The Waiting Game (Wednesday): Trip #7

Today is the day I hoped to be my last in Uganda until May. The nine-hour time difference has made my virtual participation in FCC activities less than I had hoped. I had two meetings yesterday (Tuesday afternoon Hudson time) at 10 and 11:30 pm Entebbe time. I started to fade around 8 pm local, so I set my phone alarm for 9:50 to be up for meeting #1. I figured I would get the two meetings in, get back to sleep and start adjusting my body clock to CST. I should have chosen PM rather and AM on my alarm-I woke up at 3 am having missed both!

The scheduled time for my in-room test was 9 am. At 9:30 I called the front desk and asked if they didn’t come by 10, if I could have a ride to an offsite testing site. After a call they said they were on their way (10 minutes away). Forty minutes later the ten-minute ride was completed and there was a knock on my door. The test was done quickly, and I was assured that I would receive email confirmation by 3 pm, plenty of time for the 6 pm checkout (pay for ½ day), grab dinner and head to the airport. I paid for the test (around $55) and when I asked for a receipt got a blank look. The tester said she would return later with it, which she did around noon. 

I walked the grounds (16K steps so far today), did some stretching, finished a book, did some other FCC related stuff. 3 pm came and went. I started getting texts from US and Uganda asking about my 3 pm results… I went online, got the number of the outfit doing the testing and walked to the front desk. I asked if they could call on my behalf and when the call was being placed, I looked down and saw some official looking documents. I paid closer attention and found out it was mine and in bold, glorious letters the word NEGATIVE was stamped on not one, but two documents. The email never came, but I now had two documents. I texted Carol, my family, FCC staff and my Ugandan traveling mates to share the good news. 

I am currently in the Entebbe airport, through security and immigration. The person before me in line pointed out to the immigration official that a carry on was left at the base of the booth she sat in. She didn’t seem very interested. The wife of the one who passed along the information and I took a step back from the bag, we looked at each other and I said “if that’s a bomb, our current social distancing isn’t going to help much”. Her husband came back toward her and she told him to get away, she didn’t want both of their names in the Amsterdam newspaper. If this were MSP, we would have likely been moved out and a dog called in.

It’s funny how security works here. In some ways it seems more serious, and others, more lax.  When we first get in the airport, everything goes through the scanner (we get to keep our shoes on. Once we clear immigration (and the abandoned carry on) we have to go through another scanner, taking our shoes off. As we enter our gated area (enclosed), we will have to take off shoes and scan once again. The carry on is still probably sitting there. Check that, I walked back and looked, and it is gone. 

God willing, I will see Carol’s face around 1:45 in the afternoon and try to stay awake till 9 pm in the hopes of a good night’s sleep.

The picture I enclosed shows men painting the hotel I stayed at. The scaffolding was all metal poles, about five feet in height, one from the next and three feet side to side-and nothing else. They all worked in flip flops or crock like footwear, standing on these poles for an entire shift. Their agility is amazing and an OSHA nightmare. Their end product is looking pretty nice.

Next post will be my final one.

Larry Szyman

Pastor for Missional Life