Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Uzima vs. Needle2Square...

Before I left for the family reunion, I had this thought that since I was from Spokane not many people from my home town would be interested in supporting Needle2Square/ Uzima. To be honest, for the most part I didn't care. I had a few speaking engagements already lined up over the next week and was busy preparing what was on my heart.

Here is what I have found. For the most part when I share about Uzima, the kids and the need that is there, people will feel bad and may even donate but for the most part it seems like some people just don't care. They ask me more questions about the walk, where I sleep, what I eat/drink and a million questions about the goat. It starts to feel like a novelty or a gimmick. I really truly hate it. I've been trying to redirect the conversation and focus only on Uzima but after a while It feels like I'm hustling a product. Looking for the "zingers" that would get people interested to donate and get involved. Yet somehow people turn their attention back to the goat. It seems like a blessing and a curse. LeeRoy has been the catalyst for starting conversations but sometimes steals the attention from what this is really all about. At times I feel like I am a poor communicator when it comes to all of this. I'm still finding my groove in trying to figure out how to articulate the need. I worry I don't talk about Uzima enough and that its becoming about me, the walk and the goat. That is not my intention at all. I said it before and I will say it again, this walk is less about me and more about what God is doing in Kenya through Uzima.

With that said, the most interesting thing I have found about this is that people are so much more willing to be apart or donate when they really get to know me. This sounds strange but the largest donations and support I have received thus far has come for conversations about what God has been doing in me personally through this journey. When I open up and share about the worries and fears I have in this whole thing.

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