Headstands in the Field (by Abby)

Who were our travel companions for the last leg of the trip? Yes, that is right. On our flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe the African Children’s Choir were making their way back to their home of Kampala, Uganda. I cannot even begin to explain the joy these children brought to us in such a short time. All of us needed a little boost after traveling for a day straight. They had just finished a 16 month tour of the United States. These children, ages 9 to 12, hadn’t seen their parents and families in over a year. We were blessed enough to have our rows in front or behind them and got a little glimpse of their tour. Washington DC, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and New York were just a few places they visited. I can’t imagine being away from my family for such a long time at such a young age. Once we landed in Entebbe the whole plane erupted in a cheer, lead by the children of the choir. I think everyone was excited to be at their final destination and off of the plane yet every single one of us were sharing in the excitement with the children. God was already preparing us for what we were about to experience and we hadn’t even stepped off the plane yet.

Our first full day here in Uganda was surreal. We woke up to a delicious breakfast prepared by the staff at the Pope Paul. Brett, Emily and myself were about to have to live in the one outfit we had on thanks to placing our bags with the Italian Yoga group. Brett pulled a “Home Alone” running towards the gate at this van as they were driving away. You think the yoga mats strapped to the top of the their bags would of given it away that it wasn’t any of the rest of our teams. We are just going to blame it on the jetlag and thank God that we didn’t have to make an extra trip to Italy on our way home to pick up our bags. Once we all settled into the bus we started on our 7 hour (cough cough, CC) trip to Gulu. With our small group this year we each were able to have our own seat and sit pretty comfortably. Thank God for that. I can’t imagine being squished sardine style for our long commute north. My biggest question was what happens when we have to go to the bathroom? Do we have bathroom breaks? Enter in the short call or what Matt would call a “quickie”. It was unlike any bathroom experience I have ever had. We had to bring our own tissue paper and squat against a wall and go. No exaggeration. If we didn’t have to drink water every 5 minutes then I wouldn’t of done it. But now that I have I feel one, gotten closer to the girls who experienced it with me and two, when in Rome right?

Before we arrived in Gulu, Dustin went over the history Northern Uganda. Most of us have a little knowledge of the situation because of the Invisible Children documentary that had come out a few years ago. We were passing the same streets that these kids would walk on for hours upon hours at night to escape the fear of the LRA. Pulling up to the farm we had the warmest greeting from the SOI staff there in Gulu. Momma Ester had a delicious African snack prepared for us complete with fried sweet potatoes, cooked cabbage, fried toast and fresh pineapple. I knew I was going to like it here. She introduced us to her sweet family and some of the other SOI staff that we would be spending the next few days with. Maureen took us on a tour of the Koro farm and we were all amazed at the progress within the past few years. What once was bush is now vast land filled with crops and animals.

As we were wrapping up the last of the tour we ran into a choir practice. This isn’t what you usually see on Sundays with long choir robes or microphones with stands. There were just voices, clapping and lots of dancing. More of which we will see on Sunday. But as we were passing, two girls stopped what they were doing and were running, screaming towards us with their hands in the air. They proceeded to pass Alexis, Beth, Anna, John and myself but ran straight into Matt’s arms. We all thought, “Oh maybe they remember him from last year…No, wait he wasn’t on the trip last year.” Not one of us stopped laughing for the next 15 minutes and we actually have already brought it up a few times since this afternoon. Matt is going to come back with more than souvenirs and stories.

The most encouraging part of the whole tour was hearing that the main reason of this farm was to involve the community to be a part of the mission. The donations, prayers, work and time put into this farm has already made such an impact in the staff’s lives and the lives of the community as well as those that visit. I have seen it for a short time today and I am already anxious to get back.

A verse that has been on my heart and has been my prayer for this trip:

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.”

God is so good and it’s only day 1.

Fun Facts of the trip:

Brett likes to use the women’s bathroom… as evidenced by him accidentally using the women’s room in the Charlotte airport.

Matt’s minimum height requirement for his future wife is 4’2”.

Quotes of the day:

Dustin: “It’s a muffin and a donut, it’s a monut”

Anna: “Brett, just because you are cat whisperer doesn’t mean you are a gorilla whisperer. You better back up, you’re getting ready to get slapped in the face.” (as Brett is trying to feed a baboon a twix bar)

Dave’s celebrity crush: Eva Mendes