It’s December….crazy, I know. This previous Tuesday two of my colleagues and myself went to Kampala to visit a project site. There was one major problem with this endeavor: none of us knew exactly where we were going, and with all three of us being girls, we knew this was going to end up being an adventure, but I certainly did not expect a little life lesson to come out of our journey. After riding in the taxi (an outrageously packed bus) for about 30 minutes we hop out close to the Mandela Stadium. Since we had no definite direction to our destination we followed the street names in hopes of walking upon our site. After about an hour of walking in the rain, we discover that there are two roads with the same name, and of course, we were on the wrong one. A nice boda boda (motorcycle) driver told us how to get in the general region of our desire location and laughed when we told him we planned to “foot” there.
Being in an unknown area can be a little stressful, and being stuck in the rain during this confusing time just added to it, but the three of us pressed on. With the rain receding and our energy depleting we jumped back on another taxi in hopes of a successful day. When we got off our 2nd taxi at the stage we asked another local how to get to our site…..the beautiful thing about Ugandans is that they are always willing to lend a helping hand. The sweet little man that gave us directions this time told us to cross the street (which had some heavy traffic going on) and take the following street up the hill. This hill turned into a mountain, and it turns out our road went all the way to the other side of it. As the three of us were growing more and more tired and frustrated, we made it to the top of this gigantic hill. Although our hope was dwindling, we stopped on the top of this hill to admire a part of Uganda we have never experienced. As I stood there looking over the city, everything seemed right in the world. It made me realize how incredible every part of my time here in Uganda has been. Sure there are times that stress me out and challenge me, but what would life be without those times? Life is so much better when you just embrace it.
“My Father,
I abandon myself to you.
Make of me what you will.
Whatever you make of me,
I thank you.
I am ready for everything
I accept everything.
Provided that your will be done in me,
In all our creatures,
I desire nothing else, Lord.
I put my soul in your hands,
I give it to you, Lord,
With all the love in my heart,
Because I love you,
And because it is for me a need of love
To give myself,
To put myself in your hands unreservedly,
With infinite trust.
For you are my Father!”
-Charles de Foucauld
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