Final Reflections on Three Visits in Africa

Made it back home from the whirlwind trip to three African countries (and I managed to squeeze a day in France and a day in Uganda while at it). There were many observable differences in the three places I visited - South Africa (East Cape), South Sudan (Yei), and Tanzania (Morogoro). The people are visibly different in each location. Of course even though my eyes are getting better at seeing the distinctions, I still enjoy hearing the observations from various Africans that we white folk all look alike. It always makes me feel better to hear someone make that comment since, like many people, it takes me quite a while to get used to what are the distinguishing features between people of a given ethnic group if I haven't been around it much!

Each of these countries is dealing with different challenges. South Africa still dealing with the disparity that is an ongoing legacy of the Apartheid system, trying to deal with the disparity but not follow the path of neighboring Zimbabwe with has pretty much destroyed its economy. South Sudan is dealing with the aftermath of years of civil war. The country is only two years old and has minimal infrastructure or experience in government. There were no paved roads in Yei and most people do not have running water or electricity. Tanzania has been more successful than most African countries at forging a national identity and has been an example of peaceful relationships between their almost equal percentages of Muslim and Christian populations. Yet they deal with poverty and, unfortunately, are also dealing with outside forces that are working to foment militant Islam.

In each of these very different contexts it was good to see that the church in its various forms is working to address the challenges, both the church from within the country as well as the church from outside. It was clear to me once again how important it is that those of us from the outside LISTEN and find appropriate ways to be in solidarity to those trying to make a difference from within. We have to make sure our help is really help. We have to understand the legacies of these different histories, all of which have the common experience of colonialism as a backdrop. Yet I met so many people in all three countries from the inside and from the outside who are committed to doing the hard work of navigating these challenges. So I come home encouraged!

That will conclude my blog entries for this trip. I may do this again sometime as well as write the occasional blog entry in between, but I know better than to pretend that I will be a regular blogger. But it is always a helpful thing to reflect on experience and, for us extroverts, it helps us do it if we think there might be someone listening! So thanks for that.

Attitude Makes All the Difference

I am now in Tanzania in the city of Morogoro where we have worked for nearly 15 years with the local mission diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. The bishop is a wonderful Masai man who I met on my first visit here nearly seven years ago. This is considered a mission diocese due to the area being a largely unchurched region of Tanzania with several people groups that have limited exposure to the Gospel.

Today I met with the bishop to greet him and thank him for our many years of working together. A couple who has been here for several years recently returned to the USA, completing their time of service here. And a young woman who has served for four years is transitioning to work with a different ministry here. So I wanted to celebrate our years of working together and explore ways we can continue in relationship even if we don’t have additional personnel here.

He said many nice things about the people we have sent who he has worked with over these years. He said they were not like many foreigners, but that they cooperated well with him and did not cause troubles. It made me thankful not only for the caliber of folks God sends our way to serve, but also for the training we provide to help them serve with the right posture and attitude.

One thing that can get many well-meaning people in trouble when they go to help cross-culturally is that they start with answers before finding out what the questions are. Or they are quick to draw conclusions about observations before they have taken the time to understand the culture. The training our folks get encourages them to enter as learners and gives them the tools to discern the culture where they are. It was great to see our missionary Kristen just chatting away with the bishop in Swahili prior to our meeting. She took the time to do the hard work of language learning so that she could serve more effectively with better understanding. 

When I hear comments like today from the bishop, after fifteen years of working together, I am very thankful for the training I had and that all of our missionaries get prior to moving to serve cross-culturally!

White guy, Give Me One Pound

"Kawaja. Give me one pound."  This I have learned is a common greeting when a local child here in South Sudan greets a white person. In fact, today I heard it from a young man. Kawaja is the word for "white guy." Nothing surprising there - every African country I've visited has its word of choice that is used for white folks. In many places it is screamed out by children when they see you. I've finally gotten used to that. But the second part is telling - "Give me one pound." (Pound is their unit of currency).

Evidently this has become so much connected that it is almost a form of greeting - something you say when meeting a stranger that without giving much thought to its meaning. As ordinary as "how are you?" In fact, our missionary here said that he has asked children in the local language if they know what "Give me one pound" means, and they actually do not. They have just learned it is what you say when greeting a white person.

While at face value this is kind of cute, it suggests an assumption that the relationship between the western foreigner and the local person begins with money or at least something that can be given. Some of this could stem from the fact that much of the population here has spent time in refugee camps during the civil war, where they were dependent upon things being given or provided by outsiders. This has certainly been fanned by many NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) who do humanitarian work here. And even short term church teams are often known by the fact that they give out stuff.

