Rafting the Nile

Day 17 - Jinja, Uganda

We left at 8am on a bus for Jinja.  Adrift was the company and to be quite honest, I was scared out of my mind for today!  White water rafting on the Nile for the first time is daunting to me.  My throat was still bad, but I told myself that I came all the way to Africa for the experience so I'm not gonna back down now.  Also I had just learned about all the blood sucking/infiltrating/killing parasites that live in the Nile from school and my immune system was down from the strep so I thought I was being semi-badass haha  We had heard stories about people flipping and crazy Aussies as tour guides so I was praying that we didn't get any of it!  We lathered up in sunscreen and sure enough I heard: "Welcome mates!"  Oh no...of course my guide is an Aussie.  Perfect! (not..)  We got our gear and headed out with a team of 8.  Duncan, Aussie, gave us all the safety precautions and off we went.  8 rapids, 4.5 hours.  The time between the rapids was nice and quiet.  Just paddling and talking.  Right before we approached the first rapid,

Kristen asked: "Duncan, what grade are these rapids?"
Duncan: "These are all grade 5 and 6."
Me: "Does the grade go to 10 then?"
Duncan: "No.  6 is the highest and you will not survive those."

We'll stick with 5 then!  I said a prayer and off we went.  Scary!!  HUGE waves and Duncan's urgent voice with paddling was stressful enough.  A couple fell out and panicked b/c we weren't supposed to flip that one b/c it was particularly dangerous...right before the waterfall.  Sure enough we flipped the next one.  It seems better to just jump in instead of taking the hit but no!  The waves are so big that you get trapped.  It's quite frightening and I may or may not have let out a few expletives.  All the rapids have names.  The two Grade 6 rapids are named: Hypoxia and The Bad Place.  They are such beautiful demonstrations of God's nature and yet spell death.  You are really at the hand of Mother Nature then.  I flipped 3 more times and it was equally scary for all.  Let's just say that I was glad I went but was glad it was over.  I really think it would be so much more fun the 2nd time around.  I wanna do it again!!  It was thrilling now that I think of it.

This was one where Duncan was trying to do a "dry flip" (flip on the bottom of the raft while it was turning over...while staying dry).  Needless to say he got it.  

Facing what seemed to be death and absolute insanity.  Definitely in a boat with adrenaline junkies :)

This is the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, Africa.  It is the most dangerous river in the World!! That would be amazing to do next time ;)

Photo: http://globecrashers.blogspot.com/2011/07/rafting-trip-of-lifetime.html

We had a late lunch at the river where we met/talked to a few more people.  I really admire people who are living their lives doing what they love.  People in general love their life/job/family/etc.  People are SO driven by money in America that they end up having careers that they hate!! These people just get by with what they need and get odd ended jobs in order to travel to the next place :)  I want to do that!! They are so incredibly happy and let me tell you...that kind of personality is definitely intoxicating.  

We have connections in Australia now so it's on the list for a future trip!  We went back, showered, and headed to the outdoor patio for some beers and pizza.  I wish we could have mingled more but most were already in clicks.  There were a group of Euro guys at the table next to ours but of course we did the little girl thing and laughed/snuck some peeks haha.  We went back to our cute little cottage to have some wine, chocolate, and fruit.  I've missed fruit so much.  None in South Sudan except 2 bananas.  Toilets and fruit...commodities!!!  Tomorrow is the market!  

The whole group in front of the Nile about to take off for the day!!  So pretty!!

Praise Him in the Suffering

Day 14 - Pure, South Sudan "The Field"

I already took an Ambien (this was my first one to have to take b/c the kids were being so loud outside of our tent haha and we needed sleep for the next day) so it's going to be sweet memory bullets today:

- I gave Violet her birthday card today and she loved it.
- I rode in a much needed Land Cruiser to Pure today.  I have never imagined a worse road.  We trekked through a stream, 2 foot deep cracks int the road and LC was rocking about 45 degrees back and forth for 2 hours.  Thank God I did not get car sick.

This was the stream we crossed.  It had gone down a bit so that we could get to Pure.

- We only treated 20 patients today.  It was market day apparently.
- We played volleyball with the crew and catch with the kids from the village.  Gave the ball to them afterwards.  Such a sweet and funny moment that was in trying to communicate that to them haha
- I made "half cakes"/mandazeh with Violet.  She taught me how to make, roll, and cook them.  Great fellowship time.

