Home Sweet Home...

The Wrights, Amy, and I got back a little while ago from Mbale (the whole mission went down to see Nolan and the Okkens off, but we stayed an extra day). Normally during this rainy season, the trip back takes about three hours. Today it took more like five. Bob picked up a box truck in Jinja, so we couldn't go very fast traveling behind him anyway, but the roads were also in pretty bad shape. Bob got to pull the Gateway bus out of the mud, though, which was pretty exciting. We all piled out of the van (and sloshed through reddish mud that was about like glue to the bottom of our flop flips) to watch. It was a total "scene" as Martha says. The Gateway has a lot of people on it... Anyway, it feels really good to be back here now, dressed in clean sweats and t-shirt and just sitting on the couch, hanging out with Amy and the Tricarico girls. :) And I'm drinking tea with lots of sugar and milk in it...mmm! (When I get back to the states, Dad, I'm already planning to buy milk every week for the fridge at work. I'm sure it will help me more productive!)

By the way, I am NOT looking forward to having to take another trip next week, but it should be fun when we get there - the plan is to stay at the ARA, and I think Amy might get to come with us, which will be cool because she's never been to Kampala just to hang out.

Okay, the trip to Mbale was just alright (I was tired), but the days before were fun so I'll give you a quick summary: on Saturday it rained hard in the afternoon, so us girls ran outside in our clothes to wash our hair in the rainwater pouring off the gutter. It was colder even than regular showers, but got our hair nice and clean. (Craig got pictures!) That night we had a going away party for Nolan, complete with pizza. We were a little worried he was going to miss it, though - he'd gone with Bob and some of the other guys to work on a windmill, and got caught in the rain. The next day it poured all afternoon, and we had to cancel the afternoon worship service. Bob pulled a few trucks out of the mud, only to have them get stuck again. The next morning, Amy, Nolan, and I got up early to hike the hill behind the clinic. My flip flops got completely slippery from the mud and so I had to climb barefoot, but missed all the thorns so it was actually pretty nice. And the just-past-sunrise view from the hill is SO beautiful! We left later that morning for Mbale, and ate a really good lunch at the Oasis of Life restaurant. I tried some of Rachel's crocodile kebob - it tasted kinda fishy, but was somehow okay.

Nolan tried not to think about leaving, and I'd sort of like to do the same. It's not that I don't love Billings, and really love you guys, but Karamoja is like the only other place that I'd really want to live! But I'm pretty confident God has called me to be in Montana, so that helps. I just REALLY will miss people here and it's completely a bummer to think of leaving them for who knows how long (if I ever see them again). Still, it is great to have these relationships with people now, and I'm very thankful for them.