I am standing in the flickering light of an evening (or simulated evening) airplane flight over the Atlantic. Waiting in line for my fifteenth trip to the airport/airplane bathroom in as many hours (trying to stave off the kidney pain that feels like an infection with a lot of water), yuk. (Must say in a private aside to gal readers that the diva cup really rocks and if you don’t have it you should - and not only if you live in rural Africa, it’s pretty amazing for many situations.) At any rate I am standing in the back of the plane and watching in amazement the dozens and dozens of personal TV screens on each seat back in front of me. It seems every single person in the plane is choosing their own show. The super-abundance of it is astonishing.
The plane ride was a big culture shock for me; the technology and the amazing variety of TV shows and movies available, new music, and food cooked for you! In the airport in London the shinyness and good smells (like perfumes and colognes) wafting everywhere had us oohing and aahing. We called a few friends and relatives and reveled in the clear connection with no delay that suddenly made us remember why so many people in the world use phones to communicate regularly! Most breath-taking to me was the warm water coming automatically out of the tap in the airport restroom - heaven.
We spent our last two days pre-States in Kampala, waiting for the relatively cheap plane fare that took us out on Monday morning. By this time we were all feeling quite fat and happy and pampered after a week in Jinja being fed and resting lots. There was also a significant amount of soul work though, and tears were not absent so we found ourselves tired in the good way that emotional growth requires.
We traveled light with a single suitcase and trunk of gifts plus one small overflow bag. Felt good to be so free to move. The kids are champion travelers, probably due to having traveled their whole lives either with Navy or missions. We flew BA from KLA to London and then on to Dulles in Washington D.C. All in all we were in transit for about 28 hours from Kampala and the kids did amazingly well. We’re thankful for no delays at all and a very quick trip through customs and friends waiting for us on the far side - thanks DAVE!!!
Now we are here, soaking up plush carpet under our feet - it feels SO amazing, you have no idea; water in the tap that you can use on your toothbrush; bug free places to leave our tasty, tasty snack foods; soft, oh-so-soft beds. It feels a bit like heaven. Dave and Shari Shrum have given us full use of their beautiful basement suite and we have our own fridge, microwave and toaster and two sleeping areas plus playroom and TV room space. It’s really lux. Thanks God.
But team, we miss you!! It feels like we have entered a parallel universe and living here right now it feels impossible to believe that people, not just any people but some of our dearest friends, are living so differently somewhere else. We can’t get our minds around it or figure it out so we just have to stick with the parallel universe thought. And I keep remembering that vision God gave me a few weeks ago, of myself held in his arms as His presence stretched from Uganda to America and elsewhere, from past and present to future; above and beyond time and place, the shelter of his presence is constant. And He is giving us joy.