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We just finished a 22 mile bike ride. We are training for a ride later in the summer!

Home sweet home!



The equator

Water roaring down the street




boys in church

On Sunday we went to church in Masaka. Although it had not rained during the week when we were working outside, it rained all morning. After church driving down the road, there were roaring rivers of water along the streets. The roads are mostly dirt, so it didn't take much to make muddy water. We could see how mudslides happened. We drove over the Equator which was marked by a big sign on the side of the road. We stopped at a market to do some souvenier shopping and then had dinner at a steakhouse before heading to the airport. The road to the airport was a two lane road that became four lanes with all of the traffic. The drive usuallly takes an hour but took about one and a half hour. We got checked in and through customs without difficulty and then started the long journey home. Our flights were uneventful, and after 18 hours of flying in three flights, we were home.

Having finished our clinic work yesterday, today was a day of recreation. We packed up and said goodbye to our hosts in Mbarara, the Stensaas family. We then drove to the Lake Mbauro Wildlife Refuge for a fun drive through the park On the drive we saw impalas, zebras, baboons, warthogs, and other animals and birds. We stopped at a lake where we had lunch. We then went on a 1-1/2 hour boat ride where we saw hippos, crocodiles, fisher eagles, piedfishers, and other birds, It was a wonderful and very relaxing time. We then drove to Masaka to our host's house, where we unpacked and had a tasty dinner. Tomorrow we will go to church and then head to the airport for flights home tomorrow night.

Marc's reflections....
Today was the fourth and last day of our clinics, again in the village of Ruti where we were yesterday. We were again fortunate and blessed to have ideal weather today, which is amazing because it has rained part of practically every day in this area for weeks.

Our clinic served around 230 patients today. Considering that we only planned to be in this site for one day and we ended up being there for two, we considered this very good. Liz again did a wonderful job caring for many women and children. I again played a support role, working on setup and breakdown of the site and escorting patients. The team worked together very well and at the end of the day was very satisfied with our work. We had a short ceremony where we thanked the translators that made our work possible.

In total the ORH team has served nearly a thousand patients on this trip. On one hand, we feed proud and satisfied with our work. On the other, we recognize that this accomplishment is very small, almost insignificant compared with the needs of the people in the communities we served, not to mention the many impoverished communities all over Uganda. Therefore we are humbled. But perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of this trip is that we have shown these people that someone from far away cares for them, in a place where few or none have cared for them before.

Pictures: Ceremony for translators; people waiting in line at the begining of the last clinic day; ORH Team pictures.

We leave here tomorrow morning and will go to a wildlife park for the day. Sunday we will go to church, do a little shopping, and then go to the airport. It is hard to believe that the week is almost over.





Pictures: Liz and Jessica, a nurse; Liz discussing ideas for future trips with Pastor Milton, our team leader.