Landing in Africa

After several days of trying to get on the internet, I finally succeeded! :) Internet and power are both things I will now never take for granted!

I made it to Kampala (the capital of Uganda) on Tuesday night with no troubles.  Mandie and I had smooth connections and slept a lot of the way.  Random funny moment of the trip: on our way from Amsterdam to Kampala we both fell asleep with our tray tables down.  We woke up to find a slip of paper with a man’s name and phone number on my tray table.  We have no idea who this man was so we decided to leave the paper on the plane when we got off.

Tuesday night we spent the night in Kampala with a family from Water Mission.  It was a good introduction to the country.  They live in a nice house at the top of a hill.  The stars were amazing!  I could see the Milky Way cloud better than I ever have.  It was beautiful!

Wednesday morning, Michael and Amanda (the couple overseeing the building of the hospital) and Mandie and I set out for Masindi with a pit stop to exchange money, buy cell phones, and buy lunch and a few snacks.  I had saved a set of plastic silverware from the plane that we used to make tuna sandwiches.  When we arrived in Masindi the power was out, but the bishop welcomed us and introduced us to our new house.  Mandie and I unpacked our small suitcases and lamented all the things that we forgot, but overall it was a good day.  Michael took us to buy water and a few other necessities.  We bought a couple packages of ramen, but returned home to find out that even if the power came back on, we have a gas stove and no gas to boil water.  Fortunately, we had bought two cans of tuna and so ate tuna again with a small bottle of wine that we had gotten from the plane.  Mandie had just enough power on her computer that we watched The Proposal.  The power came back on around eleven in time for us to go to bed.

We have a wonderful three bedroom, two bathroom house.  It’s way too big for just two of us, which means it’s perfect for visitors (hint, hint, hint).  Mandie and I were both feeling a bit lost last night so we ended up sleeping in the same room last night.  It’s a double bed, but now our goal is to figure out how to move the twin bed into the room and then we’ll just share….meaning, we have two guest rooms!

We spent Thursday going from shop to shop looking at things we need to set up our house.  We came home with trash cans, a frying pan, knives, oatmeal, scrub brushes and pads, a mirror, and a pan.  Slowly we’re getting equipped.  Now we just need a gas cylinder so that we can use our stove and oven!

This summer I've been doing the Beth Moore study on the Tabernacle.  I am a few days behind because of packing and travel, which was ended up being perfect timing.  The first morning in Africa, these are the verses that I read:

"Your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." Isaiah 30:21

"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them.  I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains.  These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone."  Isaiah 42:16

"Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily bring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the L*rd will be your rear guard (italics mine)."  Isaiah 58:8

So many times in this process of moving to Africa, I have been reminded that this truly is a plan from G*d.  These verses above should be my theme for the year, in times of discouragement or culture shock or frustration.  I know that He has a plan and I know that His glory will be my rear guard! What a promise!  I didn't think culture shock would hit as quickly as it has, but arriving in Masindi and not having power or gas to cook with or any food, and not knowing the language or the culture, it hit....and these were good verses to remember.  Things have gotten better now that the power has come back on and I've eaten a few real meals! :)

The team arrives tomorrow with all of our stuff and I'm looking forward to having more than one skirt to wear!

Thanks for praying! I have felt so loved!  I'm hoping to be able to get online every couple of days, but if I don't respond right away, don't be worried! Life is just a little more complicated here than it is in the US.