Ugandan Outings

I’m so sorry it’s been so long since you’ve heard from me. I’ve been immensely enjoying life here! I still have a couple of blogs saved that I haven’t even posted. 

So, since I last posted, I’ve taken two trips outside of Arua with Fr. David Baltz. I got to know the Baltz family though Jay Carney at St. Thomas in Fayetteville. Fr. David was the one who helped me find a place in Africa at Radio Pacis with Sherry. I met with the Baltz family members a couple of times before I left to help me prepare. “Cousin” Albert shares the same enthusiasm I do about Uganda and he is amazing to talk to. He also reads this blog, so hello cousin Albert!!

Anyways, all this to explain the reason why I wanted to visit Fr. David’s home in Lodonga (which is about 40 miles away from Arua). What was supposed to be a three night trip turned into a seven night trip, and I enjoyed every second of it. Lodonga has this beautiful Catholic mission in the middle of the bush complete with a minor basilica. Here are some pictures, but believe me when I tell you that these do not even capture half of the beauty of that place:

The great thing about going out into the “Africa Outback” with Fr. David, is that he has real relationships with many people and, being in West Nile for close to fifty years, knows his way around the customs and cultures. He also has many great stories to tell about the “old days”. So, with him as my guide, I got some once-in-a-lifetime chances:

A return/good bye trip is being planned and we are going to try and climb the “pyramid”:

My second trip with Fr. David was to Angal and Gulu. Angal was one of Fr. David’s old missions and was also the place where an American couple was staying. Kevin visited Fr. David when he was about my age and decided to become a doctor because of the experience. He is now back as part of his training and will graduate medical school on May 25^th. He and his wife, Sarah, arrived shortly after I did. 

Gulu was a place where I wanted to go very badly. If any of you have seen the documentary “Invisible Children” then you have seen Gulu. The documentary was primarily filmed there. I first heard of Invisible Children in 2007 (I think) and it has always been on the back of my mind. When I first heard that Arua was close to Gulu I got excited for a possible visit. Let me tell you, there is something magical about setting foot in a place you could only imagine about for so long. We were only there for six hours, so I didn’t get to see much, but I was elated just to be there. 

Gulu and Angal are both outside of Lugbara territory, so every time I went to greet someone in their native language I had to remind myself to hold my tongue and greet in English.

I got to visit hospitals in Lodonga, Angal, and Gulu, and I am planning to visit the one here in Arua. I’ve got LOTS to tell you about those…..

A fun fact about Fr. David:

He is a Comboni missionary (who are mostly Italians) and went to Italy to study for four years. So, he speaks English, Italian, Lugbara, and Allure (sp?) (the language of Angal). He also studied French and can give sermons in Spanish. So, while in Lodonga, he would speak English with me, Italian with the other priest, and Lugbara and Allure with the Ugandans. Sometimes, he would start speaking with me and I would have no idea what he was saying. Turns out he was trying to speak Italian or Lugbara and had to go back to restart in English for me. It was amazing. I truly hope I can learn that many languages in my lifetime. 

One more fun fact (I promise it’s the last one):

I wanted to be back to Arua a little earlier than Fr. David was going. So some of the missionaries I know from bible study (who were on their way back to Arua) picked me up outside of Angal. Up until that time, I had been riding with Fr. David who told these amazing stories about different things in West Nile and pointed out some incredible things to me. When I got in the car with these American missionaries (five of the seven were kids), they were belting Disney songs. Two COMPLETELY different car experiences and I absolutely LOVED them both. :)