OK, well I'm leaving a flight in 4 hours to take me to the Provo MTC where I will wait anxiously for a visa.
Being set apart was powerful. The stake president's family had us over for a big dinner and then we had a mini fireside with just his family and ours. We had an interview and he set me apart, giving me one of the most intense blessings I have ever felt. He talked about focusing on families and realizing that my own would be safe back at home. It was the peaceful, calming sort of spiritual that really comforts you when you are excited/scared.
Anyway, I'll miss my family. I got to spend a lot of time with them today playing basketball, tennis, and lifting some weights. Then we had a stellar FHE at 11:30 pm and everyone hit the sack.
I'll miss the people here. Period. They have taught me so much about being humble and selfless. They have taught me about the things that matter most in life, none of which are money. I really really think I'm coming back.
So that's the end of this blog. Thanks for following my struggles to consistently post. Before I close this blog, I think it's fitting to end with a short testimony, the very reason I will be spending 2 years laboring in Brazil.
I know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us completely and unconditionally. His love is never out of reach, no matter how unworthy we may feel. The priesthood is on the earth today, giving each of us access to heaven's power. With that, I know that we have a living prophet, Thomas S Monson. He is the mouthpiece for revelation in our day. The Book of Mormon has the ability to change lives; it has changed mine. The Holy Ghost is real. His whisperings are a source of guidance in a loud and confusing world. I testify that Christ is our Redeemer. He paid the ultimate price so that each of us could live eternally. He lived without sin and loved without restraint. Of this I know and testify, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
April 20th
So my parents were talking to some senior missionaries who had been serving in Congo and recently started a mission in Kampala with the welfare program. They said the part of Congo they were in was similar to Uganda geographically and culturally, with marked differences in the way they crossed financial barriers. The Congolese they met were able to solve their own problems and extremely self-reliant. The Uganda's, on the other hand, mostly just expected you to solve their issues for them. Cause of this discrepancy? They thought it was the effect of all of the Ugandan NGO's compared to the near absence of humanitarian aid in Congo. Now, I'm not saying that humanitarian aid is completely at fault for Uganda's problems, but isn't it interesting? All of these people involved in foreign aid, patting themselves on the back and getting warm fuzzies while HURTING millions of people in Africa. OK, sure some person somewhere got a water tank and someone else got free education. What about the thousands of life's guaranteed trials that those people are going to face the rest of their lives? Pretty soon "How can I help me," turns into "Who can I find to help me?"
Anyway, that was my next General Conference question.
Although I'll have to look over some notes, off the top of my head I can think a few lessons General conference taught me on these issues.
How about the "Do vs. Be" talk? That answered my question about Mzungu/Ugandan marriages. If you want people to become better, search for a principle they should change, rather than harp on their behavior. In other words, I am going to encourage the YSA rep (my buddy) to teach a lesson on righteous motives. You should love people because they are people, not because they could potentially solve a lifetime of financial problems. After all there is no "strings attached" to the love Christ has shown to each of us. I've also realized that my mom is in a better position to confront this problem at a one on one level because of the respect the Buganda have for people older than them. I also think that this issue is a great opportunity for the ward to show some self reliance as a whole. People know it's a problem, it just needs to be confronted. (I remember one talk about the love necessary to confront a relationship problem, I'll have to review that one) It might be better if I encourage YSA reps to work that out themselves, instead of trying to take everything under my jurisdiction.
About humanitarian aid: I'm still confused. I'm going to spend a lot more time studying that one out, probably for the rest of my life. However, I really loved a quote by Eyering, talked about the importance of working together to solve problems and the unity that develops from such an approach. I also loved when he said that service should lift all who are involved to greater heights (permanently, not just a temporary fix). The funny thing listening to my dad talk about this and then talking to Ugandans. Their views could be any more different.
I currently believe any humanitarian effort needs to be focused on either education or health, and most preferably the first one. What is desperately needed is an NGO to have career planning for 12-14 year olds. Ugandan have to choose their field of study by age 16, and many choose to shy away from science because it is too difficult. Guess where all the jobs are? In science.
