Leaving Kenya was hard.
I think it’s safe to say that it was my favorite month of ministry thus far on the race.
The fact that I fell terribly ill on the nearly 15 hour travel to Uganda certainly didn’t make things any easier…
After ten months of crazy travel on any and all kinds of modes of transportation possibly imaginable, The World Race has made me realize just how blessed I am to have a stomach of steel when it comes to not getting motion sick.
Needless to say, when I was so violently ill traveling through the night from Kenya to Uganda, it took me by surprise. Sure, it was one of the roughest, bumpiest rides we’ve had yet, (think dirt roads, potholes and no shock absorbers), but still…
Needless to say, when I was so violently ill traveling through the night from Kenya to Uganda, it took me by surprise. Sure, it was one of the roughest, bumpiest rides we’ve had yet, (think dirt roads, potholes and no shock absorbers), but still…
We left late into the evening and arrived in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala in the early afternoon. Our bus lets us out at a shopping center, right in front of a coffee shop. To give you a picture of *just* how sick I was feeling by this point, even the thought of coffee made me nauseated! If you know me, you know that’s pretty sick! Our contact finally arrives to pick us up after a couple of hours. After about another hour or so of people stopping to get lunch, we were on the road again. Another 2 hours pass, and I fall in and out of sleep, at least, as much sleep as possible in a cramped little van over tons and tons of more… speed bumps. Oh, how Ugandans love speed bumps!
Finally.
We arrive at our pastor’s church office, and my whole body is aching with pain. I realize at this point, it’s not just motion sickness. There’s something more going on. Out contact, Pastor Noah, asks to take the team and show them around. I plead to stay behind, and Jacinda stays with me. I put a couple of the plastic chairs together to lay down. I don’t even have the energy to sit up anymore.
We don’t have a place to stay for the night, so Pastor Noah and Rachel go to scout out some of the local guest houses. (He takes Rachel because he thinks she might be able to work out a better deal with her rather than with any one of the rest of us. No joke. A special shout out and thank you to Rachel’s papa for giving her the extra melanin, and thus, us, our discount!)
We don’t have a place to stay for the night, so Pastor Noah and Rachel go to scout out some of the local guest houses. (He takes Rachel because he thinks she might be able to work out a better deal with her rather than with any one of the rest of us. No joke. A special shout out and thank you to Rachel’s papa for giving her the extra melanin, and thus, us, our discount!)
More waiting.
I just wanted a place to sleep…
Rachel and pastor find us a guest house. Now the trick is just getting our packs up the hill to it.
There was no way I could carry my pack.
Carrying my pack would surly mean passing out and doing a face-plant into the African red dirt.
We find someone with a car to help us out, and after loading all of our packs, there is just enough room for Rach & I. The others follow behind on foot. We arrive, I plop into bed, and fall asleep for a long time.
When I awake, it’s agonizing to try to even lift my head, but I know the importance of staying hydrated. It was all I could do to force myself to drink water. I remembered a time when I was really young and one of my brothers had the flu. I remembered hearing about the bags and bags of saline or whatever it is that the hospital had to pump him with, in order to re-hydrate him. This memory was burned into my head, and I did not want this to be my story. It’s my goal to avoid hospitals at all costs on this trip, particularly African ones! Certainly I would not go for dehydration…
Rachel and pastor find us a guest house. Now the trick is just getting our packs up the hill to it.
There was no way I could carry my pack.
Carrying my pack would surly mean passing out and doing a face-plant into the African red dirt.
We find someone with a car to help us out, and after loading all of our packs, there is just enough room for Rach & I. The others follow behind on foot. We arrive, I plop into bed, and fall asleep for a long time.
When I awake, it’s agonizing to try to even lift my head, but I know the importance of staying hydrated. It was all I could do to force myself to drink water. I remembered a time when I was really young and one of my brothers had the flu. I remembered hearing about the bags and bags of saline or whatever it is that the hospital had to pump him with, in order to re-hydrate him. This memory was burned into my head, and I did not want this to be my story. It’s my goal to avoid hospitals at all costs on this trip, particularly African ones! Certainly I would not go for dehydration…
My fever reaches 102 and I start to think maybe I won’t achieve that goal after all; maybe its time to think about heading to the hospital. If it reaches 103, I decide I will go.
Praise the LORD! It was shortly after that, my fever broke. My sickness was gone, but I stayed in bed and laid low the next couple of days.
What a miserable way to start off a new month; all this as we had just come from our month 8 debrief talk about “finishing the race strong.” At this moment, I felt anything but strong…
What a miserable way to start off a new month; all this as we had just come from our month 8 debrief talk about “finishing the race strong.” At this moment, I felt anything but strong…
I remember though, as I was laying in bed sick, I heard voices outside. Voices speaking in English. Voices with accents. Aussies? I was almost sure they were Australian. The man was talking about building plans. As I listened closer, it sounded like he was talking about building an orphanage. Sure enough, I later found out this was indeed what he was doing.
The town that we were in is one of the smallest we’ve resided on throughout the race. It was hard to believe that just outside our door was another foreigner.
Talk about a divine appointment!!!
The town that we were in is one of the smallest we’ve resided on throughout the race. It was hard to believe that just outside our door was another foreigner.
Talk about a divine appointment!!!
I finally met this man, Brian, and his wife Jan the following day, when I was feeling a bit better.
For however poor a start, the meeting of these two *precious* people had a huge part in the month’s redemption! Our team absolutely and completely fell in love with this couple next door.
Both them and us had agreed, God placed us in each other’s paths for encouragement! We had the blessing of not only working with our contact for the month, Pastor Noah and his church, but we also got to help Brian and Jan with a very special project: helping to build a traditional mud hut style home for a local widow and her orphan granddaughter.
For however poor a start, the meeting of these two *precious* people had a huge part in the month’s redemption! Our team absolutely and completely fell in love with this couple next door.
Both them and us had agreed, God placed us in each other’s paths for encouragement! We had the blessing of not only working with our contact for the month, Pastor Noah and his church, but we also got to help Brian and Jan with a very special project: helping to build a traditional mud hut style home for a local widow and her orphan granddaughter.
James 1:27 Has long been a favorite passage of mine, and this month, I feel that team Pneuma had the blessing of *really* living it out!
“Religion the God the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
What a joy it was to work on this project!
Thanks to my lovely teammate Matthew, I would like to share with you this very special wrap-up video of the month.
Thanks to my lovely teammate Matthew, I would like to share with you this very special wrap-up video of the month.
The ***best part*** of the month: the woman we did this for, was so moved that a bunch of foreigners would come, get dirty and love her in this way, that she *accepted Christ*! ! !
Join me in continuing to pray for her, and in praying for Brian and Jan as they press forward with the planning, preparation and construction of their orphanage! ! !
Join me in continuing to pray for her, and in praying for Brian and Jan as they press forward with the planning, preparation and construction of their orphanage! ! !
Brian & Jan
Pastor Noah & his wife, Grace
