Unfolding

I've been stateside for 8 days.  In those 8 days, I helped to put on an amazing wedding.  In those 8 days, I also did not blog post, or in any way work on post-Africa things.

But now the wedding is over, the sun is shining and I have some time.  This will take time, it will take a while for me to think through my time in Uganda and find ways to connect the places and experiences.

But I will do it, so don't doubt!  Stories will be told, updates given, and eventually even a newsletter written!

For now I will simply say that I am very glad I went to Uganda.  I did not make it to South Sudan, and that's ok.  Once I got on the ground, I realized how important quality time in relationships is, and how that needed to be the focus of my trip. 


There is another reason, other than not having time, that I haven't detailed my time in Uganda here.  It's because I am struggling with the fact that people are not sound bites.  So many NGOs, Community Based Organization, government agencies, and well meaning people go to Africa and then tell these short, sound bite stories, of success, of growth, of change.  I've done it too, I've written my sound bite stories and hoped people will feel inspired.

But people, and life, can't be captured in a 3 paragraph story.  It can't be summarized in a document or the sidebar of a newsletter.  And that is why I am not yet filling this page with stories and details.

The stories are there.  Great things have happened, we have been incredibly "successful" in our work... yet there is a tension that I am deeply feeling about how to present it, because people are the center of the work, and, once again, we are faced with the challenge of the intanglible.

I will find a way, probably a very imperfect way.  But it will take time.  So please, be patient, and enjoy!