I love this.

How many people fear individuals of different cultures, races and/or religions? Several...not me because I am a barrel of acceptance and love! But there are people that are totally scarred of people that are different. It's really time to get over it...really. I have friends of different nationalities and religions and they are all awesome! I would never try to change them based on my belief system because I think it is right. That is called judging other people and thinking you are superior. And it just makes you look like a jackass.

Today is yesterday and tomorrow is today…

Entebbe, Uganda

London, England

Atlanta, GA

Travel is by far the worst day when you spend 18 hours on planes and five hours in the car. To say that seems, once again, like something only an American would say. As I sit in the airport waiting to board our plane (November 10 in Uganda, November 9 in the U.S.), I cannot help but think of how lucky we are to have what we think of as the most basic necessity…a car for example.

As we prepared for departure from Royal, we made stops in each of the classrooms to see the children. (Some of the classes have over 90 students – and they are ALL better behaved than American children.) The children at Royal are so talented, so beautiful and so loving. Once again I want to bring each and every one of them home with me. Some drew us pictures, others asked us questions about America and some just wanted to hold our hands. The pure love they show and their need for love to be shown in return is heart wrenching. The tears that were shed as we hugged goodbye could have turned lakes into rivers if they had flowed into them.

We had a wonderful dinner at 4-Points before boarding the plane for our eight hour flight. I have been blessed with the most amazing Indian food while in Africa. It is funny to see all the Americans that are terrified to try new things continue to eat hamburgers and pasta. I think people are taking this a little too seriously. We are not going to get some weird disease from the food…nor are we going to contract jiggers by walking barefoot in the hotel. I want to say, please step out of your bubble! I do not understand why people embark on such journeys if they are not open to experiencing them fully. But I am only myself and cannot control anyone but myself. When we were unloading the bus at the Entebbe Airport we gifted our driver for the week, Nathan – you may remember the photo of us sharing my iPod from a few days ago – with 247,000 shillings. Considering he makes 5,000 shillings per day, I think we made his month, and maybe even his year. I hope that he is able to take his family out to dinner or buy a chicken or a goat. When we visited his home a few days ago I could tell that his family is not poor, but they definitely do not have money to make fun loving impulse purchases like we do. Maybe he will save the money and bless his family with a Christmas they have not had. I just hope that small token of appreciation for his work shows him that his friendship and the time we spent together during our journey was worth more to everyone on our bus than he could have imagined.

To London!

Our arrival in London put a time cap on what we were able to discover. Luckily, I have lived in a city and the other Mississippi three (Renea decided to stay at the airport) trusted me to guide them through train tunnels and parks so we could experience as much as possible. We arrived in Central London and walked through Hyde Park all the way to Buckingham Palace and then to Big Ben, followed by Westminster Abby and then back to Paddington Station for our express train to Heathrow. The three-hour frolic still showed us the highlights, even if we didn’t have time for everything.  I have to say, in Trey’s words: “We spanked everyone on experience this on this trip.” Meaning, we put our minds to exploring and catching everything the towns/villages we visited had to offer in the time allotted and we did it! Team Mississippi is awesome to say the least. I love each of them differently – I am surprised none of us wanted to kill each other by the end of the trip.

It’s a wrap.

There are not words to explain how this changed my life. There are so many things we can all do to help those less fortunate than we are. You don’t have to travel 10,000 miles to make a difference in someone’s life – these people, young and old, are in your community, state and country. Whether you live in Jackson, MS or Chicago, IL or some remote fishing village in Africa – they are all around us. All we, as a society, have to do is open our eyes to the reality of existence and open our hearts to helping those that do not have the means (or do not know how to) help themselves. Together, we can change the world. With your own two hands, you can change the world. All you have to do is believe change can happen and have the desire to make the world better – even if just for one person. Small miracles are better than no miracles. Take the time to give back. Take the time to seek the truth in your heart. We can all talk the talk. But will you walk the walk? The answer lies within you. Open your heart and you will hear find your truth within yourself. 

