May 22, 2010
I’ve been in the country for one month today. I’ve learned a lot from the people. Africa has an ENTIRELY different lifestyle due to circumstances. It’s funny to see the African’s responses to the Yevu (white man) carrying a baby (or two), riding a bike or washing dishes. One afternoon I was sitting with a group of women after having finished a meal together, and I jumped on a bike resting against the tree and rode down the street and back. Upon my return one of the women stated, “You are a fast learner!” She mistakenly thought that I was riding the bike for the very first time.
Many people here sincerely believe that Americans do nothing all-day-long! (Just do be fair, I recognize that some do actually do nothing all day long.) It boggles my mind that they wouldn’t first draw the conclusion that in the American home somehow the dishes must get cleaned, the laundry washed, the house swept, and so on. I have found that in the mind of the average villager here, the only “right way” to do something is their way. (Americans have the same complex, for example, stating that the English drive on the “wrong” side of the road as opposed to the “left.”)
Every day I am corrected or instructed to do something differently. I have people telling me when to take my (bucket) bath and how much water to use for bathing. People tell me which direction I should walk or which path I should take when they do not even know my destination! They tell me what I should say or how I should respond to certain people or situations. And there are countless other words and actions I am corrected on throughout the day.
Today I broke. The morning’s greetings included two wailing children and screaming parents. Apparently the children upset each other. Emotions were high all morning. The tension was thick. As much as I do not mind confrontation when necessary, I struggle with such arguing and strife.
I decided taking my bath would get me away from some of the tension and as I attempted to fetch water, my roommate, an African, told me I was doing it wrong because I was using the wrong bucket! I snapped back with a scientific synopsis of how each bucket was equally dirty, if her preferred bucket was not even dirtier, duly stating the grounds from which I drew the conclusion.
And instantly I regretted it. I did not regret the way I thought but I did regret the words that came out of mouth and the embarrassingly rude tone that I shared with my friend. She was brought up without a detailed concept and understanding of hygiene and germs. In America, we cannot get away from it. Immunizations, soap, sinks and within the last decade or two, hand sanitizer abounds. Every home has at least two sinks with running water. Time and money are spent on advertisements on washing hands and maintaining hygiene. She didn’t have this. And who am I to snap at her and expect her to understand what I believe to be true?
This friend had even sat through some of my hygiene lessons I taught in previous years. I wonder how long it will take for her to realize that some of the health issues she has could be a result of her using the same knife to cut potatoes after cutting raw chicken. She doesn’t know about salmonella or other not-so-fun bacteria.
But one thing is certain; she will not come to a point of understanding by my force-feeding her “truth” in such a frustrated and heated state. Only through love and genuine concern might she be able to truly understand. And it is only when my heart is for her, devoid of selfish motives or frustration, that I can share with her in love.
And when I care more about her and her health and happiness than myself, I will find a way to share anything and everything that I find important enough to share.
The same is true in our faith. We can go through “witnessing programs” or “evangelism classes.” We can practice our two-minute testimony or discuss all of the many reasons we don’t witness enough. But what it comes down to is the place in which we find our hearts.
If my heart is in such a place that my number one desire is to worship God and bring Him glory and my number two desire is to see others know Him as I do or better, then I will easily be able to share with others who God is and what He wants for His Beloved.
John 3:17-18
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Father, my may heart always be first for You and second for those around me, that none will be condemned.
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