ONE of the most thrilling topics
I used to enjoy from various speakers was that about doing things right and
following the right orders and formula. In fact my teachers in both primary and
secondary schools used to emphasize the importance of doing the right thing at
the right time in the right place. So it became my song to follow orders as I
have been directed, and to talk only the right words carefully to the right
people at the right time. It worked for me because I managed to go through
school life without falling into crime or face any severe punishment for
breaching school rules. My teachers hailed me so much for being humble,
obedient and a living example to the rest. Every one regarded me as a good boy.
Sometimes even when the teacher decided to punish the whole class, he could
spare me just because everyone was aware that I was blameless. And indeed I was
beyond reproach.
When I finally gave my life to
Christ and dedicated to follow all the laws of the Bible perfectly, I was
instead disappointed. One of my Pastors came to my village Salye and started
teaching that no one, none of us is righteous! That we have all sinned and run
short of the glory of God. That even a humble perfect young man like me was a
sinful wicked person who does not even deserve to sit in God’s presence. That I
had to accept that I am a sinner and repent all my sins I have committed in the
lifetime. “But I have never killed anything!” I exclaimed, “Never have I ever
slept on a girl, and I have never been jailed over any offence! Even when
people quarrel, I do not get involved! I don’t drink and I go to Church every
Sunday!”
The Pastor stared at me with eyes
full of pity, and he continued to say that if I thought that I was so perfect,
then there was no need for me to get saved. Doing good things or avoiding doing
bad, does not necessarily guarantee righteousness. He said that we have to
accept that we are imperfect so that God enters into our lives to perfect us
according to His image. That’s the moment when I began realizing that I wasn’t
perfect. Indeed I was full of self importance. I was walking with my head in
the clouds. I was full of self righteousness and had a judgmental attitude
towards other people. So I had to repent and accept God’s righteousness to flow
through me in order to be perfected.
When I joined University for my
studies, I encountered a cute girl in our lecture room whom I nicknamed
“Perfection.” She was a kind of lady whom I saw doing everything right and in
order. Her dress code, her speech, the way she looked, even the way she walked
were all perfect. In fact I later got a crush on her and begun telling my
fellow guys that she was my girlfriend. One of the Kenyan classmates who used
to call himself Julio visited me with a gang of other Kenyan guys in my room.
Julio begun boasting that he had the most beautiful girlfriend on campus called
Rita. He said that Rita stood head and shoulders above every boy’s girlfriend
in beauty. I immediately cut his story short by assuring him that he had the
most beautiful girl on campus, but I had the most perfect girl on earth-and her
name is Perfection. Julio instead nicknamed the so called girlfriend of mine
“Her Perfection.” But as campus life went on, “Her Perfection” discovered that
I had got a crush on her. So when I called her mobile one night, she blasted me
over the phone and told me that I didn’t meet her highest standards for a
boyfriend. I hang up and went back to my hall of residence with my tail between
my legs.
When I joined a church Cell at
Bweyogerere in Kampala,
I found another “Perfection”. But this was a corporate lady who possessed
everything a man could desire in a woman. She was beautiful, a committed
Christian, a Cell Leader and a Cell Host. She used to drive in a sleek car and
later I discovered that she worked at the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
But what made me think that she was also a “Perfection” was that she conducted
herself in a similar manner like the “Her Perfection” I met at University. In
fact, the difference between her and “Her Perfection” was zero. Her character
beat my understanding and almost thought the two were sisters because they
perfectly complemented each other in conduct and speech. So I began thinking of
bringing the two together in my life. The “Perfection” at university was called
Teddy, and the “Perfection” in Cell was called Julian. I had to find out who
really these two “Perfections” were.
I went back to Teddy and found
out that she had separated with her boyfriend. So she was a free bird up for
grabs. However, I didn’t want to take advantage of the circumstance. I instead
cunningly played my cards right by trying to fill the devoid that had been
created by the guy who had just walked out of her life. She was a kind of girl
too difficult to understand despite being a perfectionist. I could send her messages
which she rarely replied to. But Julian could leave no message unanswered. I
started realizing the difference. I later discovered that Teddy runs her life
on a “let nature take its course” theory. So I began to only wait for crooked
circumstances to happen in her life or mine, and then play my cards. But
Julian’s life was still a mystery though we could interact regularly. So I
decided to go underground to know where her interests lie and find out the
mysteries she was hiding in the background of her life. So one Monday evening I
communicated to her saying:
Dear Julian, well thanks for
facilitating at Isaac’s wedding reception. It was really nice. I waited for
your speech in vain. May be you gave it when I had already found my bearings.
