Debrief at Sipi and Soroti

After our rural experiences we were picked up and drove out of the mountains and went to the plains of Soroti to meet up with the other part of our group that did their rural home stays there. We stayed at a hospital and the mosquitoes were the absolute worst I’ve experienced yet, but I made it through with only 1 bug bite, which my bite ridden counterparts marveled at. The purpose was to see where they lived, debrief out times, and hear from a group called TEDDO who was involved in championing for peace in the area. Let me share a few of my experiences of these few days.

First of all, when our IMME group was reunited before we headed down to meet the other group we were incredibly loud and boisterous! It was so fun to everyone talking a mile a minute sharing stories. That is of course what happened when Kurty and I met up again. We were so pumped to see each other and we launched at each other and gave new definition to the term “big bear hug!” We took turns reading our journals to each other on the ride down and laughing hysterically about each of our experiences.
At debrief we shared stories about our experiences and I wanted to share a few with you. A couple girls witnessed a tornado destroy part of there village from up on a cliff (thank the Lord I had no idea this was going on because I am extremely afraid of tornadoes!). One of the guys shared his bedroom with pigeons, cockroaches, bats, and a lizard (needless to say he was somewhat pleased to be done with all that). He also was given a chicken uterus to eat (the part with all the partially developed eggs attached) since he was the guest of honor. Kamahna had a funny experience at church when they were all introduced. The pastor said that they should pray for America and the election and then said they should pray for their sister from Asia (Kamahna is often associated with the entire continent). He then said “I actually spoke with Asia this morning on the phone and was told they are doing well. So there are no problems in Asia. They are doing just fine.” Hahahaha
At Sipi we played a lot of rook again with Justin Lane and he went fishing within our group for some more, how should I put it, competitiveness…someone explain to me the attitude that you only play to enjoy and don’t care if you win!! Anyways, Lane was successful and found a partner, Justin Struik, who was able to propel him to a 5-3 record over the week. His overall record still being 18-6 there seemed to be light on the horizon! Kurty and I remembered what the sting of losing felt like again and the burning to crush them in the next opportunity.
We met with TEDDO and the Peace Promoters and learned about the problems between the Karamojong and the Ateso. The Karamojong are cattle raiders and it was only recently that the government stepped in to disarm them and try and bring peace. These average members of the community were trying to promote peace and dispel the hatred between the two neighboring tribes. It was interesting because it was all such a recent thing.
Ok, so in my last blog I shared about how I hurt my shoulder throwing my little brother up in the air and spent the rest of the time compensating for it, which in turn hurt my back. My back got worse and all of the muscles on the right side of my spine were really tight and every time they were rubbed out would shoot sharp pains up into my neck and shoulder and down my back. I figured that I would just keep mooching off people for back rubs and it would get better because my shoulder was feeling great. The first night in Soroti I woke Kurty up in the middle of the night because I was whimpering. She came over to my bed to check up on me and that’s when I woke up to incredibly painful back spasms and Kurty holding my hand and telling me to breath. It was, to put it mildly, a rude awakening and I freaked Kurty out pretty bad. Not only because she was worried about me, but also because she realized that if she needed to go get help she would have to run out in her nightgown! I had spasms every night for about a week and one during the day after I went on a long hike. It was frustrating because it was of course painful, but it wasn’t getting better and I kept waking people up at night...mostly Kurty. Kurty, thank you so much for holding my hand and stroking my head until they stopped and showing me so much care and concern. I’m sorry for interrupting your nights sleep so often!
One night we were told to come outside because there was a very cool lightning storm going on. It was absolutely incredible. We lay on the ground and watched this incredible lightning storm going on in the clouds. We sang hymns and other songs that praised God in his mightiness and it was one of those moments where you hope you feel that way forever.
The second part of debriefing was to head back up to Kapturwa and a resort (this is a very loose term although it was very nice) near Sipi falls (a succession of 3 beautiful waterfalls). We got to eat pancakes!! Even though there was no syrup they had a hint of cinnamon and tasted delicious!
On the way we stopped at these rocks and climbed around and saw ancient rock drawings. Pretty sweet and we also went climbing around and into places that weren’t probably meant for humans to access without difficulty, but it was fun.
On Saturday we were given the option to go on an all day hike to see each one of the falls. I wasn’t going to miss out on that even though my back was still being stupid and I did pay for it later by having spasms about an hour after getting done and two during the night. Brutal, but I think worth it. Yes, I know I was thinking as a dumb, invincible young person possibly, but that is who I am right now so I thought I’d fulfill that roll to a T. No worries, even though some of you may think I risked paralysis, the spasms have since decreased and my back is not as tight anymore. On the hike though I was doing great and watched people slip and fall left and right without falling myself (I know, that’s quite the feat for me). The first two falls were beautiful, but the last fall was the biggest and coolest, but it required an extremely slippery hike down. This is where Kurty and I had our one and only wipe out. Kurty on a root and me on my back. When we fell two things happened: 1. Little boys came out of the bush to grab our hands and “help” us down the mountain…there help was pretty darn annoying because how is a nine year old really going to keep me standing if I’m on my way down and they all just wanted us to pay them for their “services.” They also gave me three walking sticks on the way down, two of which I threw in frustration. 2. Justin Lane came flying down the mountain risking his own stability in order to get pictures of us. What a dork. I believe that one of my sticks was flung in his direction if I remember correctly. When we finally made it down to the fall we had to put on raincoats because the spray from this thundering fall was soaking us. It was a neat feeling.

That pretty much sums up the second half of the rural home stay experience. It was a great and hard week and I’m so grateful for all the experiences and great memories.

Shout to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Isaiah 12:5