Post Number Two: Extra Thoughts and Stories from Uganda

I just wanted to share a couple of additional experiences I have had in the past two weeks that I mostly just forgot to put in my earlier postings.

Story number one: A lesson learned. One day when Ronnie and I were wandering around the city, we stopped so I could take a picture of the local police station. I quickly learned that is a big, absolute, no no. The police came rushing out, guns and all, very angry indeed. Apparently, it is considered a terrorist attack to take pictures of government buildings because they automatically assume that you are taking the picture so that you can plot your bombing attack on the building. I felt bad because they wouldn't touch me with a 10 foot pole so they started bothering Ronnie instead saying that were going to put him in jail and what not. It was a good picture of the corruption of the police here because all they wanted was to get money out of Ronnie. If you can't trust the police, who can you trust?

A word about time: Time, I have decided, doesn't exist here. They call it "African time" and it really is enough to drive you crazy, especially if you are so time driven such as myself. If someone tells you to be ready at 7:30 that might mean 7:00 or 9:00 for instance. You pray it doesn't mean 7:00 because then you are being told the car is leaving when your feet have barely hit the ground. (And you will get left too.) You get frustrated if it's 9:00 because then you keep thinking to yourself, I could have gotten an extra hour and a half worth of sleep. I don't think I will ever get used to this time thing....1:00 means 1:00 to me! How am I supposed to know if the person really meant 3:00!

A word (or a couple) about living in Uganda: The standard of living is so much lower here in Uganda then in America. How is it that two nations can be so far apart developmentally? Mud huts, small brick homes, mud roads, vendors of fruit and vegetables all over the place, scattered electricity and water; dusty and dry. It really is a whole other world. And yet, the more I observe, the more I saw that the people here are so happy. This may be their world they live in, but they are just like me. The children run and play and have so much joy, the mothers love and care for their children to the best of their ability and would do anything for them, they feel frustration, anger, peace, love, happiness, surprise. They know the anguish of losing a loved one, or the disappointment that comes when something doesn't turn out right. All of this time I kept thinking to myself, if only people here come come to America, could know what living is like there. Everyday it is, our roads are better, our health care is better, our supermarkets, our stores, our homes are better. And yet where did I get this idea that the way things America does it is better? Why does our way have to be better? Is it not just a different way? Everyone I have met seems to have found a way to be content in their situation - to find joy no matter what. Which is so humbling to me because Africa has felt so much pain and suffering - war, murders, child soldiers, mass poverty, AIDS, orphans. And yet, with a history so deep, you can still travel down the road and see such life- abundant life. Don't get me wrong; I am not saying we should leave things the way they are because I do think there should be more equality. It doesn't seem right for four woman and dozens of children to be crammed into four huts with no electricity or running water, why I live in a fully furnished, clean, too many rooms to count home. It isn't right that dozens of babies die daily at a hospital because it lacks adequate supplies to keep them alive. It is not right that children are forced into being soldiers and taught to use a gun at such a young age because a few men can't work their differences out. So I do ask, why is this world so unbalanced? Why does God bless me into such a privileged situation while some children are born into a hopeless situation? The world is a crazy place that I don't think I will fully understand until I reach the gates of Heaven and ask the Lord Himself. Attitudes certainly need to change and adjust, people need to wake up in nations such as America and realize how blessed they are and start making some changes. The world doesn't need to be so unbalanced, so corrupt. But despite the pain, Africa is not a dark and lost continent. The people here cling to their faith, hold on to their families, their values. They find joy, they persevere, and they live their lives to the best of their ability. They feel, they love, they are a community. And as an extra note, the people here are so giving and welcoming even when they have so little.

My experience as a white person in the city: I kind of feel like some kind of mythological character told to children in stories as they grow up; kind of like a unicorn or something. And then one day, you actually spot one and you just can't believe your eyes! You had been told by a very few that they had seen one and that they did exist, like the Lochness Monster, but you just brushed them off as being crazy for sure. But now, there before your eyes is that very thing indeed and you will do anything to touch it, speak to it, have it acknowledge you with a hello or a wave. That is how I feel in a nut shell. I love waving to the kids - it seems to make their day that they have spotted a one of a kind mzungu!

Children begging in the streets: It is a very common occurrence to be walking around in town and to have one or many children come up to you begging for money. It makes me sad because often it is because the mother won't work, so she sends her little children out to find money to eat. The other week I had a child come up to me asking for money and I felt awful when a police officer grabbed him by the neck and threw him across the sidewalk. I was in shock and really didn't know what to do at all.

In the village: There was a child in one of the villages that I went walking through with Ronnie. The thing about being a white outsider, is that often people here think I have the magical touch; like I will know how to heal someone immediately. A child who was about 5 and completely unable to walk or speak was brought to me. He didn't have any clothes on; it was as if he had been out casted by his community because of his lack of being able to function. I wish I could have just grabbed the child and brought him home with me so that the proper doctors could look at him and figure out what was wrong. I pray the village finds the heart to accept him, give him clothes, love him.

I wanted to end with a quote. I watched Blood Diamond last night and there is a part where good old Leo says, "I often ask myself, will God ever forgive us for what we have done to each other? And then I look around and realize that God left this place a long time ago." I often think that is the perception that most of the world has of Africa, the "Dark Continent." It is my prayer that in my everyday life here, the Lord shows me His presence, His hope, and His love in Eastern Uganda. I also pray for anyone that feels that way. That the Lord lifts them up and shows them His joy and grace.

And last but certainly not least, my dear friend Caro posted a beautiful quote on my comments from my last post. I wanted everyone to read the quote because I think it is amazing:

"Justice will be our concern because it is God's concern. And what is it that causes this to well up in use? It is His unrelenting love. This is praise - taking care of everyone in time of need. It is picking up those who are marginalized and whose voices are unheard and saying, "Look! Look!" Not in calculated ways to improve upon our perceived spiritual standing, but because it is in us. His unrelenting love has consumed us and when we see need there seems to be alternative but to respond in the fluid moments of this redeeming, covering of Christ."

- David Crowder