First Impressions

Everything has gone smoothly so far. It was very cold in London but we managed knowing that we would soon be on the equator!

All of the African people we met on our 8 ½ hour flight to Entebbe airport were lovely! We met a man named Ceasar who had been on a business trip to Spain and was returning home to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. He was very congenial and proud to tell us all about his country and all that we would encounter. He even told us about the history of political unrest but reassured us that conditions are stable and that we should have no problems.

Our flight had a lot of young children and a lot of missionaries from various organizations. I noticed a Caucasian husband and wife who were likely in their 50’s, who had adopted 2 African children (a boy and a girl) when they were infants. The seemed to be roughly 5-6 years old and they were returning to Africa for the first time for a visit. They were so sweet!

All of the travelers were very polite and well dressed. I realized how causal and often aloof we are in the US.

As we deplaned, we were struck by the humidity. Since we were all wearing our London gear, we soon began to feel uncomfortable, but at least it wasn’t too hot. And wouldn’t you know Bonnie and I were bit by mosquitoes within the first 30 minutes of landing! Luckily we are both taking the malaria pills. Malaria, a preventable and curable disease kills 320 Ugandans a day! Yes, that’s right A DAY! Mostly, this is due to lack of education on how to reduce the risk of getting malaria and getting treatment.

All of the team and their luggage arrived safely and we were met by Africa Renewal Ministries (ARM) staff with buses to take us to our guest house. Along the 1 ½ hour ride from the airport to our cottage, we saw a lot of nightlife, mostly men, hanging out, listening to music at local pubs and even gambling! I spotted a small “casino”. It looked like our US laundry mats except with slot machines.

The nightlife seems to go well into the night as we we’re driving through town at 1 am and the party seemed to be in full force. We noticed very few women out and even noticed an obvious “lady of the night”.

As we drove along Lake Victoria, the breeze was refreshing and we were thankful for it. While we drove through darkness, I did notice that the silhouette in the distance looked much like Southern California’s hillsides with scattered lights. I can’t wait to see what it looks like tomorrow in daylight.

Our guest house is very nice. Bonnie and I are sharing a room to ourselves. Our beds have mosquito nets and a fan! We feel very blessed to be in such nice accommodations.