day nineteen: reflections and hopes

so here we go. ive been on the move lately. new city, new country, new language. i left nairobe early early wednessday morning. the sun started rising on the way into town. my first african sunrise, and the start of something new. the roads are sleepy so early, a far sight from the usual shouts of matatu drivers and the weaving in and out of the bodas. not so much deisel fumes to breath it. somehow nice.

i spent my last few days in kenya taking it easy. we had taken care of everything we could in terms of construction, now all that was left was saying goodbye. it was bitter sweet for me. even though i had only been there for two weeks, i know ill miss the people i met there. they were so warm and open with me, opening their homes, sharing their food, their lives. for me at least, i know ill see them again before i leave. my flight home is out of nairobe. ill probably spend christmas with my kenyan friends. i look forward to seeing them again, and seeing the completed roof on the childrens home. its awe inspiring to see all that God has done on that plot of land in just over a month, four to five months sooner than we had even hoped for. God is good, and works in far grander ways than we dare dream.

the bus ride to uganda was long, a minimum of 12 hours to kampala. we planned to stop in jinja for the night, as i have connections there, and its only 10 hours (yeah right, only 10 hours). the day started out alright, although it reminded me a bit too much of my 24 hour day of travelling, just two weeks prior. only three hours in, we were stopped at a police checkpoint, which actually isnt unusual. there is a lot of corruption here, and the cops will stop most larger vehicles, make up some bogus claim, and wait for a bribe. we had already been stopped two other times, like i said, not unusual. what made this particular stop bad, was that they came on board, and pulled off four pasangers for not having their seatbelts on. tyler and i didnt have ours on either, but i guess we were lucky, or else, used our skin power ; )

all in all, we waited for three hours for the four guys to get money to pay the ticket ( a trumped up charge from 500 shillings to 3000 shillings). other than that, the ride was pretty smooth. i saw some wildlife along the side of the road: baboons, zebra, antelope, and warthog. zebra are so beautiful in person. it was like a little mini safari. pretty awesome.

we finally arrived in jinja and took some motorcycles to the Ligh Gives Heat house. Light Gives Heat is the organization that put us up for a few days. i have volunteered with them for some festivals back in the states, and was planning on spending a while with them out here, although God changed my plans. jinja is cool because its where the source of the nile is, there are a stretch of waterfall/rapids, and a variety of adrenaline sports to have your fill. tyler and i found a guy who would take us in kayaks over the rapids for half of what anyone else was charging, so we took him up on it. along with a few of the LGH volunteers, i learned to kayak, somewhat, and paddled my little raft through the rapids....somewhat. awesome experience nonetheless.

the time in jinja was very refreshing and much needed. a nice break for tyler before he goes home in a week. finally, on friday, we arrived in kampala. we are staying at a friends house, ronnie, with his "mom". im glad that ill be living with ugandans. like i said, its a totally new language, and his mom only speaks lugandan. but, that will help me to adjust to it faster, learn the culture and the city, and all that goes with it.

im very excited about being in kampala. where kenya was slow, focused on a goal, and ver quickly, uganda will be non of those things. my aim here is service. it will take many forms, span many people, and may last the rest of my three plus months here. i just dont know, its completely open to the people and opportunities God brings into my path.

i am excited because what i have heard from tyler and seen for myself in my few days here points me to believe that this is exactly the place which will allow me serve as i hope to. there is a kids home down the road from us, a legit non profit(come lets dance) doign many of the thnis God has lain on myheart over the past few months, and a stron church community to link it all together. on top of that, it seems like every way i turn, there are ngo's and non profits helping this person or that person. i know God is going to open some pretty awesome doors for service here. i cant wait to see what they are.

for now though, i will continue as i have; building relationships, investing in people, and stepping through the doors God opens, serving as His hands as best i can along the way.

phew, that was a long one. thanks for reading.


in His hands
jon