My first RnR

Last Friday I packed a bag & said goodbye to Kaabong, anxiously awaiting the next morning when I would pick up my good friend Tif from the airport in Entebbe here, welcoming her to a month of Uganda research (and first a week of fun with me!). The airstrip in Kaabong District is about a 25 minute drive from town down a very curvy, bumpy dirt road. We fly with MAF mostly (Mission Aviation Fellowship) as they have become more popular for reaching destinations around the country. The morning a MAF flight is coming in we have to call their office in Kampala and ask for the estimated arrival time, then we venture out to the airstrip to meet the plane. Most often it is a 12-seater plane that dives in & I've learned to tell who the pilot is by the length of the landing. One guy stops the plane within 100 meters of hitting the strip, smooth as a bird! And really, it feels more like SkyRide than Air Uganda. They shove your luggage in a compartment under the plane, you climb in & find a seat, then you are off to who knows how many destinations to drop someone or pick someone else up and finally end up at their strip just outside of Kampala! On Friday after I got on we stopped in Kologo, Patongo, Kotido, Lira, & then on to the final destination. It took about 3 1/2 hours, but I got to see a lot of Uganda that I would never see otherwise.

Tif arrived safely on Saturday morning & we spent the day resting and talking. I can't even tell you what a blessing it is to see a familiar face, let alone someone who knows & loves me dearly. And to make the day even better, Jared Mackey called me up to see if he & the Theisens could swing by & exchange some luggage Tif had brought to Kampala for them. What a joy it was to see Jared, Jeff & Michelle. Jared is one of my pastors from TNL, but more than that a good friend that I came to Uganda with last year. Jeff & Michelle are friends from Portland who live in northern Uganda.

On Sunday we visited an orphanage called Jordan House here in the city. The children are beautiful, of course, and they have a church service every Sunday. We sang and danced with them – about 50 from age 2 to age 16. They love to get hugs and to welcome you. There’s something about being surrounded by these children that never ceases to stir my heart. I have to wonder what I may be able to contribute to an orphan’s life – maybe one day God will reveal that to me. For now, I’ll keep on with where I’m at and see where this road leads.

Tiffani also brought me lots of fun treats from friends in the US. Thanks to each of you who were thinking of me - it was like Christmas in November! We even had a Tim Tam Slam, thanks to Brian & Kelley Gray!

Monday was another refreshing day of spending time with Jared & Tiffani exploring downtown Kampala complete with pizza for lunch and amazing Indian food for dinner! My taste buds are so happy this week!

Today I got a haircut at the local mall – a bit of a risk, I know, but it ended up ok I think. Good enough, at least. We found this great New York Kitchen diner that made amazing pizza, bagel sandwiches and (drumroll please…) pumpkin cheesecake! Wow, I couldn’t pass it up as fall and pumpkin are very missed right now in my non-seasoned life of rainy vs. wet season! I miss autumn!