India: The Beginning

If you read my last post, you know that my vacation got off to a great start before I ever left home.  The journey from Arua to India started off uneventfully enough: I spent a while at the Arua airstrip waiting on a late Eagle plane, but I still got to Entebbe 3 hours before my flight to Dubai.  Easy peasy!   Just boarding the plane out of Uganda made me happy.  I've been on more than my fair share of little planes recently, and the sight of that big Boeing 777 did my heart good.  When it was finally time to get on board, I had to make a conscious effort to keep my jaw from dropping.  I'd never flown Emirates before, and it was the biggest, nicest, cleanest, roomiest plane I think I've ever been on!  The seats are nice, and comfortable.  We had a sandwich snack served on the 2-hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a 4-course steak dinner on the way to Dubai.   Even the bathrooms were posh!

In the middle of such luxury (sadly, this is luxury, compared to my little world in Arua!), all I could say was, "Thank You, Jesus!"  He's reminded me, over and over again today, that His mercies are new every morning.  His Name is Faithful and True.  And He knew that I need this precious trip to see precious friends even more than I knew it!

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We just flew in to Addis Ababa right in the middle of the sunset.  Hello, Ethiopia.  I don't even get off the plane before we continue on to Dubai.  Goodbye, Ethiopia.

When I first looked out the window and realized we were over Ethiopia, I thought I was looking at another planet.  Seriously.  It's less than 800 miles from Entebbe, but it doesn't begin to feel like even the same continent.  Uganda is so green and lush and welcoming, and Ethiopia just seems desolate.  The sunset cast a red glow over the dusty desert, making it seem even less welcoming, if that's possible.  The thought that people can survive here, in as harsh conditions as they do, simply blows me away. 

The Father simply astounds me with this world He's created.  Just when I think I've seen the peak of His imagination, He goes and shows me that I really have no idea how His mind works.  The thought that a place like this existed on this planet, not so very far from where I live, never crossed my mind.  And He reminds me, yet again, of how glad I am that He is the One holding it all together, and not me!