The Ties That Bind

I've been home for nine days now. My days and nights are back to normal. I am sleeping again. I still feel like I am lost some days, like I am just existing. I need to be doing something.

One of the things that has been really hard for me is not spending time with those on the team. We spent fourteen days together. We would have breakfast, lunch and dinner together everyday. We worked side by side to build those walls. We laughed and cried together. I miss everyone.

I'm usually at church for all four services on Sunday, and this week, as members of the team would arrive, we would almost tackle each other in the lobby. We were so happy to see each other and everyone talked about how much they had missed everyone. There were bonds formed through this experience, that will never be broken.

I woke up this morning, sad. I don't know why. There is nothing specifically wrong, I am just sad. It's rather frustrating. This isn't how you are supposed to feel after a mission trip. I hope it all passes soon.

Re-entry

Re-entry - what an interesting term. When you leave for a mission trip, you never think about having a problem returning to your own country.

I spent months in prayer over the trip, days fasting and praying. My mind was totally focused on the job at hand and doing the best I could to share God's love in Uganda. I never gave coming home a second thought. I assumed it would be like coming home from a vacation and returning to normal life. That is not the case at all.

The reentry process is tough. This experience has changed me as a person. I've experienced different places and different cultures. It's hard to get back into the routine of daily life at home. In fact, I don't want to. There are times where I wish I could just go back, like I fit in better there. Things that seemed so important before I left are now so trivial.

Beyond the emotional aspect, is the physical. You are tired, and sleep is interrupted or delayed. Your internal clock is in turmoil, your body is physically drained and your heart aches to return to those you left. It's a feeling of displacement and detachment.

I no longer have to brush my teeth with bottled water, lather up with insect repellant, or take malaria pills, but now it doesn't feel like such an inconvenience.

Home!

I am so excited to see my kids. I have missed them so very much! Our flight leaves London shortly after 2:00pm.

We checked out of the Foreign Missions Club at 10:00am and began our walk to the tube station (with luggage in tow). I'm sure we were a site to behold! This time, it was much easier, as we only had to carry luggage down the stairs and not up. 

After about an hour on the tube, we arrived at Heathrow Terminal 4. We checked in at the British Airways desk and made our way through security. We stopped to pick up a sandwich before boarding the plane. I also wanted to get a Diet Coke to take on board with me. One tiny little soda on a 10 hour flight wasn't going to cut it. This Diet Coke addict was already in withdrawal from my time in Uganda where I had none.

I was certainly not looking forward to this flight. So far, on three long flights, I had not managed to sleep more than 2 hours total. Another team member was kind enough to give me a valium for this leg, so I had high hopes that I would be able to sleep a few hours away.

A few of us gathered at gate 24 (this is what the agent at check-in had written on our boarding passes) and began to eat our lunch. As we chatted and ate, we watched the clock and none of the other team members were arriving at our gate. As we neared what we thought would be boarding time, there were still none of our team members there, so we asked a gate agent and were told that our flight would be boarding at gate 11! We gathered up our belongings and RAN to the gate. It was a long way! I was glad that I had logged all those hours, running, on the treadmill before our trip! We made it to the gate just as boarding began. 

Safely on board, and in our seats, we left Heathrow. In 10 hours, we would be back in the arms of our loved ones. I took my valium and settled in for, hopefully, a few hours of rest. I could feel the valium in my system and was very relaxed, but sleep still did not come. Valium usually knocks me right out. I have come to the conclusion that I just cannot sleep on planes. I will have to buy a sleeper seat if we ever fly overseas again. At least the valium helped me relax and so I was not anxious, a good thing, since I was once again stuck in a middle seat. Someone needs to tell my wonderful husband that he needs to share the aisle seats every now and then.

Once we arrived in Phoenix, we began the process of customs and baggage claim. I had pictured customs in America to be the worst we had encountered so far, but it was actually the easiest. We went through the line fairly quickly and our bags arrived shortly thereafter. Now we could make our way to our families. We we came through the doorway for international arrivals, there was a large group of people from the church, waiting there to greet us. People were grabbing me and hugging me, all very happy to see us. I had only one mission and that was to find my kids. We finally managed to push through everyone and found our kids waiting on the outside of the group, smiling from ear to ear. It seemed like an eternity before we could get to them. Oh, those hugs and kisses were the best ever! I missed my babies so much. It felt so good to see them and to hold them. They had roses for me and fudge for their Daddy. They know how to get to him. LOL!

We said our goodbyes to everyone in the group and headed home, only stopping for some mexican food at Chevys. ; )

Time Together

We spent the day sightseeing in London. We saw the Parliament Building, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The Eye, and Picadilly Circus. I'm sure there was more, but I can't remember them all. London is a beautiful place. It's very quaint and homey. All of the buildings are old, but incredibly clean and well kept. I love the architecture of the buildings. This is one place overseas that I could see myself living. Too bad the cost of living is so high.

