Day #22

6-10-09

On the first flight I sat next to a Ugandan man named Steven. Apparently he is originally from Uganda but now lives in London and visits his home country at least three times a year. He was really kind and very eager to talk to me about Uganda. According to him, Uganda would be the most well-off country in Africa if they had commercial farming. After all, you can grow basically anything and everything there. He also told me that Uganda does not import any food into their country.
Steven also talked about how seeing Uganda on television is not the same as seeing and experiencing it for yourself. He made a good point that not everything in and about the country is bad. Often you do only hear about the bad, but in the past three weeks our group has seen plenty of good. There are good and bad things in every country, but we should not just focus on the bad.

11:44am (ET) It's weird being back in the United States. Of course, I haven't been outside the airport, yet. Coming back here I have a sense of comfort. But I'm not sure that's a good thing. I often feel that way at Spring Arbor, too. I think I need to be more intentional about popping the bubble of comfort in my life. It'll only hold me back. But after seeing Uganda, I'm ready to drop my life of comfort and live in a developing country- if that is God's will. I just want to make sure I am helping people rather than hindering them. Otherwise, living there would be in vain.

2:59pm (ET) "You can't shake the dust of Africa off your feet." This quote is true in more ways than one. First off, the orangish mud of Jinja does not easily wash off your feet. Secondly, the impressions of Africa that you leave with can never be forgotten...
Deb mentioned how Africa is a "gritty" and dirty place. Though there did seem to be quite a bit of dust (this was only the beginning of the dry season), I still feel Uganda is an absolutely beautiful country. And I have pictures to prove it.