one white guy

April 18, 2012

On Leaving

In this weird ex-pat community we have in Kampala, we’re always aware of each friend’s impending leave date. As that time approaches, we process that weird mental space: What’s next? How are you feeling? Are you checking out?

My end-date looms in July, but by no means have I checked out; I haven’t been able to. Life here is crazy full and every moment has a demand upon it. I’m thankful for that. Actually leaving Uganda in a few months will physically hurt, but I took a bit of comfort reading this passage from Donald Miller’s Through Painted Deserts.

And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God.

We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?

It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out. I want to repeat one word for you: Leave.

Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed.

March 31, 2012

Hope and HIV

In the shade of this small room, a young widow brushes tears away from her cheeks and stumbles across the words of her story. Her home under threat, her five hungry children, her precarious health – each layer of stress draws her down.

But then her story turns, the injustice averted, and she ends triumphant, laughing and giggling at the new life she’s been given. I’ve heard her tell this story several times over the last two years, but each time I crumble.

On Friday, I had the pleasure of joining a focus group of IJM clients living with HIV as they shared their stories of property grabbing with visiting researchers from International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). Two young widows and one married couple explained how the AIDS-related death of a husband or father left them grieving and vulnerable to callous family members bent on stealing their land.

With the fear of homelessness consuming them, there was no time for ARV medication, regular treatment, or providing for the children. Each life nearly fell apart until IJM’s legal intervention provided rescue and hope at the most crucial time. Now, they are supported by an incredible social work team and partner organizations who have restored them to health and security. Read the rest of this entry »

March 30, 2012

Justice Week

I set off last Sunday morning for the village bright and early, with my coworkers Josh and Kaye bouncing around in the ample cab of an IJM truck. After more an hour on smaller and smaller roads, we parked at the rough brick school-house acting as Zion Church, the site of IJM Uganda’s first Justice Week partnership.

Zion’s Pastor David will host justice-themed events each of the next eight days, including legal education programs and will-writing clinics. Each event will expand his community’s understanding of the biblical call for justice and the practical ways they can protect themselves. It’s a great program and the pastor looks poised to pull it off well.

Our Church and Community Relations CoordinatorJosh delivered the kick-off sermon about God’s passion for justice. I observed from the back and from behind a camera lens, as is my job, but felt really honored to be present. The congregation hung on his every word and clapped at all the highlights.

Read the rest of this entry »

March 17, 2012

Do Good Anyway

“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway… You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.”

Mother Teresa

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