I would love to see more Ugandan teenagers taught the whole "line apon line" principle of financial growth. These guys want to graduate and find a white collar job, without dabbling in the tedious/shameful work of farming. What you do is start by planting on an elderly family members land, promising to give him/her some of the profit. You save tirelessly to buy 10 chickens. Every 3-5 months your chickens reproduce and soon you can sell offspring to buy a few goats. Following the same procedure, you save to buy two cows. Selling their full grown calves, you are now able to buy a motorcycle, which you can then rent out for $4 a day. If all goes well with that, you could have 2 motorcyles in 6 months, doubling every 6 months thereafter. Then you can progress to buying cars and soon you own a business that is employing those same college grads desperately searching for jobs, paying them a fraction of your income. At that point you can live a life of luxury and even attend university if you get bored.
OR
You scrape together 3 million shillings ($1,250) for the cheapest secondary school and 8 million on an average university ($3,500), spend hours studying, successfully graduate, and then spend the next 5 years of your life in search of a solid job.
Dang that's a hard decision.
The problem is that when the British came they needed secretaries and assistants who knew English. People couldn't pay for school so the Brits decided to fund the university education of the best and the brightest. It was a huge honor to attend university with a secure job waiting for you on your graduation day. So when England pulled out, it's education system stayed, minus the subsidized fees/guaranteed job part. So you have a generation of Ugandans who hear the word "university" and immediately think prestige. That generation is the one dumping money into the exorbitant university fees of today's 20 year olds. They are the ones teaching their kids that if you get accepted to a university, continuing your education is a no brainer. And they are the people heaping praise on university graduates, while marginalizing the bricklayer or the farmer.
After talking about all of these problems with Andrew, I asked him what he was going to do after his mission. "I'm going to be a lawyer," he confidently replied.
I guess I never realized the America's extensive career counseling, which for me started when I was only 12.
So my mother and I were walking down to pay the electricity bill in town when we turned a corner to find crowds of people. The local police had imprisoned a popular Member of Parliament because she had participated in the transportation strike, walking to work. Andrew, who was walking with us, suddenly told us to go home. As we speed walked home we heard gun shots and stories of tear gas, looking down at the main road as people were sprinting away from the riot. You better believe my mom was scared. Our family is extremely blessed to live in a safe environment, away from threats of political stability. UCU campus would be one of the last places for a riot, and for that our family is extremely grateful.
Ok, I need to jet. Busy day tomorrow, with an even more busier weekend.
Anyway, that was my next General Conference question.
Although I'll have to look over some notes, off the top of my head I can think a few lessons General conference taught me on these issues.
How about the "Do vs. Be" talk? That answered my question about Mzungu/Ugandan marriages. If you want people to become better, search for a principle they should change, rather than harp on their behavior. In other words, I am going to encourage the YSA rep (my buddy) to teach a lesson on righteous motives. You should love people because they are people, not because they could potentially solve a lifetime of financial problems. After all there is no "strings attached" to the love Christ has shown to each of us. I've also realized that my mom is in a better position to confront this problem at a one on one level because of the respect the Buganda have for people older than them. I also think that this issue is a great opportunity for the ward to show some self reliance as a whole. People know it's a problem, it just needs to be confronted. (I remember one talk about the love necessary to confront a relationship problem, I'll have to review that one) It might be better if I encourage YSA reps to work that out themselves, instead of trying to take everything under my jurisdiction.
About humanitarian aid: I'm still confused. I'm going to spend a lot more time studying that one out, probably for the rest of my life. However, I really loved a quote by Eyering, talked about the importance of working together to solve problems and the unity that develops from such an approach. I also loved when he said that service should lift all who are involved to greater heights (permanently, not just a temporary fix). The funny thing listening to my dad talk about this and then talking to Ugandans. Their views could be any more different.
I currently believe any humanitarian effort needs to be focused on either education or health, and most preferably the first one. What is desperately needed is an NGO to have career planning for 12-14 year olds. Ugandan have to choose their field of study by age 16, and many choose to shy away from science because it is too difficult. Guess where all the jobs are? In science.
