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We are still human beings
by Lynne HybelsIt is Sunday morning before church. If we left Congo today, we would feel that we have received what we were meant to receive on this trip. Undoubtedly, we will receive more in the days to come, but it will all be bonus. Yesterday, we fell into the pure center of why we came.
In the simple sanctuary of the Baptist Church in Kiwanja, we sat in a circle of women. One after the other, eleven women who have survived brutal rape trusted us with the details of their stories. These women, aged eight to fifty-eight, had been raped by uniformed soldiers, armed rebel militia fighters, or “bandits.” Some were raped by men who broke into their homes at night, but most were attacked when they went into the forest to collect firewood they could then sell to buy food for their children.
Most were widowed; some saw their husbands killed by the same men who raped them. An eleven-year-old girl tried to cry out against her attacker, but the man said, “If you cry, I’ll kill you. I killed my mother and I’ll kill you.”
We have beautiful photos of these girls and women who have been lovingly and wisely cared for by counselors empowered by World Relief. In time, we will tell the details of their stories, but not until we’re sure we can do that without endangering them further or violating their trust. They want their stories told to the world, but for their welfare we must do that carefully.
It was holy time we spent with them—in fact, it was beyond holy. To be trusted with the suffering of one person is holy. To sit in a circle and receive the gift of the suffering from so many is beyond words.
At the end of our time together we knelt before the Congolese women as they sat on a long wooden bench. We joined our hands with theirs and prayed for them. To touch them and pray for them felt like a high privilege.
If you have followed our Congo Journal you know that one of our prayers was that somehow our community of ten would create a space of healing for the women we would meet. In a small way, I believe that prayer was answered. One of the last women to speak was also one of the oldest, slight and delicately featured. Before she even began her story she said, “Thank you for coming here today. You have reminded us that we are still human beings.”
We’re all still kind of a mess after yesterday. After worship in local churches this morning, we’ll have time to think and pray and talk through the holy moments of yesterday. In the meantime, I feel trapped in the disconcerting paradox of joy and sorrow. Joy because the women we met have been lovingly cared for. We also had the joy of witnessing the positive transformation in the demeanor of each woman as she spoke and knew she had been heard. But, oh, the sorrow, the anger and the despair we feel as we think of the many, many others like them who have never told their stories and have not yet received the help that can lead them toward healing.
For them, we weep.
Follow Lynne and the Ten for Congo team at www.lynnehybels.com and www.belindabauman.com.
Lynne Hybels Speaks on Peace in Kenya
By Allison SchroederWait a minute…Isn’t this the Ten for Congo trip? Why Kenya?
One of the hardest things about being an advocate for a particular place — especially a place as complex as the Democratic Republic of Congo — is that you have to take into consideration difficult things like international relations, globalization, and regional politics. It is never an easy task to stand for the vulnerable. God calls us to difficult places with complicated contexts.
Part of what has drawn Lynne and the Ten for Congo team to spend a day in Kenya is an understanding that Kenya is a part of Congo’s context.
Let me explain what the team will be doing in Kenya because it’s quite exciting on its own. They’re taking advantage of the opportunity to learn from and speak into efforts to end and prevent inter-ethnic violence in Kenya, especially around elections. The team will be participating in a World Relief-organized peace summit with about 150 Kenyans — among them church leaders, business owners, and a group of young adult leaders. The event offers a chance to stand for peace — not only peace in a single country, but peace in the entire region.
Following Kenya’s last presidential elections held in December of 2007, the two main political parties heavily contested the results of the poll. The disagreement over the election’s outcome, among other complex factors, contributed to an outbreak of violence across Kenya, primarily affecting the poorest parts of Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, and other areas of the Rift Valley and Nyanza Provinces. Inter-ethnic violence killed more than 1,200 people and displaced about 600,000. The next presidential election will take place in early 2013, and there is much concern that there will be more inter-ethnic violence; in fact, since independence from Britain in 1963, there has never been a peaceful transition of power in this country.
The Ten for Congo team recognizes there are several reasons to participate in the Peace Summit tomorrow. For one thing, as a part of the body of Christ, it is incumbent upon us to stand together for the sake of peace. World Relief’s Director of Spiritual Formation, John Gichinga, who is Kenyan and resides in Kenya, says, “Tragically, unless the church learns new skills, based on God’s word, the cycle of violence may remain with us.” It is the WHOLE church that needs to learn new skills. The Kenyan church, the Congolese church, the North American church. All of us.
