All About Africa: 2

We spent day 3 of the trip in Uganda. We stayed at this "hotel" in Entebbe where I slept under my first mosquito net. 

I quickly discovered the golden rule of sleeping in Africa: once you're in, you're in to stay! It is quite comedic to watch someone tuck in their net so that it fully encompasses the bed, try to squeeze through the smallest hole possible, re-tuck the part of the net in which they used as an entrance hole, and then realize that after all of this hard work they forgot to turn off the light. Who am I speaking of? ME, of course. After two nights of this madness, I told my roommate that I would like to invent mosquito nets that zip up the side......smart, right?
***Note to reader: You heard it here first. ;)

All laughing aside, I'm very grateful that we had a mosquito net over each bed in which we slept. So many Africans are not afforded this luxury and are therefore many times more likely to contract malaria.

We decided to venture out and explore the country's capital city, Kampala. It is easily the most congested place I have ever been! New York and Chicago do not even begin to compare. Street signs are merely a suggestion and the car horn is used as a means of communication by ALL drivers (not quite how we use it in the states).


We had lunch at a mall in Kampala. It was crazy; we had the choice of Asian, Mexican, or Italian food. They also had a "Chicken Express". Haha! I decided to go with the safest choice and ordered pizza.

Here's my fabulous team at lunch!

Definitely a blessed first day in Africa!

All About Africa: 1

As promised, I am going to slowly but surely blog about my incredible experience in Africa. This is quite a task because what I encountered was almost indescribable.....but I shall try. My heart's desire is to encourage the saints and possibly open hearts and minds to what God is doing in Southern Sudan.

On the way to the airport, my sweet roomies took me out for a "good-bye lunch" at la madeleine.......a fabulous last normal meal stateside! (Unfortunately, I only got a picture with one of them: Daniella.)

Here's a picture of my girls.....love them!

Thankfully, all of my stuff fit into my awesome hiker backpack! But of course, I used every last inch!

 Flat                                       Fat

We had an 11 hour flight to Amsterdam........a 5 hour layover........a 10 hour flight to Uganda. By then we were on day 2 or 3 of the trip. To be honest, we were jumping planes and countries SO much that I lost track of the days. ;) We landed in Entebbe, Uganda around midnight and as we walked out of the airport and looked up at the dark African sky I was struck by the fact that I was in a place that I had only read about, seen on TV specials, and learned about in school. I remember being amazed at the vastness of God's creation. Early that morning as I lay under my mosquito net, halfway across the world, I feel asleep thanking my Father for allowing me to see another part of His beautiful world.
What a gracious Lord we serve!

Be There......Please!

So, I have been back state-side for about 10 days now and am excited to share about my trip to Sudan, Africa! I'll be posting blogs about everything that the Lord laid on my heart and the things that I saw at a later time, but today I want to share two opportunities with you. Southern Sudan will receive their independence this Saturday (July 9th) and we are going to celebrate!!!! I wish that I could be in Sudan to actually celebrate with the Sudanese people but this is the next best thing...

1) Irving Bible Church is having a celebration this Saturday from 3-5:00. When we were in Africa we learned that IBC also sends teams to Yei, Sudan to serve and they have created a bond with this nation. Join Christians as we praise the Lord for His faithfulness in delivering this incredibly deserving (new) country.
2) My team is still in need of about $7,000 to cover the expenses from our trip. This Saturday (July 9th), we would like to celebrate Southern Sudan's independence and have a fundraiser at the same time. We will be raising awareness by showing a short documentary about the country as well as sharing photos from our time in Africa. Refreshments and Sudan shirts will be available for purchase and all proceeds will go toward our trip fund.

The movie event will be held at a lovely home in Dallas (9908 Gooding Drive, Dallas, TX 775229) and will begin at 8:30 in the evening. The homeowners are asking that we park at Thomas Jefferson High School (4001 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, 75229) and walk down the street to their home, in order to keep their street from looking like a parking lot. ;) Also, please bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit while you enjoy the movie/slide show.
We pray that the Lord presses upon your heart to join our celebration and see what He is doing in the lives of the Sudanese people!

~Much love, friends and supporters