Gulu Trip 2014

After an amazing week with the people of Gulu and the World Vision staff our journey with God leads us onward to Paraa Safari Lodge where our debriefing is to take place. Martin tells me it will be a half a days journey, which is about 6 hours long. The scenery begins to change as we leave the busy streets of Gulu to the countryside where only a few small villages can be seen. The road changes and the view are extremely different. Trees and wild life seem to take the place of the people as we get into the heart of the Uganda National Reserve Area. Giraffes, monkeys, birds, warthogs, and kob can be seen with a couple of small villages. A sense of stillness and peace flow over me as memories of what I’ve encountered continue to stay with me. As we arrive at Paraa Lodge it almost overwhelms me to think this is now where we are. I don’t know whether to be excited or sad because a part of me was already missing those I had met and I wondered how different these two worlds really were. Then as I walked out onto the patio there stood before my eyes the Nile River a place I had studied and seen in pictures. I had been dreaming of this moment and it was now it stood before me in the backyard of Paraa Lodge. It was a breath taking view as the water flowed ever so gentle down in the valley and could be seen for miles in either direction. Trees were everywhere and the sounds of hippos, birds, and monkeys could be heard. I felt so blessed by God to have this moment that a tear rolled down my face and I took in a deep breath of air as I felt God’s peace flow over me and joy set in me that I can never explain. God is so amazing to see the beauty of his incredible work. It is by far the most beautiful artwork I have ever known. As I take it all I begin to see the rest of the lodge, the pool, the people, and my friends. We decide after this long journey to go swimming and head to our rooms. The rooms are majestic with lots of dark wood and the view from the balcony is simple breathtaking as Pat and I gaze over the Nile River and there before our eyes are elephants bathing and drinking from the Nile. Elephants are my favorite animals and the view of them makes me giggle and laugh as though I were a child. What an absolute blessing this is and I’m so thankful to God for this moment. I thought to myself how could this get any better and truth of the matter is, it did. As we went down to swim a lady name Janine introduced herself and told me she was a math and science teacher from Australia and that her and her husband Phil had come to teach for two months in Sudan but they were not able to get into the country and had been spending there time instead in Gulu. She asked me what we had been doing here and I explained to her all that we had done and about World Vision. This conversation last for a couple of hours and it was a true blessing from God as she explained where is lived we quickly found out that it is the same city where my best friend since 1st grade now lives. We got a good chuckle from this and she said she would search out my friend to tell her that we met in Africa. Then she told me that when they first arrived at Paraa Lodge they found themselves face to face with friends that they knew from Australia. They were here through World Vision Australia. God’s plans and how he orchestras his work is mind boggling and so extremely inspiring. Later that evening we had dinner with the group from World Vision Australia and to know that we were all here working for God’s glory puts a giant smile on my face. To God be the glory! Amen! Angella K. Peters