We are at the Amsterdam airport and heading into our last two legs of our journey.  We left Gulu on Friday at 6 am with pink and grey skies above us.  We took a 12 hour bus ride to get to Mokuno.  Imagine a 12 hour bus ride in the states--you would stop every few hours at In and Out, go to the bathroom, listen to music, etc. Not so in Africa--no stops for food or a cold drink and when we did stop, the option for women was a hole in the ground, so most of us waited.  We did however, enjoy an amazing stretch through safari park where we saw water buffalo, gazelle, giraffes, elephants, birds of all types. The landscape was much different than in Gulu--it was more savannah like but still tropical with lots of trees and lush ground cover. After the park, we had our one stop at the Paraa Lodge where we took pictures as we stood over the Nile River.  Then we crossed the Nile on a ferry and saw a group of hippos bathing and drinking in the Nile. It was an incredibly long day and ended with our last group meeting where we worshipped and then shared our reflections of the journey.  Saturday was our last day where we went to Victor's School and met the staff and children.  The children ran to greet us and showed us their rooms, played soccer with us, and wanted to carry anything we had.  They all spoke English, so it was much easier to communicate.  I met Brenda, Lillian and Sheryl. Brenda told me she had been praying to God for a "white friend" and then she met me and now I am her "white mama".  All three girls told me their stories--none had parents--they were either killed in the war or died from Aids.  Yet all these children are filled with the joy of God and their smiles show it all.  After a short visit, we left for a boat ride on the Nile where we saw monkeys, mountain lizards, tilapia fishermen, birds of all kinds.  This was also the first time that we shopped--we had fun buying gifts for our family members and bartering with the merchants.  We returned later in the day to say good bye to our Victor's School Friends and we all already have pen pals to write to.  One of my favorite moments was watching Mike Long surrounded by little girls who were fascinated by his arm hair.  They were laughing and pulling on it and asking him about his wife. Of course I told him that if Mary came, she would never leave this place!  And so many of the girls were asking me about Noah--how old is he, does he have a girlfriend?  They were a little afraid to talk with him one on one, but he was busy playing soccer with all the boys.

We are all exhausted, but we are all absolutely ready to return again.  Saying goodbye to our precious ugandan friends who helped lead the trip, especially Mark and Patrick, was the hardest part. But we hope it was just a "see you later".  We are all so blessed to have met these people and know that our common bond is in Jesus.  Please follow the blog for the next few days as many of us will be posting reflections "post trip."  Thanks for journeying with us via your prayers.  Blessings.