Our last day in Uganda!!

Murchison Falls 

We are up bright and early Monday morning as George leaves in the dark to drive the van to the other side of the River as we await our boat ride down the Nile! Once we are all on board we begin the 1-2 hour cruise with sightings of hippos, crocodiles, exotic birds, water buffalo.....everything except the elephants we had hoped to see!  Guess we will save those for next time!!

The force of the waterfall keeps us from getting too close but from our vantage point we enjoy the full majesty of these beautiful falls!

Once we return to dry land we climb back into our now muddy van and head about 4-5 hours back to Kampala. When one enters this National Park you are charged a 24 hour fee per person of $40 US dollars .....which means we needed to exit at precisely 1:05 pm .....but with the aftermath of the rains, the dirt road was less than hospitable and as our luck would have it we get behind a giant bulldozer going 2 miles an hour on the single lane pathway!  So of course when we reach the exit it is approximately 1:25pm and for that extra 20 minutes the government of Uganda wants to charge us another full $40 fee.....each! George talks and pleads our case....and finally they relent......they agree to only charge us half the amount!!  (and we'll always wonder where that extra $100 went!!)

We are now racing back to Kampala to finish out our adventure with a health exit exam and just a little more souvenir shopping!  We all passed the exam with flying colors and we return to the van to find it will not start! Our adventures in Uganda continue .......and I now see the 6 hours until my flight ticking away!  George makes a phone call that luckily provides the magic to get us going again, so off we go....picking up those last minute treasures before heading west to Entebbe.  We should arrive at the hotel in plenty of time for me to freshen up, repack and be at the airport with time to spare before my 12:45am Tiesday morning flight to London and beyond ----back to the good ole' USA!   What could possibly go wrong???  Oh that's right.....the traffic in Kampala!!  As our luck would have it the Kampala evening traffic struck with a vengence!  To say I was becoming a little stressed was an understatement!!  We sat in one place for more than 1/2 an hour without moving and no alternative route!  With miles and miles to go until Entebbe and the clock ticking away my anxiety level was rising rapidly.  The only bright note was picking up George's family to drive with us to the airport.  It was delightful meeting his darling wife Irene and adorable daughters.... 2 year old Abigal and baby Malina.

We reached the hotel near the airport after 10pm ....I rushed in and changed, rearranged my suitcase and we sped to the airport which was bustling with travellers at 11pm at night!  After 2 security clearances I'm at the baggage checkin desk as they are calling my flight to London!  Rushing like OJ I make it to gate and get onboard with a heavy heart as I leave behind many wonderful experiences and people here in Uganda!  I hope to return someday.....someday soon I hope!

Thank you ladies for sharing this wonderful week with me!

I left before everyone but the rest of our team left Uganda today with a stopover tonight in Dubai. They will arrive back at LAX around noon on Wednesday....feeling much the same as me I am sure .... blessed by our experience complete with wonderful memories of our awesome two weeks with the special people we came to know in AmazingAfrica!

We all have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend!

T +24 hours and counting!!

It is so unbelievable that our 2 weeks in Africa are almost over......we found this place to be joyous, happy, heartbreaking and oh so adventurous!  I think I can speak for all of us when I say we have truly been blessed here in Uganda by the spirit of these people!  We have met the most friendly, warm, happy, loving and caring folks you could ever hope to meet!  And at least outwardly they show that they find joy in all their circumstances!  (Yes, I may be seeing the world here through rose colored glasses.....but if you could meet them all also, you'd see what I mean!   PS.  Funny side note:  I kept trying to write rose-colored and my iPad kept auto correcting to rosé!!)

First Adventure of the Day:

We left Gulu early Sunday morning for Murchison Falls National Park on another Ugandan highway that is made of dirt!  And we all know what happens to dirt when it rains and the rains we've experienced here are NOT of the gentle variety!  At the hotel in the morning we waited for Dave to return before we took off ....and again what a blessing that was!  Otherwise this may have been us.....the first to test the muddy "waters" of the road to the Falls.

