Kathryn
Jinja, Uganda
February 13, 2007
Dear Family and
Friends,
We arrived safely in
Uganda, Africa yesterday morning after about a 9 hour flight to
London, 7 hour layover, and 9 hour flight here to Uganda.
I wasn’t expecting it to
be like the pictures and movies. The poverty and filth is
everywhere. As we came off the plane and walked across tarmac,
I was overwhelmed by the heat, the smells, and the feeling of
no-going-back. I honestly keep feeling like I’ll wake up from
this dream and reach for my coffee! ;-)
We met our driver in front
of the small airport and started our 3-hour trip to the
orphanage. As we drove down the road, I couldn’t believe the
shacks that people called homes. I now understand why Americans
are considered so wealthy. Even the “nice” places here are
dilapidated and dirty. Near Kampala, the capital, we hit major
traffic. Vans and taxis crowded their way in, making four lanes
on a two lane road. I had to close my eyes at one point as I
saw drivers pulling in their mirrors. The cars were as close as
6 inches apart. After Kampala, the roads cleared and we were
back up to 70mph. I was so tired that I fell asleep despite all
that there was to see. I as jolted back awake when Abdullah
swerved off to the side of the road. Apparently, he had been
going “too fast” and had to talk his way out of a ticket, I
think having Americans in his car helped.
We arrived at the
orphanage to about fifteen African women running toward us,
screaming, laughing, and hugging everyone. Now, on to see the
kids!
We went into the “preemie room” first. I had to fight back
tears as I walked around the room, stopping at makeshift cribs
to hold each baby’s hand. Some were alert and happy while
others looked at me with a blank stare. I picked up one and
walked to the next room to find more babies crying to be held.
I felt like I didn’t have enough to give. I couldn’t hold them
all and I couldn’t stand that I was leaving some out. I put
down the preemie and picked up one of the crying babies. She
had been taking a nap and needed a diaper change. After
changing and holding her awhile, I went back to our room to
unpack.
We were taken out to a
Chinese restaurant for our welcome dinner. (I found it very
strange that I was in Africa, at a Chinese restaurant…and
Beyonce was on the radio.)
By the end of the night, I
couldn’t keep my eyes open...I was exhausted, physically,
mentally and emotionally. We came back to the volunteer house
to find the power out. We were ready with our flashlights. I
have to admit that I was a little over-cautious and walked
around the room and bathroom with my head-lamp, checking for
anything crawling. I climbed under my mosquito net, sprayed
everything down with repellent and wrote for a while in my
journal. We were asleep by 10:30pm. I’m having a hard time
with the jet lag, trying to figure out the time. I woke up at
4:30 this morning and couldn’t sleep until about 7am. We got up
at 10 and are now in town at an internet café. We don’t have
any food or water back at the volunteer house, since we just got
here, so we’re going shopping after this. While the heat isn’t
unbearable, it’s definitely more than I have ever experienced.
I can’t wait to get some bottled water! The water here isn’t
drinkable, so we’ll need to either have boiled or bottled. And
as you can probably imagine…Starbucks is nowhere to be found!
;-)
I laughed as we
passed a gas station and saw the owner sitting out in a lawn
chair with a rifle in his lap. As we passed the local bank this
morning I saw another man sitting out with his rifle, so I guess
that’s acceptable around here.
J
While I didn’t expect all
the luxury of home, I honestly didn’t expect the Africa that you
see in National Geographic. Walking down the street, you’ll see
toddlers out playing in the dirt, women washing clothing in
basins, a man pushing a banana-laden bicycle, and dirt…red clay
everywhere.
God is giving me so much
grace. I am able to deal with things I couldn’t have handled
back home. This is quite the experience. To be honest, the
thought of three months of this is hard, but I know that
everything takes time for adjustment.
Anyway, I have to go.
I’ll write more soon. Please excuse my grammatical errors,
rambling or incomplete sentences, and whatever else. I am way
too tired to think straight!
Thank you all for your
prayers, gifts, letters, and support. I love and miss you all
more than I could ever express. Feel free to write and tell me
how things are going back home.
In His hands,
