Dream or Nightmare? Either Way, It Hurts! Gulu Trip – Post #1

Just another trip to Uganda. This trip makes it about an even dozen. I’m pretty used to it all. Waiting in line, two eight hour trips-one to Amsterdam, one to Entebbe. By all standards this trip was quite boring till a half hour ago.

It’s not unusual to be up at strange hours on one of these trips as my body adjusts. Eleven days here will give my body enough time to adjust in order to turn around and get back to Hudson and adjust all over again. Tonight I had a first…

We (Mike Evans, Stu Dix and yours truly) each have a bedroom that was designed for groups coming to visit. Each of our rooms contain 4 bunk beds and a fan and a private bath (not so private when eight people use the room!)

I went to bed at 9:30pm local time (1:30pm in Hudson) and I had slept an hour and a half when I realized that under my bunk bed and contained by the netting that protects me from malaria were about a dozen bees or wasps (I didn’t spend much time trying to tell the difference!). I popped up out of bed and pushed the netting away only to experience pain followed by an adrenaline rush. I hit my beautiful bald dome on the exposed wooden frame from the mattress overhead!

The good news, the critters weren’t real. The bad news, head wounds bleed a bit! The blood seems to have stopped and all I have is this pic taken with my iPad and a couple of dirty napkins I took from the kitchen. Dreams that are remembered are very rare for me, unlike Carol, my creative wife. This one will stay lodged for a while.

Hopefully, when I go back to bed (I think I’ll study awhile so I’m good and groggy) I’ll simply sleep. I look forward to filling you in on the trip as things unfold.

The bunk bed won.

Larry Szyman

Pastor for Missional Life