I would love to see more Ugandan teenagers taught the whole "line apon line" principle of financial growth. These guys want to graduate and find a white collar job, without dabbling in the tedious/shameful work of farming. What you do is start by planting on an elderly family members land, promising to give him/her some of the profit. You save tirelessly to buy 10 chickens. Every 3-5 months your chickens reproduce and soon you can sell offspring to buy a few goats. Following the same procedure, you save to buy two cows. Selling their full grown calves, you are now able to buy a motorcycle, which you can then rent out for $4 a day. If all goes well with that, you could have 2 motorcyles in 6 months, doubling every 6 months thereafter. Then you can progress to buying cars and soon you own a business that is employing those same college grads desperately searching for jobs, paying them a fraction of your income. At that point you can live a life of luxury and even attend university if you get bored.
OR
You scrape together 3 million shillings ($1,250) for the cheapest secondary school and 8 million on an average university ($3,500), spend hours studying, successfully graduate, and then spend the next 5 years of your life in search of a solid job.
Dang that's a hard decision.
The problem is that when the British came they needed secretaries and assistants who knew English. People couldn't pay for school so the Brits decided to fund the university education of the best and the brightest. It was a huge honor to attend university with a secure job waiting for you on your graduation day. So when England pulled out, it's education system stayed, minus the subsidized fees/guaranteed job part. So you have a generation of Ugandans who hear the word "university" and immediately think prestige. That generation is the one dumping money into the exorbitant university fees of today's 20 year olds. They are the ones teaching their kids that if you get accepted to a university, continuing your education is a no brainer. And they are the people heaping praise on university graduates, while marginalizing the bricklayer or the farmer.
After talking about all of these problems with Andrew, I asked him what he was going to do after his mission. "I'm going to be a lawyer," he confidently replied.
I guess I never realized the America's extensive career counseling, which for me started when I was only 12.
So my mother and I were walking down to pay the electricity bill in town when we turned a corner to find crowds of people. The local police had imprisoned a popular Member of Parliament because she had participated in the transportation strike, walking to work. Andrew, who was walking with us, suddenly told us to go home. As we speed walked home we heard gun shots and stories of tear gas, looking down at the main road as people were sprinting away from the riot. You better believe my mom was scared. Our family is extremely blessed to live in a safe environment, away from threats of political stability. UCU campus would be one of the last places for a riot, and for that our family is extremely grateful.
Ok, I need to jet. Busy day tomorrow, with an even more busier weekend.
April 13th
Life's been great! I'm planning on going to stay a week (or a little less) at the clinic next week. Mostly it's going to be me walking around the villages telling them about the clinic. Apparently when they see that a white guy is working there, more come. I'm organizing a soccer clinic/tournament for little kids next week as well.
I'm reading this book of Baganda proverbs. You see so much of their culture in their sayings. Unfortunately I can't find the book right now, but when I do, I'll have to start posting some of the more culturally revealing proverbs.
One theme that kept popping up was the importance of sharing your money/resources with your family and friends. It's pretty much the law of consecration without the church being involved. Problem? The people can't invest in anything because they will always have some relative or buddy ask to borrow money. I brought this up when Andrew (our gardener/wardie) told us that he had paid to put a concrete floor in his grandma's house because she was getting bit by bugs at night. What happens if investing that money would have helped re-floor 10 houses later on? He was belligerent. His grandma needed help, so he would help her. So is that bad? With that attitude he will never be rich (as I said before, the relatives will always be asking for money), but does that matter? He could help more people... I don't know.
Then I was talking to him about possible entrepreneurial ideas, specifically selling jackfruit. He told me that you can't sell jackfruit. It was a gift from God and it should be shared not sold. You would never hear something like that in America.
I went "digging" at a less-actives house yesterday (digging means planting/weeding). The soil here is so fertile! It makes you disgusted that people are poor. It seems like they have so much opportunity right at their fingertips. Land is left unused everywhere.
It's crazy how much some people in the ward want to marry whites. You marry a white and you are financially set for the rest of your life with a huge probability of going to greener pastures in America. What they don't realize is the crazy cultural differences that will strain any marriage. Ugandan men marry Mzungu women and expect them to cook/clean/wash/raise kids by themselves because that's what they saw their parents do. As I've probably already alluded too, Ugandans are anything but emotional lovey-dovey, a huge difference between our cultures. And that's the tip of the iceberg. How would you expect the man to provide with such little education (a bachelors if your lucky)? It would be so hard to have a Ugandan-American marriage, and these guys don't realize it. Unfortunately, Baganda culture teaches that marriage really isn't about the relationship. I've been offered way too many girls I didn't know for a wife to dispute that one.
