As I head off to Zambia tomorrow with many former and current students, one of my deepest desires is to see authentic and real community and relationships be built between the two groups from Chicago and Zambia...and as I pray for that end I am aware that the task of truly becoming friends requires the love of Christ and a spirit of humility, especially as Americans coming to a place that looks so different and deals with issues that are more publicly apparent...this quote by Jena Lee in her amazing book of photographs from Africa entitled HOPE in the DARK sums up my feelings as we jump on a plane at O'Hare and prepare to enter into a place and culture so rich and so different...and God's heart is to have us share stories and our lives with our friends on the other side of the world...
What keeps us apart from one another? Some would say an ocean. Others would say cultural differences. What must we change about ourselves to break down the wall that separates us? I think it begins by abandoning the pointed finger of blame. It begins by coming with humble spirits and a sincere desire to know one another. Otherwise, it becomes an us/them mentality, and the wall simply becomes thicker. Welcome to the face of a child who is so desperate for an embrace by the rest of the world...
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