Planning Uganda

Typhoid, Meningoccocal, Yellow Fever, Polio.

These are just a few of the vaccines I need for my trip to Uganda this summer.
What a sobering series of preparations to think about before going to this country Winston Churchill once called the "Pearl of Africa."

Disease, Poverty, War. These are just a few of the things I expect to encounter when I visit Uganda. And yet...

I know too, that there is a vibrancy, openness and sense of community that will be there when I arrive. Why is it that in the poorest countries of the world there is also a kind of life and community that those on the outside are often moved to recount and share when they return home? And this, in contrast to the sterile suburban cities of our wealthy country, the USA. I can say these things, because I am myself the product of a privileged, middle class family, raised in the suburbs of a US city. And though I am thankful for having a loving home, safe streets, a good school system, tranquility and health - I always sensed there was more to life than owning a house and living in the 'burbs.' What that is, I am not sure, but I expect to find at least a part of, on my upcoming trip to Africa.

The vaccines against the various diseases I may be exposed to on my trip to Uganda are sobering and good reminders of the dangers of traveling to foreign territory. Despite the things telling me to be wary, afraid and even repulsed by this country miles and continents away, there is a stronger pull - one that goes beyond consideration of my own health, safety, security. It's the pull maybe, of Jesus himself. I am reminded of a statement made by Vinoth Ramachandra, a theologian in a talk he gave a number of months ago in NYC. He said, "It's not that the poor need us, but we in the wealthy West need the poor." Yes. That's so true. The profundity of that statement has hit me more and more since I heard those words. We need the poor. I need the poor. I need to see and live a life that goes beyond dependence on material sufficiency. In fact, those who have nothing are in some ways blessed. True dependency and reliance on God and on Jesus is a blessing. I want to see how people manage in conditions that are less than ideal in a material sense. I sense that there is true life to be found in unexpected places - in places where people struggle and cannot take for granted their material well-being or even their health.

Yes, indeed. We, the wealthy, the well-provided for, need the poor.