How was your Masaka workshop? I am still wondering why many of our Cell members
are now in Masaka for workshops!
I am okay this side, though I
haven’t yet gone for VCT. But whenever I find friends they tell me I’ve
tremendously lost my weight like 15 kilograms down. So now I even fear to know
my actual weight. Before the accident, I was threatening to reach 60 kilograms,
but it seems now I am even less than 40! I suppose if I continue to become too
skinny, I’ll have to opt for the foods which the WWE wrestlers feed on.
Yet I still want to enjoy the
sunshine each day brings, and give thanks to my creator for every day that
comes by. But some of the circumstances which are taking the rough and the
smooth all over make me feel like giving up anything about this present life.
And now it has even begun to manifest in my life more openly than before.
Sometimes I come to realize that people around me are more concerned about my
own problems than I do. Where they see problems engulfing me all over, I only
see a magnificent devoid. So these days I am beginning to live one day at a
time, and wait for tomorrow to bring its woes or pleasures. Have a nice day
Julian.”
My puzzle had been that unlike in
short text messages, Julian had proved me wrong that she would reply my mails
there and then. I remembered when I communicated to her when she was in Accra Ghana.
She spent weeks without replying until I suspected that probably I had used a
wrong address. So when she came back and discovered that I was busy
communicating to another lady, I asked for her real addresses and began
showering her with mails of concern, care and sacrifice. She also replied to
one of my mails saying;
“Dear
Michael Thanks for yours. Hope you are doing well this morning. I am fine
myself. I did not go to Masaka, the workshop was cancelled I think because of
the Ebola scare. Michael I want you to know one thing, your loss of weight is
inevitable because of the accident. But that should not scare you that you may
be sick.
“I
want to encourage you to go for the VCT test as soon as possible, if it
requires money find out and tell me how much it will cost you. Even if you were
positive, God has not forgotten you, He knows everything about you and He has a
great plan for your life. I actually do not realize that you have lost much
weight; the way you look is what you've always been.
“Please
do not think about what others are saying to you. You will run into a
depression which is not worth it. It’s only God you should be caring about, I
have some tapes that you can listen to and bring back as soon as you are
through; God led me to them when I was having challenges, they encouraged me
and I truly believe they will encourage you. Romans 8:28 should be your
encouragement as you live your life on, no matter what comes your way. God is
in control of your life. Have a great day.”
For
the love of God, Julian’s message soothed my heart and my perceived fears were
put under control. She is really a dedicated woman. Compared to other writers
she was second to only one at writing at least long mails. This is what I
exactly wanted. Since my ministry initiative had a mission of enabling all
Christians write their lifetime testimonies before leaving for eternity, I
needed people who really like writing. I imagined that if the ministry had a
membership of over 250 dedicated writers, we could write a full book of 250
pages in one day if each member could contribute only one page about a lifetime
topic at hand.
I
again continued comparing Julian and my prospective spouse Teddy. One of my
mentors had earlier instructed me that it is a risk to fear taking risks. And
that even great world changers are masters at flying in the face of
conventional wisdom and at using other people’s resources. This acted as my eye
opener since it had also been already confirmed that one of my Aunties-Harriet
was flying to the United
States for her physiotherapy. Harriet had
lost her leg in a terrible accident in which I was also involved. But since she
was working for a charity organization for girls facing pregnancy crisis, their
development partners had invited her to Texas
to receive extra medical attention. To my greatest shock of the year, Harriet
appointed Teddy to accompany her to the United States. As a close friend, I
expected Teddy to inform me of the good news. But it was the other way around.
It is instead Harriet who informed me about it. So I rose up in a joyful rage
and called Teddy to visit me so that I bite off her head for trying to conceal
such good news from me.
At
that time I was in fact leading a dog’s life but very few people knew about it.
I had rented a dirty single roomed house in which I had thrown only one bed,
without chairs and utensils. So I imagined inviting a girl of Teddy’s class and
beauty to such a pigsty to be ridiculous. Two days to Christmas played a very
important role in my scheme. Two of my Uncles; Sayiya and Abdul who lived in a
good adequate house just a mile away from my room had chosen to go to Mbale in Eastern Uganda for their Christmas holiday. Since I had a
copy of the key that opens their house, I kicked up my feet.
