Off to Sudan I Go

My Time in Kampala has been good. I feel like a lot has been accomplished. I had some good time with old friends and new teammates. But now I am VERY ready to get on a plane and head to Mundri, s. Sudan. It is about 6am in the morning as I write this. I am sitting in the common room at the guest house looking at piles of our stuff sorted by what is going today and what will have to wait until next week. Today we are only allowed about 30lbs of luggage apiece. My luggage is more than 6 times the weight allowance. But for now I have the bare necessities just to get me by until the rest arrives. The flight is about 3 hours, so sometime while you are sleeping I will be landing on the Mundri airstrip. I look forward to sharing my adjustment stories with you soon.

Happy Reunions

What a treat it was to see familiar faces from Bundibugyo. Before returning back to e. Africa I was a little sad thinking about how I was going to be so close to Bundibugyo, but not be able to travel there to visit. So of course I was extatic when I found out my friend Amina was traveling to Kampala to come and see me and meet up with one of my Bundibugyo teammates. And then today the two of us went to go and see our friend Harriet who attends University here in Kampala. It was a blast to be in a roomfull of Ugandans, share a meal together, laugh, take pictures, and experience a little of university culture here. So even though I didn't get to travel to Bundibugyo, I am so thankful to have been blessed by reuniting with two good friends. God is GREAT!

Do the Dew in Uganda

For those of you who know me well, you know that I love Mt. Dew. Before I left I was drinking all I could because Mt. Dew has not been a beverage option in e. Africa. Well...to my surprise on the drive from the airport to our guest house I saw a billboard advertisement for Mt. Dew. I looked over at the taxi driver in shock and said, "You have Mt. Dew in Uganda now?" He said that it came in Dec. Part of me was excited, but then I was also like, I guess I didn't need to drink so much of it before I left. So last night when I went out to dinner with my teammates I had my first glass bottle Mt. Dew experience. And...I was a little disappointed. It tastes nothing like our Mt. Dew. It kind of tastes like a mix of Sprite and Squirt. Definitely not as sweet. So I guess it was good I drank a lot before leaving the states after all. It's funny though to think of the things that you begin to find over here.

I Have Arrived!!!

Time is an interesting thing because although it has been almost 9 months since I have ridden on the road from Entebbe to Kampala, it feels just like yesterday. The familiar sights, sounds, and smells brought joy to my heart as the taxi driver took me to the guest house. I am thankful for a safe flight. I did not sleep very well and I am beginning to feel it now as I sit here and type this blog entry, but the safe arrival and good company is what really counts. Only 3 out of 4 of my luggage pieces arrived. The 4th one is supposed to come on Monday. Please pray with me that it does. Christine and I are now sitting at the MAF guest house relaxing, trying to stay awake as we wait for three more of our teammates to arrive. Thank you all for praying for my safe travels.

Safely in London

I am now in London enjoying some time with my teammate Christine and trying to keep ourselves entertained before we board our flight to Uganda. Still got 3 more hours to kill. My flight from Seattle to London was great. I even had a whole row to myself and was able to lay across the seats. The best sleep I have ever had on a plane. I would like to ask though that you pray for my luggage. Two of my trunks did not have a good place for the tracking tag and so the person who checked me in had to create a loop with zip ties and so I am a little nervous about the tags falling off and my luggage getting lost. So please pray that they arrive. Thank you for your continued prayers for my travels. I am happy to report that I am half way there! It has now really set in that I will be back in Uganda tomorrow.

Leavin on a Jet Plane

The time has finally come for me to head back to e. Africa and start a new season of life in Mundri, s. Sudan. The last four weeks have flown by and even though I am getting on a plane tonight, it still hasn't quite set in that I am leaving. I am so thankful for God's perfect timing and how He has brought all the details together. I am feeling mixed emotions as I think about leaving. I am of course sad to leave the Seattle area and all my friends and family here, but I am also very excited about what lies ahead for me in Mundri. Thank you all for your prayers, especially in the last year as I raised support and waited for it all the come in. God is GOOD!
I will try my best to keep my blog update.

The Rescue

This last Tuesday I saw a showing of the most recent documentary put out by Invisible Children. Invisible Children is an organization that was developed by 3 young guys who came across the "night comuters" (Children who leave their home each day and walk to the nearest town to sleep because of fear of being abducted by rebels) in northern Uganda. They put together a very impactful documentary title Invisible Children following the lives of some of the night commuters. Through this documentary they are trying to make the world aware of how this one rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army is affecting the lives of so many. The most recent documentary The Rescue is about the peace talks that the governments of Uganda, Congo, and s. Sudan are trying to have with LRA leader Joseph Kony and how at this point they are failing. I wanted to make you all aware of an event coming up Saturday April 25th. Many will be gathering in 100 different cities around the world. Invisible Children is asking all to abduct themselves and meet at designated "abducted sites", then you will march to the "LRA camp", and once arriving at the camp you will stay until rescued. This sounds like an amazing event that will allow many to unite and fight together for the many innocent lives that have been affected by the LRA. No longer is the rebel group abducting and killing in northern Uganda, but have now moved onto both Congo and s. Sudan. If you would like to know more please visit www.invisiblechildren.com You can watch their most recent documentary on their website. Please also pass this along to your friends and family and let's keep praying that Joseph Kony is brought to justice and those that have been abducted are set free.