Travel via truck, planes...and a bus on dirt roads

November 1, 2010 – We (Trey, Renee, Suzanne, Rachel and Emily) left Tupelo at 11:30 a.m. It is now almost 11 p.m. on November 2 and we just arrived in the Entebbe airport. The drive from Tupelo to Atlanta took five hours, and the check in at the airport took two. All in all it was a relatively quick process – the flights however were a different story. The flight to London took approximately seven hours, and it was not bad, just a little crowded. The flight into Uganda was great, and I say that because there were seats to spare and I think everyone was able to rest a little. I on the other hand slept for almost eight hours. Then again, I have never been one to have trouble sleeping. At the point where we arrive at the airport and get to London, my brother keeps saying...well are you going to write this blog or not. Aside from the fact that we are traveling on short time lines from country to country, I guess you just have to know Trey. So I look at him and say, I will start it when I can. So as I sit on the floor in customs at the Entebbe airport, our story begins. 

It is pretty amazing to come into a group of 29 individuals that all have one thing on their mind – helping someone less fortunate than they are. I can already sense the emotional struggles that lie before us, but I also feel the amazing compassion and love of 29 dedicated and devoted people that will do whatever they can to change the life of just one person. As we arrived at the airport in Entebbe, the sign getting off the airplane read “The Pearl of Africa.” I had to wonder, as did my comrade Suzanne, how a pearl could be so barren. We both looked at each other and reflected on the moment we began our descent from 38,000 ft – all the way to hitting the runway – and thinking how a country with so many people could have so little light. Now granted it was the middle of the night – I mean seriously, I am completing this post at well after 3:30 a.m. But the shear knowledge that there is so little among people that seem so happy – well it made me feel not only spoiled, but also unworthy of the many blessings I take for granted each day.

 Since it is getting rather late I will wrap this up. We have a long day tomorrow and we are all still showering. We ended the night (after a two + hour drive from the airport with several security checkpoints in to the mountains...maybe...I can only assume this because we were going up and it was getting cooler…and there are lots of trees. But it is night time so I may stand corrected tomorrow.) by dividing some 50 tubs of supplies for the seven orphanages we will visit this week. It really makes a difference knowing that so many people pitching in just a little have enabled each of us to share, if only for a few days, a spectacular part of our life that will forever be remembered by the lives that we touch while in Uganda.

Thank you all for your support of each of us. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as this journey unfolds. You have pictures and video blogs of both the children and individuals working alongside me in the coming week. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy sharing this experience with you.

EWH

Rachel, Emily, Trey, Renee, Suzanne - Team Tupelo

A few of our 50 tubs full of supplies to be distributed to orphans across Uganda

I tried to get everyone, but there were just too many of us. I will do better tomorrow!