My Journey With God to Africa - Day Three 22-06-2009

Didn't get as much sleep as I thought I would, I guess anticipation creeps in during the night as well. Sharlyn and I awoke to what sounded like tribal chanting. It was pitch dark out, roosters crowing and tribal chanting. My mind took me to the place where you would open your door or window and find african tribesman with a stew pot! LOL Later we found out that the muslims have their early morning worship and that when the air is still it sounds very close.
Made my way out of bed around 6:00 am to shower and start off the day. My blow dryer wasn't about to work even with the converter I brought. Thank goodness they had one ready to go in the guest bathroom..this would not have been a pretty sight!
By 7:00 am everyone was up and stirring about the house. Mary showed Sharlyn and I around their home and told us how it all came to pass. They were so thankful for all the mission host homes that they've stayed in on their journeys that they wanted to give back, so they started building more rooms. Each time a visitor came they would add something new onto the house. It was almost complete with the exception of an end room outside the back patio. I have no doubt they will get it completed. Mary is such a happy soul. She was up very early preparing us breakfast and cleaning her home. I was very entertained by her broom. They are mere sticks bound together. They work fabulous. Her's was decorated and painted blue.
We sat and ate breakfast together with hard boiled eggs, toast, honey and peanut butter along with african tea (chai tea). I think Sharlyn and I were the only two of our group brave enough to try it. It was actually quite good.
Steven sitting next me had said, "I really love toast" and I grinned and said, "oh you do?" and continued with my breakfast. A moment later he said, "sister Denise, would you pass me the toast"..oh my goodness I wanted to crawl under the table! LOL
We had several confusing moments with our language barriers. Pastor Ruth had told us that when we are asked if we want something and we don't want it, that we simply say, no. We are not to say, no thank you, as this confuses are hosts. We explained in America it is polite to say, no thank you. She explained in africa "thank you" means yes, and no means no, so if you say "no thank you" they think you've changed your mind! hahah..there were many customs we would get to know as the days progressed.
As our breakfast came to an end, Pastor Steven presented each of us with a gospel cd that he recorded with his praise team.
He is such a colorful man with a spirit in him that makes you feel so at home. Already we could tell that God again was with us in this home and that we were all family. A precious thought to me!
We said our farewells and headed out with a loaded van for Tororo. We made some stops along the way to the bank for exchanging money and then to the Bible House to purchase bibles for Kings Primary School. There really does not seem to be any rules of the road in uganda. I liken it to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! We stopped in the middle of the road in Kampala and parked while Jan and Sharlyn dodged cars to get to the sidewalk. Pastor Ruth had told them to stick near the car as they got out so that they didn't get hit. Quite frankly, there was no safety near the car either. LOL
They did manage to get to the bank and back safely, a true blessing!
We drove in what seemed endless circles trying to find the bible house. I was thankful we weren't in New York in a taxi..we would have gone broke! LOL
As we were nearing our destination with cars, bikes, pedestrians and boda-boda's rushing from each direction we were startled when out of nowhere a car runs into the front end of our van. Neither our driver George or the other driver seemed the least bit concerned, in fact they just continued on their way! Jan, Jeanice, Sharlyn and I were all gasping and in shock, but quickly realized, this is Uganda! LOL
I think we took our lives into our hands with the driving more than anything else we encountered! Each day we get into our vehicle is another day God shows his mercy by allowing us to survive. Both Sharlyn and I agreed and laughed heartily that we would never again complain about our husbands driving! haha!
It's been pretty exhausting up to this point and we had spent many hours driving around in Kampala getting supplies. As we look around there is no place to stop and eat. No fast food, no drive throughs, nothing. Pastor Ruth informed us that we would stop at a place called "chicken on a stick" on our way to Tororo, just a short time away. Chicken on a stick, is this like shiskabob??
Finally, we get on a smooth road and still we are dodging cars..LOL George our driver has a lead foot and a daring attitude when it comes to making a move around a vehicle to pass. Poor Jan and Jeanice, they had white knuckles most of the ride I'm sure! I was thankful that from my position I was not able to see just how much danger we really avoided..Praise God!
As we drive we make a sudden pull to the right of the road and stop. About 20-30 people come running out of every direction and rush around our van. With our windows open, they decide to stick their products in and beg us to purchase it. Every part of a chicken you could think of was skewered on a stick, along with other items of fruits and vegetables. At that point we had just come out of the rain forest and the trees were still pretty tall and thick. We were the only vehicle on the road and the sight of these people rushing our van with cooked food on a stick put one vision in my head.."dawn of the dead". I was actually petrified and would have been happy to start the car..start the car..START THE CAR and GO!! LOL
Pastor Ruth and George explained to us that this is the "hot spot" for all tourists and locals coming and going from the North to the South of Uganda. Hot spot or not, I was ready to GO! LOL another car soon came zooming up and they rushed over to their next possible customers.



We headed on to Tororo. I noticed that village after village was exactly alike, looking similar to Warez, mexico, but worse. How can anyone live in these conditions, it boggles my mind.
We passed the Nile River which was beautiful. Pastor Ruth had told us on the way back to the airport that we would need to have a bit more time and she would take to us to see the source of the nile.




As we neared Jinja I couldn't help but think about Pastor Fred. Where in this place might he live. I was now more familiar with his surrounding than a mere photo. It broke my heart to know that this is why he most likely was tempted by money. It's an easy temptation when you have so little.
The country side of Jinja and upwards towards Tororo was absolutely beautiful. Green manicured feilds. God's grace and beauty were stamped all over.
When we reached our destination at the Prime Hotel in Tororo, I was surprised by it's beauty and grandure. Compared to what we had seen so far, and the neighboring houses, it was a mansion.
As we begin checking in I notice that my large suitcase is not in the lobby. We checked the van, we called Steven and Mary. No luggage could be found. I was sure that I saw it at Steven and Mary's. But when I sat and really thought about it, we had 20 pieces of luggage and at night, with being tired, I could have seen just about anything. It was not there. I was crushed to think that the kids would miss out on the items I had brought for them inside my bag. I had all my important items in my carry-on and one extra change of clothes just incase this had happened..and it did. I was so tired and so overwhelmed by the day that I just had to cry. Poor Jan, she probably wondered if I'd be so sensitive about everything..yes Jan I am..LOL
Sharly prayed about the situation and told me that she would make sure I had clothes to wear and not to worry. She found an outfit that I could wear the next morning. What a blessing she is..she is a sacrificial giver as we would continue to see the rest of our trip.
I called Mark and asked him to call the airport about my luggage. I had 24 hours to report lost luggage and it was now about 26 hours later. He made some phone calls but wasn't getting any real help. Later that night he had text me and said that my luggage had never left Amsterdam and that they would ship it and let me know when it arrived! Praise God..please let it arrive safe and sound. My thoughts now were on how I would get it from the airport that was 5 hours away. I'm going to bed, I'll see about that in the morning. We had a big day ahead of us for the vision celebration!