Sayiya
had two good rooms with sofa sets, a recent modern flat screened television
set, a music system with a terrifying buzz, two double beds and many other
trendy household items. But he only lacked one thing—organization. There was
disorganization everywhere in the house. And given the fact that he was a
science teacher by profession, you could find his books and papers in
saucepans, his socks on the dining table, shoes on a TV set, plates under the
bed and lots of other confusions. So when I invited Teddy I took her right away
into Sayiya’s house and paused that it was my residence. She looked less
impressed rather, but kept her eyes fixed to NTV which she claimed was
telecasting a Christmas movie. I bought her some snacks and a bottle of fruity
and then broke the ice:
“So
why didn’t you tell me about your impending flight to the United States?” I asked looking at
her lips.
“Munnange nange sinaba ku kidigestinga bulungi! God is beyond fathoming! Naye ng’obadde onkyaye! What’s up?” she
said biting her lips.
“I
have never forgotten about you.” I said looking at her lower lips, “You know
sometimes I am silent listening to what God is talking to you. I was so
mesmerized when Harriet told me about you going with her to the US!”
“I
was also shocked!” she said, passing her tongue through the lips, “But I just
received a call from her asking me whether I had a passport and a bank account.
When I replied that I do, she told me that the person who was supposed to go
with her is too busy to accompany her. So I had to step in her shoes. But I
kept silent because you know sometimes people change their promises.”
I
got a remote control and changed the television channel from NTV to LTV and
then started to ask her questions leading to my real intentions.
“By
the way, if someone asked you to choose between freedom and security, what
would you prefer?” I asked admiring her lips.
“It
depends,” she said trying to hide her lips away, “Personally I see they are
both important.”
“That’s
right,” I replied, “But one is a little more important than the other. So what
do you see as more vital to you?”
She
took something like two minutes trying to absorb the question. After a pregnant
pause, she said; “I would rather choose freedom.”
“That’s
very good!” I verbally rewarded her answer, my eyes still fixed to her lips,
“You know the driving force behind security is fear. That’s why we are told to
study hard in school so that we should not fail. At university we are taught to
work hard for money. At workplaces we work for competitive money. We strive for
promotions and when we feel insecure for our jobs we go back to school for more
education so that we can secure our jobs and smartly follow the orders of our
bosses. And when we start our own companies or businesses we want to get people
and manage them vertically with ourselves at the top of the chain of command.”
I
stared into Teddy’s eyes and saw a glare of wonder as she tried to pass her
right hand finger across her wet lips. “But it is great that you have chosen
freedom,” I said continuing to admire her lips, “with freedom it means you’re
free from fear. The driving force behind freedom is courage. And courage looks
at fear with a smile. With freedom you want to be creative to start and develop
your own thing. Even when you get employed, you do not go their simply to get
money as an end in itself, but to learn about the company’s products, the
legal, the systems, the communication, the cash flow, the team, the leadership
and the mission. Your mission in life should be not to be just good enough, but
to be great. So you can’t afford the luxury of specialization. That’s like
knowing a lot about a little. Your cup should not be full but empty in order
for you to learn more new ideas, make calculated risks and fly in the face of
conventional wisdom.”
“What
are you trying to drive me at?” asked Teddy.
“I
wanted you to identify your gifting, develop it and give it out to serve
humanity, “I replied this time without staring at her lips. “Now as you’re
flying to the States, you need to have something in mind you want to develop in
your life and community. Or you may find there things that you have never seen
before. Do not just look at them. Find out how they are done and make contacts
with people who are smart at them. So that when you come back to Uganda, you do
not only know the right answers to solve problems, but at least you also know
who to call for instant solutions. And if you start something revolutionary,
you’ll learn to make money work for you as you serve humanity.”
“You
know my mummy has been working in tailoring of local traditional clothes, “said
Teddy, “I suppose I am going to tell you something that will make you happy. I
have begun a shop to work alongside her project on Zai Plaza
in town. I want her to work on tailoring as she as well makes sales for my
boutique. And at home before our dad passed away, he had left an unaccomplished
structure which my mum insists that we rent it out after finishing. But
personally I do not want to go through the headache of fighting with tenants in
collecting monthly bills.”
“Just
like how my landlord threw me out of the window recently because of a delay in
clearing her dues,” I added chuckling.
“Now
you saw it for yourself,” she replied, “I want us to use that structure for a
poultry farm; broilers and layers.”
“Even
the local breeds are currently more marketable than those exotic ones,” I
added.
“On
top of that I want us to bring home a tank and start rainwater harvesting. You
know some rich guys in our area overcharge us for their water. A damn charge of
Sh 200 per jerry can is total day-light robbery of the community.”
“Rainwater
harvesting will mean you’ll be out of business in droughts.” I said, resuming
admiring her lips again.
“No,
Michael, we’ll also bring in tap water so that they complement each other in
dry and rainy seasons,” she said showing me her beautiful lips.
