June 15, 2017: Twenty- eight hours of travel since we first departed the airport in Greensboro. We finally arrived at the Nile Village Hotel in Jinja, Uganda. Our driver, Patrick, had been sure to make us feel safe as we experienced the sights and sounds of our five- hour trip from the airport in Entebbe to our final destination of Jinja. He took it slow on the countless potholes. He locked the car doors when we were in traffic and surrounded by street vendors knocking on our windows, selling everything from steering wheel covers to ground nuts and sim-sim. We held our breath as cars and trucks were passing other vehicles on the two-lane road played chicken with us and made time stand still. We went through Kampala. Standstill traffic. Five lanes worth of cars, trucks, and boda boda motorcycles carrying entire families, - babies and all, - squeezed into three tight lanes. Matatus, the large vans that are considered taxis but act more like informal buses, pack people in like sardines as they make their way from city to city, roofs piled high with everything from furniture to dead chickens heading to market. No apparent traffic laws, just a crowd on a busy city street making their way forward with remarkably little road rage and only friendly tapping of car horns when absolutely necessary. Love One Another With the help of the Brooks Sabbatical, a dream that I had became a reality. When I first applied for the Brooks Sabbatical, my passion was to go work with a new school that was opening in Jinga, Uganda. I learned about this school after reading Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis. Since this was the first time I had applied for the Brooks Sabbatical, I truly did not believe that I would be awarded this amazing gift. In December 2015, I found out that I was, indeed, the teacher who would now be able to go live out my dream. Planning began with my family, as they were to go with me. My contact for the school in Jinga was not ready for us yet. In fact, when I contacted him, I was told, “Can you wait until January 2017 as the school will be opening then?” To say the least, I was disappointed, but we forged on and found a school to work with in Hararre, Zimbabwe. All plans were made, and we were ready to go, set to leave on July 6, 2016. Fully packed and ready, we were excited but nervous at the same time. The day before we were supposed to leave, I received a call from our contact in Zimbabwe, and we were told not to come. The country was in major political unrest, and it would be unsafe for us to travel there. I quickly called Tommy Webb, Associate Head for Advancement and Personnel and was told to wait. My family and I were disappointed and discouraged. Truly, I had to take a step back and decide what I was supposed to do next. As I started working on a new plan, I decided that I would contact the school in Jinga, Uganda again. This time the response was overwhelmingly, “Yes! We need you as soon as you can come!” Due to college, work, etc., it became abundantly clear that we would not be able to take trip as a family. Once I realized this, my thoughts were, “what do I do now?” Jenna Gilfillan, sixth grade Global Studies teacher, shares a love for people groups, and I decided to reach out to her. I never thought she would say “yes,” as she had an almost one-year-old at home. Would she take this trip and be away from her child for two to three weeks? The response, with tears, was “yes, I would love to go.” The planning began, and the pieces to the puzzle all fell into place. Please join us now as we take you on a glimpse of our journey. -- Kathy Gillespie 30 | Winter 2017