Mom: "I think I'm losing weight. It's gotta be the Ugandan food."
Ugandan: "Oh no, you're not losing weight. You look fine!"
Yep, Ugandans are attracted to fat women. The heavier American girls that come over with NGO's suddenly have every man they see hitting on them. Coming from America, that's a huge shock. So they get married. Suddenly the family of the Ugandan boy rises from poverty to become relatively wealthy. The couple moves to the US but come to visit for a couple months every 2 years. Soon every person who knew that family is committed to marry a westerner. Then you get these girls trying desperately to date white people. "I'm only marrying a white," they say. Pretty soon all of the Ugandan boys are intimidated (they could never offer the same financial security of a Mzungu) and they shy away. Only problem is that Ugandan girls NEVER marry white men. The guys are supposed to make the move in Baganda, so these girls wait and wait and end up not getting married for way too long. I feel like the thought of "if I get married to this Ugandan, what will happen if the next week an American comes that would have married me?" is always hanging out in the back of the ward members minds.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to hate on anyone that marries inter-racially, I'm just wishing that people here would foresee some problems before they set their hearts on a white woman or man.
So that's a definitely question that I'm hoping will be answered in general conference this week end.
Next time I'm going to talk about my other question for general conference...
I'm reading this book of Baganda proverbs. You see so much of their culture in their sayings. Unfortunately I can't find the book right now, but when I do, I'll have to start posting some of the more culturally revealing proverbs.
One theme that kept popping up was the importance of sharing your money/resources with your family and friends. It's pretty much the law of consecration without the church being involved. Problem? The people can't invest in anything because they will always have some relative or buddy ask to borrow money. I brought this up when Andrew (our gardener/wardie) told us that he had paid to put a concrete floor in his grandma's house because she was getting bit by bugs at night. What happens if investing that money would have helped re-floor 10 houses later on? He was belligerent. His grandma needed help, so he would help her. So is that bad? With that attitude he will never be rich (as I said before, the relatives will always be asking for money), but does that matter? He could help more people... I don't know.
Then I was talking to him about possible entrepreneurial ideas, specifically selling jackfruit. He told me that you can't sell jackfruit. It was a gift from God and it should be shared not sold. You would never hear something like that in America.
I went "digging" at a less-actives house yesterday (digging means planting/weeding). The soil here is so fertile! It makes you disgusted that people are poor. It seems like they have so much opportunity right at their fingertips. Land is left unused everywhere.
It's crazy how much some people in the ward want to marry whites. You marry a white and you are financially set for the rest of your life with a huge probability of going to greener pastures in America. What they don't realize is the crazy cultural differences that will strain any marriage. Ugandan men marry Mzungu women and expect them to cook/clean/wash/raise kids by themselves because that's what they saw their parents do. As I've probably already alluded too, Ugandans are anything but emotional lovey-dovey, a huge difference between our cultures. And that's the tip of the iceberg. How would you expect the man to provide with such little education (a bachelors if your lucky)? It would be so hard to have a Ugandan-American marriage, and these guys don't realize it. Unfortunately, Baganda culture teaches that marriage really isn't about the relationship. I've been offered way too many girls I didn't know for a wife to dispute that one.
Mom: "I think I'm losing weight. It's gotta be the Ugandan food."
Ugandan: "Oh no, you're not losing weight. You look fine!"
Yep, Ugandans are attracted to fat women. The heavier American girls that come over with NGO's suddenly have every man they see hitting on them. Coming from America, that's a huge shock. So they get married. Suddenly the family of the Ugandan boy rises from poverty to become relatively wealthy. The couple moves to the US but come to visit for a couple months every 2 years. Soon every person who knew that family is committed to marry a westerner. Then you get these girls trying desperately to date white people. "I'm only marrying a white," they say. Pretty soon all of the Ugandan boys are intimidated (they could never offer the same financial security of a Mzungu) and they shy away. Only problem is that Ugandan girls NEVER marry white men. The guys are supposed to make the move in Baganda, so these girls wait and wait and end up not getting married for way too long. I feel like the thought of "if I get married to this Ugandan, what will happen if the next week an American comes that would have married me?" is always hanging out in the back of the ward members minds.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to hate on anyone that marries inter-racially, I'm just wishing that people here would foresee some problems before they set their hearts on a white woman or man.
