Travel day...Uganda here we come!

Leaving anywhere while on this trip was difficult.  This stands true for leaving our new friends in Ethiopia, and specifically Korah.  I can think of many ways to describe the people we met here.  Courageous, hospitable, determined, full of ingenuity, warm, and full of love for Jesus.  I am so glad to have been here and to have met this extended family in Christ. 

We flew from Addis Ababa to Entebbe, Uganda.  We made it through customs, exchanged money, and met our bus driver without incident.  Believe it or not, our bus driver (who drives for a Christian Childrens' home) is named Abus and is Muslim.  He treated us very well with only a few scares for our lives on the road.  Driving in Uganda is interesting and the roads are not like here in the US.  The way I understand driving in Uganda is that the largest vehicle gets the right of way.  All others just get out of the way. 

Uganda is a beautiful country.  For much of our travel to Canaan's Childrens' Home, we could see Lake Victoria.  It's very pretty.  I'm not sure how far it was from Entebbe to JinJa as all travel in Uganda seemed to take longer than expected, but the countryside gave us plenty to see.  Fields of sugar cane, tea leaves, and maize that reminded me of home. 

Upon our arrival to Canaan's, we were greated with cheers and lots of beautiful little faces.  I wasn't sure we would be able to pull in the gate, but Abus inched us into the compound.  As I got off the bus it was hug after hug.  It's odd to think how many people I hugged without knowing their name or having ever met them before, but the understanding that we were bound through Christ before we even met made it very natural.  I instantly had new friends in Trevor, Moses, Arie, Derrick, and Isaac.  These became "my boys" through the next 4 nights.  The first picture is of my friends Trevor (left) and Arie (right).  Below is a picture of me with my buddy Moses.  I love them all! 

We also met Pastor Isaac.  He is the man God put in charge of Canaan's and has done a remarkable job making this place into what it is today.  I had heard a bit of his life story and testimony from Mitch, but was eager to hear it directly from him.  After meeting him and hugging him, he let us know it would be one more day before he would give us his testimony.  After settling into our dorm area, Pastor Isaac's wife Mamma Rebecca and some of the girls made us a great meal.  We made it an early night as we were all tired from travel, and eager to spend valuable time with the children on Sunday for Sunday school and worship.