Not only is it the right thing to do for the church to stand together as one body. It’s also a good strategy for supporting Congo. How? In a nutshell, what happens in Kenya affects the entire region. If we want peace in Congo, peace in Kenya is critical. A report from the World Policy Institute explains that Kenya is home to numerous refugees, is a regional hub for the United Nations, and is an important economic actor in East Africa. If it heads toward war and disintegration, it will upset the entire region’s efforts to find stability and peace. Continued violent conflict in Kenya will likely lead to accelerated capital flight, poverty, illegal arms trafficking, and more.
So it’s complicated. There are no quick fixes. But I am reminded of a few verses in Lamentations that offer hope:
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23, NIV translation)
We are not consumed by the complexities and the heartaches of war-torn countries! We stand on Christ the Rock. We are called by (and we call on!) the Christ who teaches a transformational and revolutionary way of life in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”(Matthew 5:9, NIV translation).
For all of these reasons, Lynne and the whole team are “stopping by” Congo’s neighbor Kenya. May they (and all of us who join the team in spirit) remember and honor the Prince of Peace on this and all parts of the journey.
Allison Schroeder is World Relief’s Church Partnership Director based in Baltimore, Maryland.
Lynne Hybels in Congo with World Relief
By Allison Schroeder In just a matter of days, World Relief in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will welcome a team of women led by Lynne Hybels. Lynne has been an advocate for the Congo since she traveled there with us in 2010. This time, there will be six women joining Lynne on the trip; three others are traveling in spirit, adding their voices to the journey. I am honored to be one of the three — you can read more about the “Ten for Congo” team at Lynne’s blog: www.lynnehybels.com. Here’s an excerpt to give you a taste:
Together, we are calling ourselves Ten for Congo. Our goal is to raise awareness about the DRC. Most Americans are like I was just a few years ago, totally clueless about what’s happening day after day after day in Congo. We women of Ten for Congo want to change that. We want to provide a voice for the voiceless people of the Congo. Actually, we want to shout for Congo! We want to be loudspeakers for Congo! We want to bellow for Congo!
Will you join us?
With your help, our ten voices can become 10 x 10 voices, or 10 x 10 x 10 voices, or 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 voices.
Imagine 10,000 voices bellowing on behalf of Congo!
A pretty awesome vision! I’ve travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo several times in my work with World Relief. Each time I’ve been undone, outraged by the violence and poverty, the cruelty of the circumstances. But I’ve also been inspired by beauty and humbled and encouraged by the perseverance of local churches that are empowered to respond. I’ve been awed by the simple clarity of Christ’s presence around me as churches come together to build peace and care for those who have been ravaged by war. Each experience has changed me, and I have no doubt that the women who are traveling there next week will be changed as well.
Our prayer, though, is that this trip will do more than change a few women. Our prayer is that it will change thousands of women — in the U.S. and in Congo. May all those who read about this team’s experiences be outraged, inspired, humbled, and moved to speak up — loudly! — on behalf of the most vulnerable.
Follow Lynne’s blog or go to www.worldrelief.org/lynnehybels to find out more about how you can add your voice to the Ten for Congo team.
Allison Schroeder is World Relief’s Church Partnership Director based in Baltimore, Maryland.
A trip in Burundi
by Michael Beeman
I have a card from my grandmother, on the front of which, it is written, “Grandson, life will take you to some faraway places.”, and on the inside, “Know that wherever you go, love goes with you”. It is true. During a trip to a Care Group outside of Gitega, southeast of Bujumbura, I witnessed the power of community and God’s love.
In the Kibuye Health District, World Relief manages a Child Survival Project. Through the Care Group Model, promoters train a group of volunteers on issues pertinent to Child Health, like malaria, diarrhea, and nutrition. These volunteers in turn visit approximately 10 households to share this information. The program is quite effective; malnutrition rates in children under 5 have plummeted to 8% from 36%.
With a few from WR offices, I recently journeyed from Gitega to the Care Group Meeting in neighboring Itaba commune. For one hour, we traversed a severely rutted road. Surrounded by hills of banana plants and coffee fields, we drove through heaps of mud and deep puddles of rain, only to reach narrower roads. Along these roads were men and women coming and going, students at the end of their day, and toddlers who would stop playing and stare at the large, white Land Cruiser slowly making its way over bumps and around bends.
