whoo hoo

April 11th

Things i'm going to miss:

The rain- it is very soothing to sleep to the sound of rain on a metal roof. Also, i'm going to miss the way that everything stops when it rains.

fruit- the quality and adundance of fruit here is wonderful. pineapple ( we had pineapple crumble last night, which was AMAZING) , the best bannanas you can imagine, papaya, jackfruit, all from 100 yards away ( except the pineapple)

Our friends, of course- I feel bad because the ugandans here have so many people like us come for a while, then leave. Many of them never write, so they never hear from them again. Everyone asks "when are you coming back" because they know that a lot of white folks who live at the institute come back as staff, as well as they just want us back. I just say "when the lord calls us" cause who knows if we'll ever be back. We were gone on safari for 3 days, and when we got back there was a mini-celebration with lots of hugs and lots of repeated 'welcome back!!' greetings. I hate to think what the goodbye is going to be like.

Ubiquitous children and babies- it has been so great to just always have kids around, especially kids who need love because of their situation. It is good to be part of a community that is very intentionally trying to bring these children up in the Lord.

Outdoor showers- there is something nice about taking a shower outside. it's refreshing, you can see the trees, birds, etc.

Cool evenings- when it's hot in michigan, it stays hot well into the evening; here, 10 minutes after the sun goes down, the temperature drops 15-20 degrees.



Things I'm not going to miss:

Sleeping under a mosquito net- Even thought we finally got a good net, it is still annoying because it doesn't fit the beds. Even more, the net is treated with an insecticide, so whenever you touch it ( which is often, because it always needs adjusting, plus when you enter/exit) you get permicithrin on your fingers. Then, you rub your eyes because you're sleepy, and oops, now you have burning chemical eyes.

Our bed- our bed is just two beds pushed together, so there is a nice wooden beam ( a dividing wall of hostility, if you will) between Ellie and I. Not the most comfortable thing. Although, funny story, when we were at the tiny little banda we were staying at during the safari, we both commented on how we were looking forward to coming back to our bed at the institute ( never thought i would see the day) , because the foam mattresses that we were sleeping on were probably only 2 inches thick at the beginning of their useful life, and they should have long since been retired. Except for the line of ants on the floor and the gigantic cockroach, it might have been better to sleep on the floor because we could feel the slats on our backs.

the 2.5 hour church service sitting on a concrete bench- it is just brutal on the back and tailbone.

Outdoor showers, especially at night- wherever there is light and moisture, there are bugs. enough said. also, our shower is under the drip line of the roof, so all the junk that falls on the roof come down into our shower, especially when it is raining.


April 10th

Phew, we are back from the safari, clean, showered, and starting to sweat nicely in the humid evening. We (mostly me) took almost 2000 pictures in 3 short days, which is a new record for me. Here is a partial list of the animals that we saw (off the top of my head, in no particular order.) We had a great time, managed to only get bitten a few times, and stung by a bee once. Amazing landscapes, beautiful animals, and delicious food.

Oribi
Red Hartbeast
Lion
Elephant
Ugandan Kob
Grey Headed Woodland Kingfisher
Africa Fish Eagle.
Tawny Eagle
African Darter
Pied Kingfisher
Piapiack
oxpeckers
cattle egrets
carmine bee-eater
baboon
chimpanzee
White Rhino
Vervet monkey
Grey headed heron
crocodile
hippos
Golden weaver



no pictures for now, it's taking me over an hour just to download them off the cameras. drat this silly USB 1.1

We have a whirlwind couple of days left here, then off to the Netherlands to visit the Verkerks, then homeward.

good night.