We began our Tuesday morning at YWAM Grimerud with a time of fellowship and worship, and we felt so loved as the wonderful people at the base sent us off. Grimerud's resident mechanic gave us a ride to the train platform in Stange and hopped on board for Oslo Gardemoen Airport. The train ride was a time of thought and reflection as we discussed ideas of getting involved in ministry in Norway in the future.
Marlena and I are thankful for the fluidity and consistency of European travel. The tray arrived promptly at 10:03 at the airport and check-in was flawless. We appreciate the organized structure there because we knew that once we arrived on the African continent, this luxury would be nearly non-existent. Oslo to Frankfurt was a quick and uneventful flight, however we had a long 6-hour layover once in Germany. From Frankfurt-Ethiopia-Uganda, we were traveling on Ethiopian Airlines (not the best choice, but they get the job done). One thing we found interesting in Frankfurt is that the African airlines receive the worst, run-down wing of the airport. There are no shops, limited seating, and there is only one very small restroom. This was a drastic change from the lush and pristine wings that Lufthansa and KLM occupy at the Frankfurt airport.
After our uneventful stop in Frankfurt, we boarded an old and slightly unloved small Ethiopian aircraft that would take us the next 7 hours of our trip. Our flight left Germany at 10:30 in the evening and we arrived in Addis Ababa at 6:00 in the morning. Through the night, we "slept" next to three very extroverted Ethiopians who talked loudly the entire night. Also, the flight attendants kept the overhead lights on for the entire flight. This was far from the quiet European flits we are used to, because we typically fly Lufthansa, KLM, or British Airways to Uganda. On a positive note, this experience helped us begin preparing us for the everyday African lifestyle!
Once we arrived at Addis Ababa airport, we stepped off the plane onto the runway and were greeted by the smell of Africa in the air. This may sound unpleasant to many of you, but it is such a comfort to us! We have missed life here and were excited to back on this beautiful continent.
Our layover in Ethiopia was supposed to be nearly 16 hours and for those of you who have been to that airport, you know that it is not the most exciting place to wait. Luckily, I did my research and found there was another flight to Uganda 12 hours earlier, so we began our efforts to change our tickets to this earlier flight. And through all sorts of confusion we made it to the plane and to Entebbe. The flight was much bigger than our flight to Ethiopia which was surprising!
At around 12:30 in the afternoon we touched down in Entebbe and we were so happy! Finally, no more planes! We took a taxi to our guesthouse in Entebbe, and we stayed a night to rest and regain some energy. We took a good part of that day trying to acquire a charger for our Uganda cell phone (we lost the original in the process of moving back to Colorado). While searching for one, we stopped at a whole in the wall Ugandan restaurant and treated our taste buds to some of our favorite food. We had rice, matooke (ma-toe-ké, mashed savory bananas similar to mashed potatoes), and green peas. We had so much food and all for a whopping 12,000 Ugandan Shillings which is about $5.
The next day (Thursday), we hopped on local transport called Matatu (look it up, it's an old school Toyota van made for 14 but often carrying up to 20) and traveled to Kampala where we braved the taxi park to find another Matatu to Jinja. Kampala taxi park is not a force to be reckoned with! We finally found one and we were off to Jinja, our home away from home.
We got to Jinja a few hours later and stopped for our favorite snack, a Rolex. It's the Uganda version of a breakfast burrito! And finally after much anticipation, we were picked up by our great friend, Sera Kasonga. Marlena became friends with her during her first trip here in 2009. We also stayed with her for 2 weeks in 2010. Sera is a 26-year old Rwandan refugee who came to Uganda when she was only 5. She now is the primary caretaker for 27 young girls and boys, all of whom are orphans or homeless. About 6 or 7 years ago Sera saw a need in Jinja. There were so many street kids who begged and had very bad manners, so Sera said that she must do something about this. The Lord has truly blessed her and now the children she cares for are the most well behaved, loving, and serving kids you will ever meet. They are also all in school and are so smart. We will be staying with Sera and the kids until Sunday when we meet up with the Yobel team in Kampala to go to Canaan Farm.
When we arrived at Sera's house, we were so kindly greeted by all the kids. I thought it would be fun to set up my slackline (look this up if you don't know what it is), and it was the exciting and entertaining focus for the next few hours. Today is now Friday and we are taking all 27 children to a local hotel for a swim! I hope the hotel owner doesn't mind!
Marlena and I have already been so blessed by the people here! We thank you all for supporting us financially and prayerfully, we couldn't do this without you!
Prayer Requests:
-quality time with Sera and the kids
-safe travels for the Yobel team. They are flying right now!
-safety for us as we head to the farm on Sunday. Ugandan transportation is not the safest.
-our relationship as we do many of these things for the first as a married couple.
-the business training coming up at the farm.
