First Full Day in Uganda

Hello everyone!!

It’s now Thursday evening in Uganda (7:51pm as I type these words) and it’s been a long day. It’s been a long two days!!

To catch you up, we left Kalamazoo at noon on Tuesday for Detroit. By the sheer grace of God, my 52 lb suitcase only weighed 50 lbs on the airport scale, so I didn’t have to remove anything. The flight to Amsterdam left around 5:45pm and was fairly uneventful. I watched “Date Night” (not as funny as I hoped) while I ate dinner and slept for a solid 3 hours. The 7 1/2 hours seemed to fly by.

The layover in Amsterdam was also uneventful. It was 6am there, but my body still thought it was midnight, so it was just a blah 3 hours till the next flight. Another uneventful 7 1/2 flight followed. This time I decided to watch “Precious” which was a RIDICULOUS decision on my part. The two bottles of red wine helped calm me back down and I was able to get another 3 hour nap in.

There were a couple sweet God-things involved in this flight. I had reserved a seat near my team a week before, but when I got my boarding pass, I was in a completely different cabin. I approached a boarding agent and asked to be moved. I found out there was only 2 open seats in the whole plane, and it was in the back row. There was a possibility I could end up in the same row as Deb and Brian, but that would depend on if a couple from Minnesota showed up or not. She said she’d call me back to the desk when she knew better. Soon, we were the only ones left in the boarding area and we were all antsy to get on the plane. So I walked back to the boarding agent and waited in line to speak to her. The man ahead of me asked to be moved to an aisle seat. I glanced at his ticket and saw he was supposed to sit in 19E. My pass was for 19D. The agent moved him, and I rushed forward and said I’d keep my seat as long as she didn’t put anyone next to me. She said she “added” the seat to my pass and promised no one would be moved there. In a packed plane and a 7 1/2 hour flight, Jesus made sure I’d be comfortable. What a good brother/friend/father/God!!!

The second God-surprise came when I met the man sitting across the empty seat from me. He works on an oil field near Lake George in Uganda and travels there every other month. We struck up conversation about the empty seat, and he ended up sharing that he’s been a Christian for 3 months after being a proud Pagan for his entire life. His wife had been converted 2 weeks before, and he had gone with her to a church service when he arrived back from Africa. During that service, we has completely healed from a years-old leg injury in which his foot was almost completely torn off his body. His leg and foot are now completely healed. Since that day, two of his pagan friends have also been converted. I was so pleased to be another sister to welcome him to the family, and we had some wonderful fellowship before we took our respective naps.

Once we landed in Entebbe, Uganda, we had no problem getting visas, finding our baggage, and getting outside (once again, no customs check) to find Joseph. Seeing his face in the crowd was such a great moment for all of us. He gave each of us a huge hug to greet us and the first time I heard his usual random “What?” mid-sentence, I absolutely felt like I was home.

That night we drove to a hotel in Entebbe and sat in the lobby for over an hour, exhausted, waiting for our grilled chicken and chips (french fries) to be done. We ate quickly and dragged ourselves up to our rooms to pass out. Caitlin and I were pleased to find our room had two big beds, a fan, and a bathroom with a small shower and a toilet and sink. It took me about five minutes to fall asleep (thanks to ear plugs and a sleep mask) despite the fact that my body was still under the impression that it was only 4pm.

We woke up to the typical (and amazing) African breakfast. Cereal, fresh pineapple and bananas, “exotic” eggs (eggs in Africa have white yolks), sausage, and white bread with plum jelly (which I will have to purchase before I leave because it’s sooooo good!) Soon after breakfast, we loaded into a “taxi” van for the long drive to Soroti with the most gorgeous man I’ve yet seen in Africa driving us to our destination.

Leaving Entebbe, I saw Uganda for the first time in daylight in almost six months. The red clay dirt, the green banana trees and Dr. Suess trees (as I call them), the smell of earth and smoke, the slum neighborhoods on either side of the road, the rows of kiosks selling everything from phone cards to wooden bed frames and triple-layer bunk beds, the streams of people walking, on bicycles, on boda-bodas (dirt bikes), the babies strapped to their mom’s backs, the children waving at us and screaming “Mzungus!!”(their word for white people) . . . All of this felt so familiar, so normal, so welcoming, so much like HOME. As we drove into Kampala, I had to fight back tears as I realized I actually recognized the roads, the sights, the businesses, and the buildings. I spent a good deal of time just thanking God for allowing me to come back, despite the 1000 things that tried to stand in my way. We sat together in the front of that bus, God and I, as I marveled at the world He created and every person, plant, and child we passed. Just being here in that moment was worth the weeks of tears, anxiety, worry, and strife.

Amazingly enough, it is cooler here than in Michigan right now. There were even times when it got cold in the van. It was nice to drive for an extended period of time and not get out with your clothes soaked with sweat. 7 hours and a few naps later (thank you, neck pillow!) we arrived in Soroti. We are now at the TCON house (Children of the Nile), dinner was delicious, and we’re getting ready to play Bananagrams before bed.

It has been a long two days, but a wonderful two days, and I am sooooo excited for what the next 30 days will bring. Keep us and our plans in your prayers as we spend tomorrow in Soroti buying supplies and “moving” to Oditel (in Kapelebyong) on Saturday.

Love to everyone!!

Jaynie Fawley