HOME!

Landing in Entebbe (Uganda) was non-climatic as I was battling majorly with motion sickness...

SOOOO happy to be traveling with Rich! What a treat!!! He was such a help, too, when I couldn't even stand up and we had to stand in line for immigration for what it seemed like forever...

Gotta remember next time to take something for the motion sickness - especially after leaving Dubai (I also had it landing in Addis Ababa) - never had that before in all the years (Rich blamed it on age...)

Stepping off the plane I had the immediate feeling of "coming HOME" - the air that greeted us was very similar to when you step off the plane in Tahiti - a lil less humid.

It was a MOST WONDERFUL feeling!

Even the airport reminded us of Tahiti - (minus being greeted with a flower to put behind your ear and the musicians with guitars, ukuleles and beautiful singing)

One of the first thoughts that hit me: I AM WHITE!!! I know, I know I am white - whiter than many white people - but it was still funny, looking down at my legs and being struck of HOW VERY VERY WHITE I was - hehe! We sure stand out here!

I am ECSTATIC about being here! It is the strangest feeling - first time ever to set foot on East-Africa (we went to South Africa for our honeymoon) - and I feel like I am HOME!

Gotta tell you that 10 years ago (we lived in Maui for a year), when I was going through somewhat of an identity crisis, feeling that I didn't REALLY feel at home anywhere (not 100% in Tahiti, nor Germany, nor the US), God did something AMAZING in my heart.

One day, I just felt very strongly that my REAL HOME was with God in heaven! It was so real!
Since that time, I feel completely at home every single country I go to. I've got to admit that I wasn't so sure that this would be true for Africa, too (not too hard to feel at home in NZ or Fiji), but it totally is true for here, too!

We arrived late yesterday afternoon and just had a 10 min. drive to our guesthouse where we spent the night, but seeing the sights, the people, going to a store to get water - I was just LOVING every minute of it - LOVING the people I was seeing - and I haven't even seen any children, let alone orphans YET.

The night was so so - same sounds as in the islands - dogs barking, roosters, crickets, loud music...

The African people are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are getting picked up any minute now by an African woman pastor - Pastor Lydia!
I can't imagine a better way to spend our first full day in Uganda - with a local person of maturity and integrity with a huge heart for her people, including the orphans!

It's amazing how we got in contact with her:

A week ago Sunday, as I was selling books after church (fundraiser), a man came up to me. He's a Kiwi living in China. He was in NZ for just one week - and he came up to me telling me that he'd been to Uganda and how you can't trust all the pastors, as some do their ministry just as a job.
But how there is this woman pastor that he met who was an incredible woman of God, full of the Holy Spirit, pouring out her life in church planting, for the orphans and building schools and how he would not hesitate to give her anything she'd ask for - as she has integrity and also a gift of administration.

Talking with my Pastor, he confirmed that a reference from this man would be valid - and I really felt that this was a "God-connection"!

He'd given us her phone# but when I tried calling, it said it was the wrong number.

I had really hoped that we could meet her on our first day (she lives around Entebbe) and be shown around by her but we had no way of contacting her - - - until last night, when I showed her phone# to somebody and they told me there was a number missing - long behold, we got a hold of her and she's happy to spend the day with us!

Juupppieeee Jesus!

So excited!

Rich got his back-pack full of medical supplies (just in case) and I've got a few goodies in my back-pack for kids we'll hopefully meet...

Let the fun begin!