In our efforts to help people, we need to give careful thought to how our "charity" is received and what it communicates. Does it say simply that we have stuff and are willing to part with a little of it, but that pretty much defines our relationship? Is it possible that charity done even with a good motive but in certain ways can inhibit relationship? How might we relate to people so we are first seen as a friend and fellow human rather than a source of stuff? And what must our attitude toward others first be for this to happen?

Some things to think about!

South Sudan - Signs of Hope

I arrived yesterday in South Sudan after an overnight in Entebbe, Uganda and then a flight on a small prop plane here to Yei. First time I've come across an international border to a dirt airstrip with a small, one-room building as "passport control" where they handwrote my visa and sent me on my way.   

This has only been an independent nation for just over two years and that was only accomplished after decades of civil war and pretty brutal oppression of the people of the South. Many of the population of this city spent years in refugee camps across the nearby borders of Congo and Uganda or took shelter in the forests away from their homes. So infrastructure is pretty much having to be recreated from scratch.

Today I got to meet a young man named Justice (appropriate, given the history). He directs a small children's home that provides a home for 18 "double orphans" (meaning both parents are deceased and no relatives available to take them). He proudly showed me around the facility with the various innovations they have, including solar power to batteries since there is no access to central electricity, a cooking stove that uses firewood with high efficiency, drying rack and washing stations that reduce the likelihood of disease, and beds for the children each equipped with nets. He is studying business administration on line. I also found out that he works with our missionary doctors here as they do public health training, especially focusing on husband responsibility in helping reduce the high rate of infant mortality and maternal death during childbirth. He has a strong faith and also hopes to study theology so he can strengthen the church.

It is a hard place and there are many years of hard work that will be required for this new nation to get on its feet. But with folks like Justice, one sees that the seeds are already here.

Thoughts on Apartheid and Change

I can't help but think about the Apartheid system as I am in South Africa. As a college student, I was part of a student group called "Students United Against Apartheid." That was the cause for many internationally-minded young folks of my era. So I had read a lot about it, had written a couple papers on it, and continued to follow developments in South Africa through the next decade until the system was given a much-needed burial. So it is interesting being here nearly 20 years after its end and learning a bit about the aftermath.

Unfortunately, as with any injustice or conflict, the legacy of it extends far into the future. Certainly we in the USA understand that, as do most cultures of the world. Yesterday I had the chance to ask a older gentleman named Tony about his experience. He is Coloured. (Lest anyone think I've lapsed into racist language, that is a formal, acceptable designation for people of mixed race. Fortunately it no longer has legal ramifications as it did in the past, although with some aggressive affirmative action policies in place, categorizing still makes a difference here). His experience has been interesting. Under Apartheid, Coloureds did not receive as harsh treatment and restrictions as Blacks. In fact, when I asked him how most Coloureds felt about the closing of Apartheid, he said it was about 50-50. Many were nervous about what their status would be under Black leadership. Would they find themselves again outside of the "favored race?"

He is very matter-of-fact about the situation. There still are enormous disparities in the country. As the post-Apartheid generation moves into adulthood, it will be interesting to see how much the economic disparities remain connected to race. I also can't help but have a deep appreciation for the first non-White president, Nelson Mandella. When I think of the disparity and injustice, he very easily could have ridden a wave of popularity and anger and done to South Africa what has been done in Zimbabwe. But he came in with reconciliation as his platform, and while there are still huge challenges, thankfully there wasn't the level of violence that was certainly possible.

Anyhow, nothing earth-shattering, but just an interesting place to be since this place and the issues here gripped so much of my attention as a student 30+ years ago.  

When Passion and Vision Connect

Today we visited some ministry partners of the Stotlers (our missionary family) who serve in Bizana. It is a good-sized city in East Cape province. Tembe and Lucky are their names and they have a ministry and church called Arise and Shine. These are the sorts of people that just exude passion for God and for ministry. As I listened to them share their vision, it was as if they had just been reviewing the latest writing on ministry approaches, good church planting ideas, missiology, medical missions, etc. They have a church that is made up of tin sheeting with tent material on the inside. It can fit about 700 or so chairs and they said it is full every Sunday. They also operate a school. They are developing a microcredit system (something Elliott Stotler is helping with). And they want to open a medical clinic. When they see needs, they think of creative ways to address them.

Lucky talked about how each time they start something, they start small. "If you are trustworthy in the small things, the Lord will bless. So we start small." They seem to be completely outwardly focused as a church - a refreshing thing to see since churches in so much of the world tend to be inwardly focused. They involve the whole church in the ministry rather than having a pastor-focused ministry, again running counter to what is common especially in the African church. They really have a heart to see transformation in their community and beyond - even using English in their service in addition to Xhosa as a way to be open to the many foreigners who live in Bizana (Nigerians, Chinese, Pakistanis, etc). 

