Thursday 7/26

Thursday-
It’s our last day here, and I have simon promised for his full attention right after breakfast. He and I walk over to the younglife office (after he procure 4 more boxes of water for us) and we have a discussion about NGOs and the lack of regulation of them- that there is no accountability, and it’s hard because there are so many assumptions about younglife because it’s a NGO (greed, corruption, false fronts.) When simon and I got to the office, we sat down, and set up his budget- as he was getting the hang of entering expenses, the younglife prayer crew showed up, and prayed over the younglife house. I joined them, because simon was doing fine, and I needed to create an inventory worksheet for all of the stuff we just gave them. Foster ended up staying and counting things with me, which was welcome company. I enjoy him, and that he is completely comfortable with who he is.

Then back to the hotel for lunch under the mango tree, and an adventure at 2 pm. We weren’t told anything about it, other than it was thought up in combination by the hotel staff here, simon, and eric, the UN representative here, and we needed closed toed shoes, hats, water and sunscreen. so we piled into taxis, and headed out. First, we met a man named Wilson who showed us his property, which backs up to a boulder mountain. And he took us up on a hike to see some caves. He told us that about 7 years ago there was fighting here, and when the rebels would come, they would sleep up in the caves at night or they would be killed in their beds. It’s the same conflict that is going on now, but they have been beaten back, up to the north.

After the caves, we drove to the lake- but you couldn’t drive up to the lake. We got into fishing boats, and were rowed through the reeds- it was sooo jungle cruise from Disneyland. Except that there was a good chance of tipping over, or sinking- one boat started too. Ours had about an inch of boat above water where Casey and I were sitting,
And we got wet.

After the lake, we had the choice of walking through the villages or going back to where the caves were and hiking up the mountain. Many of us wanted to hike, including me. While we were waiting for the boats to come back, Eric, the UN guy comes up to a group of us and says “does anyone know how to drive a stick shift car?” since no one else was answering, I said “I do”. And he hands me the keys to his car, and asks if I will follow the taxis back to where we will all end up. Heck yes I will drive in Uganda! So foster is brave, and asks to ride shotgun. It was a piece of cake, except that the driver is on the right side, which means the gearshift is on the left. Totally weird. And I had to back up for 100 yards or so right off the bat, and backing up isn’t my strongest skill. It was complicated by the fact that if I went off the road on either side, I’d be in the swampy part of the lake, there were about a hundred or so people milling around to not hit, plus some goats and cows, and I wasn’t very good at doing the light “beep beep” on the horn that the taxi drivers do so well. Foster offered to shift for me. Since it’s on the right (and right) side for him.

Then we climbed the mountain. It was pretty cool. The view was breathtaking- you could see forever.

On the way home, there was a conflict with the taxi driver stemming from some miscommunication, and I got my first taste of the way Africans communicate- voices get raised and tones are firm immediately. It’s not comfortable- it feels like I’m the girlfriend at a family dinner where everyone’s fighting.

We stopped to see the younglife center potential site, and pray over it. That was cool.


more later- to be finished and ethiopia added after some sleep!