lost in translation...

"You went to Africa, wow that is amazing! What did you do while you were there".......

We live in a culture that is so intwined with doing and accomplishing things, having check lists and busy schedules, crazy agendas and days crammed with so many tasks there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to actually complete it all! We feel the need to have to have done something, or need to be doing something to feel normal..or at least that we are living up to the standards that are accepted of us.. and really, that is not anyone's fault necessarily, it is just how we are wired, it is what our culture requires of us, and so, we ask it "what did you do while you were away?"

My initial days in Uganda, I was feeling a little bit like a fish out of water.. I was in a completely new culture, new community, surrounded by strangers in every direction and I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing with myself. There were two teams on site 'doing their own thing' when I arrived, one group working on the micro credit financing program, and the other was a group of potential investors for Uganda Venture. They both had specific roles and reasons why they were there, whereas I was a little bit of a lost soul. My team wasn't going to arrive for another week and a half...so my first world self felt a little lost....

At first I felt really uncomfortable with the fact that I didn't have a role to play while I was there..but my friend Fadi kept telling me 'alli, do whatever you want!'....after hearing that a few times, I did!

Once I got over my initial insecurities, I just jumped right into life alongside my new Ugandan friends. The girls made it so easy to spend time with them, gathering water, washing dishes, doing the laundry (by hand), making crafts on their steps and hanging out each afternoon learning Luganda (their native language), once it got dark: evening devotions... I learned to start existing in a new way...African time. I don't fully know how to explain it, but life just seemed to make so much more sense that way.

Rather than making an agenda and becoming upset when the plans fell through, because the rain lasted too long in the morning, or people simply weren't ready, so that the rest of the day was running two hours 'behind'...I just started to do things as they did it...time stopped mattering...and it was the community I was forming that became more and more important...richer...and increasingly gratifying. The only thing that was on my 'to do' list was go find someone and simply be with them, share life along side them.. and that became enough!

One of my good friends and team mates recently wrote: "People keep asking me "What did you do in Uganda?" and I've been finding it pretty difficult to answer. It's such a simple question too...but I think it's been difficult because I don't have much to say about what we did, but a lot more to say about who we met while we were over there.
Although we were lucky enough to see and do lots of things during our trip, my time in Tabiro was largely spent with the team, the Ssenyongas and the orphans in the compound (better known as Dominic's children). It wasn't about what we did, it was about who we met along the way.
In Uganda, community is everything. 
Although the view is great, the real beauty of Uganda comes from the people". I seriously could not have said it better myself. In one paragraph, Scott summed up our trip in the clearest of ways...We lived in community. We shared life with people, and that is what we did. 

Somehow in life, the things that really matter get lost in translation.  They are disguised by modern technology and easy accessibility to 'stuff' and accomplishments, checking things off a to-do list (don't get me wrong, I love checking off a to-do list...) above the real life goodness..living alongside others, relying on them for help and support, trusting those around you, and living abundantly in community.

This is something I need to sort out for my self as I live here in Hali. What does this life that I speak of truly look like as I live my day to day life alongside my friends, family, neighbours and strangers.

So alli, what did you do while you were in Uganda? let me tell you. I loved. I lived. I laughed and cried. I was humbled on a daily basis. I danced Ugandan style, I made incredible friends, made a fool of myself while learning a new language, lived in beautiful community with both Canadians and Ugandans and I learned more about the art of living a beautiful story than I have in a long time. I experienced life in a way that is incredibly difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't experienced that type of living before---and to be honest with you, I desire for each of us to step out of our busy lives, and to live abundantly in rich community with others...

It is not about what I did while I was away. It was about who I met, and what they taught me about life and how it could be so much more plentiful ways when we live life together in common unity.

So if you want to know what I did while I was away, I can tell you...but if you are wanting to know how the time away actually was impact-full...ask me about people, ask me about who I met, what they were like and how we shared life together in Tabiro, the place of gathering and enjoyment.