I'm no Oprah...but I've read some good books lately...

My time in Uganda has afforded me much time to pursue one of my favorite hobbies….READING. This is a hobby that really brings the missionary community together. Since our reading options are very limited…we raid each other’s personal libraries frequently. It is not uncommon for a book to start with one missionary in western Uganda and change hands over a dozen times criss-crossing all of eastern Africa before it returns briefly to its owner’s shelf.

Because of this type of environment, I have been reading lots of new authors and different genres than I might normally read. Lucky for you, I have kept a list of all the books I’ve read since being in Uganda.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

A classic that is a readable for many different ages. Joe gets in our hearts and we long to comfort and encourage her through life’s changes. One of my all time favorites.

Dear Enemy, Jack Cavanaugh

A dark WWII romantic thriller. An easy read.

Peace Like a River, Leif Enger

Story of young boy named Rube – written in his simple voice…so good, so good, so good….I think it is time for a reread.

Munich Signature & Prague Counterpoint, Bodie Thoene

Both books are part of the Zion Covenant Series. Christian Fiction. Great series – would love to see these made into a movie!

The Shack, William Young

Thanks to my friend Josh Truitt for mailing me a copy. Seems that everyone has read or is reading this book and for good reason. There were so many great quotes that I wanted to highlight but that process would only take time from reading this great book….

These Strange Ashes, Elizabeth Elliot

Thanks to my friend and former long term missionary, Danielle Evans, who had the foresight to send this book with me. A great read after being on the mission field for several months.

Have We No Rights, Mable Williamson

Another recommendation from Danielle Evans – I learned a lot about mission perspective.

Julie, Catherine Marshall

Christie is still her best work – but Julie is a wonderful story. Regardless of the name, it was easy to identify with the main character. Plus the entire time you’re wondering which guy will she end up with…..the million dollar question for most single women.

So Brave Young and Handsome, Leif Enger

Leif – how do you write these stories that just draw the reader deeper and deeper???? A story told by a has-been writer named Monte.

Through Painted Deserts, Donald Miller

Donald (I giggle a little every time I say the name Donald…it just feels fun to say) shares his insights during a road-trip. Donald makes no excuses or sugar coating for his personal inadequacies. His style of writing was easy for me to identify with. I read this one slow – rereading several chapters to be sure they soaked all the way through me.

Lay That Trumpet in our Hands, Susan Carol McCarthy

A special recommendation from Mbarara missionary, Emily Glission. This story takes place in rural Florida during Civil Rights. Parts of this story take place in the small town of Mt. Dora, which is where my parents first met. This story made me wonder how I would have acted in the heat of the Civil Rights movement.

Shattered Dreams, Larry Crabb

We used this book for our weekly Bible Study. Dr. Crabb takes you through the book of Ruth through the eyes of Naomi. Reading this book was very healing.

Kite Runner, Khalid Hosseini

This book has been a favorite for a while – but it was even better as a reread. Better than the movie.

Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller

In Donald’s conversational and honest style….this book was a great follow-up to Through Painted Deserts.

Colors of Africa, James Kilgo

Dr. Kilgo was an English professor at my alma-mater, University of Georgia. Of course, I didn’t realize this till I read the forward by the author. But, it was refreshing to read a story about hunting African wild game from the familiar perspective of a Georgia boy.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

Even better than Kite Runner – but probably because I enjoyed reading from the perspective of a woman more than I did of a man….Makes me want to understand more about Islam and Afghani culture.

Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

A soap opera about Russians who speak French. I enjoyed some characters more than others – but it helped me understand more about how this aristocratic culture turned to communism

Aboke Girls, Els De Temmerman

Heart-breaking story of abducted children in Northern Uganda. Very well told and amazing that this true story happened in my life-time.

Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

My current read. Mortenson is easy to identify with – which makes this remarkable story even more inspiring.

A&S Visit Part Two

Andrew and I mid-chimp hunting.....

The big black thing is a chimp...hopefully you can make out his face.

Shannon crossing one of many precarious bridges...

After the fun of game drives and chimp trekking – we headed down the road to Fort Portal. Ft. Portal is in North Western Uganda…..and just a hop, skip and a jump from the Congo border. While there, we stayed with Jeff Cash and family. The Cash’s have been missionaries in Uganda for….a while and Jeff had lots of exciting, skin of his teeth type of stories to share from living so close to Congo.