So that's a definitely question that I'm hoping will be answered in general conference this week end.
Next time I'm going to talk about my other question for general conference...
Thursday, April 7, 2011
April 7th
Oh man did I get humbled running with the XC team yesterday. They did top ten most brutal workouts I have ever experienced. I was hobbling afterward.
After running I logged some time working on a website and ate lots of Ugandan food at the on-campus restaurant. Then Andrew (man who is heading on a local mission in about a month) and I split the elders. A few minutes after leaving the church it started pouring rain, so we stopped in a house. Talk about a captive audience. One problem, no one knew English, including my companion. Since we didn't really want keep walking in the rain, I tried to teach in Luganda. It was pretty bad. "God loves us. We can love people like God loves us. God wants us to choose the right. This is a true book (pointing to the book of mormon). You will be happy if you act like Christ..." Nothing flowed. Anyway, let's just say I was happy when the rain stopped and my companion said we could go.
That evening we had a meeting focusing on the retention of the Mukono ward. We generated some awesome ideas. Instead of splitting into pairs, we are going to do "inactive blitz" where we find inactives in groups of 6+. After stopping by, we will invite them to come, visiting more inactives. We also thought that we should have the bishop write a letter to each inactive member so that we can deliver them personally. They are thinking that the bishops leadership position will have more sway than ordinary "laymen." (a testament to the value placed on leadership positions in Ugandan culture) If the members aren't home, we leave the note, making us unstoppable. Then we are going to have ward activities focused on reactivation. Instead of eating food at the church (the extent of a normal activity), we are going to take that food to the less actives. I'm really excited to see how these ideas turn out.
Today my mother and I spent the day at a clinic in Kyambogo, a tiny village in the middle of no where. The nurses, two of them from Utah, saw patients and tested for HIV. The women showed up en masse, all decked out in traditional dresses and head wraps. Out of the 86 tested, 11 were positive. Three of those were kids. Because of the remote nature of this area, ARV's (anti-retrovirals) aren't really available, meaning a HIV+ reading is no beuno. Anyway, Mom and I talked to the patients as they waited to be seen. I got to do triage and vitals for a long time. I'm really really hoping I could spend a week working at this clinic... It would be so much fun.
I love getting out to the villages! It is so relaxing. No zooming cars, no loud speakers, no crowded streets, just a lot of tranquility. The people so so chill. I'm guessing the average wait time for the clinic was 4 hours today. You just catch up with friends and meet new ones, no one seems to be in a rush. I keep thinking of that billboard on I-15 for Mountainstar with the current average ER waiting time. Not sure that advertising would be effective here.
I'm still trying to get used to the fact that every one breast feeds publicly, sometimes starting mid-conversation. One lady opened her dress up to show me massive oil burns all over her chest. I'm guessing that 20 people were in eyesight.
Ok, kind of a shallow post. I'll have to save more deep reflection for next time.
After running I logged some time working on a website and ate lots of Ugandan food at the on-campus restaurant. Then Andrew (man who is heading on a local mission in about a month) and I split the elders. A few minutes after leaving the church it started pouring rain, so we stopped in a house. Talk about a captive audience. One problem, no one knew English, including my companion. Since we didn't really want keep walking in the rain, I tried to teach in Luganda. It was pretty bad. "God loves us. We can love people like God loves us. God wants us to choose the right. This is a true book (pointing to the book of mormon). You will be happy if you act like Christ..." Nothing flowed. Anyway, let's just say I was happy when the rain stopped and my companion said we could go.
