When my family first asked me to come to Uganda, my first thought was: “Ha, yeah, right.” Now that I am here and have spent some time with the children at our partner schools and seen what Uganda and its people have to offer, I have to shake my head and laugh at my hesitancy. Any fears that I had before taking this trip have melted away and I eagerly look forward to meeting more people from this great nation every short day I have here.
Being in this place and being around these folks makes me think of Thanksgiving Day. I don’t know about you, but Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It just seems to bring the best things about family together for a day full of good food, sincere interactions, and just that incomparable feeling of being surrounded by people that truly care for you. Here in Uganda, that feeling is what seems to seep into me from when I get out of bed in the morning to when I lay down at night. The people of this country are tireless in what seems to be their personal mission of making me feel welcome and stuffing me full of good food all while showing no restraint and being so overflowing with joy that I am just swept along with them. That joy shines that much brighter when you see the struggles that they have to face every day, and yet they still get up every morning with an incredibly infectious grin on their face. 
So, in the spirit of my own personal week of Thanksgiving, I just want to express how grateful I am for the opportunity to share some time with some wonderful people. I only wish that I could do more for them because they truly deserve it. They have made me forget the cynicism that I am sure we all carry with us and leave my defensiveness at the door. Whether it was children in the schools running and screaming to greet us when they saw our bus, the way teachers at those schools thanked us and heaped honor after honor on us, the way the students danced for us to show off their talents, or the way seemingly anyone in this country would tell us that we are “most welcome;” I cannot express my gratitude for everything they have done. I am thankful for the chance to just come and see people here living their lives. So, if someone were to ask me if I wanted to come back, I’d be halfway out the door by the time they finished their sentence.
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