My Takeaway from a Record Poultry Haul

On a recent three-week trip to some of our African program locations, I traveled with a small video crew to capture the stories of several Orphan Sponsorship Program graduates. Much of our video work took the form of interviews, which we managed to schedule in a businesslike fashion. However, anytime a home visit was required (e.g., to capture the house a graduate had built for his mother), our attempts at businesslike efficiency were happily derailed by cultural realities that simply cannot be denied.

 

In rural Uganda, where subsistence farming is the norm, it is customary to give gifts to special guests when they visit. Most often, these gifts are drawn from the proceeds of the farm.  When the visitor is someone you haven’t seen in a long time, or someone you want to show special appreciation for, this practice is all the more irrepressible.

Though I’ve received many chickens through the years, I was completely unprepared for the onslaught of appreciation we encountered visiting the homes of Sponsorship Program graduates whose lives have been transformed. In one five-day period in eastern Uganda alone, we tallied a record haul of five chickens, a turkey, a duck, a goat, and a jackfruit so large it should have been featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. It took the strenuous effort of three young boys just to carry it over to us (see photo).

Receiving such an outpouring of gratitude is humbling, and I don’t take it lightly. It’s a reminder of the irrepressible image of God in our African brethren, who know that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive (Acts 20:35). And it’s a reminder of the transformational impact you are having on the lives of thousands of children. My hands were blessed to receive these tangible gifts, but I know full well that the thanks are due to you.  And we all know that ultimately, the thanks and praise goes to God himself:

“For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”  (2 Corinthians 9:12-15)