.: Return to the Nile

“Four and ½ hours of sleep,” I thought, glancing at the green glow of my digital watch as we arose while the moon still hung above Kampala’s night-lit hills. Yet having come in from the Introduction Ceremony at midnight only a few hours before, and now getting up at 5:00 AM to head off to ministry for 6:00, I felt thankful for every snore I’d managed to breathe in between.

As we hiked downhill in time for an unfamiliar van to pull into the parking lot, I saw more on the horizon than the orange streaks of light which now stretched above us. I could see the edge of a new adventure dawning too.

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Drawing water from a village well

Buckled into the backseat of the repurposed taxi behind Alyssa, Edith, Jordan and an amiable driver named Jonathan, I leaned back and prepared for a three hour drive. The anticipatory excitement of beginning a new trip, the breeze blowing past the window, the music piping through the van and the speed under the rattling tires all combined for a pleasant three hours indeed. So did the now familiar sights of the scenery outside as we drove through the same hills, forests and sugar cane plantations towards Jinja we’d passed the day before.

Crossing the Nile once more, we entered an area in the “deep-deep” village country with thatch huts along the road every few maize fields. Abruptly we turned down a tiny dirt road beyond one such village and, after the cow standing in front of us lumbered out of the way, we parked beside a stand of maize. Beside us stood a large red dirt brick building—the church—which we toured before going to the pastor’s house.

At about 10:20 we returned for the service which technically would have started (if it had been running on Canadian time) at 10:00. We could already hear enthusiastic singing spilling from the church as we approached the door. A smiling woman wearing a gomesi and trilling in worship greeted us brightly as we entered the doorway and walked up front. Brought to the “guest seats” along the wall at a right angle to the other rows of chairs, we stood to join in the worship. As we listened to the beautiful singing—a cappella save for the beating of two skin drums—we could hear how human voices are very much stringed instruments like violins. Each voice counts as a single string, which together can reverberate in marvelous harmony. I could only stand still and listen.

Two choir performances followed the congregational worship, after which came the time for the visitors to give their greetings. Because this church is a sister church to Alyssa’s, she led the ministry and so stood to introduce us as her team. She asked us to introduce ourselves and explain our goals for long-term ministry, and then we were able to sit down and hear her preach! As God spoke through Alyssa to give a message about light vs. darkness, I felt very privileged to watch—despite being distracted once as lizard scurried across the opposite wall.

We helped stand up front to pray for people after the service, and then left to go to the pastor’s house for lunch. Not only did we get to enjoy the meal of matooke, rice and some especially good beef and broth, but we also had the chance to partake in fresh jackfruit straight off the tree.

Even when the last goodbyes, thank yous and photo opps were finished after lunch, the day’s adventures were not over yet. Jonathan drove us to the Source of the Nile, which Alyssa and Jordan hadn’t seen yet, and we were able to take another boat excursion!

This time we landed on a small island right at the place where the current begins between Lake Victoria and the mouth of the Nile. We actually had the chance to wade through the sunny, ankle deep water at the island past two thatch-roofed tourist shops to a signpost marking the river’s beginning. I stood on a rock there overlooking the beautiful river and lake, just enjoying the smell of the lake breeze and the climax of the moment.