Estrellas

I spent the weekend on Lake Bunyonyi in an area called Kabale. "Bunyonyi" means, "place of many small birds." They should just call it Lake Perfect because that's what it is. Even a pessimist would probably have to call it Lake Perfect except I Wish it was a Couple of Degrees Warmer at Night.

Anyway, it was a wonderful weekend. Highlights included piloting a dugout canoe, climbing to the top of our island with local hosts, swimming at dusk, and watching teenage girls make fun of my roommate. A good time was had by all. I'm going to try and post a few picturs sometime this week. No promises, though. If you live in Austin then I'm going to host a party when I come home so that you can see my pictures and hear about my trip. (Mom and Dad, I thought of that just now; we should do that.)

Beauty has always been tricky for me. I guess it goes back to the idea of Joy and Sorrow walking hand in hand. They live together. They give one another importance and meaning.

I was walking by the Lake around 2 AM on Saturday morning, and it was perfect. The wind was chilly, a campfire across the lake mirrored itself in the lake, bullfrogs were croaking, and it was so dark that I could see the Milky Way in the sky. Perfect.

As I was overwhelmed with the beauty before me, I was overwhelmed with loneliness and expectation. Everyone understands loneliness, so I don't need to say much on that.

Expectation is about the Kingdom of God. It's about realizing that we are his Kingdom, that Creation is His Kingdom. That we are brothers and sisters. I was overwhelmed by tbe beauty of what God had made, of the possibilities that he cultivates in us. By our ability to love and hope and forgive and do good. I exhaled and I suddenly felt very tired. I wished we didn't have to struggle and hate and die - I wished we could all just go home. I looked forward to that day.

I sat on the pier and I wondered if anything we were trying to do this summer would matter. I racked my brain trying to figure out how to get kids in school, how to make sure the schools were adequate. What I could do to strengthen the infrastructure of the judiciary. What I could do to help ensure that profits from the oil recently found in Uganda would help Ugandans instead of a few guys in the UK and Australia. I wondered if we were actually hurting Uganda by being here.

If I could describe my experience this summer, I would probably say overwhelming. Poverty, death, cruelty, hope, love, compassion, forgiveness. It's all here in abundance.

I heard once that the greatest of all of these things is love. I heard that it can bear all things. I heard that it's patient. I heard that it never fails. I guess you can never know if that's true or not, but I'm inclined to believe it. I have a hunch.

I decided that being here meant something, even if I couldn't understand it. I dedided that's true anywhere you are in the world. No matter who you are or what you are doing. I took one last look at the lake, the stars, and I shivered a little bit from the breeze. I walked to my cabin and I fell asleep.