Hello everyone…
I am alive and well. Friday morning at 7 am we got dropped off at the airport to begin our journey to Uganda. Things went a little like this:
-chilled at the airport all day until our flight left at 3 pm
-arrived in Amsterdam at 5:30 am (their time)
-hopped on a train and went downtown Amsterdam during our layover
-got on another plane and flew into Nairobi around 8:15 pm Saturday
-Stayed overnight in Nairobi & went to the bus stop around 3 pm Sunday to head to Uganda
-waited… and waited… and waited. 9 pm got on a bus.
-arrived at the border at 7 am Monday and got told to get off the bus to wait for another
-waited…. and waited… and waited at the border until… 4 pm and then got on an overpacked bus.
(At one point we finally asked someone where we were… he tried to tell us we were in Sudan which totally freaked us all out. not true, thankfully!)
-had the bumpiest ride of my life. I literally flew two feet in the air off my seat at some points.
-finally arrived in Lira around midnight on Monday night.
But through it all, my team held it together like champs. We somehow found humor in the situation and made do with the circumstances. My team is lovely. Where we are staying is wonderful. The people are so beautiful and wanting to help us. They do it with such cheerful attitudes. I feel so welcomed and loved. I feel like I've experienced more of Africa in the past two days than I did most of my trip last time. Last night I sat down and had tea time with a lady named Betty. She is so sweet and kind. Things here are different, but it's okay. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for my team.
I had a brief preview of what I will get to experience while at the border. I met two 14 year old boys. They were supposed to be in school but were there selling water and snacks to make money for their school fees. We talked for awhile and they asked all sorts of questions about America and I asked all sorts of questions about them. Eventually the one boy brought up Joseph Kony. These boys weren't personally child soldiers but know other children and know many of the horrible things that have happened in the communities. I felt the heavy weight in my heart as I listened to them. The way they talked sounded exactly like words out of books I have read or videos I have watched, but it was completely different to hear it out of the mouths of two boys I met. Boys with names and faces and dreams. My heart broke for them.
Prayers are appreciated and welcomed! Love and miss you all!