Luckily our fearless leader George was able to take our 4 wheel drive van(minus us!!) up and around over the drier ground and soon we were on our way again!  The SUV here was either waiting for a tow by a larger vehicle than ours...or until the dry season returns!  

On the road again to Adventure number 2:

Soon we found ourselves on a real road....paved and all!  And before long we are at the turn for the Paraa Safari Lodge....3+ hours after we left Gulu.  But the rain overnight was a little too much for the already saturated ground and here is what we find:

See the line on the bottom right marking the path of the road??  :)

Adventure number 3:

After debating for 1/2 hour to cross or not cross.....(btw, we have a saying in Las Vegas during the flash floods there:  Turn around, don't drown!  They don't have that saying here!!!) Here is a photo of local people fording the stream that was previously not there.....this "river" was formed totally by too much rainwater!

George decides to drive further on the main road rather than cross at this time to find some facilities...if you know what I mean!  Seeing some sights he wants to photograph, George parked on the side of the road and before you could say Peter Rabbit...we are surrounded by vendors selling their food and wares. Although your heart breaks for these persistent people we know better than to purchase anything from even one of them (although Rachel did spy something she would have liked to bring back home!)  We sure wish George had captured a photo of that!  Once back in the van we were able to find....off the beaten track - Global Village and their hospitality with a potty and refreshment break!

Adventure number 4:

Crossing the stream!  We return and note that the water is slightly less so off we go with George on the roof and a local guide driving us across the rain soaked highway.  Oh how I wish I could upload my video here....what an experience!  Once across we hooted and hollered as George jumped back in the drivers seat and off we went to our destination ONLY to find at least 3 more streams to cross .... with one "puddle" so deep the water literally came up over the dashboard!  But again God was with us and we finally arrived at the lodge and our safari was about to begin!

It is now Monday morning here in Uganda and we are about to leave for an boat ride to the falls and then our drive back to Kampala.  I will not have wifi for quite a while I think...so here are a few safari pix! Will be back to the journal soon!  (sorry for typos...no time to proof!)

George is a great photographer...some of the pix you'll see today are from his camera .....

     Our lunch at the Paraa Safari Lodge along the Nile!  

        And our accommodations are pictured below

The long (and bumpy) road to Guru Guru!

Today was beyond amazing.....and the world we saw today is something I'm pretty sure not many of us would survive! We began our day with about a 3 hour drive on roads that ranged from a well paved 'highway' with lines painted down the middle to a rut filled dirt road.  At the end of this road we come to Guru Bible Church.  (pictured below)

Once again we were warmly welcomed by groups of small children.....precious little ones who may never have had a proper bath or worn new clothes. After touring the church and school facilities we were off on a walk into the unknown to the "home" of the little children sponsored by a couple in our group. Tracy and Jeff brought gifts from their home in Southern CA and also purchased locally, supplies for the family .....items they needed like roll-up mattresses, cooking oil, laundry soap, and more.  The Ugandan mother who lives in one of the pictured huts had her 3rd child in March.....a little girl she named Tracy!

Today I'm going to close by just posting photos from our latest adventure!  I challenge anyone to view these pictures and not feel an urgent need to thank God for our own circumstances....whatever they may be! I know some of us have problems and situations that we feel are dire.....but had you walked in my shoes today....you would agree our material needs are few!  I feel extremely blessed today! 

Graduation Day

Rain...and more rain brings mud.....and more mud!  And cool weather!!  ....and here I thought since I was near the equator I'd be very warm all week and not need not pack my usual layers of sweaters!  

Graduation Day started early. The school has just acquired a plot of land a mile or two from their current campus, so in celebration they paraded to the graduation site (which is now just an open field) led by a full fledged marching band!  But before they arrived for the festivities, the new site needed a lot of prep work in order to host the hundreds of people who attended.  Dave G., Dave M., and Jeff arrived on site at 5:30am in the dark to begin the transformation.  When Pat and I arrived at about 8:30....it looked like there was quite a bit still to do.....but many hands make light work and just as the parade arrived at it's destination they found the the work was done......the matted floor was laid, the chairs were set up and cleaned and the tents with their buntings were all in place!  A grand celebration was about to begin!

