Tuesday, May 2

We had a leisurely morning for our last day in Kampala.  I spent time with breakfast and packing... and trying to figure out the best way to pack my bags to help expedite security.  We anticipated heightened security at the airport with all of the happenings in the national news and with the U.S.A.  I checked out of my room and moved my bags into another team members room for the duration of the day. Debbie, Violet, Chuck and I went to one of the markets at noon to do some last minute shopping.  It was so fun!  I had to cut myself off from buying any more stuff; they are so unique!  We returned to the hotel and had downtime until 4:30, when we packed up all our bags onto our bus and left for one last Ugandan meal with Charles and his family.  We went to a local hotel and ate by the pool.  I decided to have ""authentic Ugandan beef"" in the form of a cheeseburger.  Well... it definitely tasted different than American beef... and it didn't have cheese, but it did have cucumbers on it.  It was a unique experience for the last meal in Uganda! 

It took over an hour for our food to come.  We had anticipated leaving from the hotel for the airport at 7p.m. in order to get there in plenty of time for security and our 11:30p.m. flight.  We ended up leaving closer to 7:30p.m.... and then we were STUCK in traffic.  We did not make it to the airport until closer to 10p.m.  Yikes!  There was a lot of security, including dogs sniffing cars and checkpoints.  When we got to the airport, we hustled in and got checked in.  They check your forms first, then you take all your stuff through xray, then you take all your stuff to another checkpoint, then you take it all to the ticket counter where they weigh and check your bags and give you your tickets.  You then fill out your form for leaving the country (exit form) and proceed through immigration.  That line took a bit.  Once at the front of the line, they check your information, rescan your fingerprints (they did this upon entry), stamp your passport for exit and then you go to the gate.  We had no time to shop as we needed to hustle to the gate.  We made it in time and then boarded the plane for our 11:30p.m. departure to Amsterdam.  We safely arrived in Amsterdam at 6:30a.m. local time. 

Thank you so much for praying for all of us and safety in our travels!  Two more flights to go and we will all be home.  What a blessing this journey has been!

Monday

This morning, we woke to rain and the news from the USA about the death of Bin Laden in Pakistan.  It is rainy season here in Uganda, but this was actually the first day where there was rain during the daytime.  Rudy, Dorothy, Violet and I went to visit with Dereck (he runs some ministries that WGLO supports).  It was an adventure!  We went from his house to see the orphanage (Dereck rode with us so we sat four in the back seat of the rental).  There are 170 children being served there.  The majority of the parents who died were from AIDS.  There are 70 children staying there who have lost both parents.  From there, we drove to see the medical clinic that is being built.  However... the road to the clinic was too rough for our car to make it... so we walked in the rain and slick mud down to the clinic.  I think Ugandans must have great balance to be out walking in that weather on those roads all the time!

We made it back to the hotel at 11:30 (still raining) and cleaned up from the mud.  Lunch was pizza at the hotel and then we had some down time until we left for the market at 2p.m.  The market was a lot of fun!  We all shopped and bought several items to take back with us on Tuesday.  There is a second market that we will go to see on Tuesday.  I am not the best at asking for the low prices, but Violet was there to help us with our purchases. 

There are still a lot of police out in Kampala.  There have been different demonstrations over high prices so the police are out to help keep the peace. 

We went back to our hotel for a few hours before meeting up with some friends of Rudy and Dorothy for dinner.  The sun came out, so I sat outside for a while to enjoy the nice Uganda weather. 

We walked from our hotel down to an outdoor restaurant.  It was very pleasant to sit outside for dinner.  It was interesting to walk down to the hotel... as we crossed a few streets and walked in the darkness.  Traffic is crazy so crossing the streets was an adventure!

After dinner, we made it back to the hotel and called it a day.  Tomorrow, we will shop, pack and head to the airport at 7p.m.  It's hard to believe that our time in Uganda is almost over!

Pray for safety on our last day here and smooth check-in at the airport and safe travel back home...

Sunday in Uganda...

This morning, we packed up our bus with all our luggage before we left for Kawate.   We left the hotel at 9:45a.m. to head to the school.  We made a few stops on our way and arrived at CCLS around 11:30.  We received a rousing welcome again upon our arrival; it was so fun to see the excitement of the children and to see their parents there as well!  We participated in the dedication of the new school building; we each had a key and unlocked a door of the new school building.  I really should have asked about practicing beforehand... I unlocked the door but then couldn't figure out how to open it.  There were many helpful people who came to my aid!  Following the dedication, we took our seats under the tent for the worship service and comments.  The pastors led worship, the youth choir sang, the drums were playing... it was awesome!  It's always amazing to me how much you can pick up in worship even not knowing the language!  I recognized some hymns and pieces of the liturgy.  It was great to be able to participate.  :)  After worship, there were several "speeches" from different leaders and recognition of Rudy and Dorothy and the rest of the team.  We then had lunch (around 3p.m.) which was prepared for the whole group... and it was a LARGE group!   We had beef from a cow that had been butchered at the schoolyard the day before, goat, rice, greens and stew, along with a plantain mixture. . . and orange soda.  :)  It was a great feast for all the people there, especially since there is famine in the area and lots of hunger. 

After lunch, the youth who had completed P7 last year received goats as a gift.  Those goats were crazy!  I hadn't seen two goats fight like that before; yikes!  We did final goodbyes and headed out around 6p.m.  We transported some other passengers so we had several drop offs before getting to Kampala at 9:30p.m.  We checked in and then got dinner at our hotel at Masa Courts.  Tomorrow, Rudy, Dorothy, Violet and I are going to visit another location in the morning and hear about the ministry happening there.  It is currently 12:30a.m.... and "The Blind Side" is on TV here in Kampala!  It's so crazy to see one of my favorite movies on one of the few channels here at the hotel! 

It's hard to believe this journey is almost over; I feel so blessed to be a part of it!