day seventy eight: island hopping

as my time in uganda is coming to an end, i thought it appropriate to take a little brake from the day to day life. too much, even of a good thing, is wearing. and so this weekend, a short vacation.

there is a small group of islands off the southern coast of uganda in lake victoria called the Ssese islands. apart from boasting the best beaches in uganda(which isnt hard) ronnie used to live and work on one of the islands, so still has many friends and family on it. so it was pack the bags and hit the road this last friday for ronnie and i.

the first two days we spent on the major island- just a three hour ferry trip from the mainland. i love the water, and it was great to be on it again. nothing quite beats watching the sun sink to be swallowed by lake victoria while speeding along with the wind in your face to a place youve never been. for me, thats a picture no camera can capture, one that will live only in the mind, and the memory.

so we found a cheap hotel up off the beaten path. the large island is crawling with resorts and tourists. but we did well to avoid the expensive beachside cabins and tourist traps. still, we took advantage of them. and posing as a rich tourist, we made our way through the resort beaches, just "taking a look around" and "seeing what they have to offer." otherwise translated as trespassing on private beaches : ). good enough for a few hours and a bit of a sunburn- my first in africa. all in all, it was a much needed time of relaxation and enjoying each others company. we took in a few football games, a few sunsets, and spent some time talking to the local fishermen, watching them work.

sunday, we headed off to a much smaller island, far from anything you could call touristy. i dont think there was one hotel on the whole island. but, after some time on a fishing boat, paddeling our way through the wetlands, we arrived to a warm welcome from some of ronnies long lost friends. we rented a motorcycle for self drive and went off exploring the island- riding through fields and fields of pineapple, sugar cane, and other crops, mostly ronnie showing me the sights, visiting his old haunts, and catching up with family.

the motorcycle was an adventure in itself. it had seen better days. something with the choke was messed up, so you had to pull on a wire the whole time driving to prevent it from stalling out. during one particularly long climb, it even overheated and gave up on us! but, God was with us, and we were able to coast down to the bottom, and to safety. and while leaving, we were given a pineapple, fresh from the island(pineapples are the main cash crop there). we broke it open on the fishing boat and ate it on the trip back to the mainland. hands down, without a doubt, the best single peice of fruit i have ever tasted. ever. i am afraid of taking fruit again, for fear that it will forever taint my memory of the perfect pineapple. it was beyond words.

the trip was good, and without knowing it, much needed. somewhere in the day to day routine, some things get lost. i found myself thinking too much of ministry, putting too much of a stress on it. i think that, in my mind, ronnie and i were becoming partners, like in a business sence. we work together, and are friends because of it-as in, work has brought us together. but this trip helped to reorganize my priorities. it put us back in the right order, where we are friends frist, and can serve God together only out of that bond.

i am learning, God doesnt work like a business. we arent united because of a goal, or work, or what we do. we are brought together because of who we are, and moreover, who God is in us. we are united in love. without love, we have nothing. we strive, and are destined to fail. if it is not love in us and through us, binding us together, spuring us onward, it is not of God. because God is love, and it is by love, because of it, that the world will know us. we might as well be any other NGO or non profit, merely doing a good work. it is that love that seperates us, sets us apart, lets us proclaim Him with our whole lives.

may i learn to walk more fully in Christ and in love, and come to know that they are one in the same.


together in Him
jon