               

                                          And what a fun celebration it was!

                             

       Through Chuck Obremski Ministries Linda gave every student in the school a Bible!

             Tomorrow we head to Guru Guru for another day of amazing adventures!

First day in Gulu!

(I'm running out of battery..and I don't have any Internet tonight...so I'm posting this in the morning!)

So last night (Thursday) was quite the adventure here at the Churchill Courts Hotel!  Being in Gulu....and true for Uganda in general....you can count on the electricity going out at least once a day....and most likely two times or more!  In fact...just as I wrote the first 4 words on here.....out it went and in Gulu the Internet doesn't work in my room so I was sitting by myself in this open air lobby.....in the dark!  And it gets really pitch black here at night!

Luckily my iPad has light so I can just continue writing until the electricity comes on again!  I have so many stories to tell but suffice it to say:  Life is an adventure here in Gulu!  Complete with power outages, torrential rain storms, giant crickets everywhere and a personal pet gecko/lizard residing in my bath room!

Remember how yesterday I thought we'd spend most of our time in at the school.....well once again our well-laid plans went in a different direction!  So instead we had the opportunity to visit two organizations that provide jobs and job training for some of the women in Northern Uganda who have been displaced from their homes and villages as a result of a ongoing, catastrophic war.  

Before the rain today we toured a place called 31 Bits....you may have heard of them. It is run by an organization of what seemed like all young people with a passion for the women of Uganda.  Have you seen the jewelry made from strips of paper??  It is an amazing process that produces not only necklaces and bracelets for women around the world to wear, but provides the women of Uganda with training to become self sufficient entrepreneurs and care for their families for hopefully generations to come!  The gal who showed us around is a 24 year old from Oregon who seems to have this passion to help change the world!

                           

    

After lunch we visited a similar place also with a heart for the women of Uganda called Krochet Kids.  And Linda fit right in!  She joined many of the women as they crocheted hats, baby booties, and more. Part of our tour took us to the knitting machine room...the only products not made by hand.  While there it began to rain.....and rain.... and rain some more!  We were in that room for about 1/2 hour until we finally made a run for it during a brief lull in the downpour.

        

   

Finishing up our day now....we had dinner tonight at an awesome place called the Iron Donkey here in Gulu!  Best tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches you will ever, ever have!  It's a little cafe in the middle of Gulu run by a pastor from Texas!

Big day tomorrow....it's graduation day for the students at Christ the Center school......hope it doesn't rain again!

The best laid plans.......

So here we are....2 hours after we left in the dark from the Apricot Guest House....we are still in Kampala......at a Shell Gas station!  It seems your van need brakes to embark on a 5 hour road trip! The sun is now up, the traffic is flowing.....and here we sit while the men at the service station work on our brakes!  We are so thankful though that the problem popped up while we were still in the Big City!  Can you imagine what would have happened if we were 3 hours into our journey and discovered this problem?  Someone is watching over us!

                             The sun is now up and they are still working on those brakes!

                                       5:30AM                                              7:00AM  

                    

We are finally back on the road passing miles and miles of amazing scenery!  At times though we found ourselves on what seemed like not a road at all. And.....talk about potholes....some of the ones George tried to avoid were actually craters!!

After five and 1/2 hours we arrive at our destination and are warmly welcomed by the students and teachers of Christ the Center School in Gulu in northern Uganda.

Tomorrow we will be at the school for most of the day....then Friday is graduation and the dedication of the new home of Christ the Center school.  The land has been leveled and construction will begin soon! What an exciting time for Uganda!

Leaving Kampala!

Today we left a piece of our hearts at Hopeline Africa Mission in Mukono Africa! It was so hard to say goodbye after the wonderful week we shared with the children and staff.  The faces, the hugs, the smiles, the kind words......the joy we found in Africa...we will treasure forever! We are now looking forward to our next adventure in Gulu....but we will never forget Hopeline!  

