Uganda #1: 3 Continents in 3 Days

“Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing.” –Genesis 12:1-2

As I walked off the steps of the airplane, I was greeted by a warm breeze and the lowest sliver of a moon I’d ever seen, colored the deepest shade of orange you can imagine, settled just above the horizon. It was breathtaking, and I couldn’t believe it was the first thing I’d been shown in this new land; this new life.

After so many months of planning, organizing, praying, crying, talking, and thinking – I am here. The flight from Phoenix to London went surprisingly fast; the one from London to Entebbe, Uganda was one of the longest of my life! I’m sure some of that had to do with the fact that once I landed, I knew a course would be set in motion that would change my life forever; I knew there was no going back. The moment was brimming with anticipation and excitement.

There could not have been a bigger contrast between my layover city, London, and Kampala (Uganda’s capital). In Heathrow Airport there were more shops than I could ever imagine – Harrod’s, Coach, Tiffany & Co, I mean the list goes on and on. In Kampala I saw a place to exchange money. That was it. Well, I had never been to London before so I wanted to make the most of it. I landed at 2:30. By the time I figured out how to get on the tube and finally made it to my hostel, it was 5pm. I asked the man at the front desk (a congenial German lad named Nikolas) how much daylight he thought there was left. He said an hour at the most. Dang it! I thought. I knew I wanted to see some of the city, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about wandering the city alone at night. I finally decided to suck it up and go see Parliament Square, at least. So I set up my bed (I was at the bottom of a three-person bunk in a room of 15 beds), arranged my things, prayed I would survive this night, and ventured out. My hostel was a 10 minute walk from the nearest Underground (or tube) station and many of the red buses that can take you pretty much wherever you want to go. With the help of Nikolas’ directions, I took a bus to Parliament Square. It was all new to me, and difficult to figure out how to get off the bus and when (at one point I asked the driver if I could get off and he said, ‘Now?? In the middle of the road?!’ Yes, it was my finest hour). But I made it to Parliament, and one of the coolest moments was seeing that typical scene come up over the bridge: the river Thames with Parliament at its edge; Big Ben looming over everything. I’d seen that millions of times in movies and in pictures – it was amazing to finally see it with my own eyes.

Even though I wouldn’t have chosen to see London by night because of the fact that I was alone, it couldn’t have been more beautiful. I got to Parliament Square just as the sky was changing to dusk; it was a beautiful blue and everything was lit up – Big Ben, the Parliament buildings, Westminster Abbey. I didn’t realize all of these major buildings were all in the same square. It was incredibly convenient for me! :) I took as many pictures as I could, walked around, and took it all in.

I didn’t realize it might be cold in London til probably 2 days before I left for my trip. By then my thinking was, ‘I have so many things to take; I won’t be cold for the rest of the year, so I don’t see the point in taking things to keep me warm for just half a day in London.’ So as I walked around London I had on jeans, sandals with socks, a t-shirt, a jacket, and a scarf. I was definitely freezing, and had to keep reminding myself that soon I would not remember the meaning of the word cold (even as I sit here writing this in my hostel in Kampala it is about 85 degrees and extremely humid out, my fan isn’t working, and there isn’t a breeze). So anyway, I enjoyed Parliament Square, then decided instead of trying to deal with the buses again (I was tired, cold, hungry, everything was on the other side of the road and I kept feeling everyone staring at me) I just decided to walk back to my hostel, or at least in the direction of my hostel to find a place to have dinner. Well, of course, I got lost almost immediately. I had a map of the city with me and knew generally where I needed to go, but at one point the normal street cut into 3 new streets, all zigzagging in different directions, and suddenly I realized I’d better ask for help.
I stopped a kind older woman coming out of St. Thomas’ hospital and she was incredibly nice. She had one of the thickest accents I’ve ever heard, but was very nice and walked me in the direction I needed to be going (which turned out to be the same way she needed to go anyway – thank you Lord). I already knew I would be eating dinner at a pub down the street from my hostel called The Three Stags (Harry Potter? Anyone??). It was typical, it was British, and it was food. (PS – Beasley and Malmgren – It is 4 dollars.) At that point I hadn’t eaten in about 9 hours and I was starving. So I sat down and a nice woman who reminded me of Kate Winslet was my waitress. She brought me British tea (Twinings) and milk, then I ordered stuffed chicken, leek, and chips (French fries) for dinner. Everything was delicious and I was lucky to find a place that good so close to where I was staying. At that point I was dead and needed to get back to sleep; I knew I’d have to be waking up early.