This is probably my favorite part of my job. It isn't the sights, the food, or even the cultures as much as it is seeing how God has placed key people all over the world. People who have true vision and passion, who have anointing, who aren't waiting for someone else, and with whom it is truly a privilege to work.

Thursday/Friday - Jetlag is a Wonderful Thing

Yesterday was pretty well a bust - I don't do jetlag gracefully. I was met by our workers here, Elliott and Katherine Stotler and son Cason. Pretty much talked incoherently, napped, and talked more incoherently. But slept 10 hours last night. It is midnight now and I'm still up - been working on work stuff (yeah, the office tasks aren't so kind as to just go away because I'm out of the country). Hopefully we'll sleep tonight, although my experience of jetlag is usually something like this:
First day: Sleep like a baby all night, albeit with crazy dreams. Get excited and think maybe I'm already adjusted.
Second day: Feel pretty good. Stay up too late hoping it'll make me sleep all night. Go to sleep, wake up around 2-3am. No chance of going back to sleep. 
Third day: Yeah, 2-3 hours of sleep means I'm toast. Do fine in the morning, start looking glazed by afternoon. Hosts make fun of me as my head droops while we are having serious discussions about ministry. I take a nap. Again stay up later than I should doing work.
Fourth day: Up around 4am. better, but still tired during the day. Jetlag hits in waves - you are sitting there feeling quite normal and all of a sudden a fog just drops.
Fifth day: Up again around 4-5am, but now feeling that I have gained a level of spiritual breakthrough that puts me in league with people like John Wesley and St. Francis. (Well, I don't know about St. Francis, but I'm sure all spiritual giants wake up early. That's bound to be in the Bible somewhere).

Etc. 

Well, blogs should be short and focused, so this one ended up being about jetlag. I promise to write about South Africa tomorrow. Stay tuned - for now I'll just say it is awesome and, like everywhere else, the kids are really cute.

Day 2 - Paris

I don't think I'll really type daily, but this is another airport entry. About the same time Paris time as it was Atlanta time on the last one - just after 10pm and about 15 minutes from time to board my flight for Johannesburg. Poor me had a 10-hour layover in Paris, so I stored my carry-on and headed on the train to town. Enjoyed a look around Notre Dame. They are celebrating 850 years since its construction began. 850 years! I can't really get my mind around that! As I look up at the incredible architecture, I cannot imagine the technology and infrastructure to build it. Not to mention the labor force (or should I say forced labor?). Anyhow, the result is breathtaking. Anytime I get in a setting with such a long, rich history, it makes me all reflective. I guess for those who live here year round, perhaps this becomes commonplace. I'm sure there is a point I could make regarding that phenomenon, but time to go board, so I'll let the reader draw his/her own point. :) 

Day 1 - And we're off!

This will be a short initial entry. I'm at the Atlanta airport about 10:15pm awaiting my flight. Actually I'm supposed to board in about 15 minutes, so this needs to be very short! Amazingly, I did most my packing yesterday, so today ended up being a fairly relaxed day. Usually I put off packing until the day of departure and usually departure is by mid-afternoon at the latest. So I had a whole day. Shawn and I had a lovely time since both had blocked it out for the trip and had nothing scheduled. We enjoyed a new restaurant, took our dog Lizzy on a 4-mile walk, and had time to just chat. Maybe we should schedule unscheduled time more often. Next stop Paris, then Johannesburg, then Durban. If all goes well I'll get there sometime, but to be honest, I really haven't done the math to figure out exactly when that will be!

Can These Old Bones Live?

Well, as I expressed in my initial post (see the left side of the blog page), my ability to be consistent with journaling back in the pre-blogging era has transferred to blogging. It's been over two years since I've posted anything here. So I doubt anyone will be reading this entry since, if they are following me, they either have no life or they have long since wondered what happened to me. But I wanted a buffer in here so it wouldn't look SO lame that the last entry was 2+ years ago since I plan to blog during an upcoming trip to Africa and will invite people to follow along. Maybe they won't notice the gap?

So I've updated my profile; yeah, my profile pic was 8 years old and I have "ripened" since then, and my title has changed as has our family. But otherwise, it's still little ol' me a couple years later ready to try again at this blogging thing. And I do still love ice cream - appropriately the most recent post...

In my defense, I do blog regularly for The Mission Society's blog so that took some of the air out of my creativity. Yeah, right.