Picture yourself standing 145 feet above the Nile about to jump. Your
mind racing, thinking about everything you’ve ever done, frantically
trying to find anything that you can compare this experience to. As your mind continues to race and your toes hang off the edge, your thoughts are so loud you can barely hear the sound of the instructors’ voices as they yell, “3… 2… 1… Bungee!”
Let’s back up 336 hours:
I’m
sitting on a bus on my way to Uganda, so excited because I have just
had one of the most rewarding weeks of World Race; debrief, a much needed time of renewal after a month of sickness. I have been refreshed and set ablaze by the Creator of the universe: a fire that can only be described as All Consuming.
As I traveled to Uganda along side my (shout out time!) incredible Squad Leaders, Scotty Barron, Shannon Ahola and the amazing other two members of the Logistics Team, Paul Bell and Brandi Jo Magee, we discussed things that we needed to accomplish during our time in Uganda. Through this discussion, I stepped up and agreed to head up and plan our squad rafting and bungee jumping trip in Jinja, Uganda at the end of the month. I worked on the details all month long over the phone, but it became necessary for me to physically speak with and meet my contact Dennis from Adrift, the all encompassing adventure location in Jinja, Uganda.
After another week of lengthy phone calls, it was time to meet up with Dennis. So Brooks and I climbed into a car, ready to head over to Adrift so that I could finalize some details for the squad trip. As I sat in the backseat and made small talk with Dennis, he very casually said “We’ll have to get you a free bungee jump today, if the Jump Master’s there.” WHAT!? My entire face lit up. I turned to Brooks with a huge smile on face trying to contain my composure to the best of my ability. I couldn’t.
We pulled up to Adrift and we’re greeted by everyone as if we had been friends for years. As each second passed my excitement toward our squad trip at the end of the month grew and grew. I couldn’t wait for everyone else to see the amazing campground that sat on a cliff which overlooked the Nile, next to the Adrift restaurant.
As I walked into the Adrift restaurant and stood on the balcony, Dennis asked me if I would like anything to drink. I replied “Yes! Thank you. Could I have a Sprite?” As I stood there drinking my free Sprite looking at God’s breathtaking creation, I couldn’t do anything but thank my Father for the gifts that He has given me. Then a man walked over to me and asked “are you ready to jump?” I replied with an astounding “YEAAAHHHH!”. We made our way to the cliff where the metal tower stood about 30 feet off the edge. From where I was standing, this didn’t seem that high. Then I got to the top and there was no doubt I was standing 145ft above the Nile. I took a seat in what they called the “Throne” and I started to get strapped in. After a quick briefing I was told to stand up and make my way to the edge. A few quick hops and…
There I was, standing 145 feet above the Nile, about to jump. My mind is racing thinking about all the times I’ve been cliff diving and skydiving, frantically trying to find anything that I can compare this experience to. As my mind continues to race and my toes hang off the edge, my thoughts are so loud that I can barely hear the sound of the instructors’ voices as they yell, “3… 2… 1… Bungee!”
My feet left the platform and time slowed down. My body was floating 145 feet above the second largest river in the world and what seemed like was 2 minutes in reality was merely 2 seconds. I went from a moment of floating so high above the Nile to my body plummeting down into the Nile, only to be yanked all the way back up over and over again, until it was
over. As I was being lowered into a raft, the adrenaline was still pumping through my veins. I made my way back to the restaurant to give Dennis a big thank you and tell him all about my experience. I felt so blessed. What a gift from God: a free bungee jump. Then I left Adrift with a giant smile and finished my day in Kampala with a vegetarian chicken pizza. I was so filled up from the amazing gift God had given to me. It truly was a 145 foot blessing.
