this is a difficult blog to write.....sort of a goodbye to my dear friends here as well as a thank you for all the moral, physical and mental support rendered to me these past 4 1/2 months. 4 1/2 months? how is that possible?i don't own a watch or a clock or a calendar, so i rarely know what day it is here. i'm quite good at guessing the time, it's relative to how loud my stomach is growling. sometimes i 'miss' entire days and say things like 'wait....what happened to wednesday?' it happens. george says to use the calendar app on the computer but i like paper ones that u can clip notes and receipts and 'to do' lists to. but i digress.....as usual.
this trip has been so stressful. to those unfamiliar with life in africa, it might seem as though i have accomplished little. i leave the continent with the same issues i had when i arrived...still no ngo renewal and still no work permit. can't begin to say how many sleepless nights this has caused....not to mention the money, the hours wasted impatiently waiting to see someone, the times i was 'reamed out' for being rude, arrogant, stubborn, strong willed and unappreciative. it's ok though, the issues will be waiting for me when i return and an old tom petty song plays in my mind...."i won't back down". and, thanks to a suggestion from someone who actually works at the ngo board, i have a plan B.
i said goodbye to the kids at RUHU on thursday. they had written letters to me.....remember these are street kids, some rescued very recently. one told me that if he had it in his power to stop me from leaving, he would. another said he would remember the memories of things we did together for the rest of his life. many said they would always pray for me and they loved me as their mothers. it was hard to back out of the driveway, but they do know i'll be back. each one of these kids is special, each has been let down or abandoned by their parents and society. each deserves a chance at a better life. each deserves to be loved. i really need a t-shirt that says "HUG A STREET CHILD!" last week in kisenyi, yubu, my driver, said 'everyone here knows you'. i never thought i'd be comfortable or well known in the worse slum in the city but i know God plants us where we are needed and i have been benefitted through humility and the opportunity to serve....the reason why i am here.
i can't begin to thank everyone who has been behind me and who has lifted me when my spirits were so low....robbie and soldier and allanor - the buswale team. 3 talented artists who taught dance and put beats to lyrics and coached singing. they know to call me 'boss lady' even though i cannot sing a note or dance at all, as evidenced by my moonwalking attempts. i love you guys..thanks for making me part of the team, but remember next year, i want top billing and one day you will thank me for the Buyungo Boys! yubu...a formerly quiet man who is a great driver but gets lost a lot. he can't even find his way out of the mall where our office is located! he has a really strange accent saying words like 'shumshing' for 'something'. he makes me laugh and somehow knows when i am quiet, that something is really wrong. he watches out for me and reminds me every morning...do you have your phone, where's your sunglasses, do we need to go to the bank? he isn't quiet anymore....and i'm glad. his daughter, bridgett calls me mjungu...haha for mzungu...white person. we adore each other as she is equally fond of junk food. patrick....i will dance and cry and laugh at his wedding. he is the most amazing young man i have ever met in my life. william....i will walk with him down the aisle in august. shariffah...who knew i could have so much fun buying posho? may aka lady gaza aka the lunch lady, i will miss her hugs and the way she always says 'thank you myyyyy friend'. this could virtually be an endless list, but i will end with peter....what can i say...always there for me....e.r. at 4am, trips to port fortal at 5 am, finding supplies on nasser rd, shooting and editing videos, helping me 'fix' the mess i made on my computer....the best friend a person could have...i tell him we are like elizabeth taylor and michael jackson except i cannot act and am not rich or beautiful and he cannot sing and doesn't own never neverland...haha i love you, you crazy person!
i think i will have to acclimate to life back in the states. i know my accent has changed as has my acceptance that some things are not meant to change. i will welcome the fact that i will have electricity and water on the same day, but will remember that clean, fresh water is a luxury and not a right. i will really enjoy shopping with kathi at green hills mall, but will donate all used clothing and shoes to those who need it most. i will eat more than my share of America's bounty but with the realization that people globally are starving to death every minute of every day. i know i need a break. i know i'm good at what i do because what i do is easy for me. not everyone is meant to be in africa (thankfully :))....not everyone wants to be. i am blessed knowing that i do what i do willingly and happily and each smile, each hug and each thank you, whether verbally expressed or silently noted, is a gift. thank you Jesus for the greatest gift of all, Your love.
~Kathy
