back from rhinos

Before I talk about the rhino trip I want to talk about Friday. I got to go pick up the teachers from Pabbo and see a lot of my old friends from there. I chatted with Walter the head teacher and my co-teacher Geoffry who is not the deputy head teacher, he also sat in on our round table. I saw Dennis, I don’t remember if I ever mentioned him in my blogs but he is a wonderful man who loves the Lord. We would talk about the Bible and one day we had this amazing discussion about joy in suffering. I still remember it so vividly today. To talk to someone living in an IDP camp about joy in suffering was one of the most humbling and perspective altering moments of my life. Then at the end of our stay he gave all of us bananas from him and his family whom we never got to meet. That was one of the most precious times. I remember being super tired and emotionally exhausted then but afterward looking back it was really a beautiful time.
I left gulu along with lisa, another teacher, around 10 and arrived at Pabbo to meet up with Jenni and Pablo and their co-teachers. We had a great round table discussion and then picked up their things and headed back to gulu. I had forgotten how bumpy that ride is, it kind of made my stomach turn. Once we got back I did a few things and then we had a group meeting and dinner and just hung out because it was raining super hard.
Now for the rhino trip. We successfully made it through the first trip I coordinated on my own. It’s actually not as amazing a feat as it may sound. All I had to do was collect money from everyone and pay out our bill at the sanctuary. The rhino sanctuary is one of the most relaxed places I have been to. We left gulu around 11 and drove for about 2 hours. We arrived, set our stuff down in our rooms and headed out to “trek” to the rhinos. We had a guide and drove out into the bush for a bit. Then we got out of the matatoos and walked for about 10 minutes or so to where 3 rhinos were. There was the dominant male, a mother, and a baby. It was fun but it was super sunny and hot. We took some pictures and then headed back to the sanctuary where I had a hot shower! That was so nice. Then we sat around and chatted til dinner. After dinner we played some cards and some people went to watch the world cup game down the road. Everyone else pretty much went to bed. I woke up kind of early and packed my things and had some coffee and read my Bible outside alone and it was super nice. Then Lisa and Lindsay and the Sassers joined me which was wonderful because they are great. Slowly everyone came out and we had a yummy breakfast and then loaded up to drive back. Now we are all back and everyone is doing their own thing, getting food, shopping, hanging out, etc. I am going to go to town with Lisa Lindsay and the Sassers (Katherine and Patrick) to the market and then to get some dinner. Catherine is in Kampala waiting for group two to arrive tomorrow morning. I am excited to meet them and super excited to see Trisha.
Funny stories
- We were playing cards and something, a huge lizard or mouse or something crawled up my leg and I yelled and ran. The funniest part is that the waiter was about to ask me a question and he was totally freaked out. Everyone was cracking up.
Please pray for group 2’s arrival and settling in time. There is a lot of extra work this week and next week is the conference so we can use all the prayers for smooth transitions and such we can get (: Also my digestion is not doing so hot so please pray for that as well.