I was really sad that we missed the guards at the palace. Chelci and I had plans to harass them. I did get pics of us stuffing an English phone booth, though, so I got half of what I had hoped for. 

We bought some souveniers for the kids and went to dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe. The food was great. It was the first time we had had ice in our drinks for about 12 days or so. I ordered nachos and Joey ordered fajitas. We had been craving mexican food and this was the closest we would come until we get back to Arizona. 

I really had the best time just strolling through the city, hand in hand with Joey. We had been so busy ministering on the trip that we hadn't had much time together. 

Saying Goodbye

Godfrey(our bus driver), Andrew and Paul (our guides)

*all in black

Today we leave Uganda. I am sad to leave. I have really come to love this city and it's people in the short time I have been here. As we drove to the airport, I sat beside Paul and he and I chatted most of the way, but during the quiet moments, I thought of how much I would miss him and Andrew. We all grew to love them so much and really enjoyed every minute with them. I know I have made two friends for life. I'm just overcome with sadness, knowing that there is a very good chance I will never see them again. 

We arrived at the airport and started the process of unloading the baggage, checking in, and making our way through the many checkpoints for security and immigration. We said our goodbyes to Paul and Andrew. There were hugs all around. My eyes welled up with tears as I hugged the boys, but I managed to hold it back. 

As we were working our way through the security checkpoints, we came upon a guard who seemed very interested in who we were and what we were doing in Uganda. We shared with him that we were a mission team and had been serving at Watoto and KPC. He was excited and told us that he knew of KPC and that he was a born again Christian. We all celebrated with him and he asked if anyone had an English Bible that he could have. I could have kicked myself, because I had packed mine in my checked baggage. I would have given it to him without a second thought. I didn't even think about their being an opportunity to give my Bible away at the airport. I know now, and will have Bibles with me on future mission trips. Sharon and Woody had a Bible in their carry on bag and left it with him. He was so excited and grinned from ear to ear. That was wonderful to witness. What a wonderful way to leave Uganda.

We boarded the plane and began our long flight to London. We will spend two nights at the Foreign Missions Club there and will enjoy some sightseeing and fun together before flying home to Arizona on Sunday.

Return to Kampala

Murchison Falls

This morning we awoke a little earlier, in preparation to leave the lodge and make the long drive back to Kampala. We met for breakfast at 7:00am and loaded the bus by 7:45am, to make the ferry across the Nile. The Islamic bus arrived just after our bus, and they were told that they had to go the long way around the river because they couldn't fit our bus and theirs on the ferry at the same time. I have no idea why they couldn't just take us over and come back for the other bus. Apparently the ferry only runs two times a day, with no exceptions. We were very lucky to have arrived first, or we would have been the ones going the long way around, and we would have missed the falls.

Shortly after leaving the lodge, we arrived at the falls. What a magnificent site! It was absolutely breathtaking! The force of the water was unbelievable. We took tons of pictures and just walked around enjoying the scenery. Andrew sat atop a huge stone, watching us enjoy ourselves. I'm sure he was probably praying that one of us would not do something stupid and fall in on his watch.

The rest of the day was fairly uninteresting. We drove for 8 long hours. The roads are extremely bumpy and it makes for a very long and uncomfortable ride. We passed the time by listening to our ipods, sleeping, or reading. I pulled my portable DVD player out and watched a movie. There was the occasional sound of laughter that would flow through the bus. Everyone was having a great time with each other, in spite of the lack of comfort. 

There was an instance where Godfrey slammed on his brakes and we all had to grab on to something for balance. Apparently a young man had walked out into oncoming traffic, without even looking, and a car swerved to miss him and was directly in our path. We narrowly missed him. There were definately angels present at the time!

We stopped a couple of times for Godfrey to purchase bananas and vegetables from the roadside vendors. There was also a slight mishap in the Kampala traffic. A car ran into the side of our bus and there was a few minutes of "negotiation" between Godfrey and the young man driving the car. We all sat inside, with eyes as big as quarters, watching and wondering what would happen. After a few minutes, Godfrey drove way. Turns out that the young man was a soldier and so there was no use in negotiating with him, even though it was clearly his fault. Luckily there was only a minor dent and a few scratches on the side of the bus, so Godfrey wouldn't be out too much to fix it. I felt bad for him, though.

We arrived back at the guesthouse, just as Rick, Deb and Verna did. They had spent the day at the Bulrushes, helping with the babies. I was a little envious. There is a special place in my heart for the babies and I would have loved more time with them. I did enjoy our safari immensely, though. As we sat around talking, I mentioned to someone that I would love some pizza and that maybe we should call Pizza Hut. LOL! I thought I could smell it and someone said I was just imagining things, that I was delirious. The girls called us to dinner and when we walked through the kitchen, there sat two huge platters of PIZZA! I knew it! It was delicious. I was in heaven. 