That evening we had a meeting focusing on the retention of the Mukono ward. We generated some awesome ideas. Instead of splitting into pairs, we are going to do "inactive blitz" where we find inactives in groups of 6+. After stopping by, we will invite them to come, visiting more inactives. We also thought that we should have the bishop write a letter to each inactive member so that we can deliver them personally. They are thinking that the bishops leadership position will have more sway than ordinary "laymen." (a testament to the value placed on leadership positions in Ugandan culture) If the members aren't home, we leave the note, making us unstoppable. Then we are going to have ward activities focused on reactivation. Instead of eating food at the church (the extent of a normal activity), we are going to take that food to the less actives. I'm really excited to see how these ideas turn out.
Today my mother and I spent the day at a clinic in Kyambogo, a tiny village in the middle of no where. The nurses, two of them from Utah, saw patients and tested for HIV. The women showed up en masse, all decked out in traditional dresses and head wraps. Out of the 86 tested, 11 were positive. Three of those were kids. Because of the remote nature of this area, ARV's (anti-retrovirals) aren't really available, meaning a HIV+ reading is no beuno. Anyway, Mom and I talked to the patients as they waited to be seen. I got to do triage and vitals for a long time. I'm really really hoping I could spend a week working at this clinic... It would be so much fun.
I love getting out to the villages! It is so relaxing. No zooming cars, no loud speakers, no crowded streets, just a lot of tranquility. The people so so chill. I'm guessing the average wait time for the clinic was 4 hours today. You just catch up with friends and meet new ones, no one seems to be in a rush. I keep thinking of that billboard on I-15 for Mountainstar with the current average ER waiting time. Not sure that advertising would be effective here.
I'm still trying to get used to the fact that every one breast feeds publicly, sometimes starting mid-conversation. One lady opened her dress up to show me massive oil burns all over her chest. I'm guessing that 20 people were in eyesight.
Ok, kind of a shallow post. I'll have to save more deep reflection for next time.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
April 5th
Ok back to gossip.
Guy in the ward was one of the first 30 baptisms in Uganda, way back in 1994. Strong member serving in leadership positions since joining the church, holding up to seven callings at one time. This man even knows the piano, one of the 4 Ugandan saints that share that ability. He hasn't been to church in almost a year.
What happened? Pretend this is you. A conversation you had at church with the bishop hinted at the slightest condescension. You ponder, does he think he's better than me with that calling of his? It gets under your skin and stays there. Pondering this question it suddenly becomes easier to find more of his faults. Soon you have compiled a whole arsenal grievances committed by this person, which you then feel the urge to share. People side with you as you recount the bishop's many faults and spread them, with the slightest embellishment, to the next ward member they meet. Soon the ward is circulating malicious half truths and slowly apostatizing.
That was a huge exaggeration of what our ward is currently facing. Ironically, the home teaching message for March was "looking for the good," the perfect antidote for this problem. I'm of the belief that this lesson should be named as the home teaching lesson of Uganda for the year 2011. The funny thing is that I have home taught on both sides of the fence, seeing first hand the negative talk that has been circulating and its less-than-uplifting consequences. We could all try harder to "assume the good, doubt the bad," as President Monson puts it. In the often used words of my mother, "if you look for the bad in someone, you will usually find it." And yet the converse is true. Even when hidden by the most questionable appearance, there is something in everyone for you to admire. I have found that encouraging these attributes is the way to motivate change. I feel like this church will explode when our Ugandan members implement this lesson.
And yet there is so much hope! I see it in the ward members who dutifully show up every Friday to clean their meetinghouse. It can be seen in the people who faithfully pay their widow's mite in tithing. It's found in the simple testimonies that shine in the faces of these people. And ultimately it's seen in the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The one so perfect that He was able to look past each of our faults, sacrificing so we could eventually overcome them. That is a hope to rely on.
Guy in the ward was one of the first 30 baptisms in Uganda, way back in 1994. Strong member serving in leadership positions since joining the church, holding up to seven callings at one time. This man even knows the piano, one of the 4 Ugandan saints that share that ability. He hasn't been to church in almost a year.
What happened? Pretend this is you. A conversation you had at church with the bishop hinted at the slightest condescension. You ponder, does he think he's better than me with that calling of his? It gets under your skin and stays there. Pondering this question it suddenly becomes easier to find more of his faults. Soon you have compiled a whole arsenal grievances committed by this person, which you then feel the urge to share. People side with you as you recount the bishop's many faults and spread them, with the slightest embellishment, to the next ward member they meet. Soon the ward is circulating malicious half truths and slowly apostatizing.
