getting there 7/16-19

Getting there.

Monday morning bright and early, we headed to SFO- with coffee in hand it wasn’t such a bad deal. I was a bundle of conflicting emotions- excitement at an adventure about to be had, fear of the unknown that lies ahead, relief that the details of the coffeehouse and Malibu are put into motion, if not into place, concern that the best laid plans would fall apart- and there was no way to get ahold of me to ask the questions about the little things I have in my head.

But mostly excitement.

The flight to DC was Michele, Riley, Casey, Julie, Cheryl, Mary and me, and it was uneventful and comfortable. We weighed in our luggage and shifted weight around to make the most of our baggage allowance of 650 pounds (split among 13 checked bags). Michelle had painstakingly packed and weighed 5 giant blue tubs, plus our luggage, plus some bags of donations (including 2 drills and chargers) that Cheryl and Julie had put together meant we had little room to spare. After the weigh in, it was smooth sailing- and the beginning of the time-zone change confusion.

I still can’t wrap my head around why it’s what time now here. I am pretty sure I am writing to you from Wednesday night- but the last two days are a little muddy. In DC, we met up in the airport with Ari, Matt, Steve and Levi- all flying in from Gunnison, CO, by way of Denver. Our shuttle came to get us, then left when we weren’t there, then came back, about a half an hour later- it was just the first of many chances we will have to practice patience. Especially when it’s muggy.

When we got to the hotel, we were greeted by Elena (Ari’s sister), Kendal (riley’s bff from new Hampshire) and Chrissy and Foster (alex), also from NH. Tasha flew out a day early, and met us at the hotel. Our team is nearly complete, and we spent some time getting to know each other.

One of the things that I am processing is where I am in life- and how ok that is. Meaning this- the hotel we stayed in at DC was really nice- super comfy beds, suites with all the amenities, and all of the little details included rather than charged for. I really enjoyed this hotel. Is it ok to really enjoy a nice bed on your way to Africa where you might not have a bed? Or worse- serving and serving with people who don’t have beds?

We are reading a book, Serving With Eyes Wide Open-which, truth be told, I read the entire thing on the plane. It challenged a lot of my assumptions about missions, and the whys of our hows. I am sure I will process more of this later, but right now I am sleepy and we’re only to DC- so much more happens!

So, it’s a fairly early morning (6am, but my body thinks it’s 3), but the hotel softens the blow with a complimentary breakfast buffet (again, a touch of guilt for enjoying it so much) and the loading the vans for the airport. Checking in was a bit of an ordeal, but it was very organized chaos. First priority was to make sure everyone had their ticket and their passport together, and gave them to Michele. Elena had taken on cataloguing the bags, so everyone’s checked bag got a number (and their name) ducktaped to it, and logged on the list of what was generally in the bag (last year a bag didn’t make it, and they didn’t know what was in it- it took a long time to untangle.).

After all of the luggage was weighed and checked, we made it to our gate to find two other younglife groups on our flight to Addis Ababa- the Salinas group that kaitlyn is with, and a group from the south, going to put on sports camps in Malawi. That was fun

The flight was 15 hours. Mary and my tvs didn’t work, but that led to some great conversations about faith, barak obama, calling, and all three of those things combined. Casey and Alex were sweet enough to trade seats with us about an hour outside of Rome, so we could watch a documentary on coffee that I wanted to see- Black Gold (it was good by the way. Starbucks is evil.) fifteen hours and one pit stop after we took off, we were there, in Addis, deplaning and getting ready for our Uganda leg. Turns out that leg was late, and somehow we ended up getting to go to this lounge where they fed us. It was truly a strange turn of events, that I think I would have fully appreciated had I not been mostly awake all night (and now even more confused about what time and what day it was). We also picked up the final members of our team, Hailu, who is from Ethiopia, but is living in Kenya, and Taylor, who has been traveling in Africa for 3 weeks doing eye clinics (he’s studying optometry). This flight was an hour late, and then totally uneventful until the very end- as were circling in the clouds, waiting to land at Entebbe, the pilot comes on and says something to the effect of “we can’t land because we were waiting in line, and one of the planes in front of us has disappeared from the radar- they don’t know where it is, and we don’t want to risk running into it.” Um, what? How do you lose a plane? So 10 or so more minutes of circling, and then the pilot comes back on to say “we are running low on fuel, so we’ll be diverting this plane to Nirobi, Kenya to refuel. What? I am going to Kenya? (well, I am going to sit on a plane for an hour in Kenya anyway)

