Elephant Charge

   Yesterday was a very jam packed day. We went to a lot of different places in a short amount of time. It was a lot of fun though. In the morning we started driving out of our hotel early because we had a distance to drive and this hotel was in the middle of no where. As we started driving...you wouldn't believe it... but an elephant was on our left hand side! It was there just eating. My jaw dropped. We were not in any kind of reservation or anything, these were just wild elephants. It was the coolest thing ever! Tom, who works for Unicef, was saying that we had to be careful because these elephants don't like cars driving around their families. If they feel threatened, they charge the cars. Tom also said that we shouldn't get out of the car, because then they will for sure come and attack.

   We took pictures and then we kept driving. Then to my surprise, there was another one! This one was in the middle of the road so we could not move. We stopped a distance away and we waiting and took a bunch of pictures. Tom got a little nervous because we had no place to go at this point. If the elephant charged us, then we would have to reverse...into the other herd of elephants. So we were sandwiched between them. Not the best place to be. I was so amazed! That elephant just starred us down. It was so beautiful. Finally the elephant moved off the road so we quickly drove by him. He was so close to us. I loved every second of it!

   That had to be the greatest way to start a day. I have to say I've never been in a situation where I was almost charged by an elephant before...there is a first for everything! After our amazing elephant situation, we went to Rwamwanja refugee camp. It was so heart breaking to see. It was amazing that UNICEF was able to provide for all these people, but it was devastating. People were displaced and there were a number of orphans and children that could not find their families. I was heart broken for them. 

   We went to a 'school' for the refugee children. They were so excited to see us and they were all so sweet. We asked them what they wanted and they said things like, books, raincoats, writing tablets, shoes...everyday things that I, as a student, took for granted. Seeing these children that fled from their homes for safety was hard. There was so much that needed to be done. But thank God for UNICEF and all their hard work for these children. 

"Thank you Jesus for an amazing day! Thank you for creating elephants! They are so beautiful! Thank you for keeping us safe as we got stuck in the middle of a herd. Thank you for UNICEF and all that they are doing to help the refugee children. I pray God that you will continue to give them wisdom on other things to do for your children. I love you! Amen."