After our ministry time in Uganda, the whole squad traveled to a town called Jinja to do some crazy white water rafting on the Nile River. I have been white water rafting before and so was excited until I had watched a YouTube video of rafting the Nile. It became something I feared the whole month after watching the video. I decided to brave it out and just do it….got in the raft and went through 3 practice rapids…. we even did a practice raft flip. Well that didn’t go over so well for me. I let go of the rope on the boat and ended up underneath the raft and in a panic as I felt limbs flailing & paddles hitting me as everyone was trying to get up to breathe. I tried to surface and hit my head on the raft. I tried to swim out from underneath and found I was going lengthwise instead of widthwise and ended up coming up for air and finding myself hitting the raft AGAIN. I needed air and so I gulped and swallowed a mouthful of Nile River water. I finally poked my head up in a spot under the raft where I could grab a breath and then went back under to find my way out. Finally, I made it out choking and with water in my lungs and knew immediately that in an actual panic situation going down Class 5 rapids on the Nile where you WILL get sucked under for 10-30 seconds at a time until a kayaker will rescue you that I would not do well. I told my guide I wanted out. Yes, I chickened out. During PRACTICE! Hehe. Then a jet boat that was driving by came to my rescue and let me have a sweeeet sweet jet boat ride on the Nile, including being airborne going up the rapids, and doing twists and turns of all kinds. I spent the rest of the day in the town of Jinja full of my own little adventures while the rest of the squad braved the waters of the Nile. :0)
