Last days in Uganda

Well, we had our final day on the ground in Uganda yesterday. I have not had the chance to update the blog because we have had no Internet connection since we left our base in Jinja. It has been an eventful couple of days. Last I wrote, we were leaving for the game park early in the morning. We got there just fine, although six hours in a bumpy bus with no A/C, and the sun beating down on you through the windows is not the most comfortable option. It was all worth it once we got there though.

When we arrived, it was lunch time. We dropped our bags at the hotel inside the game park, and made our way to a little restaurant to get lunch. We had to hurry, because we were running late for the boat that we were supposed to catch. The boat took us on a river safari down the Nile river. It was completely surreal to be motoring down the famous Nile River… There were thousands of hippos, a handful of Nile crocodiles, water bucks, elephants, and kingfishers, just to name a few. As we headed down the river, there were such beautiful sights that you would have to see them to believe them.

As the river safari came to an end, we started to the our destination. We were headed to a waterfall that was so large and powerful, you could see the froth in the water miles down river. It was massive. As we got closer and closer, it was easy to see the power that this beast possessed. The sound was incredible. It sounded like a constant rolling thunder, and you could feel the power in your chest. We stopped to take some pictures, and then it was time to get off the boat and hike.

The hike began at the bottom of the cliff that the waterfall came from, and wound around until we eventually made it to the top of the waterfall. It was immediately evident that this was not a tourist attraction in the United States, because there were sheer rock faces on the edge of the pathway that dropped 100 feet or more, and no guard rail. I told everyone to watch their step… That would not have been a fun ride down.

At the top of the falls, we were able to stand in the mist created by the rushing torrent. It was quite refreshing after a hike of that caliber to be misted in cool river water. All we could do is stand there in awe watching as thousands of tons of water crashed down the rocks at incredible speeds. Standing there, Psalm 29 became very real: 1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. 3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. We have pictures and videos, but unless you are there, you cannot experience it like we did.

After our hike, we were supposed to wait for our driver to come and pick us up. Because of a mixup, he was very late. We waited for him for over an hour, and it began to get dark. This is a humbling thing when you know that big cats love to come out right when it gets dark, but we waited. He finally arrived, and we were all still in one piece, and we loaded up.

As we drove back to the lodge, I was looking out the window for any signs of wildlife. Everything gets very active at night, and I wanted to get in on the action. Fighting the dust that was flying off the wheels at tremendous speeds, I resisted the urge to pull my head back in the window, safe from the cloud of dirt. As we rounded a corner at about 40 miles per hour, my persistence paid off. There on the side of the road, crouching to hide from our bus, was a leopard. It was one of the most beautiful things I had seen. This was so special because leopards are one of the hardest animals to spot. I shouted for the team to look, but everyone turned too late. Everyone was upset, but I was glad to have seen this amazing animal.

At the lodge, we hurried to eat dinner and get to our rooms because this particular lodge only has electricity for three hours per night and showering in the dark in Africa is no fun. It was the coldest shower I had the entire trip, but it was great to wash all the red dirt off and get to bed.

The next morning, we got up early and started off on the driving portion of our safari. As we started into the drive, we saw all kinds of antelope, birds, and cape buffalo. It was awesome to see all of these animals wandering free with one another across the landscape. About twenty minutes into our drive, we saw a small herd of giraffes. The whole time we were out, cameras were blazing.

My personal favorite part of our game drive came about an hour before we left the park… Some other tourists chased us down, and said that we needed to follow them to see something amazing. As we followed the car, we came upon a group of cars all pointed in the same direction. When we got to the site, we all fixed our eyes on the bushes. It was very hard to see but one by one, each os us saw what the entire crowd had come to see. A lion! Sitting there in some scrub brush, was a full grown female lion. She was beautiful. We watched her for about thirty minutes. Then she got up and moved, and then we saw something we did not expect… A male lion. We then found out that it was mating season. I think that our presence messed up this lions game. The female brushed him off and headed deeper into the bushes, and the male lion looked at us with a look that screamed “well thanks…” This was a great way to end out time in the park.

We headed straight to Kampala to spend the night before the flight the next morning. After dinner at a little pizza place, we went to the hotel, and enjoyed some cake and coffee as a team before we went to bed. This would be the last time that we would be together as a group, because in the morning we would be heading different ways. Cammy and I were headed to Mozambique with my parents, and everyone else was headed to London before flying the last leg home.

As of this moment, the team is waiting to board the plane to Houston from London. They fly out at 2:35 London time, and should be back in Houston at 6:45 PM.

It has been an AMAZING trip, and I have been so blessed to be able to lead this team. We grew close together, and experienced God’s grace in such huge ways. If God allows me to go again, I pray that He would grow me like He did this time.

Thanks to everyone that has kept us in prayer. I believe that your prayers have helped to keep us centered on Christ and effective on the mission field.

In HIM,

pastor matt