As we ate our dinner, we noticed a group of children gathering in the backyard. One of the girls told us that they would be singing and dancing for us. We were all so excited to have one more chance to be with the children before we left. They had us bring our chairs outside. We all grabbed our cameras to capture this special event. They started with an instrumental song and then danced a traditional Ugandan dance for us. It was beautiful. The kids were just precious. There was a tiny little girl who danced out front. We learned later that her name was Esther and she was only four years old. 

Afterwards, we had a short team meeting to discuss the next day, which would be a travel day to London. We then went to work packing and getting ourselves to bed. We would have an early start. Breakfast would be at 5:00am and we would depart for the airport at 6:00am.

The Nile River & Murchison Falls

Our safari guide, George

I awoke on Wednesday, rested and ready for the day. I slept wonderfully the night before. It was actually the best night of sleep since arriving. I fell asleep to the sound of Joey watching a movie and a cultural song and dance going on outside our window and I didn't know a thing until our alarm went off at 7:00am.

After breakfast, we boarded a boat for a ride down the Nile River. There were hippos everywhere. I especially love them when they are down in the water, with nothing showing but their eyes and ears. It amazes me how they can be so cute, yet so dangerous. We also saw crocodiles sunning themselves on the bank of the river. As we road along in the boat, my mind drifted away, in thought of baby Moses floating in the bulrushes of this very river. It was further north in Egypt, but the same river, nonetheless. I had never thought of the animals that might be lurking near the little boat that Jochabed had placed her tiny son it. There must have been crocs and hippos in the water there, too. It made me think of just how much faith and trust that Jochabed must have had in her Lord, to place her tiny, helpless baby in this river, so full of danger. She trusted that her Lord would keep Moses safe. What an example of faith!

We arrived at the falls about an hour and a half into the ride. We weren't able to get very close, as the current is very strong. Andrew promised us that we would be able to see more of the falls on the way home on Thursday. The Nile River is wider than I had imagined. I envisioned it as a small river, winding through a thick forest. It actually looks a lot like our lakes in Arizona. We saw several herds of elephant on the banks of the river on our way back to the dock. 

Now, for some comedy! We arrived back at the dock and were filing, one by one, off the boat, when we saw that the muslim university students had not closed the windows on their bus and the baboons had had a party while we were gone. They had gotten into some food that the students had on the bus, and had strewn it on the ground. We all began to take pictures of the this site and one of the students got a little too close. One of the baboons started toward our group and took a swipe at him, then headed our way. We all started running back to the bus. Joey had a box of bottled water and was running with it in tow. I was the closest to the whole thing, and was the last one of our group to make it back to our bus. I have no idea how close that monkey was, but I wasn't about to turn around and look. We all made it back safely and had a good laugh over the whole thing. The students had boarded their bus by this time and were cleaning out their seats and throwing the food on the ground. The monkeys came back and started eating again. It was a great opportunity to take pictures. 

There was a big male in the group and several females with babies. The babies would ride on the back of their mothers, and would jump off and get food every now and then, but if mama moved away, they scurried right back onto her back. They wouldn't let her get very far away from them. The smaller males would run off every time the dominant male would come their way. He pranced around like the king he was and got all the food he wanted. The other monkeys would scurry up and grab what they could before he came their way. We really enjoyed watching them. It was great fun.

After having lunch and a short nap, we boarded the bus for another game drive. We offered to let a few Australians ride with us on the drive. They were another Watoto team that had arrived at the lodge that day, but they had no bus. The ferry was broken down and so their bus was not able to come across. They rangers had taken the boat over and brought them back to the lodge, but until the ferry was fixed, they would not have transportation. Some of them rode with us, while the remainder of their group was divided up between the range rovers that the park rangers drove. 

George, our safari guide, was trying very hard to locate lions for us. We hadn't seen any the day before and this would be our last game drive. About an hour into the drive, he spotted a group of lion cubs lying underneath an acacia tree. There were about nine of them. It was apparent that their moms had gone off hunting and had left them there to wait for dinner. They lay there and just watched us as we snapped pictures. George said they had been born in September and were now seven months old. We stayed there for a while and phoned the other drivers to bring their jeeps over to where we were. 

We were all very pleased with our find, because lions were the only animal we hadn't seen on the drive the day before. As we drove back to the lodge, we passed several groups of giraffe. These are my favorite. I love to watch them. They are so graceful. One of the things that I learned about giraffe on this trip, is that the males are darker than the females, and as they age, their spots darken. There was one giraffe that was almost entirely black. George told us that most giraffe only live about 20-25 years and that this guy was pushing 25. 

After dinner, we all gathered around for another devotional time and some singing. Afterwards, we had a debriefing session with Andrew. We shared with him some ideas that we had for making things better, and we were also able to share with him just how much we had enjoyed having him as our guide. He has been amazing. He spent a lot of time that first day, learning all our names. He has been much more than a guide, he has been a friend, and we all will miss him when we go home.