.Uganda.

.UGANDA.

This post is long overdue, but better late than never.

This past midterm (June 3-7), I hopped over to my neighbor country of Uganda to visit a dear friend, Carly Batten, who just moved there this past March for 1 year. What a joy it was to see a friendly face and spend four days of quality fun and fellowship together!

Carly and I go back to 5 years ago, when in January of 2005, I went to San Diego to visit my OTHER friend, Becca Lauterbach Elmore, as a surprise. Carly agreed to pick me up from the LAX airport and take me to Becca’s house, so that when Becca got home from work, I would be able to pop out from behind the door and shout, “Surprise!” Unfortunately, Carly found a strange girl throwing up over the side of a trash-can in the airport, due to a spontaneous 24-hour flu bug that I had caught on the way over 🙂 Nevertheless, Carly graciously helped me and chauffeured me to the Lauterbach’s home! 🙂 Over the past 5 years, we’ve always caught up a bit here and there at conferences and in CA and MD, but it wasn’t until last summer, right before I moved to Africa, that we really connected. One day over tea, after Becca’s wedding, Carly and I were discussing the faith it takes to move away from your family and friends to a third-world country, and yet the amazing blessings that come as a result of laying down your life to serve the greater body of Christ in the world. At that point in time, I was about to leave, and the seed of Africa had just been planted in Carly’s heart…we said our goodbyes, and I never imagined that a little less than a year later, we would be “neighbors”! In fact, we are closer in proximity NOW than we were back in the States 🙂 Go figure.

So, it comes as no surprise that I jumped on the opportunity to see her before I leave next month! It was funny. Me, about to leave, and her, just settling really. But, there is nothing like the sweetness of friendship and the fellowship of the Spirit that can bind two people’s hearts together so quickly. As soon as I arrived at St. Victor’s Christian School, where Carly and her friend Lindsay are serving for their year, Carly and I just jumped into talking, laughing, praying, and singing. Yes, singing. Here we are pictured with the many Ugandan school children with whom Carly works every day of the week. These precious children were practicing for a special song/dance the first afternoon I was there:

Then, of course, there is Rinah. She is a darling, beautiful girl who recently lost her mother to AIDS and moved into St. Victor’s as a boarding student. Carly has really taken her under her wing and sought to be a surrogate mother to her through this difficult transition and mourning process.

After a quiet evening on Thursday, we prepared for a big adventure on Friday: rafting the Class 5 rapids of the Nile River in Jinja!!! Wow. What an experience. I thought I was going to die a few times, but mainly I became freaked out when the guide (who called himself Roughus-Toughus DeMarco) told us, “Now, don’t fall out up here…that is where the crocodiles hang out. And, they are racist. They only like Mzungu (white) flesh.” Ummm…yah. Here are few pictures that essentially capture our wild ride.

I am really excited, too, because some of the other people who rafted the same day as us are mailing the video of our day to my house in Maryland later this summer. There was a guy who kayaked ahead of us and filmed the whole thing – all 8 rapids in the morning, and the 5 tougher rapids after lunch. That was pretty amazing in itself. Watching these crazy guys from Australia and England and other places not only kayak the rapids, but BODY BOARD the rapids! And, I felt scared in the BOAT.

After a wonderful day on the Nile, and fresh Uganda pineapple and a BBQ at the end of the day, Carly and Lindsay and I made our way over a mile to this adorable Bed and Breakfast called “Gately on the Nile.” Props to Carly for finding the place. It is an old house, renovated by a British lady some years back, and overlooks the river. It was quaint and quiet, and the B & B staff were simply wonderful. After a good night’s rest, we awoke late to lazily meander out into the beautiful gardens, spend some alone-time reading and journaling, and then joined together on the veranda, where we were served a luxurious breakfast that included fresh passion juice. What a blessing!

During our breakfast conversation, we dialogued about how I am about to go through the “re-entry” process, and how Carly was about to finish out the “honeymoon” phase. You see, when you move to Africa, everything is new and exciting, and you are thrust into ministry and new relationships and such, that you barely have time to breath. In being so busy, you float in the honeymoon phase, until about the third month, which is when you realize how homesick you really are for your family, comforts, friends, and whatnot. It was really neat to be able to encourage Carly and Lindsay in this, as I went through it already last fall. On the flip-side, Carly began asking me questions about re-entry that I have barely had time to even consider in the last two months! The questions she asked were really helpful, and as I verbally processed some of those feelings, fears, and aspects of joy in returning home next month, I realized that the Lord knew I needed to begin thinking about it…and sometimes, it just takes a faithful friend to bring up the topic and help you start taking those mental, emotional and spiritual steps. It was a great conversation, and one of many that we shared over our long weekend together 🙂

After our lazy morning at Gately, we packed up and caught a taxi into Kampala, where we stayed on Saturday and Sunday with one of my dorm girls and her family. What a fun time! One of the best parts about staying with this particular family was that the father is Ugandan, and the mother is Korean. So, it was really neat to hear the story of how God brought them together to serve on the mission field. Another highlight was finding this great, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop called 1000 Cups, where fresh Ugandan coffee is produced, packaged, and served to customers. There were dozens of flavored coffees, different brews, and unique roasts that we discovered. Here we are in front of the coffee bean display:

I have to admit, I am NOT particularly excited about returning home to American coffee. Nothing compares to Kenyan and Ugandan coffee. In fact, just today, I had a delicious cappuccino for only 60 shillings, which is less than $1 dollar. I gulp when I think about spending over $3 dollars on a mediocre Starbucks drink later this August!

And, last but certainly not least, I must end this post by sharing with you this picture of the Kampala Taxi Park, which Carly, Lindsay and I braved at the end of our Sunday afternoon…yes, sirree…this is where hundreds of Matatu buses compile and ‘organize’ into different sections so that people can catch rides to various regions of the city. It’s the closest thing they have to the D.C. metro system. But, obviously, no where NEAR to you all are used to 🙂 But, we managed to find the right taxi (thanks to Carly), and get home safely! Whew. What a wild ride that was…

Uganda was such a blessing. Going there reminded me that there are so many other amazing things my fellow workers are doing out there. It reminded me that the next time I get on a plane, it will en route to home. It reminded me of God’s faithfulness in bringing me BACK to Africa, as I was in Uganda in January of 2008. It reminded me of why I first fell in love with Africa: the children. It reminded me of dear friends, and how good God has been to provide me with wonderful friends here at RVA. And, when I got back on campus, it reminded me of how good it felt to be “home” in my little KUE apartment, and how comfortable and endearing it felt. Uganda reminded me of how COLD it is right now here in Kenya. And, being with Carly reminded me of how the Gospel is truly the most powerful thing in drawing people together in friendship, in that connected two single ladies from opposite sides of the United States, who both happened to have a mutual friend, and who both happened to feel a call from God to move to Africa within the same year, and within the same Eastern region.

Only 46 days till I land on American soil !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!