Have you every been in a situation where there is potential to do real good, but the right way of responding isn’t always clear? It’s been an interesting week exploring how to be generous in this culture. At the start of the week Becca (US) bought a few of us dinner, so it would a great I opportunity to chat to her about being generous without creating an expectation. In the same week I had Mark and Liz challenge me in being generous and I’ve adopted some of their advice (which I talked about in a previous post).
But it’s funny how when we ask for things and God provides opportunities it’s only afterwards that we actually see what God was doing.
I received this text at about 9pm last night:
“Thanks 4ur love bro andy am almost reaching home. This is the guy whom u helped this afternoon to go bk home. God bless.”
I’ve had a quiet week this week which has allowed me plenty of time for reflection, blogging and exploring the local area. Yesterday I had a delightful lunch in the heart of Kampala (a place called Amagara – café & bistro, for those wondering). Afterwards I decided to explore some of the shopping centres before I headed to the church to lead the bible study. On my way in a gentleman said hello and complemented my hair (always a good start to a conversation by the way). He was from the West of Uganda and had only been in Kampala a few days. I told him a it about my story and how I was working with the local church, here in Uganda. His face lit up (he was a believer also) and he began telling me how God had planned for us to meet and this was exactly what he had been praying for (which I thought was a little weird at the time, how many people pray to meet a white man with a pony tail in Kampala?)
Now to give you a bit of context to my thought process, you need to of reads On my way! Of my previous posts on how white people are viewed by some people here in Uganda, and you need to understand that I had been constantly warned that people would be asking me for money because they perceive me as rich with plenty to give. Now the problem with that is you get a mindset that assumes everyone is trying to rip you off, when they aren’t (always).
So this man begins to tell me his story, we sat down on a bench and he began.
He arrived in Kampala I think a few days ago. He had come from a small village with the intention of getting a job as a driver at an NGO. Shortly after he arrived he was mugged, and his money, driving get licence and all his documents were taken from him. He has been sleeping in the Hindu temple for a few days, before he was moved on. Then he spent a night outside the police station, before they moved him on. They sent him toward to Salvation Army, but sadly, that office had closed down.
He showed me the book he was reading (an Andrew Womac book, which amused me, as I had passed the Main office for Andrew Womac Ministries in Uganda only a few hours before). And the chapter he had just started reading entitles “God has already provided” (I thought… great). He needed 40,000 shillings to get a ticket home (it was about 7 hours coach ride), and the place to buy the tickets was six kilometres away (it didn’t seem wise to travel six kilometres to the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger) so I was faced with the decision.
It wasn’t about the money. The decision was whether or not he was genuinely in need, or just trying to scam me. And was something I was torn between. I agreed to pray for him and see what the Lord had to say.
I think sometimes the God purposefully stays quiet (reminds me of Pete Greig’s book God on Mute), and much to my disappointment I got no answer. I made the decision that, according to my values, and what I read in scripture, I would rather me scammed every so often than miss out on helping someone genuinely in need. I gave him the money and my mobile number and sent him on his way.
I prayed that the moment would be used wisely,and for its given purpose, and then released the situation to God. Now although receiving a text is now guarantee that I wasn’t scammed out of 40000 shillings, he would have to of been a very detailed focused conman to make the effort to text me. On reflecting back I still think he was genuinely in need, and God was giving me a great opportunity to step in and make a difference in someone else’s life. But how often do we say no to what God is doing, because he hasn’t specifically said yes to us. If you look at the bible, I think there was only one right choice. But how often do we choose the wrong one, despite what we read and profess to believe?