At the hostel I slept very comfortably (albeit the large amount of noise being emitted from the people who were still awake out in the lobby) for about 4 hours, before waking up promptly at 2am and my body deciding it was confused as to the time and wasn’t going to let me sleep any longer. I laid there for a long time, willing myself to sleep, but it wasn’t happening. I logged online from my hostel bed (welcome to wifi) and chatted with some friends (you know who you are!) before it was time to get myself out of bed. I showered (all that was coming out was freezing water – it was about 30 degrees outside – but it was that or stay dirty – and after nearly passing out from the cold, I had a good laugh with myself about it), had a quick breakfast and headed out into the London dawn. It was cold but beautiful out; a bit foggy and just kind of magical. If you know me, I love all forms of water; oceans, creeks, fog, rain. (Also – the London fog reminded me of Mary Poppins and made me smile.) I took the tube and made it to Heathrow by 8am or so. (This is more for Missy than anyone else but, I listened to The Beatles all morning on the tube and enjoyed them thoroughly. I thought it only appropriate under the circumstances.) Even after talking to British Airways about my baggage (I was blessed enough that they checked my bags through all the way and I didn’t have to deal with them at all in London), going through security and getting my bearings, I still had over 2 hours until my flight (dad, be proud!). I was hungry, so I found the quaintest little café in the corner of terminal 5 that overlooked the airport and then the city beyond. I ate a sandwich and a latte and thought of my friends at Starbucks  The day was getting foggier and foggier and finally it began to rain. It was actually supposed to be colder and even snow the night I was there but, by the grace of God I did not have to deal with that. (Part of me thinks I’m probably putting too much detail into this but, oh well! You’ve read this far. It’s your choice to continue.)
All in all, they finally put up the number of the gate to Entebbe, and by the time we boarded and took off we were about half an hour late. The woman next to me, a wonderfully funny and charming lady who travels to Africa often, said this was normal and we should still get to Uganda on time. I slept for a bit on the plane, but mostly sat anxiously, trying not to think about how long it was taking, trying not to get overwhelmed with the emotion of everything. After one of the longest flights of my life, we arrived in Entebbe just after 10pm. The “customs” process, if you can even call it that, was incredibly simple and fast. The man glanced at my visa and passport, stamped a few stamps, snapped a picture with his webcam, and I was off. After finding my luggage and piling it onto the cart (thank you Jesus for free carts) I walked out into the lobby to look for Anthony, who was supposed to be meeting me there and taking me back to Kampala. There were a dozen people there holding up signs for people but my name was not on any of them. I walked outside where there were more people with signs, still without my name on them. I was asked (not forcefully, to my surprise) by several men if I needed a taxi, and I said someone was picking me up. A very nice Ugandan taxi driver kind of hung out with me until I saw Anthony about 10 minutes later – after my mind was beginning to creep into semi-panic mode as I thought of the fact that I was now alone in a foreign country, a single white female who may as well have had a big red target painted on my pale, freckled face. But God is good and I found Anthony, who met me along with his friend Thomas who also works with Orphans for Christ (OCA). I want to be as honest on this blog as possible for my own sake as well as for the sake of making much of God and of showing in every possible way that He is my Provider, Sustainer and Rock. When I first saw these men and began walking with them, I thought, ‘Well, this is it. They are the only people I know in the whole of the country and they can basically do whatever they want with me; I wouldn’t be able to do much about it; and okay God, I’m trusting You because there is no other option.’ It was an intense moment!

Both men were extremely nice, though, and I quickly felt at ease and able to express myself normally. Thomas was much more talkative than Anthony. He and I talked about Christianity and the LRA and Joseph Kony and the power of prayer and of how stable Uganda is, considering all that has happened here and in the surrounding countries. Somehow my luggage fit into the back of the small car they were driving and we were off. It was definitely damp and humid, but the breeze from the windows down helped a lot. We drove down the streets of Entebbe towards Kampala, many people still out on their bicycles and outside selling things on the streets though it was nearing on eleven by this time. Thomas sat in the backseat with me, and again, we chatted about a lot of things. (Side note: I could not find a seatbelt where I was sitting. No one else in the car bothered to put theirs on but, I definitely had several moments of slight panic since I had no seat belt on and the driving was, let’s say, questionable at times. A cultural difference you can’t do much about.) Finally Anthony told me I would be staying in a guest house down the street from his office and that in the morning we would tour around the city a bit and buy whatever I needed to buy.

So here I am. I slept a sound 7 hours last night and awoke to the sound of birds and chickens making their morning noises. I have a big bed and a shower (it’s actually the kind where the shower, toilet and sink are all in the same room – so when you shower the water gets on the toilet – pretty great) and a fan that worked for most of the night, though for some reason it has currently given up of exhaustion. I am definitely sticky and sweaty and have times where I think Dear God, bring a breeze! But I am doing great. I am so thankful for how He has kept me safe, that all my things made it here, that I am finally in Uganda, that I have legit godly men around me (Thomas prayed for me as soon as I got into the car last night and I’m pretty sure Anthony brought Thomas with him so it wouldn’t just be he and I), and that I am at the beginning of this adventure. Geez, didn’t think I’d write that much about 2 days! Well, dear friends, I love you all and am so grateful for your input in my life and for your love and support. I will be in touch. I love hearing from you. God bless!!

Also SIDE NOTE!! haha as if this wasn't already like a thousand years long. I've just spent the last hour at Anthony's office/OCA headquarters which is down the street from where I'm staying. I know a lot more about OCA now, which I will probably fully update on in a later post. But for those of you who are praying, please add these requests:

-Anthony really needs a car donated to him (or the money for one) as he travels between Kampala and Tororo all the time and has to take public transport, which gets complicated when he has to take supplies there

-OCA needs money (probably upwards of $15,000) to buy land and build a school and a home for the orphans in Tororo. right now they were forced to leave the last place they were renting and now half the kids were sent back to guardians; the other half are squeezed into someone's house and are being taken care of by an old widow. THIS IS NOT THAT MUCH MONEY!!! I just raised $8,000 for my trip. clearly God can do whatever He wants

-praise that God has brought me to a place full of true believers, laughing children, big smiling faces, a place full of opportunity for Him to do great things once again.