We made it to Uganda! All of the luggage arrived with no issues (we had 31 bags total which took quite a while to locate all of them) and we had no problems getting visas, through customs, etc. We were greeted SO warmly by none other than our very own Ashley Davis, Alex and others from Alex’s church. When we spotted each other it was a grand reunion full of hugs and laughter. I couldn’t wait to give Ashley and Alex a huge hug, it’s been far too long since I’ve seen the both of them. As I’m sitting here on my little net covered bed, thinking about our first day in Uganda I am slightly at a lost for words. Trying to form the right words to describe how I feel is nearly impossible. I definitely have been looking forward to this day for weeks, months, no more like years. The joy, peace, and shear contentment I feel in my heart is overpowering. This whole process; the getting ready, the traveling, the stepping foot off the plane, the meeting and loving on the people here feels as natural as breathing to me. It’s been less than one day and I’m sure with all my heart that Uganda and I will have a future. Not sure how just yet but I can’t wait to find out. God you are great!
Before I dive into what is has been like and what we’ve been doing I wanted to share with you a little bit about our traveling. We had absolutely no internet until we got back in the airport in Dubai.
Written 07/25/2013
Two days, three plane rides, over 9000 miles travelled. Portland to Seattle to Dubai and finally to Uganda. It can easily be said that the 14 hour flight from Seattle to Dubai was the most tiring, and hardest. We happily walked off the plane, stretching our legs after such a long flight. Happy to have a place to rest our heads. I know for me personally I didn’t sleep much the night before we left and on the plane ride but made up for that in Dubai. Most of all we were stoked to be one step closer to being in Uganda. In the short time since we left home God has given us more than enough, showed us great opportunities to talk to people around us about what God is doing in and through the lives of our team. I wanted to share with you an experience I had on our first flight to Seattle.
When boarding our first flight to Seattle, the fifteen of us found ourselves sitting all throughout the plane. None of us had seats together, it was as if we were flying solo. When I have flown before the people I sit next to are usually not all that social. Consumed with their music and are in their own little world. I do that myself most of the time but it is nice when you get lucky and get to sit next to a complete stranger who ends up being a great conversationalist. I think that is fun, meeting new people. Learning about their life, their beliefs, their ideas, thoughts, interests, you name it. Not long after I found my seat I was joined by such a character. We hit it off right away, asking simple questions about each other and the reason for traveling. Once I explained what our team is traveling for, of course he became more interested; allowing our conversation to dive deeper about our trip, what we are doing, life in general, and God. I wish I could go into great detail but it was a 30 minute conversation that couldn’t have been better. Walking away, handing him the link to this blog and going our own separate ways I couldn’t help to smile. Knowing God put this guy right in my path. It’s so easy to tune out the world like most people do when flying, but I always think about the great experiences you might miss.
Our route from Seattle. Not the route I thought but I’ve never flown over the North Pole and Russia before.
I will try and upload more photos tomorrow night. This is all I have for now.
FIRST DAY IN UGANDA!
What a day this has been. We’ve been in Uganda for less than a day and we’ve already done so much. First things first we stopped to get some food. We were all pretty hungry. We then drove over to the ARM headquarters to tour the ARM office and see a little bit of the amazing program they have going on. I was able to meet a couple of the high school girls as they were heading out of their devotion assembly. So many children flooding the walkways, all of which wanted you to smile back at them and wave. Many times I would notice all they want is to be noticed by you. Children will be franticly waving and only when you smile and wave back would they break out their beautiful smiles and laughter. I can’t wait to meet more of the kids and teens; getting to know them some more and loving on them! After dropping our stuff off at the house we were staying at for the night we went to Loving Hearts Orphan Home, where Ashley has been spending quite a bit of time the past few weeks. I’m not ready to describe that experience yet.
I love children. Holding and loving on babies (newborn-toddler) is something I love to do. I did get to hold several of the babies and soaked up every minute of it. Seeing them; their smiles, personalities, and happiness to be held by you melted my heart. This experience was a little bitter sweet for me. Not going to sugar coat it. On one hand you have these adorable, bouncy, happy, and some sleeping babies that make you smile and can’t wait to love on them. On the other…such sadness, heart wrenching really. Walking into this home of babies that have been abandoned, alone, one even survived being stabbed by her mother; breaks my heart. It makes me want to hold and love on them even more. They need it so much!! There is one girl I love so much, Rebecca!! What a personality she has. Rebecca stole my heart a little bit. I want to go see her again!
Thank you all for your support, prayers, and love! Please keep us in your prayers as we are heading to Kachungwa tomorrow. Pray for safe travels and open hearts and minds as we meet with people, children, leaders, etc.
Love in Christ,
Melanie
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