When
I internalized her plans at that moment, I realized that Teddy wanted to be involved
in a mom and pop kind of business and in it there was nothing that reflected a
special gifting that she would leverage into workers and generations.
“But
I now only lack money to rent the shop for the first three months,” she
continued to say, “Mom sent me to the landlady and I pleaded to her until she
accepted us to pay for only the first two months. You know we pay Sh.120, 000
per month for rent alone. I really need the money to clear off all this mess as
I continue to busy myself with helping Nakalanzi in marking her students’ scripts
at Makerere University. Good enough for her she pays
me upkeep which keeps me going.”
“But
what is your real gifting?” I asked in a serious tone.
“I’ll
not tell you that,” she said in protest.
“You
can’t keep quiet about your gifting,” I said standing up from my seat, “because
with it you have a passion within you that something should be done. And the
anger that no one seems to care and do it. So you start communicating and
taking the initiative to do it as onlookers stand to see how far you can go before
they join you.”
“To
be sincere Michael, I haven’t yet discovered my gifting,” she said shyly as I
stared again at her lips only.
“So,
the best answers to that problem are found in your heart, not your head,” I
told her, “But when you discover that gifting, you’ll never be the same again.
You’ll go through hills and valleys to develop it, and later it will become
your pleasure to give it back to humanity as you fulfill your higher calling.”
There
was a pregnant pause all through the room. “So, you do not have any more
pressures around you apart from thinking business?” I asked.
“Like
what kind of pressures?” she threw the question back to me.
“For
example on your love life,” I said, this time looking straight into her eyes.
“With
that I am a lady; I have to be found by men, and not to search for them.”
“And
if there is more than one man chasing after you, that’s enough pressure if you
find yourself in a dilemma,” I added.
“You
know those guys are there to just hurt us and to waste our time,” she said in
an affirmative tone.
“So
will you still love me even after flying to the States?” I asked in a romantic
tone
“Only
if I do not get there a white guy,” she said looking away from me.
The
conversation was over. I decided to say bye to Teddy as had seen her checking
on her watch every now and then. I cleaned her shoes as I claimed that my house
is too disorganized because she’s not concerned that I am staying alone.
“By
the way, why don’t you spend a night here with me?” I suggested.
“That’s
abominable to a Christian girl,” she replied.
“No
please,” I said, “Gold is tested by fire.”
“I
know,” she replied jokingly, “But gold is tested with a purpose of
purification. Never joke with the fire of temptation!”
“Sleeping
here is not a temptation,” I said moving closer to her, “It is a test and
measure of a real man. Imagine if you
slept here till the following morning and northing happens between us
throughout the night!”
“But
people who would see us getting out of the house together will automatically
say that something happened!” She replied with a jolt.
“And
even my Uncle Eng. Walude would turn a blind eye and be very proud of me that
at last I slept with a girl!” I added.
“But
why would he think of such a horrible thing?” she asked laughing.
“But
Harriet would be shocked and act at a fair clip to clap me into prison!” I said
trying to dodge her question.
I
finished brushing her shoes and handed them over to her as we prepared to get
out. “You see my house is in a total mess because I have no one to help take care
of it,” I said as we moved out.
“But
it is just a matter of responsibility,” she replied.
“The
confusion you’re seeing in this house is the same confusion found in my head,”
I said as I locked the door to the house.
“Just
like my two brothers,” she said cleaning her face with a white hankie, “One is
too disorganized, and the second one is extremely very organized in
everything.”
“So,
the second one is of course a perfectionist!” I said.
At
the mention of the word “perfectionist” Teddy laughed her head off as we
slopped down in the path towards the main road, escorting her to the taxi
stage.
I
considered Julian and Teddy to be geniuses in perfectionism. However t seems
there was someone earlier during the good old university days who had alerted
Teddy that I had nicknamed her “Perfection.” But I had never made a clean
breast of it in all my interfaces with her. All that I wanted was to find out
her common traits with Julian. Since Julian was already a successful corporate
lady who had also successfully established two boutique shops at the National
Theatre and along Buganda Road
respectively, it would be a little challenging for me to put her clock back. So
Teddy would step in her shoes as I continued my scheme of hitting these two
birds with one biographical stone.
The
next mail I sent to Julian was in form of a reply to her previous mail to me.
