We are back in the airport in Uganda, our flight is supposed to fly at 5:00pm. We will have a layover in Ethiopia for quite a while it seems. The flight from there is planned for 7:45am which will put us in Rome in the afternoon. Hopefully that gives us enough time to go straight to Casoria, or Naples.
The flight left Uganda at 5:00pm. We have become a kind clumped with the original passenger list of people that were scheduled for our first flight and have been traveling with them here and there. We landed at 7:30 and made our way through the airport. Having no idea what is going on or where we should be going, we just kept moving with the crowd of people. We eventually made our way to the main doors to the airport and found a few other original people. Some representatives eventually showed up and Looked at a piece of paper that we had been given with the name of the hotel we would be staying at. We were ushered outside to a van that had the hotel name "Churchill" written on it. We met an Italian woman by the name of Clara who is one of the original and is also going to Rome. She is a UNICEF worker in northern Congo where the LRA is still present and fighting. Se said that she lives in a container out in the middle of the jungle where she does her work. She said that the things that she sees out there is national geographic type stuff. I would love to see it.
We finally arrived in Rome, caught a shuttle to the main train station. I had no way of contacting the other team to find out where they were or where we needed to go. Julie and I checked the ticket machines to see when the next train to caserta departed. We then ran down the stairs of the train station into the underground to find a SIM card that I could put into my phone. My phone got switched over from Uganda service to Italy service but it took some time to activate, so we just decided to buy the tickets straight to Caserta. Our train departed on time with an estimated arrival time of 7:30pm. Julie and I had some good conversation on the noisy ride right up to 7:30 when our stop approached. I looked out the window to look for the Caserta sign, but I could only find one that said Isernia. I looked back at Julie, then to an old man that was sitting across the row from us. I asked him if he spoke English. "yes, a little." I held my ticket up and said, "Caserta." He said, "No, no! Big mistake, you make big mistake!" we were supposed to get off in Casino, and switch to a different train.. The next half hour I spent talking with Train officials, and our friends in Naples on my phone trying to figure something out. I couldn't understand what the official was saying so I would call my friends, and then they would talk to him, and then they would try to tell me what he said, but I couldnt understand them either. The official knew what was going on and made sure that we got to where we needed to go, thank you Jesus. After the second pick-up attempt, we finally were united with the team at a pizza restaurant, and started the Italy Camp Mission.
We spent the first night at the old mill (Vecchio Mulino). Though I was still in a bunk bed, at least now I didn't have to wrestle with a mosquito net. The Mosquitos that were at the camp were less than they have been in past years, but they still did a few dive bombs into my ear canal. I think that is the worst sound in the world. It is a sound that results in your arm whizzing past your ear so hard that you jolt yourself either upright, or into a completely new sleeping position. I never get them either, because they come back about 45 seconds later doing the same thing; new sleeping position.
We drove back into Casoria for church and heard Doug Valenzuela deliver a great message in perfect Italian. We could only sit and listen hearing the occasional word "Americano" drop. After the message, we returned to the camp and prepared for the campers to arrive a little later in the day. we had many new faces this year, which was really great. A lot of the older people couldn't come due to work or school. The students that we did have were amazing though. The week was filled with joy. We played team building games, volleyball, soccer, night time activities, study and meditation times that were led by the Italian leadership, and had great worship led by the Americans. I am really proud of the American team because of the way they integrated themselves in with the Italians. It is amazing to me the bond that you build with someone that you have never met before having spent only a week with them. God was with us on this trip, and he let us be examples of Christ in the way that we interacted with them and with each other.
July 28
We are now on the train back to Rome. Our whole team is spread out between two different cars, and only a few of us are lucky enough to be seated next to someone we know. The sun is going down and the lights have come on in the cabins. The train sways back and forth in an irregular motion as it winds around bends in the railway. I can see the Mediterranean sea on my left, and little castles on buttes on my right. Amy Simonson is sitting directly across from me sharing her headphones with an Italian girl that is on her commute home. Americans keep walking past the door to our cabin asking questions and saying hi... We have just a few hours before we are in our beds sleeping.
We walked around Rome for a few days. I think I have reached a point where the colleseum doesn't do much for me any more. I had much more enjoyment spending time with the team walking around, whether it was at the colosseum or not. I have seen everything but the Sistine Chapel in Rome. I had an opportunity to go, but I didn't feel a desire to go. The more I travel I find that I am less likely to need to see monuments and landmarks. I don't really care about them. Some of them are fascinating, but after I see them for a few minutes, I have this feeling like, "okay.. I can walk away now." I think it very much has to do with the people that I am with. I think it is true for more than just sightseeing also, if I am at home I can play a video game, but if I am by myself, it is boring. I can go and see the most amazing things that man has built, but if I am by myself it is just not as amazing. God has designed us for relationships, and that is exactly why I feel that way.
The flight back to Portland felt quick to me, probably because I was in and and out of sleep so much. We landed around 10:30pm. I was met by Cary Samsel and my car key, so I got to drive away from the airport. Sitting in my car, I thought about all that I have done the last 3 months, and the things that God has allowed me to do. It was warm enouh for me to roll down my window and let the air flow into the car and across my face. I didn't turn any music on; I instead just thought as I drove. The streetlights went by as I thought about where I was just 1 day ago, 1 week ago, the people that I have been with, the things I have taught, learned, and experienced. I turned my blinker on and changed lanes. I didn't have to worry about running into a ditch to get around the car in front of me. I thought about the dangers where I was, and now being back in Portland; safe and secure not having to worry about a thing. I almost feel more at home where I don't have the luxuries that I have when I am home. I know that soon I will be sucked right back into this place, expecting the things that I have, and not appreciating them. Last night I woke up sweating because of the heat. Portland isn't very hot, but I had a down-comforter that i didnt need in a bug-free, amazingly insulated room. No mosquito nets, no cocroaches. The bed was more comfortable than any bed I have slept on in the last 3 months. I am about to go camping at the beach with my family. My brother Elliot and I usually pack a futon that fits my tent perfectly; I am already expecting a bed that will be more comfortable than any bed in Uganda. My tent is better at keeping bugs out than any mosquito net. I will wake up to a nice breakfast, and relax most of the day in the sun, or shade, or whatever I feel like. I will have electricity, and running water... Camping. I don't have a lot by American standards, but I am filthy rich.
Now what happens? I'm not going back to work, I am applying for work with a christian international disaster relief organization called Samaritans Purse that will send me where they have the greatest need.
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