Triple – A in the middle of no where

Royal Junior School and Orphanage

Mityana, Uganda

(Jinja, Kampala, Entebbe, Mbalala, Namawojolo and several places in between)

So today was relatively easy. We successfully contributed to Jinga’s economy and toured around an outside market that was relatively scary for the faint at heart. Many said, “So this is one of those places we need to stay in a group.” I thought to myself, you guys have to get out of the States more. The most interesting part of the market to my co-wife (a joke you will not understand, so don’t try), was the 50 strung up chickens that were perfectly still until one lifted its head like the dead were walking the earth. The best part, the seller wanted payment for these heathens to take a photo of the partially dead livestock. Who does that??

Our adventure didn’t really start until we were well through Kampala on our way to Mityana. We shook up 20 tons of dust blowing down a brick red road that was being prepared for paving. I discovered approximately 15 percent of the dust flew in my mouth because I was asleep and “Father G” left the window open. “Father G” said, “Drink some water, but not too much because I want some.” Now let’s just say when you get a small drop of water in a mouth full of dust, it turns your mouth into a pot of wet clay. Not a good taste to say the least. Once that was taken care of with a nice piece of Winter Fresh I thought all was well with the world…and then it happened. We were flying down a one-lane road (remember the construction, which is not like typical American road construction) hitting every hole and bump in the road when we heard – click click click ticktickticktick – the brake bearings locked up. It wasn’t that bad, but the fact that a busload of mzungu’s pulled over on the side of the road to watch my now good friend Nathan, a mudugavu, fix it. It is not something I can explain, but to watch a bunch of men, including “Father G,” try and tell a man what is wrong with a bus he has driven for 28 years is pretty darn funny.

Moving on to more interesting things…the view as we drove up to the Royal School, which has 556 registered students and orphans, was absolutely astonishing. This is by far the most advanced orphanage in the program, but it has been funded for several years. They moved into the new facility (photos below) not long ago, have wonderful teachers and are excelling beyond belief. I only hope the other schools we have been working with this week have the opportunity to become what this school has become. The children are great, but I feel like they have so much and the others have so little. I know it is an ongoing process, but it is so heartbreaking. I am just so thankful these children have something rather than nothing. A small miracle is better than no miracle at all.

After watching several dances and listening to several songs it was time for dinner. On the menu last night…more Fanta, more rice, more potatoes, more chicken and more bananas – oh, let’s not forget the 1.5 liters of Rwenzori. Until today we have limited our fluid intake because we have not had bathrooms. The bush has become a friend and a foe. I have never missed a toilet so much – greedy American. Goes to show exactly how we take the small things for granted. I may miss having a physical toilet, but I would give all my material goods away to stay here. There is so much work to be done and so many children (not to mention elderly) that need help. I may adopt child two from Royal – or I may just move back in a few years and start my own orphanage. I will need a few more trips to Uganda to understand the culture, customs and process, but I have not doubt that I am meant for this. It is heartbreaking that I have to go home. I do miss my family and dogs, but they at least have one another. And these helpless children have no one. I cannot fathom how it must feel to have absolutely no one to depend on. To be completely alone. I hope your hearts are with these children…and the 147 million orphans that live on this planet and fight for their survival daily.

"Father G,” four co-wives, a Ugandan and two American’s walk into a church…

Busaana Baptist Church
Busaana Island, Lake Victoria, Uganda

Today was by far the most special day I have had in Uganda so far and it is only 2 p.m. Today, the Mississippi five, Sarah (our Ugandan interpreter and awesome woman!) and two team members from Georgia traveled by boda boda (cross between a dirt bike, a moped and a motorcycle) to a fishing village on the mainland and then boarded a 20 passenger wooden dingy to the island of Busaana. When we boarded the dingy, I was not prepared for what would be at the shore we washed upon. It was by far the poorest village we have visited, and today was not a normal visit. In my opinion, it is what all of our visits up to today should have been. I am not saying that trips to the other locations have not been meaningful and have not helped people, but today, we were the first people to visit Busaana in several years.

