Last week I had to say goodbye to Gulu. Our time there was magical. I’ve felt such a connection with this place for years. Now that I’ve accomplished the goal of visiting, I can’t help but wonder what’s next. I could see myself coming back to Gulu. This made it easier to leave our new family. It felt more like a “see you later” than “goodbye forever”. Here are some of my favorite things I experienced in Uganda besides the stories I’ve already shared.
I should probably tell you that I met the love of my life in Gulu. He is beautiful, funny, loving, and spunky. His name is Phillip. He’s such a good dancer, especially if you play High School Musical. His skin is softer than a baby’s bottom. Okay, his skin is exactly like a baby’s bottom. Basically, he’s a nine month old bundle of perfection. Phillip is Pastor Peter’s son, and it was such a joy to live with him for the month.
2. Fish-head epiphany.
Naomi (Peter’s wife) cooked for us and did a splendid job. One night we had fish soup for dinner. Basically, a whole fish was cut into smaller pieces and put in the soup. Anthony picked out the head and put it on his plate. He asked us why nobody wanted that piece. It was big, had lots of meat, and looked amazing. Keep in mind that the head still had eyes, a mouth, teeth, etc. Anthony was clueless. Nick then explained to him that it was the fish’s head. After about seven seconds of contemplation and examination, the light bulb sparked. He let out a loud scream in his moment of realization. We fell on the floor.
If you know me well, you know I love motorcycles. I’ve always wanted one. Luckily, bodas (motorcycles) were the cheapest and easiest form of transportation. The only traffic you really had to worry about was bicycles and pedestrians, so the dirt roads were fairly safe. When we arrived in Kampala last week, Colby and I had to go buy tickets for our bus to Nairobi. We hopped on the bodas and took off. Bodas in a big city like Kampala are vastly different than the small town of Gulu. I can look back on it now and call it an adventure, but in the moment it was a little scary, even for me.
4. Alex and Eduardo.
The day before we left, Colby and I ran to town for last minute errands. While walking down the street, we were summoned by two guys at a restaurant. They were two Italians named Alex and Eduardo. They were in a giddy mood thanks to a little too much liquid courage. They tried to order beers for us to join the party, but we went with Cokes instead. They were visiting their uncle, who was a missionary in Gulu. They didn’t believe us when we said that we were also missionaries. Hopefully we played a small part in changing their idea of what a missionary is like.
5. Invisible Children.
As you know, I have a passion for the Invisible Children organization. I actually got to visit the office before we left Gulu. We got to sit down with Andrew, the communication director, and hear about all the programs and goals IC is working on. The San Fransisco office works on fundraising, publicizing, and film-making, bascially providing resources for the Gulu office to implement the needed growth in Gulu. The number one goal is legislation. Although Joseph Kony and the remaining 800 LRA commanders have fled from Northern Uganda, they are continuing to terrorize citizens wherever they go. They are currently in the Congo. The goal is to have Kony captured and tried for war crimes against humanity. There are many programs that IC is implementing to enhance growth and development in Uganda. Some of these include the Schools for Schools campaign (schools in America partner with schools in Northern Uganda to raise money to meet educational needs), scholarship programs that provide school fees for secondary and university students who show potential, MEND (a program that offers employment to women who make handbags, savings and investment training, and more. I know you’ve heard me talk a lot about Invisible Children, so if you would like to see the documentary yourself (and donate to the cause by doing so), you can order the DVD by clicking HERE.
