Shickel Family

Last Monday, Jan 21, we left Kampala around 9am and headed west to Bundibugyo. At this point, all we had seen of Uganda was Kampala (lots and lots of cars and bodas) and a short ride of forest/open areas between Kampala and Entebbe (which we drove on the new bypass road and that felt like we were on an American Highway for a hot second!). So getting out of such a densely populated area sort of felt like leaving Harrisonburg on the Friday after JMU finished for thankgiving break - awful traffic getting on 81 and then finally you get to a point on the highway where there are very few cars around and you can breathe again! The view was breath taking - rolling hills of banana trees or eucalyptus or cassava. Of course the occasional matatu (taxi van with 20+ passengers and way too much luggage on top) or boda would pass by....or we would pass a herd of cattle. But overall, it was an open road. We got to Bundi on Monday evening, greeted by the Carrigan kids (another family on the mission...

We arrived on Saturday evening, the 12th. All but one bag made it to Entebbe (five out of six is pretty good) and the last bag arrived a few days later via boda boda (motorcycle). It was dark when we flew in so we did not get to see much of anything (besides the loud clubs and street vendors) until we woke up on Sunday morning and the view was beautiful! Actually we were up at 4am (jet lag) but when the sun came up it was quite peaceful. It was a cool morning, we ate breakfast at our guest house and sat on the porch and watched birds - so peaceful!  We have spent this week in Kampala and two nights in Entebbe, getting adjusted to the time difference, visiting places we will come back to during our resupply trips, and having time to do some culture and Serge orientation before we get to Bundibugyo.  Guest House #1 - Adonai House  Guest House #2 - Guinea Fowl   Dinner at Faze 3 overlooking Lake Victoria - where we celebrated Malac...

All Things New "And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Rev 21:5   Small children begin to line up near the gate, each holding a plastic cup and bowl and their own metal utensils. Not far from the gate, twenty high school “gringos” stand, sweating in the Nicaraguan heat listening to a pastor share about his community and how it has grown and changed over the last few years since starting a feeding center. The church feeds a nutritious lunch to fifty children daily with donations from international hunger relief agencies. The pastor credits the relief agencies but praises God for how he has brought revival to the refugee families through this program. Listing a few of the changes like improved public education, decreased teen pregnancy rates, lightened burdens on families, fewer orphans, and a higher church attendance, it hits me that the p...

  This past week, Ike and I both finished working. Ike had been working as a project manager with Shickel Corporation over the last three years and I was at the hospital for two and a half years, first as an inpatient clinical dietitian and then the last 7 months as an outpatient dietitian and clinical nutrition manager.    Transitions are hard!    Saying goodbye to really good things is difficult but freeing, it is sad but sweet to feel so loved in our work places, and scary but really exciting as we look toward next year. The last few days were spent away - first with friends at a cabin outside Harrisonburg and then Ike and I went to Asheville to explore a new place together and celebrate the end of work and beginning of a different pace. We anticipate the next month to be slower without the stress of working 40+ hour weeks but also packed with making time to see family and friends, a few Christmas parties, Christmas in VB, and then packing and movi...

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