One of my "duties" today while at the orphanage was to take pictures of the children who actually live at the school. These are the ones who either have no parents or whose parents can't care for them.  They are also the ones who aren't lucky enough to even go to a home at night with another student! These are the precious children that Linda hopes to help through Chuck Obremski Ministries! In the coming months Linda will be setting up a sponsorship program to help the school provide basic necessities for these orphans. We would love to share more information with each and every one of you! Please contact Linda or any one of us if you think you can help the children of Hopeline Africa!

We leave for Gulu at O dark 500!!! My alarm is set for just 2 short hours from now, but before we leave wifi for awhile I wanted to share a few of my photos from our last day. Since I was busy taking the "school pictures" today....I missed some special photo ops I know! Plus we usually pool our pictures but there just wasn't any extra time it seemed.  I'll share what I have...then be back asap with more Hopeline Africa Mission pix! 

              

     

                                     Special bonds were made this week!

  

                                              It is never easy to say Good Bye!!

   

                                         Hopeline Africa Mision.......We'll be back!!

  

   

Standing on the Equator!

Yesterday we travelled from our guest house in Kampala to the small town/village of Rakai! (pronounced like Rock-Eye)  This is the childhood home of a minister who also uses the iPods that Linda has sent loaded with Chuck's sermons. The drive was long....and the road wasn't always easy to navigate!  The traffic in Kampala is like nothing I have ever experienced before! We did however see a traffic light today....that makes 2 so far!  We picked up Pastor Roland along the way to join us on today's adventure. Once outside of the city we headed south west following the curve of Lake Victoria...although we couldn't see it!  

After driving for about 2+ hours, we crossed the Equator!  Can now check that off my bucket list!

     

After our short rest stop we travelled another 1 1/2 hours on to Rakai!  The scenery is beautiful and in this part of Uganda, at least, it is lush and green with palms and banana trees.....reminds me of the sights and sounds of Hawaii! Upon arriving at our destination (after many queries to George:  "Are we there yet!") we first meet with Pastor Fred and other pastors in the town center for a brief meeting and lunch! (and I actually ate some!!) Pastor Fred explained that he has started a ministry called Celebrate Hope here in his home village to help the families there by not only ministering to their souls, but also to help provide them with a means to support themselves through coffee farming!  He also is mentoring many other local pastors to be able to do the same in their villages.  After lunch we drove out to the heart of Celebrate Hope and visited one of the many homes they have built and provided to a single mom on her own coffee farm.  These "farms" are about one acre each and they form a cooperative whereby the coffee beans are collected from all and then shipped somewhere for roasting....the last batch went to Italy!

We then headed back to Kampala and another 3+ hour drive!  George is a trooper!  Interesting side note to today's adventure....there was another pastor visiting Celebrate Hope today as well......from Oakland, California!!

(PS.  If you have ever, EVER wondered what good the EPA is.....just ask one of us!)

Photos of Pastor Fred at his new(soon to be finished) coffee ministry building and one of the houses on a coffee farm that has been provided through Celebrate Hope!

Okay....more later .....gotta scoot!  We are off to our Hopeline Africa Mission in about 30 minutes to spend our LAST day there with the children!  This week has gone by so fast! Can not believe I will be leaving one week from tonight!

Days of Celebration!

The last two days (Saturday and Sunday) have been days of great celebration at Hopeline!  On Saturday the parents of the school students were invited to attend a program and lunch in our honor at the mission.  The school area was all decked out with drapes of pink and blue satin creating a most festive look.  The children were all spiffed up as well in their new t-shirts that Linda had made for them-showing the connection between Chuck's ministry in Southern Ca and Hopeline Africa Mission here in Uganda! 

There are 16 students in the Children's Choir.....and you should hear them sing!  Through Chuck Obremski Ministries, Linda has been able to provide the school with a keyboard and sound system and what they have done with them is truly amazing!  I wish Blogger had sound!  You would be blown away!  One of the students, Grace, wrote a song to thank Linda for all she has done  ......and it is so wonderful and heartwarming!  They call Linda.....Mama Linda.....hence the title of the song!  

