Uganda Trip #15 | Post 9
Heading Home!
Today we said goodbye to our on-again, off-again home in Abaana’s Hope, north of Gulu. We drove away from the compound for the last time over a six-year stretch.
Mike, Stu, and I waited in an airport terminal about the size of the Refuge Room, which is shown on the picture that accompanies this post. We waited for a Missionary Aviation Fellowship plane to arrive and fly and take us to a gravel runway in Kajansi, about ½ hour away from the Entebbe airport. The plane arrived, and we joined two passengers who had already been picked up at previous stops in the 12-passenger plane for the 75 minute flight.
Our pilot was named Andrew, and after navigating our way to our seats, he gave us the safety briefing and made sure we each had a bottle of water. We lifted off and said goodbye to this little patch of earth we had grown so fond of (I know I’m not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, but I’m tired).
The ride was uneventful as we flew over the lush countryside (It’s rainy season). We looked over the Nile for the last time before things were more populated and modern, and I could see the runway ahead. We landed quickly and quietly and taxied to a stop where we climbed out, got our luggage and jumped in a van for a ride to a hotel to ride out the six hours before heading to the Entebbe airport.
We stayed at the Protea hotel, on the shore of Lake Victoria where we could see the planes taking off from the airport. We had dinner with Kris Mobbs, the man who was our main connection and friend for the last six years and reminisced over all had taken place. He currently lives in Kampala, the capital city and is moving toward other ministry opportunities in the country. We said goodbye to our friend, and it was just the three of us.
On the FCC website, it says this is trip number fifteen. I have actually been blogging for fifteen of the twenty trips to Uganda – what I assume is my last trip here. Unless God changes some plans. I will miss the country, the lovely people, the friendships, and the ministry that we have grown to love in Gulu. It is easy, however, because the Africans are more than capable of continuing the work of teaching other leaders to understand and communicate the Bible without our assistance. They are quite capable and eager to go. These trips are draining, so it’s good that my 67 year old body is done with these.
We are four hours from take-off, and the 24 hour trip will start with a trip to Brussels, where Mike Stu and I will say goodbye to each other. Mike will head to Italy where and his wife Jill will spend some time in Italy celebrating 50 years of marriage. Stu will head back to Glacier National Park in Montana, where he will rest for a day, before he and his will Cheryl will begin their drive back to Baldwin. I will be heading through Newark (a first for me) before, God willing where I will land at MSP around 4 pm and head home. 48 hours later, I will be taking off from MSP where I will be joining five of my six siblings for a ten-day trip to the home of our forefathers, Poland. What a ride!
This is not my last post, but it’s all I got today.