With the help of Lucie, the Care Group supervisor, we eventually made it to the school grounds where the Care Group met. Once there, the welcome was naturally genial; greetings exchanged and a short song sung for an opening.
For this day’s meeting, the topic was nutrition.
They discussed the best practices to nourish children. A couple acted out two skits: one showed the preparation of a meal low in nutritious ingredients, while the second showed the proper preparation of a meal that meets babies’ nutritious needs. The subsequent discussion drew out the importance of a meal rich in micronutrients important for their babies. The participating parents identified the problems in the skit and the solutions, which they in turn would apply themselves and share with their neighbors. The discussion was successful; everyone actively participated and supported their peers in preparing the distribution of this knowledge.
Our departure hardly meant a disconnection. Rather, the exchange strengthened the connection, in the spirit of turikumwe: although separated, we are together. During the ride back home I thought of my Grandmother’s card. Here, in the Itaba commune, the strength of community and the love of God were present. In the beauty of the hills and the energy of the Care Group, the health and strength of families, World Relief, and myself were being restored.
Michael Beeman is a Program Research and Development Intern with World Relief in Burundi.
Photos by Marianne Bach
(1) A few of our World Relief health promoters in Burundi.
(2) Care groups are places of knowledge, learning, and relationship building.
(3) Mothers and children alike benefit through World Relief’s care group model.
A quiet, yet brave mother
At her upstairs apartment, Fardowsa greeted us at the door — a young Somali lady, tall, dressed in a flowery hijab. She invited us into the living room of the apartment she shares with her mother, Rukiya, who was seated on the carpet and covered with a pile of blankets in the chill of February. Their home is simple, only a small couch along the wall in the living room, a few rugs and mats to provide more seating on the carpet, but they smiled at our arrival and welcomed us in from the cold.
While Fardowsa busied herself in the adjoining kitchen, Rukiya began to talk to me through the Somali translator. As a volunteer for World Relief and a freelance writer, I had expressed a willingness to write the story of any refugee who wanted to share, and Rukiya had stepped forward. She had taken my beginning English class the previous year, was always one of the quieter, more hesitant students, and I was surprised to discover she was the one I would be interviewing this day. My perception of her hesitancy proved to be incorrect, however. With the translator relaying her words to me and Fardowsa making interjections in Somali and English, Rukiya conveyed the details of how she and her daughter came to this part of the U.S.
Rukiya lived with her husband and four sons in Kismaayo, Somalia, where he was a teacher in a madrasah. In 1991, though Rukiya was eight months pregnant with their fifth child, the family was forced with many others to flee during civil war. They made their way on foot toward the border of Ethiopia, Rukiya carrying their infant son on her back, her husband carrying the 2-year-old on his shoulders, the 3-year-old walking hand-in-hand with his father, and the 4-year-old boy walking separately with a group of relatives. The trek would be difficult for Rukiya at this stage of her pregnancy, but they had no choice but to leave their home.
As they walked toward Ethiopia, their group was hit by a round from a mortar. Life changed in an instant for Rukiya. She saw that her husband and the two boys with him were killed by the blast, and she herself was injured in the left leg. It wasn’t until later that someone nearby told her the baby on her back had been killed as well. When she was reunited with the relatives caring for her older son, she found out that he had survived the blast, but he had later been bitten by a snake and died. Her entire family was gone.
Rukiya continued walking with other refugees toward Ethiopia for another month. Shortly before they reached the border, she gave birth to Fardowsa with the help of the ladies in her group. They arrived in Ethiopia while Fardowsa was a newborn, and for the next 19 years their refugee camp was the only life the girl or her mother knew. During that time, they never had enough food rations to keep them from being hungry. Rukiya collected and sold firewood to buy more for them to eat, but it never seemed like enough.
In late 2010, World Relief helped resettle Rukiya and Fardowsa in Eastern Washington, where Fardowsa now attends ESL classes at the local college. Because of a disability in her hands, Rukiya can’t easily perform many basic tasks, such as holding a pencil or cooking meals, and Fardowsa is her care-giver. World Relief helped them find low-income housing and get the assistance they need from the government, and both ladies are grateful that they are able to live here in this apartment together.
When she finished telling me the details of her story, Rukiya shifted the blankets on her lap. The sound of pots and dishes came from the kitchen. Rukiya continued to speak.
