Jjemba Paul

Muzzae! Muzzae! The shouts of the children and adults alike ring in our ears...my father is in Uganda for the first time and the people of Uganda are happy to greet him. Muzzae is loosly translated as 'old man', but is not a comment on one's age, but rather on one's status.

Prior to my father's arrival, I warned my friends and colleagues that he would, as he is want to do, cry. A lot. And cry he did! I must admit, it would have been hard not to as the welcomes that he received in Bethlehem, at the pitch with the whole team, at Kyotera Town Secondary School - bright eyes, all trained on the muzzae and his every move - hands rythmically clapping and feet, bare and pink and pounding the ground into dusty, sparkling ether -- the swinging hips and sweaty faces, open mouths and singing voices -- all were working their hearts out to put on a show for the muzzae. I was so proud of them all and so proud to introduce them to my father.

Through laughter, broken Luganda, tears, handshakes, hugs and shy greetings this community has opened their hearts and their homes to us -- they have taken my father as their own, often calling him "Papa Paul" or "The Father" (which I have assured him does NOT mean that he is on the same level with God...we'll see if his head gets to big!)-- he doesn't seem to mind.

As we prepare for our Board Meeting to plan the next year of Genda Mirembe/Go In Peace programming, my father has the beginning of an understanding as to the scope of the work and the potential impact our small organization can make in this community. He keeps saying, "a little goes a long way" and I couldn't agree more. Leading by examples, my friends, daughters, and colleagues have proven that this last week -- with relative little in the way of resources (think: shoes and soda, money and materials) each place we have visited has given us a welcome overwhelming in both in joy and in plenty. Our meeting should be very productive as the Uganda Board is eager to further develop our initiatives and serve this worthy community and these derserving people.

After getting down to business this past week, I will let my father have a couple of days of relaxation as we continue to experience other parts of the country -- first a safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park and the the River Nile. There is no way to prepare oneself (let alone anotehr being) for what we are about to see -- nature and history, power and devestation, animals and horizons, peoples and art. The journey of the muzzae and his daughter continues as we work our way through projects designed for education and justice empowerment, football matches attended by seven hundred community members, countless handshakes and smiles, soaking in the beauty of the land and the reality of the people.

We wish you peace and love,