Interview

This is a link to one of the girls testimonies.  It's rather long but gives a really good picture of the life that these girls have lived.  If you don't have facebook email me and I'll send it.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1480140617#!/notes/megan-clapp/a-friends-story-of-being-abducted-by-the-lra/423998931606

New York

Got to New York just fine.  I fell asleep on the tarmac in France but woke up before takeoff.  Somehow I managed to miss the fact that there was a bomb scare and the terminal was evacuated during that time.  I didn't find out why we were late until I arrived in New York and heard other passengers talking about it!

I think no matter where you go you always have that moment when you realize that it’s over for the time being.  Your tan fades.  You go back to where it’s snowing.  Someone honks at you and you snap back to reality.

Last time I left Africa it hit me when I heard a little American boy shout on the airplane that “at least we don’t have to share the tvs like last flight!”  Bam.  Back.

This time the moment was more subtle.  I was neatly folding up the plastic cellophane wrapping that my fourth airline blanket of the day came in.  I thought of how kids in Kitgum make kites out of pieces of trash just like this.  And have a great time flying them.

I love it there.

France

Made it out of Egypt and I'm now in France.  After having to go through security here three times because of wrong directions and a general lack of screens showing flight gates, I'm finally where I should be and have an hour left until I journey to New York where I'll spend the night with Brian.  Catch you later!

It could be worse

Just learned that one family of 5 has been in this room for 6 days and another for 4.  Anyhow, our's is going through and we should be on the plane in an hour or so!

Flying home

So I made it from Uganda to Ethiopia to Sudan and I'm now sitting in Egypt.  Everything has been uneventful thus far.  I'm hoping to keep it that way.  It's now 4:30am my time and I have about 3 hours until my next flight to France... I'm not feeling tired, hungry, thirsty or anything.

However, I should be feeling all of the above.

Also, I'm not quite sure what's happening at the moment.  I'm transferring to a different airline so I had to get my bags but not get a visa for Egypt.  That didn't seem to go over real well but at least there were about 4 others doing the same.  Anyhow, I have my luggage and they have us in some kind of holding room and they took our passports and spoke a lot of Arabic.

Haha I'm not so sure what that means but I think it'll all be good.

So the girls at the Centre all woke up to say goodbye at 4:30 this morning thanks to Colline who went to each hut and banged on the door!  I'm going to miss them a ton.

Then made it safely to Kampala.  My cook Concy came with me on the bus.  She doesn't travel much so she wanted to pray before going.  It started like this - "God, please don't let me vomit like last time I was on a bus."  Haha anyway we made it vomit free the whole way.

Then got pick pocketed.  I stepped off the bus, stuck my phone in the side pocket of my backpack and took a few steps.  A guy pushed against me and lo and behold he stole my phone out of my bag and sped away.  I swiftly yelled to him that he was an idiot and to give me back my phone.  He did.  I think that's what Jesus teaches you to do in this type of situation?

Then caught up with Phil, Suzan and Silver in K'la and hung out with them all day.  Right now we're all hanging out at Suzan's house eating the wonderful cake that Concy made for me to take back to America (sorry mom and dad, I don't think it would have made it in one piece).  Tomorrow I have some errands to run, chilling to do and a plane to catch in the evening.  Then starts my trek home.

Good byes

I hate goodbyes.  I've never been very good at them, I get all kinds of nostalgia about the past, how the kids will change, how things won't be the same next time I come etc.  The group of girls that has been living at the Centre while I have been here has been amazing, each in their own way.  Whereas last time only a few who spoke English well told me their whole stories, this time many of them wanted to talk, either through a translator or broken English.

So today I spent the day doing all my last minute bonding time with the children and girls.  I bought soda for them for dinner which they ended up quarreling about because 3 kids didn't get one.  It left me feeling crappy that it caused a problem instead of just being fun.  But they quickly made up for that when they started with the goodbyes and thank yous.  I swear if I was told I am beautiful and that I'm loved half as much in the State's as I was today I'd be a different person!

After about an hour of that they decided to escort me to my house.  So 25 of the women and I walked across the compound.  Scratch that.  25 women carried me like a rock star in a crowd to my house.  It was hilarious, I've never laughed so hard.  After some more time they began to go back to their beds but some lingered around to have private conversations about the future etc.

It was a good day. One of the girls said she wants just a little piece of my heart in hers.  I realized that so much of my heart already is in Kitgum.  I love feeling so at home here.  I'm going to miss it so much.


Last minute prayer requests:
Electricity!  My phone battery is almost dead, my computer is almost dead (I have an internet modem) and the only ATM in Kitgum that accepts my ATM card wasn't functional today.  Thus, I am now unsure how I am going to pay for my bus ticket to Kampala at 5:30 tomorrow morning.