Haven Rest

October 10, 2009

Waking up early this morning afforded me to watch the sunrise over the Jinja countryside as I spent my devotion time with God. I have had alone time with God in some pretty incredible places before, but this one might have topped those. It was so peaceful and really just had me sitting there, in awe. Not only did God make and create the beauty of laid before me, but He also has blessed me to allow me to experience it. I really don’t understand how I could be so lucky, but its incredible. I felt an unexplainable peace as I watched the sun rise over such a gorgeous landscape as well, know that just like God was timing those colors to present in the beautiful artistry I was witnessing, so He also was and will continue to orchestrate the events of my life to be just as pleasing to HIm. I need not fear what is unknown, but rather just need to rest in Him and in His hands as He forms and molds me.

After that special time I went inside, showered, and got ready for the day. Our breakfast was incredible and things just kept coming. We feasted on freshly cut fruit, omelette, fresh baked bread, passion fruit juice, bacon, coffee and jam for the bread. I ate way too much, but it was delicious that I couldn’t help it. I have had an appreciation for small things grow on this trip, and jam is definitely one of them. 

The rest of our day we simply relaxed by this beautiful panorama. Some time was spent reading, journaling, playing cards and just conversing about life. We kept on joking about how we were going to check off a life long goal after tomorrow and that got each of us thinking about what those goals were. I began my list. And its going to make for some fun adventures in the coming months and years. 

We left the Haven around four in the afternoon and rode in a taxi to Adrift. I don’t know if its just the area, but the rain began and we watched as it poured down all aroudn us. It was incredible, to say the least, and actually very refreshing for me. I have really missed the fall time Oregon weather, so actually feeling like I needed to wear a jacket was great!

We arrived at Adrift and made our way to the dorms to set our things down. I wish  my camera would have had charged batteries because the inside would have been great to take pictures of. There were bunk beds to the ceiling, and four sets in the room. It really looked like something out of a National Geographic I saw once that showed dorms in China. Our beds were four high and pretty impressive. The ‘facilities’ were communal, though clean and nice. I have become exceptionally grateful for whenever there is a seat to sit on (not just a hole in the ground) so these were veritable thrones to me! The dorms were a far cry from the luxury at the Haven, but for a few girls used to living in Africa, it suited us just fine.

We decided to remain at Adrift for dinner that evening and headed to the bar to see what kind of food we would be able to order. We ended up splitting a pizza and some chips as we sat and talked. Then we decided cards would be fun. Nerts began and we were soon joined by Jack.

We had met Jack when we first arrived. He is around 20 years old (we never got that out of him) and hails from the north island of New Zealand. I instantly loved his accent and we figured out that he is the bungee master for Adrift. We attempted to convince him to allow us to jump for free, but to his credit he didn’t allow us to do that. He did offer us a discount, but with all of us operating on a budget, we couldn’t justify the expense. It is on my life’s to do list, so we’ll see if I return to take him up on it. Jack was very fun to talk and laugh with and I appreciated his story. He was offered the job in Jinja and boarded a plane a couple of weeks later. He was so down to earth, and had not pretense or facade. He was just himself and we could take it or leave it. The same proved to be true of Josh. He came and talked with us as we were playing cards, also. He is from Canada and is employed as a raft guide for Adrift. We ended up laughing A LOT this evening, which proved to be very good for me. I definitely need to do that more. Our evening came to a close and we retreated to our sky high bunk beds to rest up for the next day of rafting the Victorian Nile.