Dec. 7, 2003

About a year ago, I was quoting some window graphics for Better Games Amusements. Mike and Josh were kind enough to listen to me babble about Africa, peace schools, and answers to tribalism in many third world countries. Of course, in the background, I was hoping they would somehow adopt a program or take me on in supporting my Africa interests. Nothing has been shared since.

Andrew Abe is a good friend of mine. He is from Uganda and has lived here in America for about as long as I have - over 25 years. Several months ago, he told me that he was getting married to a Ugandan woman. He invited me to the church wedding to be held in Kampala, Uganda. Andrew and I share much the same passion for the great lakes region of Central Africa and when we hear news of fighting or unrest, we get with each other to vent our frustrations and strategize for a brighter future. One access to that future for me has come through involvement with Landmark Education who does the Landmark Forum all around the world. Andrew did the Landmark Forum in Houston, Texas in October, 2003. The new ways we now stand for Africa is much more powerful and effective. I declared to an audience that my life would never be the same because Andrew did the Landmark Forum. I then made a promise to Andrew that I would be at his wedding in Kampala, Uganda December 20, 2003.

For most of my life, I have told myself that I am a person of meager resources and that now, buying a ticket to go to Africa for a month would be in the category of miracle. Part of my community of family and friends supported me by giving me a total of $495 toward my trip. Even in early November, the fares were in the low $2,000’s because of the season and all the demand for travel then. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving week, one of the travel agencies I was working with told me all the coach class tickets were sold and that the price I was going to have to take was around $6,000. That totally defeated me. I thought about other plans I could make for Christmas and New Years. I replaced my commitment to my word with a commitment to be stopped by this apparently huge figure. After all, I could take more than three trips any other time of the year with that amount of money. But at a Landmark commitment seminar that evening, I quietly re-declared my promise to be in Uganda, no matter what it took.

The next day, Thursday Nov. 20, I called that same travel agency back and they found a ticket for me for $2,400 that they could hold for me until the following Monday. With only $495, I had to forfeit the ticket. I went to Ft. Collins, Colorado to see my sister, Susan and her family and her ex, Carey. It was a great time and I didn’t think about Africa too much while I was away except that I was being more true to my word than I had in a very long time. I kept the conversation alive of raising the appropriate funds to get me out to Africa but wasn’t effective. But I was clear in every conversation that I made a promise to be in Uganda for Andrew’s wedding and I intended to fulfill on that even with no ticket purchased or booked.

Monday morning on Dec. 1st, Andrew came into my store. He told me that he was leaving for that afternoon and wanted to know if he would see me at his wedding. I told him all I had was $495 and a promise. He smiled, wished me luck, gave me a hug and left.

A couple hours later, I got a message to call Josh at Better Games Amusement. Remember? They were the ones I talked to about a year ago. I called him and he wanted to know what I was doing lately. I told him that I wanted to go to Africa and that the ticket was about $2,500. I told him about the wedding and the speaking engagement I had in Kampala on January 6. He said, “Eric, I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what we can do for you.”

I called Josh the next day, Tuesday, and he told me that he would be bringing a check to me for $1,500. WOW! That was amazing. My new total was $1,995!
I went right over to Leah Tigner at Alliance Travel here in Angleton and asked her if there were any tickets left to Africa. She looked around a while and booked a ticket for me from Dec. 17 to Jan. 8 for $2,300. I said that was a do-able price and she said – “well let me look for another way to get you out there cheaper. I think by Friday, I might be able to get you something for just under $2,000.” Well…. $1,995 is just under $2,000! I was just excited to know that I was going to keep my promise to Andrew.

Wednesday, Josh from Better Games came with a check to me for $1,500. I went right over to the bank and then back to Leah to see if she found anything more. She hadn’t. I went to another seminar at Landmark Education in the Commitment seminar series and shared wildly with anyone I could what had happened. I was a little nervous at the return date cramping a jaunt to Burundi to have a conversation with a couple heroes of mine there. But, I found that I had an extra week to play with in my return schedule.

Even though I didn’t talk to Leah on Thursday, I held my breath for a better price on the ticket totally content with the $2,300 offer now that I had so much of it paid for. Leah called me on Friday evening and told me that she finalized my ticket – with a later flight as well. AND…. She told me that she got a ticket for me that was cheaper - $1,805!!!That has all been in one week and there’s still more time! I leave on December 17, 2003 from Houston on Delta to Brussels and then from Brussels to Entebe on Sabina Airlines.

THANK YOU GOD!

Cool story huh?