5/27/09 - MBALE, UGANDA

Sooo....confession time. Today? Yeah, I just wasn’t that into it. I woke up not feeling well again and had a hard time mustering up the heart to go love on a pile of people when I wanted to curl up in bed and sleep and let someone love on me instead. I wanted to get to the clinic, do what we had promised to do, and get out. But I did my best to plaster on a smile as another 300 patients came to our traveling hospital. Despite that fact, I found my disposition soften and my smile become less plastic as the day wore on. Sill, I was none too relieved when we had given away our last mosquito net, packaged our last envelope of pills, taken our last adult blood pressure and choked the last de-wormer down some poor child’s throat. And so we packed up our people and were getting ready to leave. It was as we sat in the van waiting to go that one of our doctors came. I feel as if he had a question for the driver but he stopped and talked to us as well. Kono looked at him after he thanked us and said “I hope we were more help than hindrance.” This doctor whom I experienced as gruff over the last two days changed his whole demeanor. “Oh no! You helped. You helped so much! We couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you for being here and for your hearts for Africa and your sacrifice these days. It has been such a blessing. And go home and tell your families thank you for their love and support as well...” Six of us just sat there with our mouths hung open as we thanked him and promised we would carry greeting home. Half of us were too choked up to speak. I gave half of my best for the day the thanks I received was twice I would I would have deserved giving 100%. It ties in a little to the fact I’ve seen far more people thankful for our presence, which isn’t a mission necessarily, than regret or resent it. People are so thankful for our efforts. So appreciative for our love and our hearts. We try to be genuine in our actions – does it show that much? Do the Uganda people have to act out of humility? In the United States, we are a bag and bungled of pride. We have this terrible staunch of independence (I went and explored the wild frontier of the west all by myself!) and we glorify those who are “self-made”. We would not ask for help and if we were given it – even if we really need it – you would probably have to force out a mumbled “thanks”. Is it a cultural thing to be so thankful, so willing to accept the generosity of others – or is it a personal thing? Both? What needs to change to make the United States a grateful nation?