You are Welcome

“You are welcome,” say the Ugandans when you meet them. At first the phrase seems out of place, as if I had forgotten to say “thank you” for something. But, the people intend the phrase as a greeting…you are welcome to Uganda, you are welcome to come into their home.

We were invited to dinner at Henry’s where he explained that “there is no way through a home.” Henry introduced us to his children who spanned from university-age to two years. Henry also introduced us to his brother Peter who was socially recognized as his first born because their parents were dead.

Several other people joined us after the familial introductions. Each said of Henry’s family, without having heard the other (as they straggled in over the course of the meal), that you cannot easily tell the families apart because they all spend time at each other’s homes and watch out for each other’s children (who were all perfectly well behaved).

You are welcome. There is no way through a home. That Henry and many of those living near him embodied these customary Ugandan phrases was exceedingly evident as we observed the fellowship there, a type of deep fellowship that I have never experienced in the U.S.