I’ve been back in North America for about 48 hours now, and I’m still adjusting, physically and emotionally. My body is tired, of course. So is my heart: I only had a day with my husband and kids before they drove off to Canada to deal with the sale of our house.

So, too, are my mind and soul. There’s almost too much to think about, coming out of that trip, and all of it is the stuff of soul exhaustion – stories of pain and tragedy, and of hope and triumph, of good works done and good works left to do – and none of it lends itself to fast, flip posts. There were stories there, important ones, taxing ones, and they deserve thoughtful treatment, and also treatment that doesn’t make them seem all about me, which is, of course, something that I’m failing at pretty dramatically right now. (How do I write about these things? Oh, my heavy heart; oh, my overfull mind!)

But it is what it is. These are stories that I can only tell in my own voice, and it happens that I can barely lift it right now. So.

What I have is this: the moment of last week that was most filled with joy. It’s a young member of a children’s choir from Kampala and area who are HIV positive (they’re associated with the Mildmay program), and who do song and dance and theater performances that are aimed at educating people about HIV and fighting stigma around HIV. This fellow’s contribution? A rousing impersonation of Michael Jackson performing ‘Smooth Criminal,’ with an HIV-education twist.

Video is coming soon. Suffice to say for now that I don’t know that I’ve ever clapped so hard. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so tremendously grateful for someone’s dancing.

 (Again, again – sorry to harp, but this is worth harping about – if you want to do something, if you want to help — The CARE Action Network, or CAN, is a group of CARE supporters working to educate our nation’s leaders about issues of global poverty and related issues. Please check them out.)