Hello everyone!!
I hope you all are well and blessed today, wherever the Lord has you! He is so good! Kyle and I arrived safely in Entebbe Friday evening. I asked the Lord to get me onto a good sleeping schedule right away and He did! I have had little to no jet lag!! Praise the Lord!
When we arrived, we stayed at Naomi's friend's house for the night. It was about midnight by the time we got to the house and settled. The next morning, I had my first African breakfast. We had porridge, eggs, bread, Ugandan tea and coffee! If was very good! Naomi and Richard, her boyfriend, needed to go into town for some shopping. So we hired a driver to take us to Kampala! We loaded up our luggage and off we went. We got to see what the city is like in Kampala! It is very busy and nothing like America. First of all the roads are very busy, but not in the way as America. Everything is backwards here. The drivers seat is on the right, like England! So we also drive on the left side of the road, which was weird at first! Then you have little motorcycles, which they call "boda's" whizzing past you on both sides. Sometimes we would make our own lane in the middle of the road and then merge to the left at different times. It is a lot more chaotic and they honk all the time. Cars honk at boda's to get over, and they honk at other cars when they are in your way! It's not rude here! It's just the culture.
At the market everything is a bargain! I love this! I have had experience bargaining at garage sales and things in America. You even bargain with your driver and agree upon a price to take you to multiple places! I could get used to this! Haha.
During a traffic jam, there are lots of kids and young adults with hands full of stuff for you to buy. When they see a white person, they automatically assume you are rich and they call at you saying, "Mazungu! Mazungu!" This means white person. It is not rude, or vulgar. It is just how they describe us. I find myself calling myself a Mazungu all the time! If you show any interest in them at all they swarm the car shoving things into the car for you to buy! Kyle saw a pair of sunglasses he liked! They were ODI's and he took it form a guy to look at them, the man would not take them back! Kyle had to physically put them back in his bag and we rolled up the windows. I was laughing hysterically because I have never been bombarded like that before!
We then went to what is called the bus park, to get a bus to Gulu from Kampala! At the bus park, a bunch of men came up to the window and asked us where we were going. By this time, I was used to being bombarded. They went to the back of the car and started unloading our stuff to take to the bus for us! It was pouring down rain and the bus was about to leave! They carried everything on their heads, including my 75 pound large suitcase! As we were walking to the bus a man came up behind me, very sneakily, and tried to open my backpack to steal from me! I didn't notice because of all the chaos. A local Ugandan pulled him off of me and a mob formed and started beating him. This was very scary. One of the men, carrying our stuff, grabbed me to safety! We continued on. I looked back and he was still being beaten! Then, as we were walking, a man tried to steal Kyle's wallet from his back pocket! The same thing happened and he was beaten as well. They were rushing us to to bus! We got to the lines of the busses and Naomi and I lost the guys! Naomi was yelling for Richard and I was yelling for Kyle, but we couldn't find them. A bus driver yelled at us from his window asking us where we were going. We replied, "Gulu!" He said, "You come! You come!" So we started to get on that bus. But then, the man that was carrying our luggage, found us and redirected us to the correct bus. They were rushing us onto the correct bus and ordering us to sit down and pay, repeating themselves over and over. Naomi had to be firm with them and tell them, "No. You wait!" We finally got seated and the very long bus ride began! We were smashed in the bus like sardines. Richard and some other men didn't have a seat it was so packed! Kyle told us on the bus that, as we were boarding, a women tried to grab his guitar from one of the men carrying our luggage. And Kyle reached over and grabbed the guitar from her hands just in time! The Lord protected us and got us all on the bus safely and with all of our luggage! Nothing was stolen! Praise the Lord! I was a little shooken up from it all, but the Lord calmed me and I am very thankful for the men who helped us carry the luggage. They kept us safe from the mobs and directed us where we needed to go quickly and efficiently! When you are a Mazungu, you stand out like a green apple among a bunch of red ones! Everyone stares at you. The pick pocketers target you because they know you have money, especially travelers that need to make their american money into shillings. They are very smart! But the Lord is YHWY! He protected us and gave us the guides we needed, to get where we were going!
While on the bus, there was a preaching preaching the gospel to the whole back of the bus for about 45 minutes to an hour! We stopped about every half an hour or hour because they had to go pump water from a ravine and pour it into the radiator! The bus was breaking down! After a 7 hour ride, we arrived in Gulu! We dropped Kyle off at Will and Etta Shehee's house. Will told us he had a full day planned for us, starting at 8AM the next morning!
The next morning Naomi and I hired a boda to drive us to the house of prayer! This was a very interesting experience. The roads are not like America. The are bumpy with huge ditches and pot hole everywhere. The roads are dirt here. So when it rains, it is very sticky and muddy. Taking a boda was like a roller coaster at first. The boda needs to know where to drive, swerving in and out trying to find the smoothest path!
At the house of prayer, Will introduced Kyle and I to the team of worshipers and intercessors! We introduced our selves and they were very welcoming! Will explained that he has brought them as far as he could with harp and bowl. He said the Lord has brought Kyle and I to take them further and to the next level! I am so excited about what the Lord has planned for us! We have met with Will and have many goals and plans for this team! I will continue to keep you updated on what the Lord is doing! Please pray the Lord guides us and gives us wisdom with the Local Ugandans.
May the Lord bless you abundantly today!
