Re-creation
As all of who have been to Uganda know, all of our time is busy, our schedules crammed with as much as can possibly fit in and we run on the verge of exhaustion. However, even God took a break. He calls it the Sabbath and it was so important to our well-being that He made it one of the "Big 10" commandments.
Even on Sundays, we find ourselves teaching, visiting, traveling and many other non-restful tasks. It is this need for re-creation that God knows we need in our lives to keep us fresh and renewed. I had to wait until almost the end of the 2+ weeks for this time but on Saturday loaded into a car with 4 of my friends and we took a road trip to Jinja.
Jinja is a resort town at the source of the Nile River - the place where it flows from Lake Victoria. We started at a reasonably early time and stopped for a breakfast to go at Cafe Java's. I had the first real coffee I've had in Uganda since I've been here. Oh...I can't tell you how good it tasted. Every sip I took I must have let out a little moan of pleasure because everybody else in the car would laugh! That's OK - I was just thanking God for this pleasure.
William was our chauffeur and Ronnie, Phiona and Jonah were the rest of the travelers. What was such a great pleasure was that all of them had been working for so long on preparing for the Renewal Summit 2017, that there was an even greater need for them to re-create than it was for me.
It was another part of Uganda I've not seen before. This is where tea and sugar cane are grown and it is absolutely beautiful. Also, there is a rain forest that is what you would expect a rain forest in Uganda to look like like. It was so incredibly beautiful that we all just watched God's creation pass by with a sense of awe - even those who lived here.
When we got to Jinja, we took a brief tour of the city. William was explaining that this city was completely inhabited and controlled by Indians (citizen of India). When Idi Amin took power, he ejected all Indians from Jinja and turned it over to Ugandans. You can still see much of the Indian influence in the architecture.
After arriving at the park for the head of the Nile River, we lined up a boat
tour and lined up our tour guide - Derrick. As we came to the boat loading area, Derrick showed us a status of Mahatma Ghandi. He told us that Ghandi asked that part of his ashes be submerged at this place at the source of the Nile River - I never had a clue. I began to get the understanding that this was a unique and special place on the earth. The beginning of the longest river in the world. The river that God turned to blood. The source of so much life in Africa. The same river that flows through the game park at Murchison Falls and finally ends in Egypt.
As is usually the case where tourists gather, there is an opportunity to buy. Every kind of vendor was there with their small shops selling their wares. There was one shop selling hats and my Ugandan friends found hats that fit their style.
Even on Sundays, we find ourselves teaching, visiting, traveling and many other non-restful tasks. It is this need for re-creation that God knows we need in our lives to keep us fresh and renewed. I had to wait until almost the end of the 2+ weeks for this time but on Saturday loaded into a car with 4 of my friends and we took a road trip to Jinja.
Jinja is a resort town at the source of the Nile River - the place where it flows from Lake Victoria. We started at a reasonably early time and stopped for a breakfast to go at Cafe Java's. I had the first real coffee I've had in Uganda since I've been here. Oh...I can't tell you how good it tasted. Every sip I took I must have let out a little moan of pleasure because everybody else in the car would laugh! That's OK - I was just thanking God for this pleasure.William was our chauffeur and Ronnie, Phiona and Jonah were the rest of the travelers. What was such a great pleasure was that all of them had been working for so long on preparing for the Renewal Summit 2017, that there was an even greater need for them to re-create than it was for me.
It was another part of Uganda I've not seen before. This is where tea and sugar cane are grown and it is absolutely beautiful. Also, there is a rain forest that is what you would expect a rain forest in Uganda to look like like. It was so incredibly beautiful that we all just watched God's creation pass by with a sense of awe - even those who lived here.
When we got to Jinja, we took a brief tour of the city. William was explaining that this city was completely inhabited and controlled by Indians (citizen of India). When Idi Amin took power, he ejected all Indians from Jinja and turned it over to Ugandans. You can still see much of the Indian influence in the architecture.
tour and lined up our tour guide - Derrick. As we came to the boat loading area, Derrick showed us a status of Mahatma Ghandi. He told us that Ghandi asked that part of his ashes be submerged at this place at the source of the Nile River - I never had a clue. I began to get the understanding that this was a unique and special place on the earth. The beginning of the longest river in the world. The river that God turned to blood. The source of so much life in Africa. The same river that flows through the game park at Murchison Falls and finally ends in Egypt.
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| Phiona |
As is usually the case where tourists gather, there is an opportunity to buy. Every kind of vendor was there with their small shops selling their wares. There was one shop selling hats and my Ugandan friends found hats that fit their style.
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| William (aka Willy the Kid) |
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| Jonah |
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| Ronnie |
When we were approaching the boat, there was a dance group performing for the visitors. One of the girls came and grabbed my hand and dragged me into the dance line. Let me just say that there is no longer ANY doubt of my lack of ability to dance, but it was a fun moment. The other thing I am thankful for is that the only video taken was on my phone and was immediately deleted :)
After loading into the boat, we started up the Nile River to the source. We were shown birds, Monitor Lizards and given a history of the place. I don't think Phiona liked being in the water too much, but we reassured her that if a storm came up and threatened our lived, we had Jonah on board and could throw him overboard (good at that one if you know the bible story).
Our next stop was the source of the Nile River. It was really interesting to see how it both flowed out of Lake Victoria and also was fed by some strong underground springs. There was a marker to show the exact start of the Nile River and we took some time to explore, stand on rocks in the river to straddle the river & the lake and enjoy the moment.
It was time to head back to Ggaba. It was a truly blessed day - a day of re-creation for our spirits and renewing of our minds. The thing that brought me the greatest joy was seeing how much my friends enjoyed the day and how it satisfied their need for refreshing.
Thank You God for your today!
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