Safely arrived in Uganda
Door: John
12 December 2016 | Oeganda, Soroti
December 12, 2016
Wow, what a trip so far! It’s been absolutely nuts these past few days but we have safely arrived and settled into our little Ugandan home (with tons of chickens, cockroaches and large spiders to keep us company much to the girls enjoyment). We began our journey in the most luxurious plane ever, like 5 star hotel quality, it was crazy! I was really hoping that this was what a real missionary lifestyle would be like but much to my dismay it has not come back whatsoever. We arrived in Qatar with time to kill for our 7 hour lay over and we all tried our hardest to get some rest, but sleeping on a cold floor or with an arm rest stabbing you in the stomach like a dagger didn’t make our task easily accomplishable. We got on our second plane which to our dissapointment was much more mundane and safely arrived in Uganda to the smiling face of Julius, our contact here in Uganda.
Upon arrival in Uganda, we were told we would have a 6 hour bus ride to our final destination in Soroti. We entered our homely little van prepared to experience the African culture on this beautiful busride and tour through Uganda. We had our first stop after 3 hours and had our first Ugandan meal, fast food fried chicken! Ahaha so stereotypical but it was delicious and we were all pretty hungry except Serah who was sick on the airplane and then sick in the van on the way here so it was a really rough time for her. We crawled back in the van and continued our trek and picked up a British guest who was heading to the same location as us and had a little stop at a preschool. It had been 6 hours by now and we thought we might have been getting close, until we were told that we were only half way….. Our 6 hour trip was turning into a 12 hour excursion. We couldn’t believe how slow it was going but welcome to African time. Every 10 metres we had a speed bump that would be so large, both wheels would be up on Speed Bump Mountain and going up it you would face the sky and on the way down you would look straight into the ground. It was like some cheap, annoying rollercoaster ride that you were stuck on and couldn’t get off of, the first 10 times was fun but the next 500 began to get tedious.
We finally arrived in Soroti at 2 AM after 36 hours of travel including 12 hours of African bus riding and not enough sleep. We dragged all our stuff into our rooms, put up our all-important insect armor (Mosquito Nets) and passed out for some much needed rest. We woke up and had a free day to laze around and relax. We went into town and got a few things, had some amazing Ugandan food, played with the Base leaders kids and had a great introduction day. We still had no idea what we would be doing during our time here in Soroti which for some of us was a little bit concerning but that is Africa for you, spontaneity at its finest.
We got an introduction to the African insects by waking up to a fatty cockroach climbing in our sink, a gigantic spider under on of our shelves, a cockroach in the fridge, and a bunch of chickens running around the base wreaking havoc on Geerte’s sanity. We had a free morning and played with a group of 10-15 children and got to fully experience the 34 degree heat. It was brutal but it felt nice compared to the -7 in the Netherlands. In the afternoon we went to a children’s home that is supported by YWAM and houses 20-30 children. These kids had been saved from terrible cicumstances, a couple of them were saved just before they were sacrificed by witch doctors, others from negligent parents trying to kill or abandon their children, children being half buried and left to die, and most of them being children with bad cases of AIDS weighing 15 Kgs at 5 or 6 years and so many more ailments. The wounds and the faces of the kids were just so crazy to see in person, many with terrrible scars and physical deformities which will effect them permanently. We are fortunate enough to be able to work with these children for a few days this week and help the volunteers there. If you want to hear more about them you can go to www.amecot-soroti.blogspot.nl. Super Gaaf.
We also found out today a little bit more of what our time here will look like. Tomorrow we begin our football training with a local girls school for 4 training sessions of an hour and a half between Tuesday and Wednesday and then with a boys team on Thursday and Friday morning. We also found out that we will be leaving on Saturday for 6 days to a location 6 hours (but probably 12 hours) up north to a South Sudan refugee camp to minister there. Just when we thought we were getting used to not having the luxuries back home and living Ugandan style we found out we’re spending a week in a refugee camp, what an adventure that will be! We have no idea what to expect! The last thing we know for sure we will be doing is prison ministeries on Thursday and Friday afternoon where Josh and John will be doing a 30 minute preaching and every member of the team will share their testimony.
That brings us to right now, we’re missing our friends from the Lecture phase and all of our families back home but we’re loving it here. We’re really connecting as a team and have settled into the culture well so far and are looking forward to what God has in store for us these next few months. You can continue to pray for unity in the team, having opportunities to reach out to the local people here, and continuing health and safety as we’re down here. We love and miss all of you guys! We’ll try to keep everyone updated with our limited Wi-Fi down here, Tot Ziens! Ttyl!
Wow, what a trip so far! It’s been absolutely nuts these past few days but we have safely arrived and settled into our little Ugandan home (with tons of chickens, cockroaches and large spiders to keep us company much to the girls enjoyment). We began our journey in the most luxurious plane ever, like 5 star hotel quality, it was crazy! I was really hoping that this was what a real missionary lifestyle would be like but much to my dismay it has not come back whatsoever. We arrived in Qatar with time to kill for our 7 hour lay over and we all tried our hardest to get some rest, but sleeping on a cold floor or with an arm rest stabbing you in the stomach like a dagger didn’t make our task easily accomplishable. We got on our second plane which to our dissapointment was much more mundane and safely arrived in Uganda to the smiling face of Julius, our contact here in Uganda.
