I've been here almost eight weeks now. Relatively a short time, but longer than I've ever lived in a foreign country as a missionary before, and longer than any other mission journey I've taken.
If there is one thing that has surprised me, I would say that working here feels much differently than I thought it would. Having done extensive research prior to moving here, I thought I had a good grasp on what goes on in the business of changing the world...I thought it was a simple equation. Awareness (on my part) + Action (on my part) = Solution (on their part). You can see the problem with that now, can't you? Me too. As it turns out, books, documentaries, blogs and NGO websites only give a partial picture of the stories lived out here. Really, even the best first-hand accounts can only give you just a brief snapshot of the whole entirety.
It's popular right now to be "into" global poverty iniatives. The message has finally been told on the world stage and the world has, in many ways, taken notice of the issues that countries like South Africa face. The result of global attention is that tension is created somewhere between awareness and action. There is space between knowing what the problem is and the long journey to the solution. Whenever you read about humanitrians crisis such as lack of clean water, lack of access to sanitation or lack of healthcare there is a strong sense of impending urgency. Everything is a "must act now" sort of message. The rationale behind this urgent message, is that mundane everyday life activites don't motivate people to get up off the couch and change their lives. Most people wait for the "wake-up call" of something serious happening before they change. And people working in the "change" business have to capitalize on the "wake-up-call" moments in order to get anything done.
Wake-up-call moments are good. They shake up our normalcy. They break bad habits. They inspire greatness. They make for good movies. But as it turns out, non-profit/humanitarian work is more like the work that comes after the wake-up-call. Like a heart attack that makes you decide to join the gym. The wake-up-call is over and now the hard work of doing something every single day begins. The everyday actions that lead to change aren't exactly dramatic, but the truth of life is that it's our small choices everyday that ultimately lead to victorious outcomes. It takes a long time to walk out of poverty. It takes a long time to walk out of a broken past. It's takes a long time to walk out of spiritual devastation. Changing someone's life, including my own, literally requires walking beside them everyday for a lifetime. It's a long road filled with discipline, prayer, accountability, and sacrifice. I'm learning that it's a road I know very little about. And here I was thinking that my job here was to hand out road maps and hang up signs that point in the right direction...
But I do know this... We are on the right road. It's long and it's sometimes slow-going and sometimes I'm so lost it's not funny, but I'm on it and I get to walk a little everyday. It's a long term goal. It won't be accomplished in 8 weeks, or 8 months or 80 years. And when I look around me, I do see an urgent need... but it's not for the people we serve. It's for us. You. Me. An urgent need for faithfulness. An urgent need for obedience. An urgent need for prayer. An urgent need to be who it is that God created us to be. It's the reason that we are all on earth to begin with...to walk beside one another because our lives depend on all of us going the right way together. They are counting on me, and I on them, to walk forward. Everyone of us holds up a sign along the way and bears witness to something. Everyone of our actions is a testimony that makes a roadmap. Someone is always watching you and I on the road, and we are always watching someone else. My testimony on this road is that Jesus Christ alone changes hearts. My witness is that if Jesus Christ isn't the answer, there is no answer. The only sign I have to hold is the one that lifts high the name of someone other than myself, Christ. "When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to me." John 12:32
So here's my new equation for changing the world: Curtail the devastating effects of poverty through all means possible + Offer the healing of Jesus Christ for all = Walk forward together as whole people towards eternity.
Thanks for walking with me. I may need you sooner rather than later to lift high your sign and point me in the right direction.
Amy, Thanks so much for you insight, your words of wisdom and your honesty. Lets face it, God is using you not only to reach those in South Africa but to help inspire those of us back here in the States. I love that we are friends :)
Thanks Jon!