She said people often tell her that she must be a very strong lady to endure the circumstances of her life — many people would go crazy if the same things had happened to them. But, she says, the events in Somalia and Ethiopia did change her. She is a different person now from who she was before. The trauma damaged her ability to remember things, making learning English even more difficult for her, and she isn’t able to speak as well as she once could in her native language.
Without my having to ask her the question, Rukiya explained that the reason she wanted to share her story with me and with others is so that she can find justice for what happened to her and her family. She said she doesn’t know who killed her husband and children, doesn’t know who launched the mortar round — but telling people what happened to them is her way of declaring this is not right, and it needs to be made right. Rukiya hopes her story will help other people, not just Somalis, get the help they need in unjust situations. Over the course of an hour on the floor of her living room, Rukiya transformed from the quiet, hesitant student I knew in class into a brave woman who isn’t afraid to share her story to benefit others.
Written by Rebecca Henderson, World Relief Volunteer
“…I have called you friends”
– by Caren Teichmann My favorite days of the week are Tuesday and Wednesday because these are the days I go to the apartment to work with the clients of World Relief in Nashville.
It is a blessing and a joy to walk around outside, to greet people as they come for English class, to enter their homes or simply stand at the doorsteps and visit with them. I want to learn their names, know their families and eventually hear their stories. I hope they think of me as a friend; or if that is too much to ask, at least as someone who cares about them, is glad they are here and wants to help them adjust to life in Nashville.
The time I spend here each week practicing what I have come to call simply a ministry of presence is an honor and a privilege. It has caused me lately to wonder if the most important thing in all ministry shouldn’t be budgets, committee meetings or worship planning but instead to know people by name, break bread with them, listen to their stories and tell our own, and let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that we do not only like them, but truly love them.
A few weeks ago, on Valentine’s Day, I stopped by to visit my Burmese friends. It was their first Valentine’s Day in Nashville, so I brought them some candy and cards. I told them this holiday is about celebrating the love of family and friends. They nodded their heads in understanding and then taught me how to say “I love you” in Burmese.
After a little while, the mother went into their small kitchen. She took a large bowl of noodles and placed it on the table.
She called for her daughter and me to come there and she handed us three bowls, three spoons and a bowl of water. We set three places at the table and sat down. The mother brought a bowl of broth and a plate of cabbage from the kitchen. She sat down and she put some noodles into each or our bowls. She handed me the broth and the cabbage and gestured for me to put it on top of the noodles and then to mix it all up. I watched as she and her daughter did the same. When they stopped stirring their bowls and took a bite, I did too.
This meal we shared together was an intimate and sacred event. Sitting at their table, I was the vulnerable one. They filled my plate and cup and encouraged me to eat and drink. Much more happened at that meal than simply satisfying hunger and quenching thirst. This Valentine’s Day lunch for me was more than celebrating love of friends and family. Around the table, our relationship grew. It was a celebration where we became family, friends, community – yes, one body.
“…but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” John 15: 15-17
Caren is a student at Vanderbilt University Divinity School currently interning with World Relief Nashville for the 2011-2012 academic year.Photo by RBCreative Photography
Desperate People – We Go Fix It?
Tina O’Kelley, World Relief Communications, serving in Haiti
Christians help people, right? It is our privilege to step in when there is a need and respond with compassion and our abundant resources. Desperate people – we go fix it.
Isn’t that what Jesus called us to do?
Here is a story that might end differently than you would think. Table du Seigneur (The Lord’s Table) is a little church in Bertain, a town just 15 miles outside of Port-au-Prince, up on a steep hillside perched over a river. Pastor Bertrand Lynché has been leading the service here in a building too small to hold his congregation. Every Sunday, churchgoers stood outside, and Pastor Bertrand dreamed of a larger building that could accommodate everyone. Not being on the radar of any foreign aid organizations, Pastor Bertrand felt he would never see his dream come to pass. One day, he was invited to an UMOJA seminar by Romnal Colas of World Relief. It was explained to him that UMOJA is a new approach to development using the Bible as a tool to help communities identify their strengths and use their resources to help themselves and others.
Pastor Bertrand accepted and with two deacons in his church, joined about twenty other pastors and church leaders to hear about overcoming problems by using the resources at hand.
