Dark and early on
Tuesday, November 5 (3:15 to be exact) Ally and I got up to start getting ready
for our big adventure. Ashley and Darin
arrived to pick us up at 4:40 and we were out of Veedersburg before 5:00. Of course, I was up late doing the last
minute packing and Ally was finishing up homework that had to be turned in
before she left. So we were functioning
on about 2 hours of sleep. No problem-we
were facing a long flight and knew that we would sleep on our journey.
Our first flight
to Dallas/Fort Worth was just fine. We
met up with Anna DeVillez (a Seeger graduate) in Indianapolis and the four of
us hit it off instantly. We were lucky
enough to sit together on the first trip.
We grabbed a bite to eat in Dallas and waited for the rest of the team
to arrive.
The flight from
Dallas/Fort Worth to Dubai was long!
14.5 hours long! We were all
scattered about and that made it even longer to not have each other close. Ashley was on the same isle as me so we could
connect if we needed to. Ally and Anna
were actually one seat apart (with no one between them) and were able to chat
when Ally wasn’t snoozing! Ashley and I
neither one could sleep. We had a few
catnaps but never really slept so by the time we arrived in Dubai-we were
exhausted. The first thing that we did
in our hotel room was get cleaned up! It
never felt so good to brush my teeth!
We went out for a four-hour
tour of Dubai. It is a beautiful
city-especially at night. Ashley has
some pictures on her blog as well (http://www.bowlingwildlifeandadventures.blogspot.com) We saw a lot of neat buildings, bought some souvenirs, watched a water
show beneath the tallest building in the world and walked through the largest
mall in the world. My highlight of the
evening was putting my feet in the Persian Gulf. We all agreed that was one thing we could
cross off of the bucket list!
Sleep was
wonderful in Dubai except for the phone call that I got at 3:30 in the morning
from Enterprise Rental Cars. I imagine
that man thought I was crazy when I told him I was out of the country and he
was burning up precious minutes on my International Plan and to not call me
back! By the way, please don’t call or
text me until after the 19th!!
Our flight today
was fine and getting a VISA was a piece of cake. We met our driver from Return Ministries and
loaded (and boy do I mean loaded) up the van.
We had about an hour ride from Entebbe to Kampala. That ride was very interesting. The vehicles all honk at one another, pass
you like crazy, and are not considerate of one another at all. The poverty was so evident on the ride in and
I could tell that it was really bothering Ally.
We settled into
our rooms at Return Guest House and Chef Alex prepared a wonderful dinner for
us! It is a beautiful guesthouse that
has a guard walking around all night (Mom, does that make you feel
better?) As I sit here typing this I can
only sum up this adventure so far with one word, AMAZING!
Pastor Samuel
talked to us after dinner about how Return Ministries started and the purpose
for it. He encouraged us to consider
sponsoring a child each month but that will be another blog! After he spoke to us it was time to walk down
the muddy path to meet the children.
The smiles on
their faces when they entered the tent to meet us were indescribable. They would run to you with open arms and wide
smiles. They stole our hearts from the
moment they entered the room! A young
lady came up to me and after hugging me never left my side except to get me a
stamp that matched hers and to get some beads that she had made.
So now it is time
to sleep and rest up for tomorrow. I
apologize for this blog being so long but wanted to catch you up on what has
been going on. Please pray for our team
that we will be the shining light that these children need. Pray that we will be able to make a small
difference in their lives in such a short time here.
My dear friend,
Sally, sent me with verses to read each day.
Each one has been a perfect match for that day. So, I will close with the one we read this
morning:
“Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28: 19-20
Blessings,
Tori
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