Uganda - Heading Home

What is it about heading home from a long trip that just wears a body out?  We have had an outstanding trip - we managed to help provide the gospel and some much needed medical help to a village in the Kiryandongo district.  We had some seriously fun decompression time in the the game reserve staying at the Paraa Safari Lodge.  But, honestly, this heading home business is for the birds.  We packed up at the crack of dawn to get to the car ferry to cross the Nile.  We got there early to assure a place on the ferry and then got to witness a beautiful sunrise reflected in the River Nile. 

Another straight-out-of-the-camera photo.  

No editing needed for this morning that the Lord has made!

 We stopped to say a prayer of thanksgiving for the wonderful trip chock full of blessings given and received.  Then with the beautiful light of the sunrise we got together for a group picture with Heidi's camera.  After the car ferry we settled in for a very long, very bumpy ride.  I had heard of the expression "40 miles of bad road" but today we got to experience it first hand.  The road until we left the game reserve (2+ hours) was all washboard dirt road.  The scenery however was wonderful and we saw dozens of baboons and other animals.  I was surprised at how much the terrain in Uganda changes.  We go from the Nile River Basin to the African plains to the jungle mountainous areas. 

We stopped briefly at the park gate to check out of the reserve and to shop briefly at the craft stand.  On our way back to Kampala we stopped in the Here's Life coordinator, Fredrick's home town of Masindi to have a little more shopping time.  This day was a whole lot of hot!  Full sun and only fairly cool sodas and bottled water to be sold.  We managed to pick up a few trinkets but mostly this stop was just hot.  

After Masindi we continued our journey (finally on paved roads) to Kampala to a hotel for a chance for everyone to get a shower, cool off, and have something to drink before heading to the airport.  

The airport experience was just as easy going out as it was coming in thankfully.  It was still light when we arrived so we were able to get into our trunks to be checked in and add any souvenirs that we didn't need to hand carry.  Steve Hudson had a portable luggage scale with him so we were able to make sure our trunks were not heavier than 50 pounds.  We skated through the initial security checkpoint, breezed through check in and immigration, and then had a chance to shop some more and get something to eat before it was time to board the plane.  

This pretty much brings me up to where we are now.  I am writing this on the Amsterdam to Detroit flight.  We have another couple of hours to go until we leave for the US.  It will be so nice to actually get home and see my family.  

USA update:

We are back on US soil after 44 hours of traveling!  As nice as it is to be home, I think I left just a little bit of my heart in Uganda and I will most definitely be looking at the world that I live in just a little bit differently.  

I can see how the Africans think we are blessed.  We travel to them bringing more stuff with us than many of them own - nicer clothing and shoes, having received regular medical and dental care, with cell phones, cameras, tons of medicine and medical equipment.  We go to them to try to be a blessing to them.  To provide them with a little medical care and kindness - to be the hands and face of Christ to them.  But honestly, the Africans who work for Here's Life and MedReach are the real heroes of this story.  These guys are so fervent and open with their faith.  They are fearless in their proclamation of the gospel.  They have, by their actions and their words, challenged us to take that fearlessness back home with us.  I don't think I can be the same again.  How could I be?