An Arua Adventure

So we found ourselves in Arua these last couple of days. It was a blitz trip up and back and not at all expected! We really wanted to go and felt excited to visit Arua again, this time as actually here to live. It was the first time we had flown up which was an adventure but we made it safely and Jesus immediately began putting pieces together. Stan Wafler and his wife, Pam, are IMB missionaries who have been in Arua for five years now and they and their family graciously took us in for the morning, even giving us a lift from the air strip (you could not call it an airport!) into town. We have only been on one of two of these scouting trips and we are always reminded of Joshua and Caleb spying out the land! It is fascinating because while you never can guess how God will work, you really almost expect Him too in dramatic ways and each moment we found ourselves surprised by His joyful blessings. One of those was that Mrs. Pam is close friends with Mrs. Cathy Asiki, the wife of mayor of Arua. While Pam’s afternoon was full, Cathy volunteered to spend several hours with us. So there we were... tromping through Aruan neighborhoods in our Chaco sandals, scribbling down notes while we looked for available housing and asked a lot of questions. That first night we dined at the new Indian Restaurant, the Lovely Inn, which was the answer to many prayers for a possible “date-night” restaurant. It was fantastic and we chuckled that even all the way up in Arua, we could watch European soccer on their television! One of the great adventures is transportation and since we had no vehicle, Friday morning we opted for a bicycle taxi which really is an experience all on its own. When you come to visit, we’ll arrange a ride for you! Friday afternoon we got caught in a heavy down pour, much to the bemusement of many “Aruans.” Due to the rain and then because as a rule, we do not do much after dark in Uganda ever, we called it an early night at the Heritage Court Guest house and dined on goat stew and rice. A few crickets joined us during the night but actual hot water made all the difference! Thank you so much for your continued prayers as we follow up on housing leads for our team (us, the Rinehimers who arrive Monday! and Jeannie Banter who comes in January). Also, that we will continue to sense the LORD’s guidance and direction as suddenly the elusive “Arua” dream is slowly becoming our reality. We thank you for sharing in that reality with us in so many ways.

(We are having trouble posting pictures but we'll work on posting the one of Joanna on her bicycle taxi)