The Adventure of Africa
I’m sorry it’s been so long. We’ve been busy this month and I’ve been putting off updating, but I think the time has come. Let’s just say it’s been an exciting month!
Let’s see, where were we? We arrived back in Kampala, Uganda January 6 after taking a night bus from Nairobi. It was sad to leave Kenya but at the same time we were excited to go back to Uganda, it really feels like a home to us. We spent a few days relaxing at the Kasaija residence before a team from Sweden arrived for Outlook, the program I mentioned in the last post. The Swedes came on the 9th, and we spent two days with them here in Kampala before going with them to Jinja (home of the source of the Nile River). We spent two nights at a sweet place called Kingsfish Resort. Lots of fun, food, swimming, and laughs. On the 12th, most of us went rafting on the Nile with Adrift, a company that does rafting tours. It was one of the most exciting, fun filled adventures I’ve ever had! We hit rapids anywhere from class 1 to 5, and the experience was priceless. The trip was over 30km and lasted over 5 hours. A lot of yelling, talking, and laughing the whole day, to say the least! It was a fantastic time, and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Uganda. They even gave us free soda and food afterwards, a great end to a great rafting adventure.
On the 13 we made the long trip to Mbarara. A few of us were feeling sick, including myself. I felt like I had to throw up all day, but nothing ever happened so I did my best to make myself comfortable. It was miserable, but thankfully I slept it off that night and started to feel better the next day. The next day we went to go on yet another adventure to Lake Bunyonyi, the third deepest lake in the world, and by far the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in Uganda thus far. We spent two nights at a small resort on the lake. We went out on the lake two separate occasions, and as I said, it was beautiful. On the 15 we were supposedly going to see the Pygmies, but it ended being somewhat of a sham for money and all of us had a somewhat awkward experience. We took an hour boat ride to get there, and ended up not staying very long. The supposed “Pygmies” seemed reluctant to do their dance for us but were convinced by our guide. Most of us had a sense of spiritual darkness and oppression as well as witchcraft the whole time and just wanted to leave. We gave them some money then went our way. The villiage was in poverty and the children were in very poor condition. It was definitely an interesting cultural experience, one that none of us will forget any time soon.
We left (again) for Mbarara on the 16, and the 18 was the official start of Mission Outlook. Devon and I had a great time participating in the program for the week and were basically one of the students. We both spent lots of time getting to know the Africans (coming from countries such as Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda) as well as the Swedes - such a diverse group! It was great to be around a lot of people our age, and we really enjoyed the teachings. I think we learned more about African culture this week than we have thus far since we’ve been here. We had many good discussions, games, talks, and laughs. On the 22nd we were able to change it up a bit and help for half a day with digging out a foundation for a new building at the school, Adullam, we had visited before. It was nice to do something physical, and it definitely kicked our butts!
Now, we are currently back in Kampala for a few days. Today we spent time with a Ugandan couple we at Jerusalem House of Prayer in Israel. They just arrived back in Uganda and we felt like we should to spend some time with them. It was encouraging and we were all blessed. The couple, Peter and Betty, have a heart for individuals from the slums and we enjoyed hearing their vision. We were able to pray for them, and them for us. Who would have thought? Israel to Uganda! God is good.
From January 27-30, we go with Betty Kasaija (our African mother) to a building project, then back to Mbarara for a time before heading to Mozambique on February 15. I’m looking forward to going back, and also to our next stop in Mozambique to visit Iris Ministries of Heidi and Rolland Baker. It should be an amazing time.
There’s a lot I left out for the sake of keeping this somewhat short and readable, but I hope you were able to get the picture - it’s been a great month! Thanks to those who continue to read, pray, and support us. I’ll try to update more often. Love and miss you all.
-Nielsen and Devon
