Week 3 down!

Hey all, it's Monica again.

Mal has been on a safari this weekend, so she hasn't been able to make it to the internet cafe at the mall. She has some very exciting updates, though, so I hope I do them justice!

After a rough couple of days (understandably!) Mallory was very happy to get out of the routine and the city for this weekend's safari! She left first thing Saturday morning for about a 5-hour drive across Uganda, to a state park that had lodging, a "game reserve" (where the safari was), and one of Africa's tallest waterfalls. Upon their arrival, they hiked to the top of the waterfall, and then headed to bed for a good sleep before the big safari! Before Mal left, she said the lodging options were either 1) a hut, or 2) a "permanent tent"... we couldn't figure out what the difference is between the two! I'm not sure which one Mal ended up staying in.

On Sunday morning the whole group wokeup at 6am for the sunrise over the Nile(!!!) and then they began their safari. Mal said that the sunrise was "beautiful!", the Nile was "ridiculous!", and that the only bad part so far was that she had a bad breakfast and puked on the bank of the river shortly after sunrise. We told her that that was okay because one time Aunt Penny puked on a landmark too... she promptly replied with "Hobo's!?!?!" - a "seedy" restaurant that we always pass on the way to Grandma's house. That was the correct answer. haha I guess that's an inside joke.

During the safari, Mal got up close and personal with a lot of different wild animals. I will try to remember a good portion of them:

-zebras
-lions
-tigers
-giraffes
-gazelles
-wart hogs
-crocodiles
-hippopotomuses... hippopotomi?
-spider monkeys
-elephants

There's probably a lot more... I'm sure Mal will clarify and/or let you see for yourself when she posts pictures when she gets home!

This morning (Monday) Mal was able to do something that truly was like a dream come true for her... Now, I don't know how many of you know this, but part of Mallory's desire to go to Africa was instilled in her by her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Murphy. In her 5th grade class, Mrs. Murphy taught extensively about chimpanzees and gorillas, and the work of Jane Goodall in preserving the natural habitats of these primates and in saving them from extinction. Well, Mal was hooked then, and has been ever since. Approximately 12 years later, Mal entered the Jane Goodall Institute of Uganda this morning and spent 3 hours "chimp tracking." They followed a trail of partially-eaten fruit and "fresh stool" (gross!) to a clearing where there were a handful of chimps. Mal said she took a ton of pictures, and that the whole thing was kind of an out-of-body-experience. All of a sudden she found herself literally crawling through the African jungle, wishing she had one of those large machetes to cut through the bush. Who would've thought!?

One more cool tidbit: Something that is interesting about Uganda is that 84% of the population self-identifies as Christian. Mal said it's cool because many of the "matatus" (little taxis) have sayings on the back like "God is good!" or "Jesus is Lord!" or simply "John 3:16". So, Mallory has enjoyed being able to talk to the Ugandan children about her faith and their faith, and has also enjoyed seeing (black) Jesus icons all over the place. This weekend, however, she got an opportunity to share her faith with two people who aren't believers in Jesus. On the safari she met a 22 year-old guy who was from Amsterdam, and a woman in her 20s from London, who is Hindi, as she is of Indian descent. They were talking about religion, and Mal felt like she really should jump in and tell them what she believes, especially since the rate of atheism and agnosticism in Western Europe is staggering. (The guy from Amsterdam said he thought it was about 80%). So, she started talking to them, and they eventually asked her what her thoughts and beliefs were. She took the time to tell them all that she could (she said she really wished she had the "knowing God personally" book- for all you campus crusaders! haha), and they were really intrigued. Both mentioned that they had never heard before about why Jesus had to be sacrificed, and thought it was "really cool" and "made a lot of sense" how everything fit together. Nothing radical happened, but Mal was happy that she took a leap and shared with them. She was also shocked and surprised that two people from first world countries had never had the opportunity to hear the GOOD NEWS, since it's easy to assume that those areas have been reached and to concentrate on much of the third world instead. Mal has certainly experienced quite the opposite in her time in Uganda. Interesting.

So, I guess if you've been praying for Mal, you might want to consider adding the Dutch guy and the English girl to the list, along with the orphans, the AIDS women, and the patients at the convent, if you're keeping track! Whew!

Well, that's all for now. Mal comes home a week from tomorrow and none of us could be happier! Thanks for prayers and thanks for checking in!