5/31/09 – KAMPALA, UGANDA

Passion. I feel like maybe I’ve heard someone make mention of it before – and I know I must have arbitrarily agreed. But today I really truly had this vibe for African passion. The heart and the soul they put into the things they do. Church this morning was remarkable – like a breath of fresh air. The songs, while unfamiliar, were in a slightly more vibrant although familiar style and it felt good to engage. The choir wasn’t a choir a choir but a group of worship leaders. They weren’t there to perform but seemingly because their own passion was oozing and the stage was a convenient place to share. The was heart and spirit in their words, in their voices. I saw this last week too although a language barrier meant I had to observe where as today I felt swept into the goings on. It seems curious that a country with such dedication, such “give all” attitude (evident in their church services, worship, hospitality, dancing, crafts, etc) has so many lingering problems. So many unsung and tormenting, ugly, disasters around every corner. Perhaps it is my extraordinarily western way of thinking, but I want to channel the passions and the energy of the people – the same energy at church in the smiles of the dancers at the Dance Troop tonight and somehow turn Uganda around (productivity?) It is not the passions and energies and heart and souls are being fed into bad things, but what if they could also go into other things? What if they could also go into education reform or bathrooms that don’t need to be paid for in Ugandan slums in Kampala or using their collectivism to farm in such a way that all can share in the variety but still sell mass market? It seems like there has to be a way to create jobs or stop the hunger or fix something in this country! Something tells me, however, an outsider walking in would say the same thing about the US... Which means nothing will change because we like things just the way they are.