Timing is a Funny Thing...

In January of 2011 I took my first trip to Africa. Although I fell in love with the place and its beautiful people, I still told God that I would never be a missionary.

Hah.

Two and a half years later, I find myself face-to-face with a dream that God gave me just a few weeks after that first trip. I find myself living in Uganda... hearing and even witnessing horror stories become beautiful testimonies... and then telling those stories. 

This is a dream come true.

A dream almost three years in the making.

February of 2011 I woke up one morning from a dream that changed my life forever. After much prayer and counsel to search out what God was speaking to me through this dream, I understood a few things: yes, I was going to be a missionary; yes, I was going to tell the stories of these once-broken-now-whole children; and now I realize that yes, I am a writer, despite all the times in my life I've brushed it aside. 

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Wednesday afternoon, we had our monthly volunteer meeting. Usually we have it at the church, but this time we had a special treat: traditional lunch at Bbira village! We split up into groups of three and ate lunch with one of the Watoto house mamas and their Watoto children. We got to ask them questions, they got to ask us questions, we played football (soccer) and volleyball, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch of chicken, veggies, rice and beans, and matoke and g-nut sauce.

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Wednesday night I said good bye to the little family I've grown to love so dearly. Our apartment at Nakesaro has been very close to home for two and a half months, and I miss my friends very much. Thank the Lord for end-of-the-month meetings, where at least I'll see a few of them. 

Lulu, Kristina, Hannah, Me, Thomas <3

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Early yesterday morning, I packed up the rest of my things and set off for Gulu with Keele and Jvon. 

Kampala to Gulu is a six-hour drive, three of which I slept right through. However, there comes a point in every African road where you cannot sleep any longer for one reason:

This is the smoother part of the road ;)

We drove over the Nile and stopped to take photos of a monkey that walked right up to our van. 

Oh, Africa. <3

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As I type this, I'm about to head out the door of my new home to my first day at Babies' Home, Gulu. Kampala and Gulu are two totally different worlds. When I first got to Kampala, I commented that it's like a first-world country within a third-world country, and that's exactly what it is. Gulu, however, is small and rural, with a huge market for buying veggies and a small grocery at which you will not find cheese! (For someone who lives on grilled cheese sandwiches, I'm really not sure what I'm going to eat...)

More updates to come as the adventure continues. 

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers! 

All my love, 

<3, Robin