Today marks my last day at Chayah for this trip. Only because I have some pretty amazing people to go home to am I even slightly motivated to leave all of this behind. That, and I'm running on empty so it's time to charge my own battery and start planning for next time.
We arrived at Chayah this morning to 18 children dressed up and ready to go without knowing a thing about where we were headed. The boys rode with Chris and the girls all rode in the van down a very long and dusty pitted road. It’s the dry season and has been for a while so everything along the road side, buildings, plants, trees and people are covered with a coating of red dust.
We arrived to the gate of the "falls" to pay our entrance. Ugandans over 5 years old, $2 each. Foreigners...$15 bucks. Janet was so mad. She said that the sign at the zoo had the same kind of discrepancy. I tried to tell her that Uganda was encouraging locals to enjoy their country...her eyebrows raised in disagreement.
We had a guide to explain everything, but I suggested he speak in their local language and I'd just follow along so I have nothing to tell you except that it was beautiful and not one bit of waterfalls. It really was rapids. Janet doesn't swim and most of the kids are not even almost water safe, so she made sure they were so far away from the edge that it would have taken a tsunami-like event to reach them. When we did get to a very calm pool for swimming, she had conveniently left their swimming costumes in the van...wink. So we sat on the rocks and put our feet in. We got to watch three"divers" show off their swimming skills by jumping from a rock upstream and swimming their way through the rapids to safety. We were all impressed with their skills.
We had a picnic in the shade of chapatti and soda and the kids entertained up with song and dance before the long ride back. It was a wonderful day, outdoors and so peaceful. Chris followed us back to Chayah, dropped the boys off and headed out to look again for a bike. We had ice cream and then lunch, played with the flannel graph pieces and told stories in the sitting room until Chris came back. When he popped the trunk to reveal the bike, everyone rushed him and began jumping up and down. It took some effort and everyone tried to ride, but it’s going to take some practice before they're all riding.
Olivia got home from school and with her long days, I haven't seen her at all this week. We talked for a bit and then it was time to say goodbye and head back to the hotel. I was doing fine until they started singing "standing in the gap" and Janet hung her head and began slowly shaking it back and forth with her eyes closed. That moment is always so hard that all the way back to the hotel I just kept thinking how grateful I am that we get to come back. I don't know that I'd recover very well if not.
This trip was different in many ways. I think the most memorable difference was their openness. I knew it would be slow going and probably part of it was the language difference. Maybe too they really believe that we are really in this and that God has created this partnership and that we are committed to them. Or maybe it’s the Starbursts and trips to the playground! Either way, I'll take it, no questions asked!
Their constant laughter and joy are difficult to describe so anytime you're ready to join us to experience this new life for yourself...we'd love to give you a firsthand look.
Mission trip January 2015 is in the books! Blessed be the Lord God Almighty!
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