Don't need to wait for the answers before you step out in faith

This may very well be my last blog entry from this side of the Atlantic. We're leaving really early Thursday morning, 5 am, and driving 10-13 hours south and west to Rwanda. We drive back to UCU on May 1st and then up to Entebbe the next day, to spend 3 days doing a debrief of our semester here. My days here are numbered. I have 8 days in Uganda, split by 10 days in Rwanda, remaining. I'm still not sure how exactly I feel about going home. I've spent 4 months here, with a group of students experiencing a lot of the same sort of things. I've been stretched and I've learned a lot and gradually become more comfortable here. Now I'm about to leap back into life at home, where not a lot has changed...except me. I don't really know how I'll react to being home, to people and...life. I feel like my whole way of thinking and processing has changed and the way I view the world and politics and...everything. I'm a little...nervous. Anxious. Panicky. I've heard from other people about returning home. I know that I'll be overwhelmed.
I also have no idea how to communicate any of what I've learned, about myself or the world or life or God. It's...I don't even know. I'll just wait and see. I can't predict everything now. It'll be alright. Vaya con Dios.

Higher, Jesus, higher

So...last summer I got a filling, between my back 2 teeth on the bottom of the right side of my mouth. It fell out while I was at Disneyland last semester. And...while I was flossing last night. I texted Phil, one of the USP interns and he made an appointment for me at a dentist in Kampala. I left UCU with Vincent, the USP driver, at 2 (and missed my class today, which was sad). I got there a half hour before my appointment and went in about a half hour after I was supposed to. It was okay though. I'd brought a book. Anyways, after I got in I asked if they have laughing gas. They did not. So I opted to get my filling re-done without anesthesia, because I HATE the shot. And when I got it re-filled before, he didn't drill or anything. Well...my dentist this time (Kathy) DID think it was necessary to drill, to reshape my cavity so it would hopefully stay in better. It hurt. Quite a lot. It was far different than any other dentist experience. I don't know exactly how.
Also, while Kathy was holding something to bring it to my mouth, whatever it was dripped straight into my eye. She told me that it's acidic, but wouldn't blind me. I rinsed my eye as best I could and after she finished my filling (a half hour or so later), I took out that contact because it was still burning. I rode home from Kampala and walked up to my dorm with only one contact. It as awesome. Then I rinsed the one (they'd given me a cup to put it in), took the other out, put on my glasses, and went to find dinner. I missed lunch so I was really hungry and wanted to reward myself. I got 2 rolexes, a brownie, and a soda (Fanta Passionfruit - which I will definitely miss). Now I am very full, my tooth is still sensitive, and my eye is almost done burning.
Overall, I'd say it was a fairly good day. Not the best overall, but dinner was delicious. I'm also going to watch an illegal movie (X-Men Origins: Wolverine - which isn't even in theaters yet). So my night will probably only get better. I have some popcorn in my room and will probably get another soda. AND I'll get to talk to Rusty. I hope.
I'm leaving for Rwanda in less than a week, on April 23rd. We drive back to UCU on May 1st and up to Entebbe on the 2nd. We'll be there for a couple days, debriefing and whatnot, and I fly out late on May 5th and get home in the afternoon on May 7th. It's coming up SO fast. I can't believe my time here is almost done. A lot of things here have become so familiar that it'll be very strange to come home again. The part of me that resists change is really nervous. I will be really glad to see people, especially my family. And Rusty, Becky, and Charlotte. May 7th will be happy; May 5th won't.
Thus far my summer plans are: Biola - May 14th-17th; Junior high camp - June 7-12 ; cruise w/ the family (maybe) - ; Jamaica - June 30-July 8. Other than that, I will be HOME. I'm excited.
Vaya con Dios.

Happy Birthday Zach!

In Ugandan time, it will be my little brother's 18th birthday in about an hour and a half. Crazy, right? It's still about noon on April 7th in the US, but whatever. I don't know his email or know if he even has one. I also don't think he reads this normally. However, I know that other family members do and they can pass along the message.

Happy birthday little brother! I can't believe you're so old. I hope you have an awesome day at Disneyland. I got you a sweet present, but you'll have to wait about a month for it. I miss you and I love you!

--Christine

They're forming an alliance.

We (30 of the 38 USPers) went on a safari this past weekend. It was at Queen Elizabeth National Park, which s on the western end of Uganda. Mukono is on the eastern end so we drove all the way across Uganda. It's only about the size of Uganda, but because of pothole roads and speed bumps every quarter mile, it took us 11 hours to get there. We took a faster way back, so it only took 10 hours. We stopped 2-3 times each way to get gas, have a bathroom break, let our engine cool down because it overheated, or take pictures at the equator and eat delicious food. We took a matatu (14 passenger van/taxi) there and back and used it for the safri-ing. This weekend, I spent about 30 hours in that matatu. The seats were not very comfortable either. The sleeping was pretty difficult. The safari was sweet. W saw a lot of elephants, pretty close to our van. We saw a lion, a leopard, a hyena, a hippo, mongooses, warthogs, kob, giant pterodactyl birds, and probably more that I'm forgetting. We camped and that was cool, except the ground was rocky and our stuff got a little wet. We brought our own food, so I had PB&J for most of our meals and various snacks. They made us dinner 1 night and that was fantastic. I got to talk to some of the others USPs and that was sweet. We had a campfire. There was a hippo about 100 feet away from me. I never want to ride in another matatu, but I probably will sometime this week and definitely will at some point before I leave.
This is our last week of normal classes. It's a little...stressing. After classes, we have finals week and then we go to Rwanda for 10 days. Then we have a few days of debrief and then I leave. A month from now, I'll be in Washington DC. It is crazy. I really want to see everyone at home, but I don't want to leave everyone here. I don't want to stop learning. I'm not counting down the days, although I do know how many are left. I'm glad to be here now and I'll be glad to be home soon. See you all soon. Vaya con Dios.