July 1, 2011
It is hard to believe that our amazing 16 day adventure has come to an end. We have been so blessed to have had this opportunity to meet some wonderful people (our team and the Ugandan people) in addition to supporting and serving those less fortunate than ourselves.
John and Matt
As we look back, it really feels like three trips in one. Our first week was spent with our new Ugandan pastor friends and their wives from Kampala during the Purity Conference. This was a powerful time for all as we dug in and addressed the ravages of sexual and spiritual impurities and the effect it has on so many people’s lives. The second week was spent in the rural villages around Busanna building shelves and a pulpit, conducting bible studies and implementing a sewing ministry for the women of the area. This week too was amazing in that we got a chance to really spend quality time with the people in the area. Though our intention was to serve and bless them, I think anyone on the team would agree we reaped rewards much greater than anything we might have given. While the people of Uganda may be materially poor, they are very rich relationally and it shows in their warm welcomes and tremendous generosity with what little they have.
On Sunday morning, the team headed to Busanna for the last time to participate in the worship services at the three Busanna area churches. John Pipes preached at Busanna Joy Church, Tom Gibbons preached at Kasana Church while Matthew and I got to speak at Simbabu Joy Church.
Thatch hut with 30+ people and Matt druming during worship
Deb and Carrie were still in Soroti coming back from the marriage introduction ceremony which from what I learned made our American wedding traditions look modest. The bride-to-be had three clothing/costume changes and as part of the ceremony had many cows, goats and chickens exchanged between the groom’s family and the brides as a dowry payment. Wow!Our final visit to the Busanna area was a great treat for me since I started my bible studies with the people of the Simbabu village and then got to finish out the week with them. Following my teaching they gave me a live chicken as a token of their appreciation. You should have seen me heading down the path on the back of a motorcycle holding my books and a live chicken and stay on the motorcycle! I must say I really felt a connection with the people of Simbabu. Their warmth, genuine interest in pursuing a deeper relationship with God and their simple, but beautiful worship style of singing and using tribal drums really touched me.
After church, we headed north for the last two days before flying out of Uganda. Here we were able to visit the Murchison Falls Wildlife Area for a couple hundred dollars of our own money and went on a land and water safari. The park is over 3,800 square kilometers and runs along the Nile River. http://www.uwa.or.ug/murchison.htmlThis was a real treat for us and a great way to finish out the trip. We stayed at a neat lodge in the center of the park that had a British influence and reminded me of something out of the movie African Queen.
Lodge at Murchison Falls
After arriving late Sunday night, we headed out at 6:00 AM in the morning the take a ferry across the Nile River to the savanna area of the park so that we might get to see more of the animals for the dry land portion of the trip. Unbelievable is the only word that comes to mind. Never have I seen such diversity of wildlife and so many animals. As you can see from the pictures, we saw lions, elephants, hippos, giraffe, baboons, wart hogs, monkeys, antelope, water buffalo, a jackal, tons of beautiful birds and so much more.
After the dry land safari, we headed back to the ferry area and after lunch went on a 3.5 hour tour down the Nile River to see more animals and the dramatic Murchison Falls. Here again we saw so many animals we just couldn‘t believe our eyes. The views from the boat were just breathtaking.
Murchison Falls, Crocodile and ferry crossing Nile River
Well, I hope you enjoyed coming along with us on our journey to Uganda. This was a trip that we will certainly never forget. Thank you for your prayers and support. If you haven’t volunteered for something like this, I encourage you to do so. John and the team at international Messengers did a great job and I am sure they would love to have you join them for one of their discipleship (ours) or medical mission trips.
God bless you!
David and Matthew