During the week long seminar, Pastor Bertrand got the point – If I can expand the vision of my church members with this new approach, WE can expand our church building. After months of encouragement on the part of their pastor, Table du Seigneur responded. Without waiting for outside aid, they gathered money, materials and community support for the addition. “We are almost finished with the work. We did it ourselves and are very proud,” reports Pastor Bertrand.
Work in Haiti is often accomplished against a backdrop of thoughtful discussion: How can aid be given so that we promote community initiative and avoid fostering dependency? Are we taking over when we should stand at the sidelines and cheer on the Haitian church? How can we encourage local pastors to envision their own solutions and not wait on ours? These questions are not unique to work in Haiti, of course, but are especially important here where so many come, wanting to fix problems and help out.
World Relief Haiti did step in and give a gift to Pastor Bertrand, a way of moving forward that is not dependent and powerless but connects the church directly to the creative power of God. Now, if we visit, we’ll fit inside, but soon, perhaps, Table du Seigneur will need a new addition. Any church with this kind of vision is likely to see God bring an increase, more than they could “ask or imagine.”
*Thank you to Jeff Saintphard, World Relief Haiti Facilitator for the eyewitness account of Table du Seigneur.
Papua: Health on the Margins of Indonesia
By Catherine Patterson, Maternal and Child Health Intern for World Relief Indonesia
Today began as Saturdays usually do in the highlands of Papua, Indonesia: with children calling at the front gate with berries and flowers.
Most are barefoot, wear ill-fitting clothes and come from the surrounding villages. Today, a little girl came with a badly infected lip. We sent her home with a tube of ointment and a few Rupiah in exchange for a bright orange and red bouquet.
Another boy came with juicy raspberries and one foot wrapped in a plastic bag. After examining his foot, it was clear that jungle rot had started to take over his big toe. We gave him sandals, provided a few antibiotics, and purchased his berries.
Indonesia has made great strides in addressing some of its most pressing health problems. Since 1990, the number of children who die before age 5 has been reduced by half, and Indonesia is on target to meet many of its Millennium Development Goals.
Despite these advances, however, Papua Province continues to experience health standards below those in other areas. About 30% of children under age 5 suffer from malnutrition. While nationally, 17% of people live in poverty, in Papua, it is estimated that at least 30% of residents are poor. HIV is reaching epidemic proportions here with a reported 3% prevalence rate, and the situation is made worse by a lack of testing and treatment facilities.
The remote nature of this beautiful, mountainous land exacerbates the problems faced by people living with limited access to essential medicines and care. Stigma and fear of HIV/AIDS frustrates efforts to provide prevention and care. All too often, outbreaks of violence and tribal warfare interrupt regularly scheduled programs aimed at improving the health of Papuans.
Since 2008, World Relief has been reaching some of the most vulnerable in Papua’s Tolikara and Jayawijaya districts. Through its Mobilizing for Life: Protecting Papua program and in partnership with the local church, local staff provide outreach and education to youth, men, and women on HIV/AIDS and teach communities how to protect themselves and stop the spread of the disease.
But there is still much to be done. Less than half of all births are attended by a skilled health worker, and far too many women die in childbirth each year. Despite substantial investments by foreign donors and the Indonesian government, Papua Province is the only area of Indonesian where the Human Development Index is falling. Our church partners have requested help to reverse this trend, and World Relief is currently exploring how we might reach this area with additional life-saving health messages.
As I think about the realities of Papua, my heart is hopeful. Her people are strong, proud, and resilient. They are eager to learn so they may take control of their health and strengthen their communities.
I think of the flower children, with their big eyes and bigger smiles. It is easy to be discouraged that at times, all we can offer is some ointment or antibiotics. But I am filled with hope and the knowledge that God offers much more through the love and grace of Jesus Christ. It has been my honor to stand with World Relief in Papua, Indonesia, as they seek to empower the local church to reach out to those who need health and healing in the highlands.
As World Health Day approaches on April 7, take a moment to stand with me for the health of people living in Papua and pray that God will bring healing and strength to all who need it in the mountains of Indonesia.
Photos from David Peth and Kirsten Pless
Catherine Patterson serve with World Relief as a volunteer. To learn more about World Relief Indonesia and the work happening there, click here.