So we went, we fueled, we came back to Entebbe- this time allowed to land. Visas ended up costing $50 instead of $35, which was a bummer, but we pretty much breezed through the lines to wander through customs and out to the street where we met Simon, our host for the week. Simon had several younglife leaders from Pallisa at the airport to greet us. We were wisked (as quickly as you can load a ton of people and a ton of luggage) to our hotel, which was pretty nice. We got to watch a Ugandan sunset over Lake Victoria- it was picturesque. Next we had some time to rest and clean up,then met in “the garden” to have dinner. Dinner wasn’t ready yet, so we sat in a circle and heard a little from simon about how he was happy to have us, and what he was hoping to have with us here. And the Ugandans taught us a song which we have all been humming and singing since- at least the “to-yo, toyota, mama to-yo-ta ca-roll-a” part. The next verse is “mazda no-go, mazda no go” and then some other words that none of us remember. We had our first lesson in Africa time- that it’s more flexible than we are used to coming from our culture of clocks and being on time. Clocks are less available, and much less necessary here. And it seems that there aren’t many places here used to accommodating a group of our size (18 plus several Ugandans at any time).

We finally got to sleep- and I don’t think any of us were sure what time it was supposed to be, or what day it was, just that we were tired.
Thursday-
We woke up in Kampala and repacked our vans and headed out- we drove through the city- and it was very interesting- it was a busy chaotic place. Driving in Kampala is a risky endeavor. Cars, motorcycles, people on bike, and people on foot all occupy the same space, and are all getting somewhere quickly. We had many near misses, but no hits, so I call that a success. They drive on the left here, mostly, unless the right is quicker, more convenient, or has fewer potholes. They pass each other freely, and use their horn more in conversation with other cars. The ride took about 5 hours, all said and done. There were a couple of stops for the group to catch up with each other- one of which was at a “mall” which was gated and had several armed guards everywhere. When we’d stop on the side of the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, people would run out to the van and thrust various foods on sticks in our windows.

We got to pallisa finally and got a tease of the younglife office- just pulling up to the gate with Ugandan youth running out yelling and cheering for us- it brought tears to my eyes, because they were SO excited that we had come. But we couldn’t stay there- we had to go to the hotel and unpack.

After we had unpacked, we went out to the back of the hotel where they had lunch set up for us. It was nice- we’re finally getting some Ugandan food- everyone has been trying to cater to our American-ness. They have beef here, which is sort of surprising, except that you see cows wandering around everywhere. And goats. And sometimes chickens- they all fend for themselves, we were told. And they seem to be more athletic than American cows.

After lunch we were going to meet to go on a walk. While we were waiting, the schoolchildren who had just finished and were walking home saw us from through the fence, and started to timidly come through the gaps. Soon, there were probably 50 or 60 kids in our hotel compound area, and they were all marveling at our Muzungo skin. We tried a couple of games, but with the younger ones who haven’t yet started learning English it seems, chase was about all we could muster. A couple of us quickly went to fill up soccer balls, which was a success. Simon came and got all of our balls back, and we started walking.

We were going to one of the schools because his volunteers had put together a volleyball tournament. The walk was about 45 minutes- and along the way we were the spectacle of the town. Children first ran to the edge of the road to wave and smile at the parade of white people, then they began walking with us. We would greet them with “Ebo” or “yoga” – our clumsy attempts to speak in their language. The smaller ones would sidle up to us and hold hands. The bigger ones would try out their English.

It was amazing, the crowd we became. It was also amazing that we had 2 and 3 year olds join us- that they could walk that far, that they could GO that far from home without anyone noticing. We passed several schools- I now understand what is meant when they say “schooling is the industry in Pallisa”. It truly is. And all along the road are these clusters of round huts with thatched roofs. Simon told us that this is where the students live. That they come, and they live in these huts with other students. I had asked if there were any adults looking after them, and simon said “we are the only adults looking after them, in younglife. That’s why we need younglife”

At the school, I sat down to watch the volleyball tournament (which was a volleyball game), and the two young girls who I had been holding hands with sat down with me. Immediately they were snuggled in- seeking affection. I had 5-6 young girls circled around me, just staring and hoping for affection. They didn’t speak English, so it felt really awkward for me- to just stare and pray love at them, but they seemed more than content. Two older girls, in school uniforms, decided to talk with me. Katie and Christie. They go to younglife, and decided they want to be my friend. And to be a pen pal.

The walk home was long, and the dark was coming. We stopped at the younglife office, to sing and pray. And of course greet all of the volunteers again. We spend a lot of time greeting. It’s important. And it’s stretching for me to spend so much time greeting and saying goodbye to everyone- and to believe that it’s important, because it’s important to them. It is their custom.