Over the mountains and through the woods...

So this weekend was my first trip by ground "over the mountains."  The mountains referred to are the Rwenzori's and they're traversed by pretty much off roading for about 3 hours...I mean, you're driving on a "road" but the quality of the road pretty much is the equivalent of off roading in the States...we left early saturday morning and stopped at what is evidently a usual breakfast point for WHM travelers, we had bacon (cold of course), cinnamon rolls, coffee, tea, fruit...delicious...Pat's vehicle was making a really loud clanging noise but despite me hanging out the window and trying to see what was making such a racket, and Michael Masso switching cars to see if he could figure it out while driving it, and Pat and Michael climbing under the car (while it was parked) to see if they could see anything, we still had no idea what it was (but it was so loud we couldn't believe it wasn't obvious).  We didn't see any exciting wildlife on the trip but made it safely to Fort Portal, for which we all thanked God.

For me there were several memorable experiences throughout the 3 days we spent away....

1. I stayed in the cleanest, nicest, most quiet hostel I've ever stayed in anywhere in the world, all for a grand total of the equivalent of $3/night/person (7,000 Ugandan Shillings).  I slept like a baby (as usual).

2. In talking with the hostel owner and her two house guests with Pat for maybe 10 minutes, my "bubble" was totally burst...the bubble of "I've only been here in Africa for not even 3 weeks and am really enjoying it"...they were 3 older, embittered, seemingly burnt out missionaries who succeeded in totally depressing me in the matter of 10 minutes we spoke with them.  I told other teammates and Pat as I processed this experience outloud, that it totally depressed me but then also made me soooooooo very thankful for my World Harvest teammates, and Pat especially.  My whole team, everybody has their moments of course, but everyone seems to have a reasonably healthy perspective, I'm so thankful for that, and I think these folks helped me see it more clearly.  I'm having trouble putting words to it, but I was so discouraged and simultaneously encouraged it was really strange...another paradox I suppose.

3. In the stories that the Bart's and other teammates told of their 10 years here in Bundi, I was totally amazed...these folks have been through some crazy tough stuff and God has held them through it all, He has given them each other and the testimony they each gave to how God used the gifts/talents of the others at just the right times when they had come to the end of themselves was so encouraging.  And can I just say when I heard of two missionaries breastfeeding their own kids and deciding to take on a little Ugandan baby who had lost her mother and breastfeeding her too to keep her alive, AMAZING...these women are something else!

4. On the trip back (after a brilliant mechanic in Fort decided the clanging noise was a "bushing" on the shock absorber that was missing and causing something else to be loose and clanging around....I don't really know) we saw baboons sauntering across the road, and these other white and black furry monkeys with long tails that I can't remember the names of jumping incredible distances from tree to tree, and a whole flock of hornbill birds in a tree we drove under...just for me the girls in the car said :)  Sooo cool!  And Les, I found myself talking to them, just like you do "hey, look at you!"

5.  Can I just say, HOT SHOWERS ARE FABULOUS!