Today I went to local primary/secondary schools looking for volunteer opportunities as a first aid teacher. I was expecting a big interview process with me explaining why I'm qualified, but that didn't happen. Within seconds of telling the Head Master of my idea, he was scheduling me for an assembly. On Monday I will be teaching first aid to around 400 elementary aged students. I am absolutely ecstatic. I also left notes at six other schools, so we'll see if any of those pan out.
I am working on getting a translation of my testimony for Sunday; I really hope people can understand my poor pronunciation. I have invited about eight people to church on the condition that they could make fun of me when I messed up my Luganda.
Probably the hardest thing about being an American in Uganda is the people asking you for money. Sometimes it is appropriate for you to respond "olimba ssebo" or "you deceive me," but unfortunately many times you know their stories are real. Douglas, a guy in our priest quorum, has had an amazingly hard life (the guy has lost 12 siblings and a mother in Rwanda). To make matters worse, his dad had a stroke this week, leaving him hospitalized with a coma. All of the money Douglas was going to use to jump-start a computer business was drained by the hefty medical bills. He came to us asking for the $150 he would need get his career in order.
The problem with giving money in Uganda (even as a loan) is that word spreads like wild fire and before you know it, everyone is using you for your money. Giving locals money also strengthens the "Muzungu-money" correlation, hurting the success of future visitors. One of Dad's colleges at BYU who does research regularly in Uganda warned about giving money, even when people sincerely need it, telling us to only give "when the spirit directed." This would seem to create a lose-lose situation: do you go counter-culture and "selfishly" abstain from sharing everything you have, or do you destroy current and future relationships by billboarding your willingness to share? Hard question. Luckily I have an inspired father. Here's what we did with Douglas:
From the get-go we empathized that God answers prayers. We related stories about the financial stress we have faced (although nothing even remotely close to what he is going through) and related that we have found strength in turning to prayer. I got to share my experience about paying for my mission, noting that it would have impossible without the Lord's help. Then, as my dad says, "we helped him help himself," brainstorming ideas to raise the needed money. We soon realized that he could rent a computer until he received his first paycheck (two weeks). This cut the cost down to one fifth of what it was originally. Then we realized that he could probably negotiate his loan, only paying half of the whole cost up front. Even then, the fifteen dollars he needed seemed miles out of reach. We all fasted and prayed. Miraculously, after two days of begging friends, he had found enough lenders get the money. He called me this morning to tell me he had got the money, reassuring me that his success came entirely from his Father in heaven as an answer to his prayers.
If we would have simply loaned Douglas the money from the beginning, both of our testimonies wouldn't have grown in the way it did. He will now be better equipped to survive future financial distress and has learned how to become more self-dependent.
I believe we can use Douglas's experience as a microcosm for each of our lives. We will all have intimidating trials in this life, sometimes seemingly more than we can bare. Instead of solving all of our problems for us, Heavenly Father allows us to stretch to our spiritual limit, trusting that all will work out. After doing all we can do and praying sincerely, inspiration will come and miracles will abound. I know that after overcoming these trials, we will be able to look back, seeing the many ways in which we have grown.
I won't be on this blog for the next 3 days as we are heading to a game reserve.
"Kotomda Okukume"
(God to bless)
Eric Smith
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