To Kampala We Will Go?

We recently took a family trip to Kampala to do Doctor appointments, lab work for Aimee Jo, vaccinations for Anaiah, shopping and for the NTCC Quarterly Meeting.

I want you to understand that it takes nothing short of a miracle to get everything packed up and loose ends tied together in Fort Portal to actually get on the road for a Kampala trip. First of all, we make a master list of everything that we need to do while in Kampala and hope that we are not forgetting anything, because it will be 4-6 weeks before we go back again. Then, there is packing for Anaiah, and ourselves, which includes, but is not limited to: sippy cups, bottles, Anaiah's high chair, pack-n-play, a mosquito net, medication, snacks, milk, water, diapers, wipes, stroller and the coolers for our meat.

Andrew works the day before to get the van into working condition for a long trip and if he has time, cleans the inside, so that we can at least travel to Kampala in a clean vehicle, before the dirt overtakes us. :)

Then, there is the morning that we are leaving: Aimee cleans out all vegetables and fruit that could go bad, pays our guard (if needed), leaves meat for our dog and money for dog food with our guard, cleans up any major messes in the kitchen/dining room, finishes all dishes, unplugs gas tanks, checks all doors, then locks the back door upon leaving. WHEW!

Finally, we get into the car (usually an hour past the time that we planned on leaving) and are happy to be sitting down and taking a breath.

Last thing on the list for this trip was to fill up our fuel tank before leaving town. Easy, right? Well, it should be. But, here in Fort Portal, there is not always a steady supply of diesel, so upon driving into three different gas stations, we heard the words, "The diesel is finished."
Finished. It's a word used here quite often, simply meaning that there is none available at the moment and not knowing exactly when there will be more available.

I (Aimee Jo) started panicking after the second station, thinking about all of the hard work that we had just done to simply get into the van, and the thought of having to go back to the house and un-do it all made me a little crazy.

Thankfully, the fourth station that we tried did indeed have diesel. We filled up and were on our way within a couple of minutes. (I won't mention the fact that we had to turn around about 10 minutes into the trip due to someone [we'll refer her as "mommy"] forgetting the high chair. OOPS!)

A Big Week for Aimee Jo

I know this sounds silly, but I (Aimee Jo) went driving around Fort Portal by myself-TWICE in one week!

I don't know what it is exactly, but I have just been paralyzed when it comes to driving since we've moved here. I think it's everything combined--people lining both sides of the road, driving on the left-hand side of the road, while sitting on the right hand side of the car, looking in all directions constantly in hopes to avoid accidents, the judgment of space on either side of the car.

Andrew has been so patient with me and has made many runs to the store when I just thought that I could not do it. Today, I was with Anaiah, and we tackled the grocery shopping and went to get copies of papers made for church! I was very proud of myself and slowly, slowly I am gaining the confidence it takes to drive here.

Praise God for small victories in life!