More on Uganda...

We'll see how far I get today because somebody isn't so enthusiastic about taking a decent nap, so I'll write what I can.

I wanted to write a little bit about the people I met on this trip, because honestly that is what made the trip for me. I could've been on the moon and had a terrific or awful time depending on who I was with.

First of all, I have to tell you we had an amazing team coming from the US. I didn't really know anyone to start with--there was a couple going from Laramie, but we'd only met twice before we left. It was good to at least have some familiar faces. I had spoken on a conference call with the rest of the team 3 times before we left, and based on that I had some preconcieved notions about what everyone would be like, but that was it! Not only was I doing something totally out of my comfort zone, going far away from my family and all things familiar, but I didn't know anyone else to boot. Just one more thing to feel apprehensive about, but yet one more thing to put before the Lord and trust him to work out.

Any of you who were praying for team unity must have been working overtime, because we all got along so well, it was really amazing! Especially with such a diverse group of people. There were older folks, young people and those of us in the middle. Some of us were married, some were single. Several of us had never been on a trip like this before, others had been on multiple missions trips. But at least on my part, I enjoyed everyone so much! I feel incredibly blessed to have met all 15people who went with me. I know at first I was a little pre-occupied with feeling homesick, but each person who went added something to the trip, and ultimately to how it impacted me. One of my favorite stories of the people who I travelled with is Audrey, who is 84. Man, I hope to be half as active and spunky as she is when I get to be that age! Just to give you a little taste of her personality, she went sky-diving for her 80th birthday! Everyone would just go nuts when she'd show her pictures from that experience, especially the Ugandans we met. They were very respectful of her and called her "mamma" but then she whips out this picture of her falling out of a plane strapped to an instructor and they just couldn't believe it. She was a joy to be around, and to see how God can continue to give us an amazing life no matter what age we are. I know how life works, and the likelihood of all of us continuing to keep in touch is slim, but I loved being on this trip in a large part because of the people I went with. They helped me feel comfortable and secure in what was for me a very scary (initially) experience.

Then there's the men and women we met in Kitgum--our translators, our drivers, the church members, the people living in the camps, and of course the children. How do I try and express what they all mean to me? It is nearly impossible to put it into words. I felt welcomed and loved and cared for--at the end of the week at the celebration service, we all had to say a few words. I said--and I meant it--"At the beginning of the week I was feeling very homesick for my family. But God quickly showed me that I also have a family here in Uganda." That best sums it up, I think. How can people mean so much to you in such a short period of time? Everyone we met was friendly and kind and open and generous. We would just talk about our lives and our families, "In America..." or "Here in Uganda..." It was just so amazing to feel such a kinship with people you have just met and will be leaving shortly. I have no idea if I will ever go back there, but I certainly hope I do, if only to see the people I met and get to enjoy their fellowship some more. All of this is just more evidence to me that God was in our midst. Crossing all sorts of boundaries, we were able to love one another in the way people ought to, without pretenses or expectations. Simply because we were human beings who all are made in God's image and have him dwelling within us, we were able to just enjoy one another.

That sounds like a load of garbage doesn't it? It doesn't make a lick of sense, and yet that's the best way I can describe it. People sometimes tell me that I ought to be a writer or that I write well, but this is one of those times when I feel absolutely incapable of putting what I felt and what I experienced in to words. That's the best I can do.

Ok, ok, Xavier, I'm coming!