Why Uganda?

It is a beautiful fall morning in Colorado. The house is quiet. I am sitting in my comfortable home sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying the views of the mountains. I think of my friends in Uganda and long to go back there. I have never seen so many friendly, loving and joyful people in one place. Although they have so little, they always have a smile on their faces. You do not hear them complaining about what they do not have. They make you feel welcome, like a member of the family that has come home to visit. One of my female friends in Arizona got a flat tire the other day and not a single person stopped to assist her. When I heard this, my first thought was "that would never happen in Uganda". I pictured several people and children running up to the car to offer their help. I often hear the phrase "I need Africa more than Africa needs me". How true that is. The people there can certainly teach us what it means to be friendly, to be content, to make others feel welcome and loved. They do not judge you or criticize you. They accept you for who you are.
It is always said that when you go on a missions trip it will be a "life-changing experience". So true. I remember the words of Bob Mooney, who was with us on the trip with Hope 4 Kids International. In speaking to the group one day while we were in Uganda, he said that the trip would affect each of us in a different way. He said that when we get back home, we can take what we saw and experienced and "sweep it under the rug", but that it would "come back to haunt you". I believe that it was no mistake that I traveled to Uganda and experienced what I did. I can't ignore it. I can't "sweep it under the rug". So, that is the reason for this project.
Some of you may ask, "Why Uganda, when we have people right here in the United States that are in need?" I do not discount the needs here in our own country. Perhaps you may feel led to become involved in a cause here in the United States or Russia or China. I believe that we all have a responsibility to help our "neighbors". In the past, our neighbors were our immediate neighbors. They were those people in our own community. In the words of Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, "Today, not only can we be on the other side of the planet in fewer than twenty-four hours, but tens of millions of Americans fly internationally. We now have the opportunity not only to see those in extreme poverty but also to help them."
Because I have seen with my own eyes the great needs of True Vine Hospital and Tororo City Hospital in Uganda, I feel I must do something to help my "neighbors" there. I cannot ignore it.