Snapshots...

"So many stories, so little time." As my father and I journeyed through our last ten days together -- this thought kept entering my mind. By necessity, many of our meetings with my friends and colleagues were brief encounters leaving everyone thirsty for more -- my Ugandan friends eager to speak to this muzzae that has seen so many things; what are his thoughts on religion, Barrack Obama, black skin, how to best tune-up a carburetor, can he fit a jack-fruit in his luggage? -- such pressing matters couldn't possibly be addressed adequately in one hour or six or two days or ten. I could see it in the urgency behind their bright eyes -- 'But how...' their unspoken question begins, '...can this muzzae travel so far and I only see him for some few minutes??'

I was so proud of my father and my friends...you know that sometime nervous feeling you get when people from two different parts of your life -- both having heard all about the other -- meet face-to-face? Well, I needn't have wasted any energy on that as everyone was open and eager and flexible and enthusiastic. My friend Kalamagi was so proud of the work that he and I have done over the past year and few months that he's been taking it upon himself to let District officials know of our plans...something he disclosed to my father, but not to me of course!

As I gave my dad a push to the airport (twice, as it turns out...his plane was delayed and so he had to suffer at a five-star resort on Lake Victoria in Entebbe --- life is rough!), I felt like we had just had a lifetime of experiences in ten days -- truly, the snapshot in time that we were a part of -- each handshake, hug, laughter, smile, tear, song, each moment was so much more than the parts that it took to make the whole.

I am in Kyotera meeting with local and district leaders and having a second Board meeting -- we are getting so close to fully launching our programming -- or 'giving birth' as my fellow Board members have taken to calling our expected launch in December -- I will finish my time here inspired and energized and amazed -- overwhelmed by the excellence of my colleagues and by the enormity of the challenges facing everyday folks, everyday here....

Feeling so fortunate and wishing you peace and love,