Feb 21st

"I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives."

That quote is so true! I have spent the last three days doing loads of humanitarian/church service and it's amazing how much fulfillment I have felt. Yesterday was one of the happiest days in my life! I taught a ward piano lesson, lined up 7 schools to teach at starting wednesday, planned a trip to visit some impoverished islands in Lake Victoria, talked with a prosthetist, and worked with the elders.

Another reason I had such a great day was the fact that I held a conversation strictly in Luganda for ten minutes. Usually people break into English but this guy's couldn't afford school so he was forced to speak Luganda. I understood just enough words to get what he was saying. That was exhilarating to say in the least!

For a while I was sure that I could bring my family to live or even spend summers here, but now I'm having second thoughts. Without staying on a secure university campus, it would be tricky finding safe accommodation. International schools are expensive and few. "Why not just send your kids to a local school?" I asked one lady. She responded, "I'm not too excited for my kids to know all of the Ugandan species of goat and which breed the best." Apparently these schools emphasize applicable farming skills, as many of the kids won't make it to secondary institutions.

Uganda's education situation is weird. A college degree guarantees nothing. Families mortgage their lives to send their children to the best schools, only to have them graduate jobless. I just met a security guard who is probably making $70 a month with a masters (the PhD of Uganda). It feels like in America if you do a masters in mostly everything, you will find a job, with the PhD being the automatic. There are few large corporations, as nearly all businesses end up being street side shops and vendors. Their supermarkets are a little bigger than the floor plan of our old house. I guess you can relate this to congested one lane roads and the fact that no one owns a car.

So I've been thinking a lot about the whole "humanitarian aid promotes laziness" argument that some of my friends back home held. It's true, Africa needs to become more independent (more than half of Uganda's infrastructure is funded externally), but with high rates of Malaria/TB/AIDS/Schisto I feel this dependence is a little more understandable. All of those diseases attack people when they are in the prime of their lives, hindering their ability to give back to their society. With poor transportation/health it would be nigh unto impossible to kick start a successful economy. Of course culture proves a stumbling block to development, but that should be used as a reason to cut off aid. What about Brazil's rise to economic power? I've hear Salvador's laziness is unmatched worldwide.

I love the wardies! I tried to teach one dude how to talk in a Southern accent. I'm going to have to get him on video because his efforts are HILARIOUS! I want to get a video tour of Mukono/our house on this blog this week.