September 2, 2025

Uganda Trip #15 | Post 1

I was picked up in Hudson at 9:15 am on Sunday (5:15 pm Gulu, Uganda time) and finally arrived at our very familiar guest house where we (Mike Evans, Stu Dix and me) will live together for the next two weeks at 5:30 pm on Tuesday. It took two full days to get here that included a brief overnight stay in Entebbe.

For those of you who don’t know, this will be my final trip to Uganda, and I am already getting nostalgic. Mike and Stu are already ribbing me for my statements, such as, “This will be the last time we land at Entebbe”, and “this will be the last time we shop for Coke Zero in Gulu,” etc. The picture on this post logged my very first trip to Uganda. I am shown preaching in a thatch roofed church in February 2005-I look at least two years younger than today! I started coming regularly in the 2014 (I’ll explain more about the process as my time away unfolds in future posts), and this is my 20th and final trip (unless God changes my plans, which he is free to do).

This trip, from a logistical standpoint, was the strangest. We usually fly Delta, but the costs were so high we decided to go with United instead-the upside is we saved money. The downside is our (Mike and me) first leg was from MSP to O’Hare where we would have a three-hour layover. The upside is that it gave me a chance to buy a Chicago Dog (see picture), having been deprived of one at the state fair this year. During my flight, I sat next to a young dentist who was on her way to Peoria to start working there. She grew up in South Dakota and went to dental school at the University of Iowa. We chatted about what it was like for her in the dental industry. So far, she is enjoying it. Then I got around to asking her the question that was on my mind as soon as she shared her profession. “How do people feel about a high schooler working in their mouth?”-she looks so young. She says she gets a lot of comments like that.

We also met Stu at O’Hare. He and his wife Cheryl just spent their third summer working at Glacier National Park, where their daughter Sarah serves as a full-time ranger. So, he flew from Kalispel, MT to O’Hare, where we were supposed to meet. Stu’s layover in Chicago was supposed to be about 40 minutes. However, his flight was delayed and we thought we might be going to Brussels short one person. Then our flight was delayed about the same amount of time (30 minutes), plus Stu set a record, getting his 18-minute airport walk done in four. He made it, but will his bag? It was nice to be together. He and I are about the same size, so I can clothe him for a few days while we wait for his bag.

We flew from O’Hare to Brussels, about a 7 ½ hour flight. Seeking to save money, we always fly economy, so it can get a little cozy on the flights. In recent years the airlines do a much better (for them) job of filling the seats. I had the good fortune of having an empty seat next to me, one of five on the flight. This was my first time landing in Brussels, and we walked directly from one plane to another, our flight to Entebbe for an 8.5-hour trip. Again, I was gifted with an open seat next to me, one of about 20 in a plane holding about 300. We landed in Entebbe, and to Stu’s great joy, his bag made it from Montana…it’s amazing when you think about it.

After a six-hour break in a hotel (I slept almost five), we ate breakfast and started the drive to Gulu, 8.5 hours later which included pulling over to the side of the road to have some goat on a stick (not their state fair!). It is now Tuesday evening. Tomorrow morning, we meet with our Lead Trainers (will tell you more tomorrow about them) and prep for teaching.

I’m tired and content. This is a bit of a grind and a very high privilege. God has been very kind in allowing me to serve in such a meaningful way.