She had encouraged me to take heart in the face of my perceived fears and even
pledged to give me a helping hand to go for an HIV/AIDS test at the clinic of
my choice. So I wrote back saying:
“Dear
Julian thanks a lot for your mail. I was so encouraged and I wish we should
continue sharing such soothing messages that often take us to the next levels
of development and maturity. I hope your holidays went off with a bang! For me
I locked up myself in my room on Christmas only to wake up on Boxing Day when
everyone is asking how my Christmas was! I only managed to go for church where
I enjoyed those dark masked dramatists who sent our children packing in flight
to save their dear lives!
“Thanks,
I stopped to think of my loss of weight. And to your surprise I have now
embarked on surviving on one meal a day. This is because I want to save for the
cash flow level of my writing project, and to inspire my determination to
achieve its success. But when one of my best friends called Teddy heard of it,
she simply said that it seems I am becoming crazy and I need a psychiatrist,
because no one can run a ministry on an empty stomach! But since you told me
that I should not be scared, I am now going against all odds, believing that I
am 100% normal and determined to work on my mission in the world of the living.
“I
am not even scared to go for VCT, but I have mixed convictions deep down in my
heart that probably should I wait to go for a test with my date? Oh my God, it
sounds crazy! I am now very confident and just two years away to putting
“wedding” on my new year’s resolutions!
“I
do not have a radio cassette at home; I would have made use of the tapes you
promised me. But I am contemplating borrowing tapes and a cassette as being too
ridiculous! I wish those inspiring messages were on CD! Probably I would have a
chance to glance through the challenges you overcame as a testimony to set me
free from the emotional turmoil I am facing in life. I also wish you have some
written inspirations which you can send me via mail. But I don’t know why I
dislike bulk messages or mails sent to ALL!
“Julian
thanks so much for reading through my mail. You’ve been my inspiration in 2007,
and I pray to God that you continue to be one through 2008. I am praying for
you and please be of good cheer; your building project will succeed and take
you to new levels and heights. Nice time. Michael.”
That
was one of the last communications I made to Julian during 2007. I knew deep
down in my heart that she’s the kind of woman who would challenge any man and
do things according to her own decisions. I was too scared of independent
women. These are the kind of ladies who preferred freedom to security, so I
thought. And it as well meant that a person like Julian is hardly found
fearful; she’s a courageous woman rather. So what kind of man can demonstrate a
high level of determination to woo such a woman for marriage or other things?
None, thought I.
Time
came when I decided to send text messages to all people who topped my list of
prospective heroes and heroines of the novels I was developing. I persuaded
them in the SMS that in order for them to witness my sincere gratitude of what
they have done for me in the ending year, they had to continue to read and
reply to my e-mails. I suppose some of them were a little offended by the
message since a few replied to it.
I
was left high and dry, but Julian came to my rescue when she assured me via SMS
that she would continue to read and reply to my mails. Immediately my heart
went out to her. She proved to me to be more compassionate than I had earlier
anticipated. This is the woman who had thrown us a party that made everyone
thrilled to bits at the end of the year during Super Cell Sunday. At the same
time she had to rush to Eastern Uganda to
stand by the workmate whose parent had been gathered to his fathers. In all
those circumstances, she remained modestly composed and no one could tell
exactly what was really going on in her inner being.
When
I went to check for the responses of my mails, which I had nicknamed “sales” I
was again mesmerized that Julian had already given me a feedback within a nick
of time. How did she manage to do so in such a holiday period when workplaces
were closed and she’s up and down to move heaven and earth through
accomplishing her very own multitudes of tasks? But anyway I read through her
mail that said:
“Good
morning dear Michael, I hope all was well. I read this mail after I had met
you. It’s a pity tapes are now outdated. But God is faithful. He will
definitely find another way of encouraging you. But I am happy to hear your
changed attitude, that’s what
God
would have you do. Michael, I know you are a source of encouragement for so
many out there. The fact that you are a leader means a lot and when I look at
your ministry
I figure out a lot of people will be delivered
through it. Your Prayer should be that the Lord should keep you encouraged so
that you may encourage those that are weak. It has been my prayer for a long
time. He never fails us.
“Regarding
taking one meal a day, I definitely would not stand for that either, you need
food to be able to stand and do ministry. Could it be the reason you locked up
yourself over Christmas? When a man is hungry anything happens, that’s when
depression will set it in and the devil may take advantage of you. Remember
Esau’s story, he sold his birth right just because of food. Do you want to
reach that level?
“For
now I suggest you think of having all the meals in the day and sit down and
draw a budget for your ministry and let’s believe God together to provide. I
have seen His hand and remember the Lord will never take you where His Grace
will not sustain you dear. He loves you dearly.
