A Reflection From Greener Pastures

Time in Africa has an interesting way of sneaking away from you,
The pace is slow but there never seems to be enough hours in the day,

Having been in Uganda a week now, it's as if I never left,
With the exception of the jubilant welcome I received from the children and fast friends, life in Uganda has carried on much as I left it,

From the nerve shattering calls of “Halleluiah,” of Momma Rose before sunrise,
To the singing and dancing of the children after the sun goes down,
It’s no doubt there’s something special here,
Uganda has once again renewed its strangle hold on my heart,

There’s a peace about this place that surpasses all understanding, yet there’s always room for an adventure,

There’s something about walking down a red dirt road, long after the sun goes down, with close friends and nothing but the light of the stars to guide your way, that assures you the night is going to hold some adventure,

From the darkness comes the comments of “eh mzungu”
Safety is not an issue.

Upon reaching the highway we hire a squad of boda bodas and head into town,
The cloud of red dust marks our arrival into the dimly lit yet very busy town center,
Now, to find the match,

Having learned from past adventures, we send our Ugandan friends ahead to confirm the price of entry,
Us bzungus tend to raise the value of the dollar with just one look,
500 UGS is the report,
20 cents, affordable…for us
As we round the corner however the inevitable happens…the price doubles,
Our Ugandan friends are insulted, and vocally announce their displeasure, however we bow our heads and pay the new cover charge of 40 cents.

Decending into the darkness of the room we discover the place very full,
The mix of body heat, the hot air outside and the smell of body oder hits us in the face like a wet blanket,

The allegiances are split down the middle,
Half the room cheering for Spain, with the remainder for the Netherlands,

Tension is high with five minutes to half,
When suddenly we are engulfed in darkness,
The room and everyone in it disappear, we the linger of disapproval hangs in the air,
No power, TIA

Busy hands make light work however and with just 5 minutes left in the half time advertisements the screens, and the few lights in the room come to life with the buzz of the back-up generator,

Instantly the screen dances with commercials of washing machines, high end cars and western luxuries’,
Glued to the screen are the eyes of our Ugandan friends and
It makes you think, the darkness wasn’t all bad.

A tense second half and some overtime leaves Spain the champions,
The celebration that follows here in Mpigi comes only of an ignorance of that which has happened in Kampala,

We awoke the next morning to word of bombings in Kampala,
Just 45minutes away as we celebrated, others fled in terror,

A nation now mourns the loss of 80 of their own, as well as a sense of security that will take some time to regain,

Please keep Uganda in your prayers

Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent