Uganda 2022 Day 8

Today was are last day in Moroto. Thankfully, I was digging though my suitcase for something because I found a bunch of sugar ants in it. I had accidentally left my bag unzipped while gone they day before and they came to visit. I told Jen it brings a new meaning/true meaning to ants in your pants. We were awake early enough that I was able to take stuff out of my bag and try to find and kill them all. During clinic today I was at the church with Spencer, Algena Lany, Rachel M, David, Elena, and Tony. For each group there were testimonies shared as well as an alter call and offer for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The first group we saw was a quick one so they could go to their next spot. I think only Tony gave his testimony and did the two prayers before sending them up the hill. The second group took longer as we had to wait for the first group to get through where we sent them. The good problem is there were so many people in the first group that it took a long time to get them from one stop to the next. For the second group, we ran out of ideas even with adding in a worship song. Thankfully, the Uganda team saved our bacon and gave us a break. They lead worship in their own language, so the people waiting could sing too. They made a plan to take the second group and have them spit into two. Once the next area they needed to go to opened, we moved some to that area and the rest under the tree the kids were next to. About 1/5 of the people stayed in our area though and there was nobody new to bring over. Tony informed them that to see the doctor they had to follow the other group. It turned out that they (along with a huge group of people under the trees) were waiting for their food. Tony and Rachel M talked again. Then we asked the Ugandan pastor that was sitting with us if he wanted to preach. He asked to borrow a Bible and then went up to preach. That man could preach! He preached about drinking. Taking about how he was an alcoholic in the past. About how he learned Jesus turned water into wine, which he took to mean he can drink a lot. Then bringing it to we should not drink alcohol, but should drink of the spirit. At the end he did a call to receive the spirit and a bunch of people came forward. I was very proud of their sincerity. They stayed there while we prayed for them which meant they were in the back of the food line and lunch service opened at that time. At that point, the gates were closed and we didn’t have anyone else. So, we walked to the clinic. 

I mainly spent time around the pharmacy again in case there was any way I could help. I was able to do a little, but they were doing good as they were in a rhythm by this point. While in the pharmacy, I learned that many of the last group had traveled (probably all by foot) 5 kilometers to see a doctor. They actually missed the chance of a meal by waiting while others were eating. That just goes to show how bad they need doctors around this area. Once the last prescription was filled we got to work packing up all our pharmacy supplies. It didn’t take to long since we kept most of the supplies in the totes and only had to pack up what they had out and repack some so all the same prescriptions were together. A couple of our Ugandan guys sent us down to the church area while they loaded the vehicles with our supplies. At the church, most of the team was already there handing out food to the people who came yesterday and that day. There were so many bags of food. The team was in an assembly line passing the bags out of the room they were stored in so they could be handed out. One bag has beans and the other had flour. I went to the start of the assembly line and reclosed some bags that broke at the seam. Then I helped at the beginning of the line with Alma because the end of the food was so far back in the room. We had seen 417 people today.

When it was time to leave, Spencer and I were in the room tying the last dozen or so bags together when we were told the rest of the team was already loading onto vehicles. It was pouring so bad and we were in a hurry to get back before the road became to muddy to drive on. I was making fun of Spencer and two Ugandan guys for running. I said, it is just water, it is good for you. One if the Ugandans grabbed my hand and made me run anyway. The bus was full when I got to it and the first van I came to had one seat left. I told Joanne to take that seat and I would walk up the hill to Ssepuuya’s van. We were all soaked by the time we got in it. On the drive to the hotel, the two vans got behind a big truck. It was sliding all over the road. I thought it was going to get stuck once, but the driver had skills and it didn’t. 

Once back at the hotel, we showered and went to dinner. This is when I learned the whole story about Destanie’s new man. She really liked one of the interpreters, Julius, who’s sister told him that Destanie liked him. They sat together in the bus, talked and exchanged phone numbers. He also gave her a long goodbye hug when he was dropped off. They texted a couple times during dinner too. After dinner, Lany, Destanie, Jen and I stayed up playing cars games and were the last to leave the dining room. When we arrived in our room, Jen found she had a ton of sugar ants in her tennis shoes. The ones she had been wearing during the day and left in our room. I thought there might be 8, but when I looked there were so many. Jen said, “there is a whole colony in there.” She did what she could to get rid of them. We both hope they won’t be around in the morning, even though we were leaving town in the morning.