You can't make this stuff up!!!

Less than a week ago, we were sitting in a Ugandan hospital. Tyler was in the first phase of his treatment for a moderate/severe case of malaria and Raegan had started her medication for a mild case of malaria. We finally went home on Tuesday and were glad to be getting back to our routine (however chaotic that routine might be). 

Wednesday was a pretty normal day. We did school work, played with the kids on the property, fetching water, and all that normal stuff. On Thursday, it started out as a normal day, but things quickly changed.
We have some friends from the US that have lived in southeastern Uganda for several years, They had been home on furlough from Oct. - Mar. When they returned to Uganda March 1st, they brought us a package from the US. (Some friends sent us vitamins that will help reduce our mosquito bites. YAY!!) Also, those friends have some security dogs for their house and 7 puppies were born back in January. At that time, they offered us puppies because they knew we were considering them for extra safety (dogs have good senses and often are aware of a problem before humans).
So, on Thursday we learned that the dogs were ready to be picked up and sooner was better than later. We knew that we had to go into the city to have Tyler tested for malaria this weekend (they just want to follow up to be sure he is clear), so it would probably make sense to just continue the drive down to Jinja. The drive is a minimum of 3.5-4 hours but can be longer depending on traffic and construction. We asked our friends if they knew of any place that we could stay over night that would be inexpensive. Boy, did we get a surprise!!
They booked us a stay at Nile River Camp. It is a beautiful place, literally on the Nile River. They usually have a swimming pool, but were having it painted. Because of this "inconvenience", they even gave a discount. For $10 a person, we got to stay here.

The courtyard right in front of the bunk rooms (the least expensive option).

One section of the amazing restaurant/bar/lounge area!

Here's a little video as well. It's just a few seconds long.

If you hike down a trail to the shore line, they also have a rope swing that goes into the Nile River! The hike is pretty short but quite steep, but it is worth it! Unfortunately, Tyler's action cam got a little spot of water in the case, so the pictures did not come out, but here are a few to give you the idea.

This is the shore line where Floyd is being gentlemanly giving me a hand before I took a turn.

Tyler got the picture just a moment late. 

Raegan. If that water spot wasn't there, this would have been a great shot!

And me (Tamra) dropping in. Again, this would have been good!

On Saturday morning, we got an even bigger surprise. It is slow season for tourist, so we were able to snag a deal for a white water kayaking trip on the Nile River. Yes, for less than a day at Disney or Six Flags, we got to kayak the Nile!!

Raegan & Tyler on one, Floyd alone, & our guide, Sam.

Tyler and I together (he had the camera, so this is the only shot of us).

During one of the wide spots, we fell to the back of the line to get a shot.

Obviously, Tyler could only take pictures in the still waters between rapids, but we'll have memories for life. Raegan and Troy got a great opportunity to learn to work together, as they were together for the whole trip. We had our guide plus two safety kayakers. Each one of them stayed near each of our boats to assist in case of trouble.
At the beginning they gave us instructions and had us practice certain things. We even had to intentionally tip our kayaks so that we could learn how what to do and how to get back in out in the open water.
In the first large rapids, Tyler and I made it half way through before we were flipped by a rapid. I admit it was a bit scary for a second. My life jacket and helmet were causing me trouble because they were not staying in place. Of course, I was also concerned about Tyler because he is our least adventurous. Ben, our safety guy, was quick to the rescue. He quickly got Tyler and his paddle (he lost it in the chaos), and then came for me. I was fine but Ben was worried because our kayak had gone over my head once, and then Ben's own kayak came down on my head and over me in one rapid. Thank God for helmets!! They instruct you that if you tip in the rapids to just hold onto your paddle, relax, and float until they give you instructions. When they get to you, you grab the handle on their kayak and they pull you to the calm waters. Then one of them brings your kayak and you get back on in the calm water. That's just what we did.
Floyd flipped in the same rapids as Tyler and I. Since he was in a double kayak alone, he had some disadvantage. Raegan and Troy won the award for the most flips. While Floyd and Tyler ^& I only flipped once, Raegan and Troy flipped 5 times. Interestingly, they made it though all the rapids but would get caught in the cross currents just outside the rapids. I secretly wonder if Troy just enjoyed the flipping. ;)
Needless to say it was an amazing experience! As we paddled the last few hundred meters, a light rain fell from the sky. It was glorious! Tomorrow morning we'll go to church with our friends, we'll get our puppies & vitamins, and then head back home.
So, we share this because it was an amazing experience but also because we are just amazed at God's mercy. If you are following along with us at all, you know we have had plenty of struggles and things not going right. It's nothing that we aren't adjusting too, but it has been a lot. Even now, we still don't have power or plumbing to use our cistern water. I didn't even mention that Thursday night we were stranded out in the village because our car would not start and smoke was coming out of the engine (the mechanic actually drove out from the capital to help us, bringing his partners in case the problem was more than he thought).
All of these things are just part of the flow of life and we really are doing great. We love our days at home, playing with the kids, worshiping together with everyone, and everything else we get to do. But, as we sat in the Nile River on Friday, we realized that the few hours of fun and relaxation as a family was an amazing gift! We could sit in that water, enjoying the adventure and not think about plumbing, language barriers, larva in our water, malaria, or anything else.
What we did think about was our location. The Nile River. The same place that Moses floated into his destiny. The same place that ran red with blood when Pharaoh refused to honor the Lord. The Nile River. We came to the root of the Nile on the kid's first trip to Uganda in 2012, but we didn't get in it. We just saw it. This time, we were actually in it. Not to mention that we never imagined that we'd actually have the opportunity for something like kayaking. It's generally expensive because of the world wide tourist draw to the Nile. But God put us in the exact spot where we would get this great opportunity for a small cost.
We praise him in everything...in struggles, in adventures - good and bad.

Raegan even got to check off one of her bucket list items...to ride in the back of a cattle truck.

This one actually has boards nailed across it to make seats. We see folks riding in these all the time (it's a cheap way to catch a ride), so Raegan wondered what it was like. We were picked up from the camp in one of these this morning. :)

And finally, check out this amazing sunset over the Nile River. This camp has an amazing view!

Creation shouts the glory of the Lord!!