Refugees in Indonesia: Ministry of Presence
By Mikey and Jeana Master, Church Engagement Coordinators for World Relief Indonesia
Stepping out the door of the detention center, into the courtyard shared by the asylees’ rooms, we were greeted by twenty faces waiting to see ours. Twenty men: all with different stories, all from broken places, all carrying disappointment. Literally trapped between the land they are fleeing and the land that could give them freedom, they spend their days waiting. We did not exchange handshakes or words for long, but it was a moving moment. It was moving because we cannot give them the freedom they desire. It was moving because many of them come from countries that are broken, in part, because of ours. It was moving because as they unapologetically stared at us, their eyes spoke louder than their words.
The detention centers here in Indonesia are holding people who were caught attempting to flee their country for Australia. They come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Nepal and more. Some left because they were being harassed by the Taliban, some are part of ethnic groups that leave them as refugees in their own country, and others fled the consequences of war. The majority tend to be young men, but there are also elderly men and families as well. Most commonly, fishermen promise these people a safe boat journey to Australia. The price for a spot is high, but for many, it’s worth the cost. However, these fishermen leave out an important detail: as soon as the boat nears Australia, the Australian Navy directs them to Indonesia where the asylum seekers will be held in legal limbo.
photo by Michael Masters
World Relief partners with IOM (International Organization for Migration) to serve these people as they wait for the appropriate paper work to begin a new life in Australia. Ours is a ministry of presence, teaching English, photography, arts and crafts.
For those we work with, the center in Bali is the first stop. This is a high security holding place from which they are transported to West Java, where they are given bigger living spaces and small freedoms. The length of time they spend there is uncertain; some people have been waiting for eight years. Currently, the center on Java has about 200 people, and 100 people stay here in Bali, although the numbers are always fluctuating.
For these refugees trapped in a place of waiting, disappointment and little hope, World Relief steps alongside to love, serve and listen to those made invisible behind walls – yet still remain incredibly close to Christ’s heart for the homeless and displaced.
The Masters serve with World Relief as volunteers. To learn more about World Relief Indonesia and the work happening there, click here.
Suffering and Celebrating Together: MOD 2012
by Meg Lavery, Volunteer Mobilization Coordinator for World Relief DuPage
In 2010, jeggings made their triumphant debut, South Africa hosted the World Cup, and Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake. 2010 was also the year I went to my first Mission on Your Doorstep Conference in West Chicago, IL- most likely wearing jeggings. There I sat in on an indelible talk by Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. He spoke on Theologies of Suffering and Celebration.
Rev. Dr. Rah explained that churches in developed nations, in relative affluence and stable societies, tend towards a Theology of Celebration whereas churches in developing nations, facing abject poverty and violence, tend towards a Theology of Suffering. Curiously, we see these churches grasp for the characteristics of Christ that they do not experience on earth. Often, Theologies of Suffering declare the victory of Christ and promise of eternal life in heaven whereas Theologies of Celebration embrace the solitude and somberness of Jesus’ life on earth. Perhaps that’s why we often worship to soothing slow jams in the west; and in Burundi, worship will get you up out of your seat clapping and dancing around in your ankle-length skirt.
In the end, neither is the complete picture. There is both death and resurrection in the story of Christ. I learned that we need both to gain the fullest understanding of the God of the Bible and this life on earth. And I learned that to do this, we need more than expanded theology books. We need to get to know people who have lived a different story.
At World Relief in Wheaton, IL, I work with volunteers day in and day out. They are the loveliest and most generous people on the block who want to get to know those who are different from them. However, people are quickly met with the startling realties of the refugee and immigrant experience- chronically ill friends without healthcare access, family members separated indefinitely, depression and isolation in a foreign society, bed bugs (modern day locusts?). In these situations, when there are only imperfect solutions and hard choices, I recall my lessons from MOYD2010. I try to encourage volunteers that sometimes the best thing (and maybe the only thing) you can do is be there, be present, be together. And when we take on the burdens of each other, that’s when we share our greatest joys, that’s when real relationships are formed.
Two years later, the conference has done a name change, Mission On Our Doorsteps, further bridging the mythical divide between “us and them”. I’m so pleased to see this year’s theme is “Suffering and Celebrating Together”. The conference has raised awareness of the realities of present suffering in our communities and celebrates how Christ is bringing His own glory through that grief. The lonely isolation within modern society, the fear of immigrants living under a broken system, the anguished prayer for the lost, and the frustration of those trafficked to America against their will are all unique expressions of our present suffering. However, such suffering is not the last word.
This suffering pales in comparison with the glory that God is birthing in and through us as we weave our stories, the pain and the joy, together.