1-16-08 Goodbye Pearl

Last day in Africa. It is truly bittersweet. I did wake up feeling much better. I was able to drink some water and some of Wendy’s magic serum, and even some dry cornflakes! Although I am seriously dehydrated, God is putting me back together! :)

I was determined to go shopping with my friends and bring home gifts for the family. It was fun. We went to a neat little artisan market. I was able to find a little something for everyone. Here is Jenna testing out one of the many uses of her beautiful new fabric:

Now…..it is going to be a LONG day. We have to waste time until later. We do not fly out until after 10:00 tonight. So, we sat and waited quite a bit. We went to a place called I Love NY Kitchen. It was very close to good ol’ American food. I jealously watched them devour their pizza and calzones while I ate a scrumptious bagel.

After more time wasting, we went to a really nice Indian restaurant for dinner. It was a great place. From there, our private little cab took us to the airport. That was a very hard ride for me. My stomach was lurching and I started to feel very panicky. I got extremely grumpy. Not sure what happened. A mix of tiredness, sadness of leaving, emotions and general American attitude.

This is my ONLY regret from the whole trip. The last few days I have not been myself at all. I let myself and spirits get defeated, and I am sure I came across like a jerk many times. This is NOT who I am, and I just pray that any I may have affected have the heart and grace to forgive me, and will know who I REALLY am.

But….this was it. In 1 hr we will leave this country on a giant Airbus heading west. I simply cannot believe what I just experienced. I cannot wrap my head around it. God took 3 weeks, and through them, he literally crashed into my very soul! And everything I thought I knew and understood so clearly, God has turned upside down. And as cliché as it may sound, I will never be the same again.

God, I truly thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for the way you brought this all together. Thank you fro a supporting church leadership to send me. Thank you for an amazing wife to allow me to leave fro so long. Thank you for dreamers of faith like Jeff and Greg for making this a reality. Thank you for letting your Spirit change me.

I pray I will take all of this, eventually process it, and use it for the rest of my life. Goodbye Africa. Goodbye Uganda. I will always love you.