It was an early wake up alarm last week. Five am, shower, dress, grab a quick travelers cup of Java and off to the airport. Our daughter Tessa was sweet enough to volunteer (or be volunteered) to chauffeur us. Dulles International Airport was a forty five minute haul but at that hour we could make it in thirty.
Chatting it up in the car, the time passed quickly. Some last minute instructions as we pulled up to the drop off zone. “Tessa, don’t pull away until we can confirm the weight of each suitcase”. We were only allowed fifty pounds each bag. If we were overweight we would need to return items back to the vehicle.
Check-in and bag weighing went without a hitch. Moving through TSA was uneventful (thankfully), and now we needed to find the gate and a second cup of coffee.
The plane wasn’t full so Mary moved up one row to give each of us an empty seat between our travel companions. Mark had the window seat, I had the aisle. He works for an NGO doing finance IT work. He was from South Africa and had traveled the African continent extensively. Christine was Mary’s companion and she was from Kenya. She was in Uganda for some time but went back to Kenya when COVID-19 hit. She gave us a great referral for an Airbnb in Kenya.
Twenty four hours after leaving the US we landed in Uganda. We met a “Brit” on the shuttle and asked what his interests were in Uganda. He said he met a Ugandan girl at a church bible study and they married thirteen years ago. They now live and work near Kampala. What a beautiful love story that is.
Immigration was simple enough but baggage pickup was a nightmare. Two flights arriving at the same time and only two conveyor belts for the luggage. Our friend (and partner) Moses waited almost two hours for us to meet up.
Thankfully we had a lovely hotel (retreat center really) for the next three nights. Our first night we slept twelve hours. The next several days were money exchange, making new friends and shopping to set up our “new” home in the western part of the country. A wonderful worship service on Sunday, meeting new friends on Monday and more shopping and an eight hour drive to Kiburara.
I know that this is TMI, my apologies, but it has been a whirlwind. We have had our first three nights here and it’s beginning to feel like home. A relaxed day today unpacking and arranging our apartment in the guesthouse.
The rest of the week will be meetings with our ministry teams. So many new names and faces and connections’ with old friends.
We are developing a new schedule complete with one day of sabbath rest. Thank you so much John Mark Comer for your excellent book on the “elimination of hurry”.
We will keep you up to date and as always we appreciate your prayers as we embark on this new journey.
Up With Uganda 