Where to start? I have dreamed, thought, prayed, and made plans about going to Uganda for so long and now I am finally here. Let me start here: with the fact that God answers prayers and got me here safely. Thank you to everyone who prayed for traveling mercies. It was a very real encouragement throughout the journey to know that there was a veritable army praying specifically for me. As I start this blog (which will probably take me a day or two to finish) it is September 2, and I arrived on the mission compound in Karamoja, Uganda this afternoon around 3:00 pm. I left Pittsburgh on the evening of August 30. I am happy to be here.
I imagine that, if you are reading my blog, you probably want to hear what life in Uganda is like. I am afraid I cannot tell you yet. I still don't know. I still haven't quite even figured out my living situation. Not that I don't know where I am living; I happen to be lying on my mosquito-net-enshrouded bed right now. Rather, I haven't yet figured out how to live in my situation. Currently, what I am experiencing is similar to what I feel when I arrive at a campsite, drop my pack, and start deciding how to set up camp. The campsite is home for the night; it just doesn't know it yet. Similarly, this is home now for the next eleven months; but there is still some figuring out to do. Probably a lot of figuring out. For example, getting into a top bunk that has a mosquito net around it is surprisingly difficult for this newbie.
All that to say, stay tuned for more details about life in Karamoja. Right now, I want to share a little bit about the journey here.
On Sunday, August 30, I bid farewell to family and friends in Pittsburgh. Despite the rather lengthy line at security, I got to my gate with more than enough time to sit and ponder. Even then, it was hard to believe that I was about to leave the country and go to Uganda. Uganda! That's on the other side of the world! I felt as if I had finally come to the edge of the cliff. As I waited to board that plane, I was standing right on the brink, right at the point of no return. Except I wasn't actually standing. I was leaning forward: slowly, irrestistably, tipping out of control. I wrote in my journal, prayed, and read my Bible, taking comfort in the fact that God had brought me to that point which meant that, as scary as falling off a cliff is, that was right where God wanted me to be.
By the time I arrived in Philadelphia, the "tipping" sensation had developed into a full-blown "falling" sensation. Happily, in free-fall, there is less of an illusion of control than in the losing-one's-balance phase, and therefore anxiety gave way to resignation. By the time I was over the Atlantic and unable to sleep on the London-bound, red-eye flight, somehow my metaphoric parachute released and my fall started to deccelarate. Evidently, hanging in a slowly decsending parachute gives one time to wonder and pray, "Dear Lord, what am I doing?" In fact, it gives one time to wonder and pray that quite a lot. "What on earth am I doing?"
And yet, despite my rathernerve-racking internal experience during my flights, God continued to make the way straight. My luggage was handled quickly and neatly at the Pittsburgh end; checking through security went well; navigating strange airports provided some welcome mental and physical exercise; I did not accidentally leave any personal belongings behind; I had no trouble getting a Ugandan visa at the Entebbe Airport; both of my luggage containers made it intact; and, at 1:30 am, September 1, I saw a man holding a sign with my name on it outside the Entebbe airport. That is a lot of prayer requests answered. As we drove to the hotel around 1:30 am, a monkey darted across the road in front of us, bringing the realization home: I am in Uganda. I finally hit the ground after falling all the way from Pittsburgh.
Two other gals flew into Entebbe that night, also heading for the mission in Karamoja. Rachel is staying for six weeks and maybe thensome; Angela is staying for nine months. All three of us will work with KEO--Karamoja Education Outreach. From Entebbe, the three of us and Milton, our driver and escort, traveled to the city of Mbale. Mbale is the closest major city to Karamoja and about a 5 hour drive from Entebbe. The drive offered a variety of new sights and experiences: driving on the left side of the road; traffic patterns that operate apparently without traffic lights, turn signals, or noteable cushions of space between vehicles; the ubiquitous "picky" (i.e. motorcycle taxis) that can carry three people or, sometimes, a whole flock of live chickens. Around mid afternoon, we arrived at a hotel in Mbale, where we were met by Jim and Jenny K. and Martha and Bob W. from the mission.
Uganda is seven hours ahead of Pennsylvania. To avoid serious jet lag, might I make the following suggestion: don't sleep at all on your overnight flight. Then, you will not have jet lag. You will only be short on sleep, which you can proceed to catch up on as you would any other time you find yourself short on sleep. By Wednesday morning, I had to remind myself that, only a few days ago, the current time was seven hours earlier.
Wednesday was also the day that we embarked on the last leg of the journey to Karamoja. From Mbale, the mission compound is only about 80 kilometers. However, the time it takes to traverse this distance fluctuates signifigantly based on the weather and road conditions. Roughly the first 20 km are paved road; the rest is red clay and dirt which, in the rainy season, can become deeply rutted and muddy. The missionary company was equipped with water, food, mud-boots, and a tow rope because, as Martha said, if you are prepared for rain, it will be sunny, but if not, not. In God's providence, not only did it not rain, but a work crew had been repairing the road over the past week, and the road was in fantastic condition. At least, that is what Martha told me and Rachel. Lacking a frame of referance, we took her word for it. Clearly, we are no experts on Ugandan throughfares.
Around 3:00 pm, September 2, I arrived on the compound of the Orthodox Presbyterian Uganda Mission. Lord willing, this will be home until sometime in July, 2016. My address here is as follows:
Fiona Smith C/O OPUM
PO Box 1307
Mbale, Uganda
East Africa
And that is the tale of my travels. Stay tuned for what happens next. Personally, I am eager to find out.
Prayer requests:
- For me, Angela, and Rachel as we adjust and try to learn our new roles and responsibilities.
- That the three of us would pick up the language (Ngakarimajong) quickly.
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