One big thing about Jeff is that he is a pilot. The Ft. Portal mission team actually works with the local government to maintain the local airfield…(see picture below)…..Jeff has also worked to buy an airplane to facilitate in visiting churches in remote Congo, deliver needed supplies, and various projects. Believe it or not – flying is much, much safer than traveling by road. The plane isn’t quite put together yet – but he is getting close.

Ft. Portal Runway (above and below)

As you can imagine – Andrew and Jeff had fun trading flying stories and talking aviation. In addition to visiting Ft. Portal’s top-of-the-line airfield, Jeff took us out to visit Camp Saka, which is some land on a lake where the Ft. Portal mission team has developed a nice place to host camping groups….they also host an annual nation-wide Christian youth meeting there. Then Jeff gave us the official tour around Ft. Portal town including the meat market – which is always fun to take visitors through…you never know what kind of animal they might be slaughtering. This time it was a goat…I think.

Kinley Cash making moves on a local goat but not the same goat that we later saw in the market.....

Pictures from Camp Saka.

The church at Ft. Portal meets in a circus-like tent, with an oversized coffin serving as a baptistery. I so enjoy visiting churches and meeting other Christians throughout East Africa. I wish I could do this all the time.

After Ft. Portal, we headed to Jinja. In Jinja, Andrew, Shannon, and I joined up with 25 other travelers and rafted down the Nile River. My second time to raft the Nile – still amazing. During one rapid, (a class 5) Andrew mysteriously fell out of the boat and I lost a contact. But somehow – I found the contact still clinging to my life-vest and with Shannon’s help, I put that unsterilized - Nile River washed - contact back in my eye. (I know, I’m going to be blind..) Also with Shannon’s help, Andrew was able to get back in the boat.

That must have been all the fun these kids could stand – cause after rafting, A&S decided they missed their own boys too much and that they needed to leave early. Of course, I was heart-broken. I felt terrible for being jealous of my two precious nephews…but seriously, I hadn’t seen A&S for almost 10 months and they had been away from the kids for just 6 days….Andrew said that one day I would understand….but I understood right the what it is like to be one place and have your heart half way around the world….it really stinks. A&S wanted to be where their hearts were…back with their kids. Check – I get this. When I first got to Uganda…my body and heart were in different places…but after surviving 11 months of this…my heart began to grow here in Uganda. Now returning home will be a big transition and there is no doubt that a large portion of my heart will remain in Uganda. Again, I will have to fight through the separation of body and heart. Andrew - I may not have kids, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand.

The Best African Vacation Ever!

I have always enjoying playing the role of hostess….and this week was no exception. I planned a fully packed, budget friendly 10 day introduction to Uganda for Andrew and Shannon (my brother and his wife..or A&S). This was going to be the best Ugandan Trip Ever!

Typical – nothing went as planned. To kick it off, A&S arrived a day late. Of course, I didn’t find out this change in plans until I was at the airport to meet a delayed flight filled with 250 tired passengers…none looked a bit familiar to me.

I rented a vehicle and driver to take us around the country…..stop picturing a rugged 4WD land-rover, hummer, all-terrain, all-weather, survive an elephant stampede type of vehicle. Now, think of your neighbor’s old minivan that is still sitting in their backyard…no A/C, no radio, no speedometer, (sounds like my first car), leaks in the rain, goes 10 mph up hills….

So, to make the best out of the situation – I ask Isaac (hired Ugandan driver) to give me a historical tour of Kampala. And honestly, – I learned SO MUCH! Did you know that Uganda used to be under the rule of a monarchy until the 1960’s? Also, Arab Muslims were the first religious missionaries to come to Uganda. Anyways, this was fun!

Isaac and I eventually pick up A&S – Happy & Sweet Reunion! – and quickly load up the van to drive to the game park. We finally arrive at our camp at 11:30 pm….long past dark, but back on schedule.

Around 6:00 the next morning we head out for our Chimp Trekking expedition. We ended up being paired with a cigarette smoking Italian couple…Francesca and Stephano. So, along with our armed guides, we trekked up and down a densely forested gorge criss-crossing a river using whatever fallen tree or rickety narrow bridge that was available – this went on for three hours. We eventually caught up with the chimps, who led us on a fast paced, river-crossing chase. Out of breath, (our Italian friends were wheezing) we finally got to stop and admire these amazing creatures.

I’ll go ahead and post this without pictures….at least until the pictures finally upload…oh, the joys of blogging from Africa!