“Did
you say you have someone you are dating, or you meant you would wish to take a
VCT test when she comes along? It would be better for you to go alone and trust
God to be able to handle whichever result that comes out. Nothing is the end of
the world and you would better handle it alone than with anybody else because
you never know what discouragements they come along with. Let me stop here for
now. I just want to wish you a joyous 2008 and may God’s favor never part from
you throughout the entire year. God bless you.”
The
mail was so touching to me; however there were questions in it which I had to
handle technically so that I survive the havoc that might be created,
especially concerning issues of my date. I remember one young lady named
Patience who tricked me to find out whether I was dating someone or not. But
when I disclosed that I was seeing a certain girl for marriage, she cut off all
communication leaving me in untold depression. So when Julian hinted on my date
in her mail, I considered it a loaded question which I had to try my level best
to dodge. However, I replied to her mail saying:
“Julian,
Happy New 2008! I wonder where you spent your New Year’s Eve. I wanted to go to
Namboole, Nakivubo or Kololo but it all looked like these guys are competing
for Christian crowds. So I stayed home. Unfortunately, I didn’t go for All Nite
Sing either.
“I
was surprised that you replied my mail at the time when you were up and down
especially to stand with your workmate whose parent went to meet her/his maker.
How was the burial? But we enjoyed Super Cell and ate like horses the delicious
eats that you prepared for us. Thanks so much for your hospitality! If it was
possible I would have turned this mail into an entirely bread and butter
letter.
“We
also reviewed and assessed our performance as a Cell in 2007 and we were
grateful for the far the Lord has brought us from. Some of the 2007 highlights
included adopting the HIV/AIDS patient, regular Friday prayers in Cell, seed
project, prayer walk, support to our neighbor Isaac in his wedding and the
impending Children’s Cell among others.
“Members
set goals some of which included WEDDINGS for most of us who are still single.
Charles, Aggie and Lillian are the forerunners, as Stephen, Alex and myself
seemed like were seeing a blurred distant future! Cell meetings will be held on
Saturdays to enable our brethren who work upcountry to be fully involved. And
we want to revive our diminishing relationships by keeping regular
communication and by being our brothers’ keepers, as we also continue to stand
by our fellow members who are not yet employed.
“Concerning
my ministry, Julian, I am really dedicated to the process of growing it. I know
it may take years but I have faith that someday the struggle I am in will suddenly
end and a new life and a new process will begin. I am confident that I will win
if I remain faithful to my maker. Though in this current process, I am being
given many more challenges, and more lessons to learn, I have a glimpse of a
world that awaits me. Can you imagine that I am currently working on 15 books!
And more are still setting in. But a still small voice within me keeps saying
to me, ‘Keep going. You’re on the right track.’ And people like you Julian are
also giving me a shot of courage and the motivation to keep going and to keep
learning. Thank you.
“Concerning
dating someone, it is just in my plans but not yet fully involved. So VCT won’t
be a big problem to me, only that I think I’ve again become too relaxed and
contented to go for it. I suppose an old me has resurfaced. Let me end here for
today. I wish you a very beautiful 2008. By the way, when do you celebrate big
days with your people in Masindi or Bulisa?”
One
of the issues that had puzzled my mind for long about Julian was the consistent
failure to disclose facts about her family. I could hardly get any information
about her origins from her real mouth. She ever talked about work,
faithfulness, success and consistence in all her conversations. But this time I
was anxious to get some information about her family. Her reply as usual came
just in time and I read her mail with mounting enthusiasm:
“Thanks Michael, I stayed in house and prayed to cross over to 2008 for about two and a half hours. It’s good to hear that you are regaining yourself, keep encouraged and moving on. Of course God will see you through.
“About celebrating big days with my people, I usually go during the Easter period and sometimes during Christmas season. But this time around, I did not want to go. Last year I had a function on 30/12/2006, so I could not go over Christmas and spend almost a week and a half there.
“Michael thanks for your prayers I eventually secured a vehicle but now we are in fuel crisis, I may have to park it.
“Did you say you start attending Cell on Saturdays? When does this begin? Have you informed all the concerned, that they won't bounce there. Please call Victoria and inform her too, so that she doesn't get discouraged. Thanks. See you then.”
Unfortunately for me, Julian’s message only disclosed why and when she goes back to her home village in western Uganda to check on her family. It did not meet my expectations and so I remained unconvinced. I had to find another way of digging out this information from her. Fortunately one evening I got a text message from her reminding me of the Cell Leaders’ meeting to take place at her place the following day.
Since she had emphasized that we keep time, I did my level best to keep an English man’s time. So I was the first to reach her place for the meeting that day. To my surprise, she wasn’t yet present for the meeting. I found home her sister called Joyce whom I had earlier mistaken to be called Lillian. So I had to put on a People thinking personality I had then read about in one of Rich Dad’s book series. I became too friendly to Joyce and ended up asking for specific questions from her about their home family with Julian.
