The Nile River and A Dark Thanksgiving

I actually have time to write today because I am home sick from Dawn, the day after Thanksgiving. The power is currently off, so there is no hot water to take a shower, and our fridge is stuffed with leftovers that I am not able to heat up! Welcome to UgandaJ

I must say that rafting the Nile was the coolest experience I have ever had. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE! If you are ever in Uganda, or even close you must do it. I have never rafted before, so I was unsure what to expect. From what I heard from those who had done it before, “prepare to fall out of the raft.” I was really nervous about this because I have seen the movies. Don’t you know that the Nile River is infested with flesh eating piranhas, crocodiles, and one really big anaconda? When we got to enter point on the river our guide explained to us that we would be rafting 4 class 5 waves and then proceeded to explain that most toured rafting trip hardly even go over class 4 waves. YIKES! Needless to say, I almost lost my life countless times. The class 5 waves were so intense, and one even had a 10 ft. drop. Like promised, our boat flipped over a couple of time, and people were thrown off even more times. It felt like a really scary water ride that you don’t have a seatbelt on, and it’s not  a ride, you are really dropping down a waterfall on the Nile River. I did make it out alive, thankfully so! It was so cool being on the Nile River, it was so beautiful. It really did look a lot like the movies (minus the deadly animals). So all in all, the excursion was a huge success.

Although the Nile trip and Thanksgiving were about three weeks apart, I am going to write about both in one blog since I have Thanksgiving fresh on my mind. My roommate Heather, our friend Ashley, and I are the only Americans that we know in Kampala. We were all trying to figure out what we should do for Thanksgiving, because not celebrating it was just not an option! We decided to take on the task of cooking an American dinner for some of our friends here. Well that plan turned into a much bigger ordeal then we thought!

First, we had to try and find ingredients that would make American food with no oven. All we have in a propane stove top. It took us all wee to get down a menu that was feasible to try and make. Our menu was: Roasted Chicken from a roadside shop, Obama Chapate (in place of rolls), mashed Irish potatoes, mashed (white) sweet potatoes with a caramelized pecan crust, stuffing, gravy, creamed corn, and German meatballs.

The day of Tgiving Heather and I left Dawn early to go home and prepare the meal, because we had invited people over around 7:30 that night. We didn’t really know how many people to expect because whether we like it or not, this is Africa and Africa does not run on Dunkin, it runs on African time. This means that even though people said they were coming, it would be surprising if they were less than an hour late, if they even came at all.

When we got home our power and water was out. This isn’t too shocking, and the two usually turn on after an hour or two. We think we have plenty of time to get other things ready that do not need power or water. Well, we were wrong. Our power was off, and the power company said not to expect it until 7:30 that night! Ummmm, how are we supposed to cook without lights? But, we did what we had to do and we cooked the entire Tgiving dinner in the dark with just a few candles. You should see our kitchen this morning- a complete disaster! While one of us was monopolizing the stove the other had to prepare the food outside because it had more light than what we were getting from our candles. I mashed all the potatoes outside our front door using a glass jar. It was very comical. We had finally come to terms that the whole night would be without power so we set up candles around the flat and lit them. It was actually beautiful. The table was set with food and the living room was dimly lit. And then something crazy happened. PEOPLE CAME! Yes! We have 20 people show up. Our whole Ugandan staff from Dawn was there, some of our neighbors, and our boda driver! We also had some of our German friends show up. It was awesome (even though it was dark, and you couldn’t tell who you were talking toJ ) Heather and I decided that we were going to give everyone the history of Tgiving, and we wanted to go around the room and have everyone share what they were thankful for (a Morgan tradition). Right as Heather started to say that God provided for the Pilgrims the power came on. The house lit up and the humming sounds of the appliances make my heart literally jump! We were so happy, and the rest of the evening was awesome. We heard what everyone was thankful for, shared laughs, hugs, and life stories. It was a night I will never forget. I missed home like crazy, but this T-giving made what I was thankful for that much better.

After being in Uganda for a whole month without reliable power or a shower that is warm the whole time I am thankful not that I have those things at home. I am thankful for the relationships I have at home, my family and friends. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given like earning a degree. But most of all I am so thankful to God for who He is, and what He has done in my life. He has never once given up on me. I am thankful for my time here and the relationships he is helping to form. I am thankful that I finally understand that it’s not about what I do, but it is about what He has done, is doing, and will do.