5/26/09 – MBALE, UGANDA

“It’s one thing to give your life to Christ, it’s another to stay committed”. (On the youth in Uganda)

“What am I being called to do?”
- Be faithful
“Be faithful in what?”
- Just be faithful
...I’m not quite sure what this means but I know that it is my answer...

I’m not quite sure what tie it is, but I’m going to guess it is still today as I sit down to journal and dodge the raindrops that are steadily making their way into my tent. Today, around the church (where we doing the medical clinic), there were clay huts. We didn’t really see them in Jinja and I found them picturesque, quaint. Admittedly, after snapping a few prime shots with my camera, I thought little of them...until now. In some ways the great discrepancies between the United States and Uganda were a given. Or course their conditions were worse. Of course their clothes were tattered. Of course the babies in the orphanage sat around in just a cloth diaper which leaked all over wooden floors. Of course people lived in clay huts. But as I sit in my leaking tent, feeling damp, tired, and a little cold...I’m wondering how those clay huts are holding up. It’s raining hard outside. It’s storming. Is the thatch roof leaking? Are families huddled together? Are kids cowering in the corner? Is their some poor young mom on her mat, praying (as I have been) for the rain to stop? In some ways I expected this contrast to hit me in the face throughout the trip and to point it has not. I have been not untouched or unaffected but unsurprised by the difference in Uganda’s social structure, poverty level and poor conditions. It has, however, made me appreciative. I wanted to feel guilty. “The things I have that they don’t! How dare I!” but it was quite the opposite. “The things I have that they don’t...how blessed I am.” Today, for example, while not feeling my best and wanting to invest more in the medical mission we participated in, I was awed by what took place. Still, I couldn’t get past the clamoring for medical attention. These people wanted to see the doctor and who knows when the last time was or the next time would be! On the other hand, I complained my way to the last dozen appointments I’ve had in the states. The opportunity I have! The fact my sickness would kill people in Uganda. I am suddenly very grateful for all of my medical care. I wonder if this people appreciate it – what we helped give today. I would hope so but maybe they don’t. Hmmm. I think they do...