Here are some of the choir members....Grace is in the middle.  Pictured below them you see the kids teaching the "moves" of the song "Mama Linda" to Linda and Pat!

After the presentation on Saturday and again after the church service on Sunday a great lunch was prepared for the students and any family members in attendance. We were pleased and humbled to be able to serve them!

               We are having a wonderful time with the children of Hopeline Africa!

                             

     

Sunday in Africa!

We have enjoyed two wonderful days with the children of Hopeline! Today we return for their Sunday church service......and we are hoping the journey there is much better than yesterday!  Remember how I previously stated the drive to Mukono was about 45 minutes? ......well yesterday was Saturday and I had assumed the traffic would be lighter than on a work day......WRONG!!!! 

Kampala is the capital city of Uganda, but it is unlike any other capital city I have ever been in.  Last city I resided in without traffic lights was Slippery Rock PA.....a long, long time ago!  I'm not sure I have yet to see one traffic light here or stop sign.....you just "go"!!!  Whether its your turn or not!  That being said....it took us about 2 1/2 hours to arrive at our destination yesterday (and 2 on the return home!!) 

In Uganda, for the duration of our trip we have a driver.....George!  He is a very patient young man! Not only does he have the 5 of us to escort around, answer questions for and make as many of our requests appear as possible.....but he has to drive this "van" that so far has had a broken window, an AC unit that sounds like a machine shop when used(Even I need AC....this is Africa after all!!) and a few...so far....minor bumps and bruises!  This is the only photo I have of him on this adventure to this point!  He saw me delivering the shirts I brought from my church in Las Vegas and asked so politely if he could have one.....of course you can George!

More to come later...don't want to be late for church!!

Hopeline Mission School and Orphanage in Mukono Africa!

What an amazing day yesterday was!!  We were blessed beyond compare to meet everyone and see the school for ourselves!  Truly brings life into perspective!  Spending just one day here with these wonderful people is so life changing!  I know these are all cliches.....but they really do fit our first experience in Africa!  

We do have a nice, clean and fairly new place to stay at night.....but in the morning we drive in a somewhat rickety old van about 45 minutes outside of Kampala, past buildings and houses the like I have never seen in America.  There are a lot of cars and a lot of people.....and more than cars there are motorcycles by the thousands they call borda-bordas....and more than that even are people walking ....lots of them with women carrying huge packages on their head....for long distances I imagine!

Finally we turn off the main road onto a passageway.....you can't even call it a street or a road.... for what seemed like miles.  The thought occurred to me that if it rained during the day like it had overnight.....we might not even be able to get out and back to that main road!!!  The potholes or ruts were so deep I also wondered if we'd get stuck or if our "safari jeep" would overturn.  But on we trudge.  There are no street signs, no "road" markers of any kind.....we actually had to pick up Pastor Roland up on the main street to show us the way......and we just kept going passing what we in America would call shacks...cobbled together with what they could find to make a shelter; and we see children....lots and lots of children!  Oh and goats....and chickens and the occasional cow!  At every turn I'm sure we were all thinking:  Could this be it??  But finally we come to what seemed like the end of the road to Hopeline Africa!

Here was what I wrote to John yesterday.....my first impression:

this school/mission/orphanage .....could really use all the help it can get.... wait til you see the photos!!   it is in the middle of nowhere.....in like abandoned looking buildings, but the nicest kids you'd ever want to meet!  when we got there they all ran toward the van and when we got out they clapped and cheered.....felt like rock stars on a red carpet.

This has been one of the best days of my life!

First Day in Africa!

We were up early this morning and on our way to Hopeline School and Orphanage for our first adventure here in Kampala.  We definitely are not in 'Kansas' anymore!  I will download some of today's photos when we get back from dinner.....off to Cafe Roma for Italian!!  

In the meantime I'll share a picture I took this morning with my iPad:  This is the Apricot Guest House which will be our home for the first 6 nights here in Uganda!