- We danced to Nigerian music videos.  Violet taught me how to dance.  She's so fun! Love her :)
- Prayed for Mogga's sickness with Violet tonight.  She is so concerned.  Poor thing.  May God grant her peace.
- Thankful at the end of the day for such beautiful people of God who give their lives to serve.  What a testimony of God's love for us.

PS: Alex is translating a movie from English to Kuku so that the kids will understand.  What a sweet soul.

Day 15 - Pure, South Sudan

This morning I helped Violet with breakfast then started the day after devotionals.  I Corinthians 10:20-22 stood out to me.  You either worship demons or you worship Christ.  You cannot live both lives.  AT home I feel like I may live both lives for the sake of being "moderate"/"normal".  I cannot continue leading this life.  I've got to think of the Lord and follow His ways in all that I do, even if it makes me stand out.  God is more important.  I've also been reading my Bible every day which has been a blessing.  I've learned so much from the people here.  We didn't have many patients at Pure as we thought.  They expected 300+ and we probably had 100 in 2 days.  Not bad.  To be honest, I was getting a bit impatient in the pharmacy.  It's hard work seeing that many patients so fast.  I've had some great fellowship here as I wind up my time here in South Sudan.  The way you can work with Christians is amazing.  I've gotten close to Violet and I'm sad to leave her.  I really admire her life and all that she does at 23.  The ride back was bittersweet.  I got to admire so much beautiful nature and thank God for blessing me with this trip.  I also held in my tears because I love this hard life.  Helping the souls Christ made is priceless to me.  I'm not sure of God's plan but I promise to save money so that I may come back to give of my life.  I believe God sent me on this journey for a reason.

Hanging out in the pharmacy!  I loved praying with people after giving them their medication.  So blessed.

A group picture right before we left our last village!

Day 16 - Kampala, Uganda

Today is the day we leave South Sudan :(  I've really loved it here.  The people, environment, purity, nature, kind servant hearts.  Our MAF flight got here earlier than expected so we left around noon.  They all are expecting me to come back and I just asked them to pray.  I don't know what God has in store but I have the desire for this type of life so we'll see what He does.  When we got into Entebbe Frank took us to get some cokes on our way to Kampala.  Our first encounter with a 3 aisle supermarket was culture shock.  So much food....so many choices.  I literally stood there with my jaw dropped.  Crazy, right?  Uganda is such a poor developing country but we were in a place with nothing.

My last tiny MAF flight!  Goodbye to my dear friends!

We stayed at a hotel in Kampala called "The Red Chili".  It was such a great experience.  Young, hip, and TOILETS!  It seemed like a luxury...oh yeah..hot running water!!  It was about $20-$30/night.  Pretty good.  They have all sorts of adventures leaving from there.  They also have a kitchen with different themed meals most nights.  Pizza, BBQ, etc.  People from all over the world are there...most just travelling.  Some quit their jobs, some are on leave, some just are in between school or before/after school.  It's a different world and I have to say that I absolutely am in LOVE WITH IT!  Americans would say it's "hippie" but I say it's cultural and living life!  I wish I had found this passion before medical school.  I would have done this type of work for a few years....I might not have come back! :)

The traffic and environment in Kampala is so similar to Bogota, Colombia.  Pollution, smog, no enforcement of laws, honking, man made lanes, boda bodas (motorcycles) and walkers.  I loved it to say the least.  Felt like home.  We decided to check out a local Indian restaurant called Calypso.  It was SO good and reasonably priced for American standards.  Kirsten and Lars are really nice.  They are the couple from Norway who donated the eyejusters.  Apparently the minimum wage in Norway is $20/hour.  Imagine how high class everyone is?  The amount of wealth in that country is tremendous.

After dinner we went back to the chili for a few drinks and to mingle.  We talked to a couple of Irish guys who were backpacking through East Africa.  I ended up going back to the room because I'm pretty sure I have strep throat.  I would post a pic here (yes I took one) but it was so gross!! Oh well...on antibiotics that I found in a barber's shop and don't feel horrible (Just realized how ridiculous this sounds).  Rafting tomorrow...yikes!!

I miss walking around this place.  We would walk EVERYWHERE instead of taking cars or boda bodas.  It was so beautiful getting to admire God's beautiful creation and all that he has provided for this country (as little as it is).  I especially loved seeing all the kids scurry when they saw "muzungus" (white people) coming!  It was so precious.  They would all wave as if you were the president coming by and yell "HIIIIII".  So amazing.

This is my friend Emmanuel.  We would practice Kuku and English together while he was pruning the garden.  We had such great conversations.  Such a beautiful heart for the Lord and so smart!  He is definitely quite talented and is driven to make something of himself.  It brought tears to my eyes.