It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write a blog or that I haven’t had time to write one, it’s just every time I sit down to write something I end up staring at a blank page, writing a few words, deleting half of them, writing a few more, then getting frustrated, ditching the blog idea and posting a facebook status instead. I’ve been searching for something big to write about, but everything that has been going on seems to be adequately expressed in a simple facebook status.
Ryan Painter had a great time playing ultimate Frisbee and human knot with street boys today.
Ryan Painter had an amazing bible study this evening with the D-House guys!
Ryan Painter enjoyed some African snacks today… fried grasshoppers and a live flying ant.
Ryan Painter just hiked through the rainforest with monkeys swinging over his head.
Ryan Painter loved discipleship with the boys at Grace High today.
Ryan Painter ventured into town by himself for the first time, Success.
We have been here 2 months as of next Tuesday and for the most part the newness and glimmer of everything has somewhat faded and we have realized that what we are doing here is just life. I haven’t felt the need to write a blog recently, because I haven’t felt like anything extraordinary has happened. Every day seems like just another day in Uganda.
Monday I was reminded of the beauty that lies in ordinary, everyday moments. I went into town alone to meet up with my friend Henry, an 18 year old former street boy who now lives in what is called the Discipleship House with 5 other former street boys and two uncles. After meeting Henry at a familiar location, we hopped on a boda boda and went to Nakumatt Oasis, a very nice shopping center. We spent the afternoon talking, studying, laughing, walking around, and just having a good time. Mallory says we basically just had a man date with a little tutoring thrown in on the side, ha. On my hour long taxi ride home I could not wipe the smile off of my face at how great the day was and how at home I felt. Enjoying an afternoon with a friend at the mall… just another day living in Uganda.
Over the last few days, however, that same feeling of being at home here and being comfortable with my surroundings brought so much conviction. As we have gone from program to program reaching out to the street boys here, I’ve realized that the shock, the anguish, and the broken heartedness that came with seeing and hearing about the young boys that live on these streets has almost become normal to me now, too normal! I was absolutely disgusted with myself, how could I find any kind of normalness in a small boy fending for himself on the street with no guardian looking out for him? Walking past a street child collecting bottles and scrap metal… just another day in Uganda.
And then the conviction grew even more… how complacent have I become since being here? Is it enough for me to spend a few hours with the boys out on the street and then come back to my gated house, my food-filled table, my mosquito net-covered bed? Even now after a wonderful skype conversation with my amazing friend and sister Kristen Powers the conviction continues to grow even more… how normal has all of God’s creation become to me? I remember staring in awe at some of the beautiful scenery when we first arrived here. Now it is on the verge of becoming normal. A picturesque view of a valley, a once foreign landscape, monkeys… eh I saw those yesterday… just another day in Uganda.
We so desperately yearn to feel normalness and we find comfort in that feeling, but what is normal? As Kristen was telling me, nothing is normal! The breath you just took, that breath was brand new, never taken in by you before and never to be taken in the exact same way again. Everything ordinary in our lives is so extraordinary. I cannot imagine God ever getting bored with His creation, so why should we?
My prayer is that I… that we… will yearn not for the normal, but for the abnormal. That instead of finding security in the familiar, we will look past the ordinary, whether that brings discomfort or a newfound appreciation. That we will see the pain, the suffering, the loneliness, the hopelessness that we overlook every day, and that we would reach out to those trapped in those chains. That we see the newness of everyday, the distinct scenery, the one of a kind sunrise, the unique squirrel that just darted in front of your car (that looks like every other squirrel to us), and that we would praise God in awe at His vast creation. I pray that no day is just another day.
