July 1st, 2012: "So I just got back from my trip to Jinja, and I wanted to give you a blow by blow of what happened--it's a small-ish town located on the source of the Nile River. What can I say besides I had an amazing time. It was sort of difficult to get there--traffic is pretty rough at times, and towards the end the roads turned to gravel, and then to dirt, and then to just plain soil and rock.
Dusty clay roads. Near Jinja Town, Uganda
So it is a few hours' journey at the least. When we first arrived in Jinja, we stopped to eat at an Indian restaurant... while we were eating, I noticed some street boys peaking in through the window at us. There were three of them, so I really slickly snuck away from our table and bought them some cokes and naan bread. I spent some time talking to them, and then snuck on back in. I'm pretty sure I told them not to say anything to any of their friends, but sure enough, when we left out of the restaurant there were about 8-10 street boys waiting for us out there. So while we were waiting for our driver, we sat on our little mini-bus talking to them, joking around, and just having a plain good time. The one boy who was a little older was really funny--we have an Indian girl in our program, and he asked her to sing him an Indian song. When she started he was batting his eyes and looked like a love-struck teen.
Jinja town. Jinja, Uganda
Anyway, the driver was taking really long, so my one friend whispered to me "Is there a store around here, I wouldn't mind getting them something to eat." So I was like, "Let's do it!!" In a rush of excitement, me, her, and another girl hopped off the bus and told the boys to gather around in a huddle. "Where's the nearest market?" we asked them. The "leader" said there was one close by, so I told him okay, let's hurry before the driver gets back and it gets dark. So we took off speed walking, joking around as we went. As we went along, I asked the "leader" if he was a fast runner, and challenged him to a race. He smiled really broadly and said, "Okay!" So we took off running down the narrow street, ducking and dodging people and stalls packed with merchandise. It was like a chase scene in a movie! Me and him, neck and neck, running down the street with two white girls and a crowd of ruddy street boys chasing after us--oh, and he had no shoes on either. Along the way the locals smiled warmly at us, obviously amused by this street boy and a white guy running full speed down the street. A couple of lady shop owners cursed at us as we zoomed through their stretch of sidewalk, letting out a little screech and hollering "MZUNGU!!!" (mez-oon-goo, a white person) after me. There was a white person or two along the way, and as I was running, I think I heard an old woman say something like "that boy stole something!" but it might've been in my head. All I know is that we were having the time of our lives... all of us.
The shops we not-so-delicately cut through. Jinja, Uganda
When we finally got to this little makeshift supermarket, we were all giggling and out of breath. The boys followed us as we walked in, but then all of a sudden got really serious. They followed me down the isle, watching me intently. After a brief, breathless pause, we were just like:
"Go ahead! Get whatever you want!"
All of their worn, dusty faces were blank, staring at us as if we were pulling their leg.
"Seriously... hurry up and pick something!"
One by one, the boys started pointing to stuff... cookies, bread, soda, and other things. Their apprehension quickly turned into excitement as each started loading up on goodies.
"I can have these??"
"YES!"
..."And these ones??"
"YES!"
"These too?"
"...YES!"
We made our way to the crappy wood counter, and stacked a mountain of groceries on top. By the time the man had rung everything up, it came to 93,000 schillings, about $40.00. As they were ringing and packing everything up, the kids were thanking us and hugging us. A few latched on tight to me for a 2-3 second hug--we were all really overwhelmed. As we left the shop, I looked at them all and said "Listen up boys! Just make sure you share with each other, yeah?" And they all smiled and nodded in agreement. We jogged back to the bus, and got on it, out of breath, but full of adrenaline from an amazing experience..."
- - -
I have to just acknowledge one thing. As a worker and student of development, I know there are a lot of ways in which one could pick this story apart. I can just see it now, the more cynical among us (and I know, because I'm quite cynical myself at times) scoffing at the details of our interaction with these kids. Yes, we could easily be written off as another group of white Westerners coming in to disrupt the social fabric of this area, show wonton disregard for the local culture, and give hand-outs to people as if we're the answer to all of their problems. These could be some legitimate concerns.
But you know what, it felt like the right thing to do at the time, and it still feels like the right thing now. We weren't some detached Westerners engaging in some pity party for a handful of poor little African children. No way! These weren't your average poster children, covered in flies and donning sad, hopeless expressions. They were bright, dynamic, spirited young boys! There's an organization by the name of Mama Hope that has recently started a campaign; I absolutely love their message. "Stop the pity, unlock the potential" goes their tagline. That's a movement I could get behind.
Because what were we really doing as we darted down those jagged city streets? As we engaged in our random shopping spree? As we joked and laughed and high fived and hugged?
We were sharing joy.
I hate to make a blanket statement, but there's no joy in pity. Joy is something you have an equal part in, something that knows no hegemonic structure, as does pity. Romans 14:7 says that the Kingdom of God is, "living a life of goodness and peace and JOY in the Holy Spirit." Tony Campolo has so rightly pointed out in many a sermon that Jesus says the Kingdom of God is likened unto a wedding feast (Matthew 22)--it's not the drab, depressed soup kitchen, nor is it this "half country club" sort of church that some of us attend... it's a place of pure, unadulterated joy!
That time spent with those kids in Jinja was one of the most joyful moments of my life. Not simply because God allowed us to fill an immediate need for them, which was really was a blessing for us, but because we had a glimpse of what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like here on earth. We Christians have a funny sort of view of Heaven. We have this vision that when we get there we'll all just kick off our shoes, leave the cares of this world behind, and run full speed into God's love, peace, and joy.
Well... what's stopping you from doing that here on earth, ya big stiff? (John 15:11)
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