Happy Independence Day! The Americans in the group this morning remembered that today is the celebration of our country's independence and laughed at how far removed we feel from that celebration, though we are thankful for the independence we enjoy.
So much has happened since we last wrote on the blog. We finally met the rest of the team—six Ugandan students and their leader Lydia. We have also met Davis, Beth, and Carol who work for the CRWRC here in Uganda. Davis is the regional director for CRWRC—in charge of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and part of the Sudan. Beth is Davis' wife; she is a physical therapist. However, this trip was part of her brainchild—along with those who work in the Grand Rapids' CRWRC office—so she has spent a lot of time organizing the trip on this end. Carol is the bridger between those who come from other countries to Uganda to serve in some capacity. She has been the main planner of the trip, organizing all the small details. The six Ugandan students are Daniel, Stephen, Jonah, Joanne (Inki), Faith, and Julianne (who's not really Ugandan—Kenyan—but is the daughter of Davis and Beth.
We have really enjoyed getting to know all of them, and they have already shared so much of their culture with us, from food to games. For Nate and I, though, it has been so interesting being here in Uganda rather than Malawi. We find that Uganda is quite a bit more developed than Malawi. For example, the hotel we are staying at is nothing like the hotel we stayed at in Ntcheu. Electricity is always available. We have an overhead ceiling fan. We have a shower where hot water is the norm, rather than freezing cold water. There is a TV in our room, though we get no channels, and during our meals, we are serenaded by a constant drone of 90s hit music.
Then there is the city. The city is an enormous, sprawling mess of cars, houses, stores, narrow roads, bota bota (motorcycles), and people. We visited the city center with the Ugandan youth on Friday, and Nate and I were amazed at the busyness of the city. Though Lilongwe was congested and busy, Kampala brings it to a new level. People file through the broken sidewalks, single file and try to avoid cars and bota bota as they cross roads in every which direction. We were relegated to little children as our Ugandan friends led us around, hand-in-hand, weaving us in and out of traffic and through the maze of people.
The landscape is quite different as well. Malawi was a beautiful, rocky mountain landscape, but to call it lush would have been an overstatement. Uganda on the other hand is lush. Everything is green and blooming with life. They have a vast variety of vegetation, from plants that look like they come straight out of landscape back in Holland to large, elephant eared plants whose flowers are as rigid as a wax flower. And then there is Lake Victoria. Kampala sits on the shore of Lake Victoria, the largest fresh water lake in the world. The city is graced not only with the beauty of the shimmering water but also the cool, lake breezes that blow away anything unpleasant, including one's attitude.
As far as the luggage is concerned, Nate and I were blessed to receive our luggage Friday night. Unfortunately, Olivia and Emily won't be getting theirs until Monday. We are of course frustrated for them, but they both have carried on an extremely positive attitude, showing us what true grace and joy in the midst of trials looks like. The other students have been a huge blessing to them as well, offering them clothes and necessities as they're needed. We just pray that they won't have to wait any longer than Monday.
All of this to say, we are doing well. God is certainly revealing himself in the midst of all the things we're doing, and I am excited to see what all he has in store for us. As you can tell, it isn't the easiest thing for us to post to the blog, even though the CRWRC office here in Kampala has wireless internet. We have so little time to actually make to the office. However, I will keep writing and will post when I can. Then you can choose to read what you want, as I post it.
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