Uganda from the beginning: Part 1 Recap! –

I’m finally getting around to posting some pictures & a re-cap of our first few days in Uganda. The app that I blog with hasn’t been working correctly on my phone or computer and add in being sick off and on for days and, well, that’s led to little motivation. I’m practicing patience today with uploading photos…. so here is a little bit to get started 🔆

Day 1: Denver to Washington DC, Washington DC to Brussels. A very long day of traveling by plane. I am afraid of flying and struggled a bit, even with the prescription Xanax I got from my MD. The flight time over the Atlantic was the worst, with turbulence for hours. Our ID (infectious disease) doc and trip leader mentioned how impressed he was with my composure– but let’s be real: inside I was mega struggling. I’ve just learned to not show it on the outside 😑

Day 2: Brussels to Entebbe, Uganda. We had a stop in Rwanda, but did not get off of the plane. After technical issues prior to take off which led to a late take off, plus slow going in Rwanda, we were late getting into Entebbe. Overall we were in the plane for 10+ hours!

Sometime after midnight we arrived. We got all of our bags, exchanged currency, and met Keneth (K), our go-to Musana team member. He took care of us during the entirety of our trip. He is wonderful! We love you Keneth!

We all hopped into two vans and were off. That night we stayed at a hotel & suites (guest house) and not only did I get my own room– but I had a warm shower in the morning! And bonus – no geckos in my room 🦎

Day 3: I slept for a few hours that night before waking up and joining a few of the other early risers for a morning walk. It was our first full day in Uganda!

After our walk we had our first Ugandan breakfast.

Then, we loaded up all of our bags into a bus, got in, and prepared for our 5 hour drive to Iganga.

I’ll be honest in saying the most dangerous part of being in Uganda is traveling in a vehicle. It isn’t for the faint of heart. Cars pass left and right on the paved highway and there are accidents left and right. Sometimes it’s a game of chicken. There aren’t very many paved roads. When you aren’t on the main road from Entebbe to Jinja and then Iganga to Kenya….. you’re on dirt. Thanks be to God, we made it safely. We even had time to stop for chicken on a stick. It was …. interesting 🍗

That afternoon, we made it to Musana. We were greeted by excited children when we drove through the gates. An excited staff when we parked, wonderful guest rooms and a tasty lunch. We had arrived!

We spent some time touring the Musana compound, getting to know the staff, and got situated.

The Weekend – Days 4,5,6:

We spent the weekend touring Musana facilities. Schools, the hospital, the clinic, etc. On Sunday we visited the primary school for church. It was so wonderful to get to sit with the children as they learned about Jesus.