Upon arrival in Uganda, we were told we would have a 6 hour bus ride to our final destination in Soroti. We entered our homely little van prepared to experience the African culture on this beautiful busride and tour through Uganda. We had our first stop after 3 hours and had our first Ugandan meal, fast food fried chicken! Ahaha so stereotypical but it was delicious and we were all pretty hungry except Serah who was sick on the airplane and then sick in the van on the way here so it was a really rough time for her. We crawled back in the van and continued our trek and picked up a British guest who was heading to the same location as us and had a little stop at a preschool. It had been 6 hours by now and we thought we might have been getting close, until we were told that we were only half way….. Our 6 hour trip was turning into a 12 hour excursion. We couldn’t believe how slow it was going but welcome to African time. Every 10 metres we had a speed bump that would be so large, both wheels would be up on Speed Bump Mountain and going up it you would face the sky and on the way down you would look straight into the ground. It was like some cheap, annoying rollercoaster ride that you were stuck on and couldn’t get off of, the first 10 times was fun but the next 500 began to get tedious.
We finally arrived in Soroti at 2 AM after 36 hours of travel including 12 hours of African bus riding and not enough sleep. We dragged all our stuff into our rooms, put up our all-important insect armor (Mosquito Nets) and passed out for some much needed rest. We woke up and had a free day to laze around and relax. We went into town and got a few things, had some amazing Ugandan food, played with the Base leaders kids and had a great introduction day. We still had no idea what we would be doing during our time here in Soroti which for some of us was a little bit concerning but that is Africa for you, spontaneity at its finest.
We got an introduction to the African insects by waking up to a fatty cockroach climbing in our sink, a gigantic spider under on of our shelves, a cockroach in the fridge, and a bunch of chickens running around the base wreaking havoc on Geerte’s sanity. We had a free morning and played with a group of 10-15 children and got to fully experience the 34 degree heat. It was brutal but it felt nice compared to the -7 in the Netherlands. In the afternoon we went to a children’s home that is supported by YWAM and houses 20-30 children. These kids had been saved from terrible cicumstances, a couple of them were saved just before they were sacrificed by witch doctors, others from negligent parents trying to kill or abandon their children, children being half buried and left to die, and most of them being children with bad cases of AIDS weighing 15 Kgs at 5 or 6 years and so many more ailments. The wounds and the faces of the kids were just so crazy to see in person, many with terrrible scars and physical deformities which will effect them permanently. We are fortunate enough to be able to work with these children for a few days this week and help the volunteers there. If you want to hear more about them you can go to www.amecot-soroti.blogspot.nl. Super Gaaf.
We also found out today a little bit more of what our time here will look like. Tomorrow we begin our football training with a local girls school for 4 training sessions of an hour and a half between Tuesday and Wednesday and then with a boys team on Thursday and Friday morning. We also found out that we will be leaving on Saturday for 6 days to a location 6 hours (but probably 12 hours) up north to a South Sudan refugee camp to minister there. Just when we thought we were getting used to not having the luxuries back home and living Ugandan style we found out we’re spending a week in a refugee camp, what an adventure that will be! We have no idea what to expect! The last thing we know for sure we will be doing is prison ministeries on Thursday and Friday afternoon where Josh and John will be doing a 30 minute preaching and every member of the team will share their testimony.
That brings us to right now, we’re missing our friends from the Lecture phase and all of our families back home but we’re loving it here. We’re really connecting as a team and have settled into the culture well so far and are looking forward to what God has in store for us these next few months. You can continue to pray for unity in the team, having opportunities to reach out to the local people here, and continuing health and safety as we’re down here. We love and miss all of you guys! We’ll try to keep everyone updated with our limited Wi-Fi down here, Tot Ziens! Ttyl!
-
12 December 2016 - 20:15
Wendy Van Der Kuur:
So proud of you all. Praying for the team everyday. Blessings! -
12 December 2016 - 20:32
Ava :
Great to read!
Miss you all already! -
12 December 2016 - 23:31
Jedi:
Lovely! I hope you guys have a lot of fun!
I miss you guys! -
13 December 2016 - 01:35
Frouwke Bruining:
thank you for this amazing report. So good to read how you are doing and what you are doing. Bless you.
-
13 December 2016 - 08:49
Mariska:
Amazing!! You guys are gonna be such a blessing for all these kids /refugees and others!
Enjoy it!:) -
13 December 2016 - 09:29
Margot Boomsma:
Nice to read your trip. You may know that Jezus is in Uganda too. -
13 December 2016 - 19:38
Elwin And Helen Humphrey:
Enjoyed reading your first instalment and seeing the pictures. Very interesting.
-
27 December 2016 - 18:04
Jack Ooms:
Ja, dat is lachen welkom in Afrika. An other world to explore...
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