That was a huge exaggeration of what our ward is currently facing. Ironically, the home teaching message for March was "looking for the good," the perfect antidote for this problem. I'm of the belief that this lesson should be named as the home teaching lesson of Uganda for the year 2011. The funny thing is that I have home taught on both sides of the fence, seeing first hand the negative talk that has been circulating and its less-than-uplifting consequences. We could all try harder to "assume the good, doubt the bad," as President Monson puts it. In the often used words of my mother, "if you look for the bad in someone, you will usually find it." And yet the converse is true. Even when hidden by the most questionable appearance, there is something in everyone for you to admire. I have found that encouraging these attributes is the way to motivate change. I feel like this church will explode when our Ugandan members implement this lesson.
And yet there is so much hope! I see it in the ward members who dutifully show up every Friday to clean their meetinghouse. It can be seen in the people who faithfully pay their widow's mite in tithing. It's found in the simple testimonies that shine in the faces of these people. And ultimately it's seen in the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The one so perfect that He was able to look past each of our faults, sacrificing so we could eventually overcome them. That is a hope to rely on.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
April 3rd
I'm back! Sorry for my long blog apostasy. So much to catch up on and so little time tonight.
We went on the family trip to the game park. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan. Zoos are way more efficient and a whole lot cheaper. The facilities are all geared toward rich tourists who pay an arm and a leg to take pictures of animals whose photos are already on the internet. My dislike of safari's aside, we had a lot of fun as a family.
First we went for some chimp tracking. Normally you pay lots of money to go through the government, but we just paid some guy who knew about a forest with chimps. Obviously, stealth is vital in chimp tracking, something our family of seven struggled with. The whole time the chimps were howling to warn each other about our location. The rainforest echoed with their calls. Way cool. Finally we got a good look at one of them, staring him/her in the face for something like 8 minutes. Although that probably would have satisfied our family, that wasn't good enough for our tour guide. He said he needed to find 3+ together to call it a day. Realizing that that just wasn't going to happen with all seven of us, him and I set off into the woods, leaving the rest of my family behind. Suddenly we hear "Ahhhh! Get them off of me! Run, run, run." Unmistakably my mom. After "tracking" them, we found them in mud being attacked by ants. That was the end of chimp tracking!
Field and fields of Indian owned sugarcane, filled with lowly Ugandan workers. And in the middle of it all, a processing factory. A powerful testament to the type of exploitation that permeates Uganda. This investment in high tech machinery has undoubtedly paid sizable dividends to the Indian share holder, leaving the local almost exactly where he started, and in many ways, worse off. With nearly every piece of land producing sugarcane, you either leave the land of your ancestors or you submit to the low wages of the company. Where you used to be able to work hard farming what ever you wanted, now you are stuck at a fixed wage doing a work that will probably never change in your life time. Hoping to move up the corporate ladder? Better give up. Unless your daddy has a big name or was Indian, you're probably out of luck. And then managers complain that their workers are being lazy.
The power of money in 3rd world nations amazes me. These people have resources coming out of their ears but can't export any of it. The villager can produce kilo's of bananas more than his family needs, but will always sell them for dirt cheap to people who have the same access to bananas. Then comes the question: If all of my hard work is providing me so little in return, why work? That question pops up again when you realize that Uganda is a country practically living the law of consecration. You have more that other people, you share. The success of this law is held back by selfishness, just as it was in early church history. However, instead of seeing a people unwilling to share, you find a people depending on others to share. By choosing not to work and progress financially, you are selfishly cheating the system.
Uganda has oil but, as rumor has it, will probably end up paying Italian engineering firms a huge share (up to 40%) of their profit to extract it. Why not buy the machinery and train workers themselves? They don't have money. People find out you are funding the construction of some far off oil rig while their kids are dying of malaria and you'll no doubt lose political support (Again we return to unwillingness to delay gratification, a huge problem in Ugandan).
