Trying to figure out where to start…
Oliotya- means hello in Luganda
Saying goodbye and leaving all that I have ever known was
hard. I mean just plain hard. Of course I’ve been gone for weeks before,
but never months, so this is a totally new experience. I kept repeating to myself “I am weak but He
is strong” and asking the Lord to carry me because I felt I could not walk. We left the Dulles airport for roughly a 6
hour flight then when we got to Heathrow in London, we had a 15 hour layover until
our flight to Entebbe. We wanted to leave the airport, but that
would require Sam (the pastor I am with) to get a visa for England, plus we
would have to drag around our carry-on baggage (mine consisted of a guitar and
a backpack that no doubt weighed at least a million pounds). So, that option
was out and we were at the airport all day, which in reality wasn’t all that
bad! Some people get bored really easily, but God blessed me with the ability
to entertain myself. So, yesterday
consisted of a lot of sleeping, people watching (my fav thing to do), language
listening, eating, watching Alias on my computer, walking around, and watching
planes. It was funny, because Sam took
me to this place tucked away from most of the madness of the airport, and told
me that “this was his favorite place.”
He showed me how he likes to set up the chairs to get comfortable, and
had so much fun trying to guess the gate we would be in before the screen
showed it. It made me laugh so much because
he was completely wrong and was positive it was C66 or C67. It was A15. Haha okay maybe I am going into
too much detail. If I keep this up, I will be writing all night! Anywho after the airport, we went on our
flight to Entebbe, Uganda which was roughly 8 hours long. So all in all we were travelling for over 24
hours. But I love airports and planes
for some odd reason, so I didn’t mind it, but I was relieved to finally arrive!
As I looked out the window of our plane upon our descent
into Africa, I saw the most beautiful things.
The hills were all green and it literally looked like I was seeing ocean
waves that were frozen. We landed, got into a taxi, and headed to his home. Good gracious the driving here is
crazy. I mean I have been in countries
with crazy driving, but the thing about here is that there aren’t as many cars,
but people walking and a bunch of motorcycles.
It made me laugh when we were later driving around to get some things,
and the pastor said people thought he was a good driver. He has never hit anyone or any car, but I was
quite…frightened. Plus they drive on the
left and the steering wheel is on the right.
Quite a new experience!
I was excited to leave America and I wanted to get
uncomfortable, but now that I am here I am …uncomfortable. Being here is unlike anything I have ever
experienced. It is thrilling, but also
very difficult to adjust. I can tell this
will be quite a transition.
My room is small and I have nowhere to put my clothes, so
they will stay in my suitcases. My
suitcases are stacked because there is not enough space for me to put them down
separately. I have one table and a bed
on a concrete floor. We got a mosquito
net (or as they say, mosqwito…makes me giggle every time) and I am now lying
under it. It’s kinda cozy, but I am paranoid
that a mosqwito will make it in here and give me malaria. I am constantly having to remind myself that
God is in control.
I haven’t bathed in two days and was looking forward to a
shower this evening after a sweaty day.
Well, that was a new experience. They
have a shower and running water, but no hot water. Julia, Sam’s wife wanted me to have hot
water, so she gave me a bucket with a little hot water in it and told me to mix
it with some cold water and bathe out of it.
Now I am starting to realize just how spoiled I am. I had to stand in the bathroom for a few minutes
and try to strategize how I was going to do it.
Needless to say, I have never had to bathe out of small bucket. The food here is different too. For lunch we had rice, beans, and “matoke”,
which is a fruit that is a mix between a banana and plantain mushed up. For dinner we had rice, beans, and “pocho”,
which is ground corn and flour mixed into a dough-like consistency. I think I will learn a new perspective about
food while I am here- as a necessity and not a sport haha.
Despite my shock in living conditions, the people here are
so so sweet. If I didn’t mention, Sam
Kisembo is Ugandan, so I have had no interaction with any Americans! Julia is Sam’s wife, and is a very gentle and
mild mannered lady. When he told me that
he had 14 kids I was a little freaked out and was trying to prepare myself to
live with 14 kids, until he told me that only his 4 biological children live
with him! Phew! The others he helps
provide for (some to live with their parents and some to go to the university). His youngest girl is Michele, who is 2 years old. So stinkin cute, and she loves to listen to
music and dance. Next is Isaac, who is
7, and was shy at first, but warmed up to me after I played soccer with him and
gave him candy haha. Shamah(boy) is 9
years old and absolutely loved my guitar and could barely give anyone else a
turn! Shalom(girl) is 10 years old and
very mature and has such a gentle and quiet spirit and a beautiful smile. Shoot, all of them are very mature for their
age. America, step it up! ;)
Jackson and John live in the security gate house. They have a wall around their house for
safety and there is a gate house by the entrance. This “house” is probably about the size of my
bathroom at home. These two boys are some of the most gentle and sweet boys that I have ever met.
Harriet is the “maid” in the house, and helps out with cooking and cleaning. I have not gotten to
talk to her much yet, but I look forward to getting to
know her better. Lastly is Sylvia. She is the head teacher at the school and is
such a kind and happy woman. She took
the day off to meet me, and run around to do some errands with us. We get along pretty well despite the fact
that we can’t understand each other half of the time! That is true for many
other people too…between their strong accent and me using words they don’t
know, we sometimes have a hard time understanding each other ( I said peace and
Julia thought I said pigs), haha which
of course makes it more fun!
Uganda is very different from what I know, but I like it
already. I may not be comfortable and
may have a hard time being away from my best friends and family, but by
clinging to my Bible and praying constantly, God will prove that He is all I
need. In our long wait in the airport,
Sam asked me what my desire or goal was for my time here. He shared that his goal was to bring either
10,000 or 10 million (I can’t remember which one) people to Christ. Either way, that’s a lot! He also said that he
wants to share the love of Christ to everyone he comes in contact with. I told him that our goals are similar-I
desire to learn to love deeply and have the opportunity to tell many people
about my precious Savior. I want to
build strong relationships and learn to live as they do. I am asking Jesus to guide me, know that He is
now all I have to cling to.
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