Playing in the Nile

Greetings from Ntinda .. one last time.

Today was sooo much fun! A group of us went to the Nile today to just do some tourist stuff. A group of people bungee jumped over the Nile and had so much fun. It's probably a good thing that I didn't have enough money on me because I had a huge urge to jump. I had someone's 300x zoom and got some good pictures for them. It was a really nice resort that was very Africanish. On the way to the source of the Nile we pulled over to take some pictures in front of the Jinja sign. When we got back to the cars, two policeman made our drivers walk off down the street and yelled at them .. a lot. We were actually getting pretty nervous. When we get back we ask what it's all about, and they got in trouble because we weren't supposed to park on the side of the road. I'm not sure how they were supposed to know that because there wasn't any signs or anything. They were soo mad .. I just don't get how parking on the side of the road can be that big of a deal. One o the guys was pacing and screaming. We could see it all the way down the road. So, we continue our journey and into the heart of Jinja, and we get pulled over again. (We tend to get pulled over a lot because we're Mzungus.) All taxis were supposed to pay a fee to enter. Sempala is one our drivers, and he drives a taxi during the summer just for the MSTs. During the non-busy months, he drives it around the city to make money for EAC. We tried to explain that it wasn't a taxi and that we weren't paying in for the ride. They also were letting so many people by, but they would not let him get bye. Poor Sempala .. second time to get pulled over in less than an hour. Once that is done we FINALLY get to the Nile. We take this boat tour to this concrete block that marks mile 0. Well, the rocks were really slippery, but we decided that it would be a good idea to walk across them to the cement blocks. Yeah, not a good idea. I got wet all the way up to my waist. I have some really cool pictures that I will post when I get home. Then, we went to the one of the fastest moving rapids in Uganda and just hung out for a little while. While we were there, we heard a REALLY loud boom that was not thunder. The Ugandans said that there was a military close by. It scared us pretty bad to say the least. Well, after a long day we were so ready to get home and Sempala gets pulled over AGAIN! This time they just wanted to "check on us." The officer asked where we were from, and when we said America he said, "All I know if Obama, California, and Chicago." Then he let us go. It was interesting .. Poor Sempala. He was such a good sport about it all. (Remember that I never read back over my posts, so I'm sorry if this post is confusing).

The rest of the day was just us relaxing, playing with kids, and packing. We have a tradition here where when an MST is leaving, they get in the middle of the circle and everyone says nice things about them and prays for them. I was a teary eyed mess. It's so bittersweet to leave this place. I'm not real sure what else to say about all this leaving business.

We leave at 9:05 Uganda time, so 1:05 am central time. Keep us in your prayers. I'll try and make a short post when I land in Boston so everyone knows I'm safe.

Thank y'all so much for all of your prayers and support over the last 5 weeks. There is no way that I will ever be able to thank y'all properly. I'll hopefully be writing a letter summarizing my trip when I get home. If you want to receive the letter, e-mail me (bstewa9@tigers.lsu.edu).

Fun Facts:
- Ugandans sometimes brush their teeth with a Guava branch.
- Uganda is the youngest country in the whole world.

PRAISE THE LORD!
-Auntie Brooke