Coming into training camp, I had no idea what to expect. Needless to say, I did not anticipate that immediately upon arrival, we would be asked to leave all but three items of our choice to get us through the night while we slept on a tarp under the stars.
After the first night, they graciously gave us our belongings back. This, along with all of the other experiences at training camp had the purpose of preparing us for our trip. During the four days at camp, I played in a lot of red clay, had some amazing conversations with God while walking through the tall Georgia pines, and experienced some intense worship with the five other AIM Passport teams that all left Georgia on Friday morning.
After flying out of Atlanta, we were able to walk around Amsterdam during our layover. The town was so cute and we took lots of pictures. Then we flew to Nairobi, Kenya, where we took a very long and bumpy bus ride to Lira, Uganda. After 96 hours of travel, my teammates and I had gotten very good at just laughing at our situation and embracing African transportation.
Late on Monday night, we moved into our rooms and I quickly learned how to share a very small space, how to not roll off the third bunk bed, and how to maintain sanity while a mosquito is trapped in your mosquito net all night.
Yesterday, I got my first taste of African culture. I love hand washing my clothes, shelling and smashing peanuts, cooking beans, and playing their card games. I have so much to learn from these people and I can't wait for the next three months!
