Visiting Jinja

I always have a problem with figuring out what all to tell you back at home. There's so much to say, but I have trouble putting it all in words, knowing that these mere symbols on a computer screen will never be able to convey it all accurately.

This weekend those of use who are on the missions track in the study abroad program took a weekend trip to Jinja, a town about an hour away. It was an amazing weekend, and it was just what I needed in a lot of ways. Program wise for the weekend we talked with two different missionary teams in Jinja, learning about their ministries and rejoicing in the work of the Lord. One of the missionaries also took us on a tour of Jinja on Saturday, showing us a lot of things that you wouldn't know about Jinja from just walking down a street with markets. I don't have time to tell a whole lot about it today, but hopefully I can tell you more when I am able to post pictures. Sunday night we were able to be visitors at New Life Missionary Baptist church. Not only was the service AMAZING-- three hours of joy and fellowship-- but it was great to talk to the leadership of the church after the service to see the ways that they are being a missional church in Jinja and the surrounding area. More than anything, that is what I am praying to see in Uganda the most... not that they would have to depend on foreign aid and Westerners, but that Godly Ugandan leaders would be raised up. It is already happening, and I pray there will be more and more in the future!

For the weekend we stayed at a place called Kingfisher Resort (which happened to be BEAUTIFUL and complete with a hot shower!!!!). Friday night was pretty chill, and after dinner with the missionaries several of us dug out the guitar and began worshiping in prayer and in song. The Spirit of the Lord fell, and we ended up worshiping long into the night. One of the coolest parts of the night is that God brought us together with a few individuals from a team of missionaries traveling with AIM. It was great to worship with them and to hear and share stories of the working of God in our lives. It is always a funny thing to meet other Americans over here... its like we share a strange but instant bond.

When we came back to school we all hung out on campus for a while before walking back home to be with our families. A few of us were feeling adventurous after a long bus ride, so we climbed up "monkey hill." From the top we could see all of Mukono, and it was beautiful! We also had a lot of fun searching for monkeys, who happened to find us on the way back down. We acted like ridiculous bazungu who had never seen a monkey before, taking tons of pictures and laughing every time they jumped or did something funny, but it was a great time. We loved the hill so much that we decided to come back the next day EARLY in the morning to try and watch the sunrise... which unfortunately ended up being a thunderstorm instead. It was still fun though, and we took some pretty sweet pictures that I'll put up another day. We are still determined to watch a sunrise one day...

Well I have to go... I have class in an hour, and then Laura and I are headed home early today to do our laundry. Thankfully the clouds and rain from this morning have cleared up so that they can dry! Pictures will come soon!