The complete and full tale of my Uganda Adventure

Ahh where do I even begine?
This trip has been like nothing I could have ever imagined.
 It's taken me a while to be able to write this post because how do you describe something that your not sure you can even comprehend?
But I'm going to try.

First of all I would like to say that this was  not a mission's trip.
MY cousins and I went down to Uganda to visit Mary, an old friend of the Family Who has lived there for 12 years.

RANDOM THINGS I LEARNED TO BE THANKFUL FOR

• Good water. The water some of the people drink out in the little villages are so nasty. Like I wouldn't even was my feet in it much less drink it.
• Ok this might sound weird and perhaps a but strange that this particular thing would make the list but I am so thankful for  TOILETS. real sit down and flush kind of toilets.  I won't go into detail about the type of restrooms 'or lack there of' they had there. But if a hole in the ground comes to mind than your probable along the right track.
• Getting the privilege to be able to travel with my Family. Srly they are the best!
• That I was raised in a Family that taught me to love and Know God. 
• For the opportunity to be able to broaden my horizons and experience another country.

W E E K  O N E

This was defiantly quite a way to start out our trip. the first two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) we spent at our apartment trying to get over our jet lag (Coffee please)

On the third day we (the 5 of us, Mary, Brian (our driver) A native pastor and, Peggy a acquaintance of Mary's piled into a van and predeceased to make the 4 ish hour drive back into the mountains of Uganda.  There we spent the rest of the week traveling to different churches, Mary would share her testimony and we would 'sing'which is a story all of its own.  We had our first taste of "Milk Tea" and yes it is as gross as it sounds. Essentially all it is, is hot milk and sugar. lots of sugar.
all in all i think we got a pretty good comprehension of the culture here. but this was only our first week. we still had two more weeks of adventure and trials ahead of us.


W E E K  T W O 

Our second week started out with us catching up on rest at our apartment for the first day and preparing to take the 6 hour trip up into Western Uganda with Brian to help him dig on his land. Tuesday was mostly spent traveling. the scenery was breathtaking. we spent the night at Brian's mothers house.
the next day we headed up into the mountains of Rwanda to see Brian's land. (quick story) we did not know we were going into Rwanda. we had no passports or identification along with us  which had we been caught would have been a huge problem. but thankfully all went well.
on Friday we headed back to Kampala and, stopped at the Equator on the way. which you know is pretty cool :)
Saturday we hung out at Marie's Cafe with Mary in the morning after our run in with an angry African, who was not happy where we had dumped our trash. it was a real TIA (this is Africa) moment. lets just say that there was a lot of them and only a few of us, but thankfully we got out of there alive and unharmed. plus we had coffee to soothe our slightly enraged souls. (just kidding) about the enraged part. we take our coffee very seriously.  after satisfying our coffee and internet needs we headed back to the apartment and did what we do best. we ate popcorn, played games (probably scum) and of course listened to Pedro and his Guitar



W E E K  T H R E E 

Our last week in Uganda was spent in the prisons. What a eye opening experience. This is what Mary does. this is why she is here. The men love her, every time she comes she is greeted with smiles and happy faces. The Uganda system is so corrupt. there are men serving ten year sentences who are innocent. All around you see so much injustice. so much pain. it makes you feel helpless.  There living conditions are terrible. at least  90% of them have been tortured by the guards. and yet when we came to see them you could see Jesus shining through their eyes.
We spent our last full day out on the Nile. what an amazing and beautiful experience. Its so cool to be on the worlds longest river.  That evening we packed up our clothes and said goodbye to Peter who, leaving for Israel.
and then there were four.  since our flight didn't leave till 11:30 Tuesday night, we were able to go with Mary to Cafe Java's for a last meal together.  Then it was off to the Airport and back to the good old USA. How ready we were to see it and all the beautiful toilets. no more latrines for us, thank you very much :)

These two pictures describe just about every night at our apartment. 

cards. music. laughter.

these were my favorite times, when we were all together just having a good time. 

So many memories were made, small and perhaps seemingly insignificant at the time but, what iv'e come to realize is that the best and most precious times aren't usually grand and exciting  but rather, they are the little moments that no words or picture can ever really capture.  

t h o u g h t s

You know, looking back on this trip I would have to stay, While it was most defiantly not the most beautiful, comfortable or even relaxing place to go, we (us cousins) had the most fun anyone could have had, if they were in our shoes. we made some wonderful memories together. I will always treasure this time.  it has changed my world view. I have become aware how selfish and privileged my life is. I don't deserve it.
 But I'm grateful for it.
Grateful for a loving family.
grateful that i live in a country that still upholds Human Rights (to some point)
I'm grateful that I know Jesus and His amazing love.
I'm grateful for opportunities that make me realize just how small and insignificant I am. and how great and Magnificent God is. And in Him lies anything and everything.

I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOU THOUGHTS. 
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU ARE MOST THANKFUL FOR? + HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR FIRST MONTH OF 2018?