(What is Paradise, Uganda? Here’s a video peek.)

When my friend Jesse Sprinkle asked me if I wanted to be involved in a project he was working on, I didn’t ask what it was or what he needed from me. There are moments in your life when someone asks and you say yes and you know it’s exactly as it should be.

I’m not a musician. I’m not a missionary. I’m not a fundraiser or a world traveler. I’m not hip or cool or trendy. 

I’m just a writer. For years I’ve written feature articles in magazines and websites on everything from entertainment to dog food. I love telling stories. So when Jesse asked me to join the team for Paradise, Uganda, I signed on for the one task I knew how to do: blog.

It’s never easy jumping into a project that’s already been moving along at mach speed. It’s difficult to find your place, to keep up, to feel part of the crowd. The things I’d originally planned to blog about … well, they just don’t seem like where I’m supposed to be. The ideas I had … someone else has them, too. The things I thought I brought to the table … not so helpful right now.

It would be easy to just back out, just say, “Gee, I don’t think I’m supposed to be here, I think I made a mistake” and go home and hide under a rock because I don’t fit in.

And yet I know I’m supposed to be here. I don’t know how or why I know, I just do.

So maybe what I bring to the blog table – to today’s blog table, anyway – is the comfort of knowing that when God (or the Universe or your understanding of a god) calls, you answer – even when you don’t fit in or know what you’re supposed to be doing or even understand what’s going on.

You don’t have to know anything about Africa or music to be involved in Paradise, Uganda. You just have to understand need, to feel hungry, to remember a time when you were lonely or sad or afraid. You just need to have hope and to be hopeful, to have been inspired and be willing to be an inspiration, to love and to be loved.

Just like that <she snaps her fingers> you and a child in Africa know each other, understand each other, and are intimately linked. In fact, check out this blog post from Kurt, on sharing a meal with the kids. There’s no rocket science involved. We share, we’re connected.

Welcome to Paradise, Uganda. You’re here because we need you … and perhaps you need Paradise, too.

Stay tuned to the blog for stories from Jesse and Kurt – they’ll share in their own words about the project and what it means and introduce you to their friends in Africa. I’ll be jumping in with ideas on how you can help, and whatever else the guys need as they raise funds and prepare to go to Africa.