Thursday, April 13, 2006

in Kenya...

I am in Nirobe, Kenya right now. My visa expired in Tanzania...so that was a good excuse for a road-trip to Kenya so I can stay one more month in Tanzania. I am in a little bit of culture shock being here. In many ways, I feel like I am back in an American city. There are coffee shops (I had my first cup of coffe in 3 months two days ago...it was wonderful!), malls, book stores, lots of trafic, and almost everyone speaks English. Life here is very different from the life I have been living back in Moshi. I found myself yesterday just looking around the city and seeing all the business taking place and thinking, "this is such a wealthy city."

But that is far from the reality. One of the largest slums in the world is right in my backyard here in Nirobe...over one million people live in this slum. There are thousands of street children, orphans, and aids victums here...but, because of everything else I am looking at, it is easy to not think about it. Thinking about all of this made me realize how I can do this so easily in the spitirual realm. How often do I walk through life distracted by the initial impression of wealth and suceess, failing to see the pain and death right behind me? It is a choice humanity makes. We choose to ignore the pain and suffering and focus on what looks good and pretty.

Matthew 24 comes to mind, where Jesus tells his disciples to "Stay Awake"...because they wouldn't know the day or hour he was coming. I can almost hear the urgency in Jesus voice as he passionately compels the disciples not to waste time sleeping...there is a dying world out there that needs the truth.
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3 comments:

Brent F said...

...not only that, Jesus' life was an example of "God visiting the slums". Jesus never forgot who He was here to reach! The orphans, widows, meek, and poor (in the physical and spiritual situation of the day- the scribes, priests, and pharasees would be us, the accepted religious community- the people who have the spiritual answers) so much so that his reputaion was that He was always with sinners! Are we like Christ in that way? Or are we comfortable in our air-conditioned churches, singing our modern worship chorus, and having our "fellowship time"?

3:51 AM
Edward Cross said...

Dennae, I should start a publishing company, and you can be my top author! :)

I was at a work potluck a couple days ago, and while looking at all the food spread out on tables, I couldn't help but be reminded of how blessed our country is! I know it's a bit simplistic, but it really hit me hard when I saw what many here would consider a feast still leftover after an office of 50+ people had already gorged themselves--let alone what abstract amount of food that banquet would translate into elsewhere.

"We choose to ignore the pain and suffering and focus on what looks good and pretty."

I totally agree, and I can see why it's hard for people in wealthy America to think they need Jesus: we rarely go through anything that we "think" necessitates a Savior. When compared to other parts of the world, a lot of our lives here aren't bad at all; the majority of us rarely, if ever hit practical rock bottom. Unfortunately, in part a result from this, many Americans are suffering from a problem much harder for non-believers to identify a solution to: spiritual rock bottom.

The facade of richness and significance is taken to the extreme here, making it hard for many to discern exactly what it is they are missing; what they're longing for to fill their unknown-to-them God-stomach; what they need to expunge the acute spiritual "pain and suffering" present in their lives. It's just difficult for people who worry more about what color to get their toes painted at their next pedicure than how to stay alive for a few more days to understand that they are living--as a friend describes--a sub-human life. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I know girls that consider this a significant, far-reaching dilemma! Jesus can do so much more than help pick-out that perfect shade of pink.

Probably not entirely what you meant, but I think it's true.

Hopefully it's just my age group. :)

10:16 AM
thankful4adoption.blogspot.com said...

I love both of your thoughts. :)

I just re-read through what I wrote and realized that I probably did not communicate my thoughts clearly.

My point was not about the physical appearance of wealth or poverty. The physical appearance of wealth vs. povery in Nirobe was just a parallel to the spiritual wealth and poverty in the states. Just like the average tourist visiting Kenya for a safari could easily escape the city without ever experiencing the "third world"...we can just as easily wander through the Christian life without ever noticing those who are spiritually starving to death all around us.

I am not as concerned about all the people in America living a shallow life as I am about the Christians who don't seem to notice or care. That is where our heart's need to change...we need to stop thinking of missions as something we send people to do or something we spend a few weeks a year doing our selves. We need to start thinking of it as our way of life and the reason why the church exists.

I know that when I go back to America next month there will be a huge temptation to get distracted by the physical wealth in comparisson to here, but the fact is...the spiritual poverty is the same.

1:00 PM

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