Enough of Uganda's problems, and back to my life. After chimp tracking we went to the park and saw lots of giraffes, gazelles, warthogs, baboons, elephants, water buffalo, water buck, etc. We got stuck behind an elephant that was chilling in the middle of the road. Dad got impatient and tried to sneak up and pass it. The bull turned to face us, flailed his ears and threw up his trunk. We thought we were finished. Anyway, it didn't charge and we got out safely. There was also this massive waterfall where the whole Nile river hurtles through a gap of 20 feet. And that's about all from the trip.
I've connected with a nurse from Utah who will be doing HIV stuff on Thursday. I'm going to help with triage and some testing. I'm going to do the same with another organization next week. SO excited.
Gossip is a huge problem in this area... my next post will have to focus on that one. I need to hit the sack.
We went on the family trip to the game park. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan. Zoos are way more efficient and a whole lot cheaper. The facilities are all geared toward rich tourists who pay an arm and a leg to take pictures of animals whose photos are already on the internet. My dislike of safari's aside, we had a lot of fun as a family.
First we went for some chimp tracking. Normally you pay lots of money to go through the government, but we just paid some guy who knew about a forest with chimps. Obviously, stealth is vital in chimp tracking, something our family of seven struggled with. The whole time the chimps were howling to warn each other about our location. The rainforest echoed with their calls. Way cool. Finally we got a good look at one of them, staring him/her in the face for something like 8 minutes. Although that probably would have satisfied our family, that wasn't good enough for our tour guide. He said he needed to find 3+ together to call it a day. Realizing that that just wasn't going to happen with all seven of us, him and I set off into the woods, leaving the rest of my family behind. Suddenly we hear "Ahhhh! Get them off of me! Run, run, run." Unmistakably my mom. After "tracking" them, we found them in mud being attacked by ants. That was the end of chimp tracking!
Field and fields of Indian owned sugarcane, filled with lowly Ugandan workers. And in the middle of it all, a processing factory. A powerful testament to the type of exploitation that permeates Uganda. This investment in high tech machinery has undoubtedly paid sizable dividends to the Indian share holder, leaving the local almost exactly where he started, and in many ways, worse off. With nearly every piece of land producing sugarcane, you either leave the land of your ancestors or you submit to the low wages of the company. Where you used to be able to work hard farming what ever you wanted, now you are stuck at a fixed wage doing a work that will probably never change in your life time. Hoping to move up the corporate ladder? Better give up. Unless your daddy has a big name or was Indian, you're probably out of luck. And then managers complain that their workers are being lazy.
The power of money in 3rd world nations amazes me. These people have resources coming out of their ears but can't export any of it. The villager can produce kilo's of bananas more than his family needs, but will always sell them for dirt cheap to people who have the same access to bananas. Then comes the question: If all of my hard work is providing me so little in return, why work? That question pops up again when you realize that Uganda is a country practically living the law of consecration. You have more that other people, you share. The success of this law is held back by selfishness, just as it was in early church history. However, instead of seeing a people unwilling to share, you find a people depending on others to share. By choosing not to work and progress financially, you are selfishly cheating the system.
Uganda has oil but, as rumor has it, will probably end up paying Italian engineering firms a huge share (up to 40%) of their profit to extract it. Why not buy the machinery and train workers themselves? They don't have money. People find out you are funding the construction of some far off oil rig while their kids are dying of malaria and you'll no doubt lose political support (Again we return to unwillingness to delay gratification, a huge problem in Ugandan).
Enough of Uganda's problems, and back to my life. After chimp tracking we went to the park and saw lots of giraffes, gazelles, warthogs, baboons, elephants, water buffalo, water buck, etc. We got stuck behind an elephant that was chilling in the middle of the road. Dad got impatient and tried to sneak up and pass it. The bull turned to face us, flailed his ears and threw up his trunk. We thought we were finished. Anyway, it didn't charge and we got out safely. There was also this massive waterfall where the whole Nile river hurtles through a gap of 20 feet. And that's about all from the trip.
I've connected with a nurse from Utah who will be doing HIV stuff on Thursday. I'm going to help with triage and some testing. I'm going to do the same with another organization next week. SO excited.
Gossip is a huge problem in this area... my next post will have to focus on that one. I need to hit the sack.
Friday, April 1, 2011
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