Our Safari Retreat

Back in Canada, when cars are parked on the side of the road and people are pointing & taking photographs, it is often due to bear or moose sightings (or some sort of natural phenomenon).

But in Africa, cars stop for something a little different.

Today, our cars pulled over to snap pictures of our big friendly African giants, the forest elephants! With their grey wrinkly, velvety skin, and big fanning ears, these mammals are very gentle and loyal creatures, despite their monstrous size. 

After the second day of being here in Queen Elizabeth National Park (formerly, Kazinga Nat’l Park), elephant sightings, and even crossings (they crossed the road right in front of us in a single-file line, as a family!), have become as common as deer, moose, or bear is in Northern Ontario, Canada.

It has been such a blessed week of team bonding and rest as we travelled on bone-rattling dirt roads from savanna to forest, modest hostels to luxurious banda resorts, from safaris (while sitting on top of the jeep) to scenic boat launches and several wildlife sightings. 

Today we saw a LION in a CACTUS TREE.

Today we saw SCHOOLS of HIPPOS chilling in the water.

Today we saw CROCODILES. And we saw:

HUNDREDS of BIRDS from DOZENS of different species (e.g. Yellow-billed Stork, vultures, rouple….). We saw tons of scurrying WARTHOGS, and grazing WATERBUCKS, even an ANTELOPE galloping away...

I’ve been to the zoo several times in my life. I have even been to Ontario’s “African Lion Safari”, where they cruelly have African animals concentrated in a fenced-in area and allow cars to drive along a path while they are being attacked by monkeys and giraffes, for an unreasonable fee. But today, as I saw the animals I typically see at the Toronto Metro Zoo, I realized how real, raw, and…..wild it was. Seeing the “King of the Jungle”, the Lion, and the 2000 pound elephant, in the natural ecosystem of Uganda, is equal to seeing the Black bear, Caribou, or beaver in a Canadian forest. How cool is that? They’re not just zoo animals, they’re indigenous beings to the land I am currently living in!

And so tomorrow we return to Fort Portal, the nearest city to Bundibugyo (a 75km drive east of Bundi, but a 3.5 hour drive with winding red dirt roads, up the Ruwenzori Mountains and down on the other side). When we return on Thursday, we resume our projects and assignments at the mission.

What you can pray for:

Team Health: Half the team has caught some sort of flu, including Aidan (Amy & Travis’ 18-month old baby who just caught malaria). Jessica, Anna, Sarah and I, all have muscle & joint aches and pains. We’ve got the occasional nausea, headache, upset stomach, and diarrhea. 

Please pray that we will regain strength & stamina as we resume our schedules.

UNICEF Formula: Currently, most children admitted to our hospital in the pediatric ward are severely malnourished. Some are suffering from Sickle Cell, a few are HIV positive, and most are suffering from pneumonia and other septic infections. As a result, they are heavily dependent on supplements such as the formula that UNICEF donates. However,  UNICEF only provides formula according to the records we send to them as evidence of our need. The problem is: the local nurses/clinical officers DO NOT keep health records up-to-date and accurate. 

Please pray that despite the disorganization of heath records, we will receive what we need in formula to feed these babies! 

Please also pray for the local staff members who rarely show up to work, who do not attend staff meetings, and are ill-informed about hospital procedures/guidelines.

Thanks for praying!