“So Lillian, why didn’t you go to celebrate the festive season with your family?” I asked staring at her massive body rested on a rotating chair before a personal computer in their sitting room.
“I went and celebrated with them Christmas,” She answered rotating on the small chair. I almost thought she’s going to break it in pieces.
“You mean the day Cell was here on Super Sunday you had just come back?” I asked, still worried for the small chair.
“Yes,” she replied, “I didn’t want to spend long there. It is my sister Jolly who likes staying home with our mum for long.”
“Oh yes!” I exclaimed, but still concerned about the small rotating chair which was supporting this fleshy woman, “I have remembered your mum used to attend Cell with us some days back. But I do not exactly remember her name.”
“She is called Joan,” replied Joyce trying to stop the melodies of Wilson Bugembe’s songs which were streaming out of the computer’s media player.
“Exactly Joan,” I emphasized, “So does she still stay in Masindi town?”
“Not exactly,” Joyce continued as her heavy mass pressed the miserable chair beneath, “We stay along Hoima Road in a place called Bugyenje.”
When she mentioned the place in which their family lives, I felt my point had been met, but I was still feeling uneasy that any time this lady would break down the rotating chair. I almost warned her to shift and sit in a nearby sofa. But she continued to rotate her heavy bones in the tiny chair. Julian also bumped into us wondering how I made it so earlier to the place than even herself. I reminded her that I always try to keep the Englishman’s time, as she greeted me.
“So Julian,” I said, “You found us talking about your family. But there is something strange which I have found out. It seems your mum loves you much more than the rest of her children.”
“Why do you think like that?” asked Julian as she cleaned around the table on which they had placed eats and drinks for the meeting.
“Your mum is called Joan,” I replied.
“And so…” she said with a little anxiety.
“You’re also called Julian.” I said, “Don’t you see that your name and hers begin with letter “J”?
“Eh! Kyokka Michael!” exclaimed Julian, “That is our family trend for all girls. All of us are Js. There is me Julian, Joyce here, Joseline, Jackie; and Jolly who was at Uganda Christian University Mukono; and even our mum herself is called Joan.”
“So it is a J-family,” I concluded.
Other Cell Leaders started arriving one by one. But there was only one common thing on all their lips; each one of them was congratulating Julian upon having bought a brand new vehicle. Since I was the first to arrive and went to the sitting room upstairs, I had missed a chance of seeing Julian park her vehicle as she arrived. So the rest of the leaders who came a bit late had kept their eyes glued on the Section Leader’s new vehicle and being challenged to buy better cars.
“That car is very good but you’ll face a rough time in finding its spare parts!” said David.
“But it is good to buy the type of vehicle that you love,” answered Julian, “and there are people I know who have that type of car and they always have access to spare parts.”
“The type of car that I know has many spare parts always available is a Pajero,” said David.
“But I don’t like those Pajeros,” replied Julian.
“Eh, but this one is also a very serious machine,” added Moses who had been so observant.
“Yes!” exclaimed David, “I was not happy that a full Section Leader was driving in a Corsa just like the rest of us. But now we can proudly say that that is our Section Leaders’ machine!”
At the mention of that statement, we all broke into serious laughter. I saw Julian also laughing with a swollen head of elegancy and satisfaction.
“But you’ll have to tussle it out with buying tyres,” said David.
“Each tyre is at two hundred and fifty thousand,” said Julian, “and I change tyres after five years. So I don’t see any problem in spending just one million shillings on tyres after every five years!”
When Julian mentioned that, I remembered that I had spent the last two days without a meal, since I had no even a single coin to buy myself breakfast. I kept wondering why God kept me placed among people who had all the money yet I was suffering in wretchedness. Of all these Leaders, I was the only one walking on foot, and I didn’t even have a decent pair of shoes. Another Leader who had no vehicle yet, had already secured for himself a very magnificent bungalow. Yet for me, even my landlady had already threatened to throw me out of the single room I was renting early that year. Life looked so unfair.
All the leaders continued to talk about types of cars, their systems, fuel and the like while I was as silent as a grave. It seemed like they spoke a language from Mars. Even as we all lined out of the meeting to have a glance at Julian’s brand new car, I could not even tell the exact type of vehicle it was. It looked like a jeep however. But still my eyes concentrated on its plate numbers, while all the rest chatted about its other qualities I couldn’t see with my naked eyes. I looked like a real fool seeing images of blurred stars. But I went home determined to write back to Julian and somehow ask her for more details about her brand new vehicle. So I wrote:
Thanks Julian for the reply. I had almost nicknamed you a home bird when I had earlier thought you do not spend big days with your J-family back in Masindi. But thanks for spending that time praying. I wonder why I personally do not time myself in prayer. Whether it is a long or short prayer, as long as I have poured out my heart to God, I feel quenched.
