"One Blood..."

      When I tell people that I can't wait to be in Uganda or that I miss Uganda when I am not here they seem puzzled.  The Ugandan culture is all about relationships. We were created for relationships and I believe that those of us in the Western world have forgotten. We text instead of calling, we call instead of visiting we email instead of writing a personal letter. We neglect the relationships with family and friends and chalk it up to being too busy to slow down. 

     That's the beauty of being in Uganda. Everything in this culture revolves around relationships. If a child is without a mother or father, a neighbor cares for him.  Neighbors feed neighbors when they are without food. People share what is leftover. There is little waste as food and necessities are so hard to come by. One would not dare think of throwing something out. People show up to "visit" without calling ahead of time. There are conversations going on around you everywhere. I have to admit, when I first arrive here, I am still in the western mindset. However, it doesn't take long to settle in and operate on Ugandan time. There remains a constant pace but there is no concept of time. Unlike the US, the emphasis isn't on time but on relationships.    


   When a visitor arrives word spreads quickly with no phone calls, emails or texts. Sarah and I visited the family of O'Brien, a college student that I sponsor as well as a co-laborer in Bweya village. Within moments, all of his family gathered to visit with us in a modest two room dwelling. There is no inside bathroom, kitchen or running water but none of that mattered. There was conversation, laughter, hugs, singing and dancing. They offered us, as their guest, the best of what they had....Fanta, bananas and sim sim ( baked seeds with nuts mixed in them). We may be oceans apart and may only see each other once or twice a year, but the love and sincere concern we share for one another, makes us as O'briens mom said, "one blood."

     

      

Sim Sim