On an island with 100,000 residents, 8,000 live in this fishing village. In the one spot we visited, the pastor of Busaana Baptist Church houses 60 orphans. There are orphans there that do not have an orphanage to sleep in or a schoolhouse to learn in. In comparison to the other places we have visited – well, they look like the cream of the crop, and you know by the pictures I have posted they are far from even our lowest of economic class. Seeing this village on Busaana Island made me wonder why people had not already come there to help them. Of the 130 islands in Lake Victoria, this is not the largest in size, population or orphan count.

On our boat ride over, Pastor Timothy was telling me about the islands and what brought the current residents. Criminals fleeing repercussion for their crimes, widows with no way to make money but selling themselves to fishermen, refugees hiding from the government so they would not have to fight a war they did not believe in, and the stories continued. The running theme along all of these stories was that each of the people that have come to the islands over the past 20 years have passed away from disease and malnutrition among other things and left thousands of orphans spanning the islands. For those good people like Pastor Timothy, who suffered greatly himself as a child, some children are able to seek refuge in his loving arms and village. For others, they are not so lucky and continue to go hungry each day and die of disease each week because they have nothing and no one to love them.

One little boy that made a huge impact on me today, and that I wanted to bring home with me to say the least, was a 3-year-old boy named Misaki. I could tell when we were in the church that Misaki did not feel well. He lay in my arms and was burning up. Now granted it was hot, but you can tell the difference between hot and having a fever. He was so weak that as he lay in my arms tears began pouring down his face. It was as if he was trying to sleep, but couldn’t because he felt so sick…but he also could not cry for help because he was too weak. So as he lay in my arms half sleeping with tears coming down his innocent cheeks, I could not help but cry. I cannot understand how any child can be left to suffer in such a way. Why a man – if you can call a father that abandons his family a man – would leave his wife and four young children for, as we say, “a younger model” and not give them anything. I know we see this everyday in America, but it is completely different. Here, the children and women are left with nothing. Women cannot get jobs, and without a man they starve to death.

I felt about as bad as I could possibly feel as I sat there knowing that I was going back to a nice house in a few days, a cushy job, a car, food…really anything I want. I make more money in a month than men make in one year in Uganda. Women probably make 1/16 of that. As I sat wishing I could take Misaki home, but knowing I couldn’t, I did the next best thing I could think of – I marched myself and Misaki down to the clinic and purchased is Malaria medicine and then I walked across the street and purchased food for him (and mother/brothers/sister) for a month. It cost 20,000 shillings. That is less that $10. I know it is not everything I can do, but it is at least something.

Today really made me think about my life and my future more than any other day in Uganda. Pastor Timothy is one of the men that you can call “A real man.” He has taken on the responsibility of some 60 men by caring for children that they left behind. He hopes to build an orphanage on the island one day so the children are able to have real places to sleep, eat, live, learn, play and grow into productive adults. I think I will be hard pressed not to return here and open an orphanage in five years. I would have enough money in that time to open five orphanages – I asked for pricing to build one today. That would house 300 children.

On a more fun note, we did also travel the Nile today so we could have some adventure time. But, in all honesty, I would have preferred to stay on the island with Misaki. If customs would have let me bring a child with Malaria home I would have an adopted child by the time I returned to the States. I can tell you my life is not meant to be spent in America, living the greedy American dream. And let’s be honest, that is exactly what most of us have – a greedy American dream. We don’t need the cars we have, the vacations we take, or the homes we live in. We only need to survive and to be able to help someone that cannot help themselves. I only hope I can remember this and not fall back into a pattern of selfishness and greed when I return home. We can easily be lost in the suction zone of society and it’s standards. And I do not want that for my life. I do not want that for my family, and I refuse to bring a child into that kind of world. We take too much for granted everyday.

Find peace in yourself and the courage to help someone that cannot help themselves. If you have a great idea to help others, but do not act on it, then what have you really accomplished and whom have you helped?

People may forget who you are and forget what you said. But they will never forget how you made them feel and what you did for them.

This is Misaki. You read about him in the blog. I will be pursuing his adoption or opening an orphanage here. Either will really work - so many need a home.

PHOTO JOURNAL:

 

After Busaana Island, we did a little adventuring via boda boda.