Dateline: 2:37 P.M. Gulu time. That’s 7:37 A.M. CST for those of you keeping score at home.
WE HAVE ARRIVED!
It’s been 38 hours since our flight left DFW, and I am now settled into my new home-away-from-home, the Hotel Roma in Gulu.
We’ve been given the rest of the day “offâ€, to rest and recharge before the long day tomorrow. So let me take this opportunity to catch you up on the past 24 hours.
We arrived in Entebbe at about 10:30 P.M. last night, which would have been about 1:30 P.M. CST. I thought about Trey, who would have been enjoying his pizza lunch at school at the same time our plane landed in Africa! The flight to Entebbe was uneventful, and I give mad props to British Airways for their in-flight entertainment choices, comfort kits, and leg room. Way better than American Airlines.
We cleared customs and received our visas fairly quickly, and were pleased to be reunited with every single piece of luggage we brought with us. As we walked out to the parking lot, we realized that there would be no way to fit all of us plus all our luggage PLUS all our carry-on baggage inside the two small vans waiting to take us to the Sophie Motel.
So we loaded up one van with 5 of us and as much luggage as we could fit (a different mission team from the UK “took†our other van right in front of us as we were trying to sort it all out) and headed to the motel while the rest of the group waited in the airport parking lot for both vans to return. I was on the first van and while we rode along, I watched off in the distance as lightning flashed across the horizon. Between the cloud cover and the lights from the city I wasn’t able to see any stars, so had no idea if the storms were moving toward us or away from us, but they were far enough away that I didn’t hear any thunder.
We arrived at the motel and checked in, and the bellhop escorted me to my room, the Burundi Room.
Because it’s the Burundi Room, I get one piece of artwork on the wall…and guess what it is?
By the time everyone arrived from the airport and we had all our luggage unloaded and stored in the secure room, it was after midnight. We were all exhausted and needing to get to sleep as our flight the next morning was moved up, first from 1 P.M. to 11 A.M. and then to 8 A.M.
The room at the Sophie Motel was nicer than I had anticipated. Clean, comfortable, with basic amenities. Probably about a 1-2 diamond rating from AAA!
Though there was no A/C, the fan inside the mosquito curtain was enough to keep cool-ish air circulating throughout the night.
I finally headed to bed around 12:30 A.M. As I lay there in bed, alone, in a room by myself, a massive wave of homesickness washed over me. I began to wonder if this was all worth it. If the time I was sacrificing away from my family would be time well spent. If the sacrifice I was asking my husband to make was the right thing to do. If this truly was God’s call or just an act of selfishness on my part. My heart ached as I thought about my children and what they would be doing at that moment…that in just a couple of hours they would be heading home from school and I would not be there to greet them. I would not see their precious smiling faces as they walked in the door, excited to see me and tell me all about their days. My heart ached as I looked at the empty space on the other side of the bed and thought about Matt and what he was probably doing…that in a few hours he would be heading home from work and I would not be there to greet him and welcome him home with a hug and a kiss. I would not be there to share a meal, or read bedtime stories to the kids, or spend some time with him after the kids were asleep.
As I lay there in the dark, tears falling on the pillow beneath me, God reminded me: I have called you to this. You said, “Yes.â€Â I am El Roi, the God who Sees. I see your tears. I see the loneliness in your heart. I see your uncertainty and apprehension. I am here. And I am able.
With that reassurance, I was able to fall asleep and enjoy rest.
Until 2:30, when I was awakened to the sound of a genuine African thunderstorm! The rain was a torrential downpour, the thunder shook the building, and I began to plan my escape route if lightning should strike the building! Even with the curtains drawn, I could see the flashes outside my window. I was half-tempted to go out onto my balcony and watch, but figured I’d play it safe this time and just enjoy the sounds from my bed.
The storms lasted an hour or so, and then all was quiet. I must have dozed off before the rain stopped completely because the next thing I knew I was hearing the sounds of doors opening and closing and voices in the hall…and my clock read 5:48 A.M. We had to be at breakfast by 6:30, so I went ahead and got up and showered.
The Africans have a method of showering where they use the shower to get wet and fill the basin. Then they turn the water off, soap up their bodies, and rinse off by pouring the basin of water over them. I, however, chose to shower the American way. I did wear flip flops, though…and still managed to slip and fall. I am just that coordinated.
We were served a delicious breakfast of eggs, fruit, toast and juice before packing up our luggage on the van. Because of the size of our plane and the amount of luggage we were bringing, our bags would be driven up from Entebbe to Gulu, a drive that would take anywhere from 4-8 hours. Dave offered a brief devotional and we prayed together before we loaded up the shuttle van for the drive back to the airport. As we drove along, we passed many schoolchildren walking to their classes from their homes, all in uniforms, and some of them barefoot.
The drive was only a few minutes, and then we were back at the Entebbe airport, less than 12 hours after we had left it. The plane was a small twin-engine propeller plane. The 14 of us, plus one or two others, filled it up!
Since it was such a small plane, and we didn’t have to worry about in-flight meals or loading luggage, we took off as soon as everyone was seated. We had flown over much of Africa during the night, so this was my first view of Uganda from the air. The landscape did not disappoint.
I spent the next hour with my nose firmly plastered against the window of the plane, taking it all in, marveling at the fact that I was flying over AFRICA. I saw, for the first time, clusters of mud huts. I saw people riding bikes and motorcycles down red dirt roads. I saw people out in the fields, working to plant and harvest their crops. I saw the land I had waited 7 months to see…and felt a stirring in my heart.
We landed in Gulu around 9 A.M. and were met by Nightingale (Nightie) and Janet, two of Rose’s helpers in the safe house. They were so welcoming and happy to see us. I felt as though we were old friends being reunited.
We rode in the van (yes, 16 of us crammed into a van designed to seat 11) to the Hotel Roma in Gulu, which is just a couple of blocks from the center of town.
We have been given the rest of the day to catch up on our sleep, relax at the hotel, or do some shopping. I went with a group to the Widow’s Mark, a small shop about 3 blocks away. It was my first opportunity to see Gulu, this “vibrant†city firsthand. I’ll write about my observations in a different post. I hadn’t had the opportunity to exchange my currency yet, so I wasn’t able to purchase anything at the shop, but I enjoyed looking at the handicrafts that were available and spending some “fun†time with my teammates.
We enjoyed lunch at Diana Gardens, our first of many meals there, and after lunch I took a walk to the bank to exchange my currency. The exchange rate is about 17.1815:1 so I received a wad of Ugandan shillings to my few American dollars. The banks are very particular about which bills they will accept, and mine were too old. Thankfully I was able to trade with Angela and get the exchange made without any further problems. It feels weird to be holding such a large amount of money: the amount in my wallet would pay for a comfortable house in McKinney!
I’m tired and the journey is just beginning, so I will sign off. But the important thing is, we’re here…and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me!