All creatures great and small

Jinja is a town about an hour from Kampala and it sits on Lake Victoria which feeds into the River Nile. It is also the home of Adrift white water rafting, whose charitable nature provides one day per year for 20 Oasis girls and 2 staff to come and raft and have lunch. Guess who volunteered to accompany the girls?

Following a bus ride from Kampala (all courtesy of Adrift, thanks very much) we spent 3 hours on the water; paddling, swimming and rafting the (calmer) rapids. It was fabulous, especially because our raft-leader, Roberto, pointed out some animals along the way, including 2 types of kingfisher. And during a solitary moment while the girls swam, I caught sight of some red-tailed monkeys playing on a cliff face. Bliss.

God was good, and took consideration of my recent and unprecedented fear of rafting, and hiding behind the guise of ‘helping the small children’ I was introduced to the rapids of the Nile in a very gentle way! It was fun.

One of the best bits was enjoying a warm shower and then traipsing out clean and dry to the dining area only to find all the ingredients necessary too make a fantastic sandwich! I had no idea just how much I had been missing sandwiches and I prepared and consumed one with gusto, much to the confusion (and, I fear, disinterest) of the girls whose table I shared. Cold coke + cheese, ham and salad sandwich = a very happy Lindsay.

The bus ride home was warm and sleepy, and I became aware of the redness of my face and arms, but avoiding the sun on the ride home was impossible without moving, and that was FAR too energetic. So, roast and sleep I did, before walking slowly through Kalerwe market via pineapple and mango sellers to go and meet some post-Romford-ites by the name of Dug and Deb, living in Kampala since August and working with BMS.

I anticipated an easy and enjoyable evening and was not disappointed; they are wonderful people with a gift for hospitality and chatter. 8.30pm rolled around, and it was time to go home, especially following the 5am wake up.

What a great day. The kingfishers were breath-taking, and evoked a deep and genuine ‘wow’ especially when the blue one landed on a branch mere feet away from my face. I love Jinja. It is my favourite place in Uganda (so far).

Thank you, God, for making creation functional and beautiful. Thank you for making people interesting as well as informative. Thank you for giving us a life to enjoy, not just get through.