Rhythm

Dancing.

 

Singing.

 

Breathing.

 

Living, moving, being.

 

Don’t’ tell me you don’t have it, because we’ve all got it. Rhythm. Whether you’re a fierce dancer or were born without the ability to clap in time to a marching band song, we all live our lives to a rhythm. Those of use who are type A’s may live lives orchestrated like a complex Beethoven symphony; and those of us who are self-proclaimed free-spirits may live lives to the movements of something akin to a river dance…. underneath it all though is a rhythm, a beat.

 

Eating.

 

Sleeping.

 

Laughing.

 

Living, moving, being.

 

Rhythm happens within a person, within a family, within a culture. It varies, it moves, it morphs. It moves our souls and connects us to each other. Rhythm is about feeling and relationship. 

 

I recently broke out of my usual life cadence by moving to Uganda. Talk about having a different groove to life. 

 

My living situation now is a weird mixture that I’m still trying to reconcile in my head. I live in a house with 2 other girls that is on a compound with 3 other houses. We have electricity, running water, even kitchen appliances. We have a car we share and use to drive to work, church, the grocery story (yes, they have grocery stores here)…where we can buy food “similar” to American food (although if you choose to buy it, a brand name box of cereal can cost $7 or more and a cake mix of box mix for brownies or cookies can cost $11 or more!!!). So, in that sense, my life still feels “modern” and even “American,” in a scaled down sense (although the pack of howling dogs usually start their ruckus at around 10pm and the cow that lives behind my house wakes me up in the morning).

 

The strange part is that within a mile of my home here there are kids and families that live in shacks. The average day’s wage is around $2/day, sometimes less. At kids club one Saturday, one of the kids said she wanted to thank God because her family got to eat chicken and rice for Independence Day. We went with one of the program’s mentors to visit one of the students. Dora and sister live in one of Kampala’s slums. I always joke that I worked in the ghetto in San Jose, but I guess I’ve never been to a slum before. It’s literally a city of shacks, shanties, and a maze of muddy dirt paths with whole families of 6-8 people living in one room “houses.”

 

The family we visited was so glad to have us. In America, it’s an honor to be invited to someone’s house. In African culture it’s an honor to have someone come and visit (even unannounced). For them to have “mzungu’s” (white people) come visit their home is an even bigger honor. The father of the family is a baker so they served us juice and muffins. It’s so hard to sit there and have them serve you when you know they need it so much more than you.

 

So, it’s hard to know how to make these mental adjustments in my head. I don’t think anyone expects me to go and move into the slums and of course I wouldn’t really want to… It’s just hard to know that my neighbors and some of the friends I have made here do. What do you do with that?

 

Playing.

 

Loving.

 

Mourning.

 

Living, moving, being.

 

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting about how I’ve been living my life for the last 3 years. Not so much berating myself for all the things I have, or the money I earned in comparison to those here, but specifically the HOW of my life. I’m an independent person. I go places when I want to. I eat when I want to. I choose who and how much time I want to spend with people. I organize my day and plan out time for events and people, even God.

 

There is an Swahili proverb that says, “Haraka, Haraka, Haina Baraka,” which means “Hurry, hurry has no blessing.” When you greet someone you spend time asking them “how are you?” and “how is your family?” several times and in several ways. People walk most everywhere, leisurely.  So many times since I’ve been here I’ve become suddenly enveloped in spontaneous times of worship and prayer.

 

So my question to myself is…what is my rhythm? Do I orchestrate the music to my life and simply invite God to play a first chair instrument, or do I sit down and allow Him to conduct every chord in my life?

 

“For in Him we LIVE and MOVE and have our BEING.” Acts 17:28

On Being Born...

My Friends! Here I am; I grew my wings, flew over and ocean, and landed safely here in Uganda. I can’t say thanks enough for all of you prayers and well wishes. Quite amazingly the trip was pretty uneventful (meaning no hair-raising sprints through the airport, no surly (or smelly for that matter) plane companions, and (drum roll please) no lost luggage…which is quite a feat considering I did the trek with three 50-pound trunks, a 50-pound “carry-on,” a 70 pound box (containing 2 desktop computers), and a backpack (which I considered my “personal item.” Sure, it weighed the amount of a small child, but since it still was able to be crammed beneath the seat, it totally qualified :)

 

And so after roughly 34 hours of traveling I arrived in Uganda (successfully avoided the customs people) and was greeted by the smiling faces of my new roommates.

 

Day 1 was a bit rough simply due to the fact that I arrived at 8am and so I faced a brand new day after minimal sleep. It was kind of a blur -  met lots of new people, ate new food, moved into my new place…lots of “new” to be had.

 

Day 2 started my “orientation” here – logistical things for WorldVenture,, then a day out grocery shopping with the Davis family to give me an initial taste of everyday things like going to the bank, shopping for food, and…..traveling around the city (insert crazy face here). The goal is for me to become somewhat “familiar” with the city and “used to” what it is like to drive here before I actually get behind the wheel. I’m not sure I can paint an accurate picture of this for you… but start with driving on the right side of car, driving on the left side of the road and add roads pocked with potholes and numerous speed bumps; then put it all into the context of 3^rd world country driving – more people walking on the side of the road than driving, “taxi’s” (vans for public transport) that turn one lane into two or three, countless “boda-bodas” (motorcycles for public transport) weaving and squeezing anywhere and everywhere between and around cars, with the added benefit of a general lack of roadway laws. Needless to say, these elements combined with my inherent lack of any directional sense makes me wary of conquering these roadways as a driver anytime soon.

 

To continue on with this theme, today starts day 3, dedicated to more lessons on transportation (as this is an essential parts of everyday life). The specific task of the day is to travel around town using taxis and bodas with a local Ugandan friend….I have no doubt I will have stories to share J

 

I feel like everything is still to fresh to offer up any sort of meaningful cultural observations, but I will say I have had the warmest of welcomes from my American and Ugandan teammates here.

 

My biggest reflection is thoughts on being so “new.” It feels, in a way, like born all over again. Not only do I not understand complex things like the culture, even the simplest of things bring confusion and require conscious effort. “How do I turn on this light? I don’t’ know.” “Where is my toothbrush? I don’t know.” “What is this person’s name again? I don’t know.” I need help with everything. I have a question for everything. Pretty much the only things I know how to do are breathe, sleep, and go to the bathroom J

 

For an independent person like myself it is not only difficult to realize you know next to nothing, it is also humbling. And this is actually really great because then I can go to the only place I should be living – under the grace and sufficiency of God.

 

I’ve been reflecting on verse for quite some time now before I left for Uganda and it is just as aptly appropriate now – 2 Corinthians 9:8:

 

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

 

I pray that for each and every challenge and struggle in your own life you will also find the Grace of God steadfast and in excess of what you need.

 

So for the next hours, days and weeks to come I will be working on baby steps (“Hey, I can buy loaf of bread!” “Hey, I recognized that building!”) and practicing first words (it takes a while for the sound to become familiar) – “I live in Uganda!”