Getting there, high tea, and sharing a tukul

We left Des Moines on Tuesday, February 3 at noon. Uneventful flights to

Atlanta and Amsterdam and Entebbe, where we spent the night at Matoke Inn

guest house. We arrived there just before midnight on Wednesday, February

4. Up early the next morning for MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship)

flights to Arua and from Arua to Yambio. Why do we have to change planes

in Arua?  Because there are some planes that are only registered in

Uganda and so can only go as far as Arua. These MAF planes are small prop

planes with pilot, copilot and 6 passengers. Because they are

church-affiliated, the pilot always says a prayer before takeoff—

sometimes disconcerting and sometimes reassuring!

We arrived at the small airstrip in Entebbe at 7 a.m. and took off at 8:30. We cleared customs in Arua, in a small tent with one customs official, a small boy about 6-8 years old, and an armed

guard. Each flight from Entebbe to Arua and from Arua to Yambio takes about 1.5 hours. We were met in Yambio by Bishop Peni, Bob North who had arrived here a couple of days ahead of us, and three others and a truck. 

The drive from Yambio to Nzara takes about an hour over rough dirt roads.

Arrived in Nzara about 1:15 or so. Greeted by a wonderful delegation of

priests and deacons and some of the people who will be ordained on

Saturday (five deacons and two priests). All of them are so glad we are here

and so very, very gracious with their hospitality.  Mary and I are sharing a tukel, 
a small hut with concrete walls and a thatched roof) and Suzanne has the one next 
door. Very nicely outfitted with two double beds and—oh, God is good—an electric fan.

We attended Eucharist at about 3 p.m.  We were each invited to say a word

of greeting.  There is a gentleman who does simultaneous translation from

English to Zande as we speak.  It's hard to remember to break your

thoughts to give him time to remember what you say and then translate—

harder than I would have thought!  We had been given prayer book/hymnal

combination books in Zande so could sing along with the hymns.

Interesting way to distribute the bread and wine—four priests, two with the

bread and two with the wine.  The minister distributing the bread dips a

wafer into the wine and then puts the wafer into the hands of the

communicant.  Lord's Prayer is said after the distribution of the bread

and wine.  Gloria is said immediately after the Lord's Prayer.  After the

dismissal, we all line up one after another as we leave the Cathedral so

we shake everyone's hand.

These people are warm and friendly and so grateful for everything.  They

have so little.  I think God sends us here so that we will take this

wonderful attitude from them and, in return, work with them to develop

what they have.

Contrary to my expectations, food for us has been plentiful and frequent.

I feel a good degree of guilt about this—on the one hand, we are

guests and should partake of what is offered gladly; on the other these

people have so little that it feels bad to be so lavishly fed.  We were

served tea, at which were pineapple, bananas, bread, peanut butter,

strawberry jam, very strong coffee and tea, before the Eucharist.  Then

lunch—beans, rice, more bread, chicken (?)—after the Eucharist and then

supper at about 8 p.m. (cassava cakes (if cakes is the right word -- these

are doughy large dumpling-like things that have very little taste but

soak up broth and gravy and whatever else very well), bread, and beef in

broth.  The beef is very tough and stringy, but tasty and the broth was

delicious!

It's now 3:30 a.m. here (nine hours ahead of where most of you are in the

central time zone) and I can't turn off my head!  I've had so little

sleep in the 3 days that I know I'm going to crash soon, but can't seem

to get to sleep.

Love you all and miss you!  This is truly an amazing experience!

Jeanie Smith