It's been nearly a week and I still find it hard to believe that I am typing this post on a laptop on my bed at home. Just six days ago I was driving down red dirt roads, seeing villagers display their harvest in roadside markets and sucking on raw sugar cane. But here I am, in Plymouth once again. Vacationers have flooded local beaches and summer is in high gear, as if I'd never left.
There are no summary statements adequate or blog posts long enough to explain how Uganda, or really how God, impacted me on this trip. I can tell you I witnessed God's healing and redemption in ways I never could have imagined. I've seen transformation on a nation-scale down to a little ol' heart like mine. I have built bonds stronger in a shorter amount of time than relationships that have had years to take root. It was intense in every way.
Over the next few weeks, for those who are interested, I will be sharing excerpts from my journal (well...er...three journals. I'm an English major, guys. I write a lot). It won't always be in chronological order, but it will allow those who have been praying in my absence and those interested in global issues to catch a glimpse of the last five weeks of my life. I'll also post a picture every now and then, and a video if you're really lucky ;) Thank you to all of you who encouraged me before, during, and now after this adventure. Shall we begin?
The following entry is actually taken from the last few days of my trip. I think it's a good place to start. It captures the first moment I began to process what this experience has meant, is meaning and will mean to me. It is written where I began the journey on the ground in Uganda-- on the shores of Lake Victoria at a camp site (Gerenge) for the Ugandan university students we partnered with throughout the trip. Here goes:
"30th June 2010. Gerenge Camp. 15:00.
Wow. I can't believe we're back in Gerenge. It feels like yesterday I was sitting right where I am now on the shores of Lake Victoria, about to embark on this journey. I was so scared then... and now I know I have nothing to fear. Jesus, thank you for where you've taken me. The strange feels familiar and the familiar will feel strange.
There's nothing like returning to a place unchanged to see the ways in which you yourself have altered. And through it all I am consistently a child of God.
And the world spins madly on.
These dragonflies have continued to buzz, the monkey-birds* call, the waves gently lap. The only difference is the ferry boat that has taken form just down shore. But as I inhale, it smells the same; water, grass, smoke from a leaf fire.
And the world spins madly on.
Seemingly satiated, now hungry.
Mature in growth, now shrinking.
Limited by fear, now free.
More of Him and less of me."
*this reference will make more sense later. Stay tuned for more journal entries. Now you're hooked! What are monkey-birds? To be continued...
