(It sort of reminds me of a scene from LOST)
The mountain contained caves where people worship lesser gods in hopes of gaining blessing. This particular cave is one people visit for fertility. The jars on the right each have two spouts. These families are asking for twins. They fill the jars with water from the waterfall and then leave them here for this snake (which thankfully did not come out to say hi).
These pots were at another cave. They are brought to offer thanks to the gods for blessing. There are special rituals for ridding ones life of bad luck and for bringing good luck.
Daddy helping Isaac along the hike. This bridge brings you to the top of the waterfall where you can look down. There is also a pool here where people were washing as a form of worship.
Our next stop led us to Kingfisher Resort for our boat ride out to the source of the Nile. They have this sign posted at the entrance to the resort. I LOVE this idea. No business, just relax :)
The boat was similar to a gondola ride in Venice. It was so peaceful out on the water.
These birds are enjoying the talapia farms on Lake Victoria, free food!
This beautiful island sits right at the source of the Nile. It divides the river between two tribes. If you look close those aren't leaves, they are birds in the tree!
These small souvenir shops sit in the middle of the river. They are flooded and still open for business.
One of the many bridges that cross the Nile.
The kingfisher bird
A monument to Gandhi, apparently some of his ashes were spread here at the source of the Nile.
This poor cat was stuck on the island with the souvenir shops. This is the extent of the dry ground it had to stand on.
We walked out this sign that marks the official start of the Nile. Isaac was not thrilled about getting his feet wet, but we made him dip in the Nile, he's Ugandan after all! You can't come this far and not go for it.
Family feet with the Nile
The next stop on our journey was truly incredible. African Village has another property in Jinja that overlooks the Nile river. One part of this property is called Prayer Mountain. It serves as a center for leadership retreats.
The land was cheap because it was originally used for witchcraft. It was land covered with thick brush, large rocks and a lot of snakes. Mama Maria purchased the land, cleared it of the brush and redeemed the space. This gate speaks clearly to all who enter, there is no other God but Jesus!
These small huts are spaced throughout the border of the property. When we sat in one as a family the air was thick with God's presence. We were all speechless (even the kids!). The huts are perfectly designed to cut out everything from your peripheral vision and allow you a private moment with a breath taking view.
This cross is illuminated at night for everyone in Jinja to see. (note the little hut on the right) I cannot even begin to express what a truly remarkable place this was.
We stayed for tea at Prayer Mountain and enjoyed a great afternoon with the couple that runs the retreat center. We will absolutely stay here one night on our next visit to Uganda.
After we left the mountain we drove through the town of Jinja itself. On the way home we stopped by yet another beautiful waterfall along the Nile river.
This is an area where we hope to take the kids white water rafting one day.
We are so thankful we made a way to fit in such beautiful sites in Uganda. Our hope is that we can use our photos and videos to help Isaac take pride in where he comes from. At the very least we teased Cara that this day would make a good start to a college essay one day. She might not realize it now, but having the opportunity to see these things first hand is a gift, we hope one day they will both look back and find value in our visit.
ReplyDeletebill and lauren~just LOVE reading your posts~what a beautiful little boy (and beautiful big sister!) can't wait to meet him someday when we're in nj! praying for you always!