation vehicle abroad.
- 6:35am – ATM stop, bathroom break. Coffee shop with a banana muffin and hot chocolate for breakfast.
- 7:35am – leave again
- 8:04am – 9:04am – successful nap.
- 9:15am – Destination! Adrift rafting company in Jinja, Uganda
My squad has been resting here since Saturday. We rafted down the Nile, bungee jumped into it and spend quality time with each other and the Lord. It's been nice to have a breather! We will leave tomorrow morning and split to go to our ministry sites. My new team "Deeper Roots" will be going to Mukono, Uganda. It's about one hour away. We will work on a compound with a school and church. Pastor Joseph is our new contact. More to come concerning month 7 of ministry on the World Race! Thanks as always for your prayers and support!
