While in Kampala I avoided the crazy traffic of downtown and took advantage of the opportunity to see Abraham, one of our Ugandan staff working on construction in Tonj.  He has been in Uganda visiting his family and working on sending a truck of building supplies to Tonj.  We worked together to find the right truck.  The day was restful as well.  I was able to buy some spare parts for equiement in Tonj and some supplies to take with me to Tonj.

The highlight of the day was the Bible study that Bob (AID SUDAN) and his wife Suzy took me too.  It was a really interesting deep discussion; it was so good to be fellowshipping with missionaries in Kampala and see a bit of their social support here.  I was blessed by that and I made some new friends too.

Before leaving this morning I had more meetings regarding the truck of supplies to Tonj.  As I continued my trip I had to go through town and the traffic was so crazy I almost got scraped by a truck, thank God nothing happened and I was able to make it alive from that.  I was very tempted to use the siren to make a way, the fact I didn’t have a registration plate stopped me!!

I started my journey late from Kampala due to the meetings, and I drove north towards the border.  The second I was out of the city I was able to do a 4 hour trip before dark and now I stopped at Gulu.  I’ll continue the journey early in the morning crossing the Uganda/Sudan border and hopefully arriving in Juba before nightfall.  I would appreciate your prayers that everything goes smoothly with paperwork and safety.

I am glad to find the only internet cafe in town that serves food and free internet so I was able to speak with Suzy and the kids on Skype (love Skype) and write this blog.

Pray also for Suzy, we have been apart for a month and being alone with the kids has also not been easy.  Looking forward to seeing them all again hopefully by Tuesday.

Hi all,

I wanted to thank you for praying, it was so good to see your messages and prayers for me, thank you!

Now I am in Kampala taking care of few things before I head into my journey, I am looking forward to the rest of the trip.

So Kuel and I left early in the morning yesterday from Nakuru, it was so easy to see the difference between Nakuru and Nairobi, there were no cars, made me feel like it’s a Sunday.  Nairobi is always so crowded even at that early hour of morning it could be busy.

Before 10 am we were in Eldoret, there we stopped to top up the fuel and use some of the kenyan shillings before we got to the border and crossed to the Ugandan side.

We reached the border around 12 noon time and clearing the Kenyan side was smooth and fast. There Kuel had to go back on the bus to Nairobi.

The Ugandan side was a bit interesting, it took about 3 hours to clear with Ugandan Revenue Authority, so it was good for me to lay at the grassy area they had and have a nap while waiting for the paperworks to be cleared. I had to say the Ugandan side was organized, clean and very green compared to the Kenyan side.

When all the papers were ready I didn’t want to waste any more time and decided to leave at once.  There was another checking point for goods that are in transit that everyone has to stop and get their papers stamped.  I went there thinking it was going to be a simple procedure, it turned out to be a problem, there was an issue with the paperwork and they wanted to send me back again.  I wasn’t really OK with that waiting again for a few more hours.  The clearance agent was kind enough to come down where the checking point was and talk to the officer and I think he had to pay them money in order to let the ambulance go, I wasn’t involved with that but this is the reality of  how things work here in Africa.

After leaving the border area I just cruised the Ugandan highway till I got to my favorite place in that route, a stop where they sell barbecued chicken on sticks!!  It’s always packed with cars and definately was a highlight, the barbecued chicken is so good, tasty and simple, just salt and barbecue.  Four of those whet down like nothing happened.  Yum!

Now when I got to Kampala I was glad that I got delayed, it was 8 pm and the outskirts of Kampala was hectic with traffic.  I was wondering what it would have been like if I’d arrived around 5 pm!! The Lord was good, I was able to go through it and even downtown without any husstle at all.

Early in the trip a friend from AID SUDAN contacted Suzy when he knew from the blog I was going to drive through Kampala and he invited me to stay with them before proceeding with the trip.  Man the Lord is good to provide me with such wonderful accommodation and with a person I know, so I spent the night with Bob and his family.  I tell you, I was so exhausted I was out solid during the night and next thing it was 7 am!

I am taking care of some business today in Kampala, and in the morning the journey continues…….

love to all

Sabet