Here, hold my baby...

As you all probably know by now, we made it! A 7 hour flight to Amsterdam followed by an 8 hour one to Uganda. I know what you all are thinking…. “Wow, that’s a long time on a plane”. And you’re right, it is. But it is also a lot of movie watching, combined with a little sleeping, eating, and reading on the side. We had a mix of everything on our screens; from Bridesmaids to The Perks of Being a Wallflower to one of the men watching the Katy Perry movie. In case he reads this, I should probably add, for his sake, that Katy Perry’s father used to be a preacher, so her movie is more of a documentary about that and the ways she was raised rather than “her kissing a girl and liking it” (Hope you all get the joke, and if not then please know those are popular song lyrics of hers).

 The first night mainly consisted of riding to our hotel and going straight to sleep.  The next morning we all got up and ate some of the best pineapple on the planet, and then took a 6 hour bus ride to Gulu. Not long after leaving the hotel, we had our first experience as “white people”. One of the African guys we passed got really excited about seeing us and pulled out his phone to take a picture. Of course we let him because we’re celebrities and are used to having the paparazzi take our pictures, right?! (Props to CC for that joke).

 On the bus we decided to make our own music by singing random song lyrics, ranging from old country to 90s hip hop music. About halfway through the bus ride, we stopped for a restroom and snack break. While some of our girls were waiting in line to use the restroom, an African woman went up to the one named Joan, randomly handed her baby over to her and said, “Nice to meet you. I’ll be right back.” Thank goodness she really came back (CC’s humor again!) We all got a good laugh out of it.

Several hours later, we received permission to take a group picture on the bridge with the Nile in the background; a “postcard” photo indeed. While walking from the bridge to the van, we saw several Baboons.  Yes, they have pink butts just like the ones in the zoo do. However, the ones here are the size of a “mini Gorilla”. They are very calm around people, though, and we were able to get some awesome close-ups of them.

Once we arrived in Gulu, we were welcomed by the children and SOI staff with encouraging words, inspiring stories about what God has done and continues to do there, and a beautiful dance performed by the children, all who are between the ages 13 and 19. After introducing ourselves, we took a quick tour around the farm, headed back to the hotel, and called it a night after eating pizza (typical American food, I know).

The first two days included a lot of travel, but have truly been amazing. We have had a lot of fun and cannot wait to have some more tomorrow. In all serious, though, we are very thankful that the only problems we have encountered so far are just a couple of lost bags. God is keeping us all safe and healthy and we know that His hand of protection is upon us everywhere we go. Our group has hearts full of love for God and His children and we are excited to see how he chooses to reveal himself to us over the next few days. Please continue to pray for our safety and for good health and that we will fully open our eyes, ears, and hearts so that we may see, hear, and do everything that God wants us to while we are here. Thank you for your continued support and please know that we are praying for you all and our families and friends who are back home as well. Looking forward to writing again… talk to you all soon!