Did you say you would like to start reading Rich Dad Poor Dad? I would recommend you choose as well to buy and read any of the Rich Dad book series which include:
1. Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant
2. Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing
3. Rich Dad’s Retire Young Retire Rich
4. The Business School for People Who Like Helping People
5. Sales Dogs
6. Protecting Your Asset
7. Own Your Own Corporation
8. How to Buy and Sell a Business
9. The ABCs of Building a Business Team that Wins
10. OPM Other People’s Money
I am currently reading Rich Dad’s Before You Quit Your Job and to be honest, the book has “spoilt” my mentality. It makes you change all the philosophies associated with the corporate world and start to:
1. Change from seeking for security to seeking for freedom
2. Learn how to operate without money
3. Have ability to focus on opportunity rather than resources
4. Have different management styles to manage different people
5. Seek generalized education rather than specialized education
6. Shift from a desire for a steady paycheck to the desire for great wealth
7. A desire to give orders rather than take orders
8. To make a difference in this world rather than complain about the problems of the world.
9. To thrive on risk rather than avoiding risk
10. To choose to be an entrepreneur rather than an employee.
Did you say you may have access to Purpose Driven Life? I pray you help me with it. I would have bought myself a copy but of recent I really need a financial breakthrough.
Congratulations upon having bought that brand new machine. It caught my fancy, and it is a real genuine challenge to some of us who think that we are men! Any way, goodbye for now. I am dedicating myself to being consistently consistent with Cell Reports this year; otherwise sometimes I feel like I am a disgrace to our Cell members. See you then.
JULIAN
Thanks Michael, for the recommendations on Rich Dad Poor dad's series and thank for being there for the cell. Who would it have been to stand in for the cell?
I am truly blessed to have you as one of my leaders. Do not feel like a disgrace, all of us have shortfalls and God sees them all. We just try to correct them wherever we can with God helping us. None is perfect and God is not finished with us until we live this world. You have performed well and may the Lord almighty bless you so much for the commitment you put in. Stay blessed. I will call Victoria and inform her of the update, she needs to be called today.
MICHAEL
Julian thank you for the e-mail. I am grateful that probably you liked the Rich Dad recommendations. Concerning Cell, at first I used to be there just as a duty or a routine. But currently, God has transformed my attitude to come to the knowledge of understanding that Cell is indeed an act of worship and glorifying His holy name. So let Him take his glory.
I really didn’t mean I am a disgrace. You know Literature ‘spoilt’ some of my vocabulary that I sometimes use sixty-pound words to mean just a small thing! But I am blessed that I am part of this Cell, moreover in your home. I feel soothed. God is beyond fathoming.
I haven’t yet established what happened to Victoria; and to make matters worse, I forgot to report our follow-up efforts. But I pray that she joins us next Cell.
Thank you so much for availing me with The Purpose Driven Life. I now read it with my legs to the roof and my long awaited purpose is on its way out of the hiding. God bless you. Michael
JULIAN
We are praying together as a Section this Friday 18/01/2008. Please leaders do remind your members to attend this prayer meeting. Will you please come along with your Focus 10, so that we can stand with you and believe God for their salvation?
The meeting will be held at David's place (Green Estates - Ntebetebe). God bless your week. We meet on Friday. Julian. (Section Leader).
MICHAEL
Hey Julian thanks for the work. I guess things are okay with you. This has been a very trying week for me. My inner emotional turmoil had just settled and one of my friends drove me round the bend. This is a girl who was supposed to accompany Harriet (the Aunt I was involved with in the accident) to the US. But the girl changed her mind at the last hour and left Harriet fallen between two stools! I was so hurt because Harriet has to go the US for her artificial leg. She can’t afford to go alone, yet this girl was the only one available to help her!
I was so cross that I almost bit off the girl’s head when she gave me shaky reasons for her change of mind. And I am afraid I offended her because I attacked her instead of the problem. And I repent that some of the words I said to her were more harmful than helpful. Now we are all involved in settling the disagreements but it looks like we are preaching to the converted.
I am also still figuring out how we should handle Joy and the Children’s Cell issue. I pray to God that the Cell takes off because every week that passes counts. Or we pray for an option. Thanks
