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Written by Garrett East
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Tuesday, 12 August 2008 19:01 |
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From my blog: I am finally back home in the States. Here has been my schedule so far:
Thursday. Fly in to Houston airport. Drive to Austin. Sleep.
Friday. Wake up and drive to Dallas. Go to friends rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Sleep.
Saturday. Spend the day with groom and groomsmen. Wedding. Sleep.
Sunday. Drive to Austin. Switch cars. Drive to New Orleans.
Monday. Drive to Gulf Shores.
So, that has been my schedule thus far in the States. Transitioning from the slow pace of life in Uganda to this has been nuts. I am in desperate need for a day all by myself to do nothing but read, think, and rest.
Now that I am back I would like to write a few more posts about some of the things I got to do this summer and reflect on my overall experience.
One of the top five words I would use to describe my experience this summer would be clarity. This includes clarity about different issues, clarity about what it means to live as a Christian, clarity about what mission work looks like, and clarity about future choices I will make. But the area in which I have received the most clarity is clarity in my vocation.
This summer I learned what it is that I want to spend my life doing and as part of that, I realized all of the things I don't want to spend my life doing. I learned about what brings me joy and what doesn't. I learned this summer that I want to do foreign mission work and that if I am not able to do that, something important will be missing from my life.
I not only received clarity about what I want to do, but when I want to do it, how I want to do it, why I want to do it, and possibly where and who I want to do it with. So of all the things that have made this summer so wonderful, I want to add clarity to that list. And I guess I owe that clarity to God who has worked through the missionaries lives, the conversations I have had with them, the other interns, and Stacy, the Ugandan's I was about to meet and build relationships with, and all of the experiences that have made up this summer internship. |
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Written by Garrett East
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Monday, 04 August 2008 06:10 |
“To recognize God in the crucified Christ means to grasp the Trinitarian history of God, and to understand oneself and this whole world with Auschwitz and Viet Nam, with race-hatred and hunger, as existing in the history of God. God is not dead, death is in God. God suffers by us. God suffers with us. Suffering is in God.” –Jurgen Moltmann
Living missionally requires all Christians to live in tensions. This is especially true for Christians living in foreign third-world contexts. One of the tensions that I have learned the most about and have had the most conversations about is centered around the need and the possibility to suffer with people.
On the one hand, we have been called by God to follow the example of Jesus and become incarnate. The incarnation of God meant (and means) much more than God being born. To speak of the incarnation is to speak all at once about the birth of God as a man, the human temptations of God as man, the suffering of God as man, and the death of God as man. To speak of the incarnation is to tell a story about God emptying himself of his status, glory, and privilege in order to share in the sufferings of man. And being a Christian is not only about telling this story, but about embodying it. Christians are called to follow God’s example and join in the suffering of the world. And it is not for any glorified view of suffering that we suffer, but in order to have solidarity with those who are suffering. We suffer for the sake of others, to be present with them, to help them, to bring comfort to them. We share in the suffering of Jesus on the cross when he felt most godforsaken when we share in the suffering of the world where it feels most godforsaken.
On the other hand, being here in Uganda has brought out all of the difficulties of actually suffering with people. The main question here is: could it ever be possible for an American missionary to fully suffer with a Ugandan? Can an American missionary share with a Ugandan the difficulties of getting good health care and medicine? Can an American missionary ever share in a Ugandan’s experience of poverty? Can an American missionary ever share in a Ugandan’s experience of poor education? Even though there are people who struggle with these things in America, the assumption with an American missionary is that somehow he had access to the 2,000 dollars it costs to fly here. And if a missionary has access to that kind of money, then it is likely they have the access, or at least connections in the states with access, to more money if it was ever needed. The fact that we have a college education from America puts us in a place that makes it very hard to suffer with a Ugandan because at any instant we good probably fly back to the States and find a job that certainly pays more than Ugandan’s are making.
After talking with the missionaries frequently about this tension, it appears that none of them have the answer that can resolve it. They all have some helpful ideas, but none of them know how to solve this problem. They try to suffer with the people here, and often the Ugandan’s can’t get past their money, their cars, and their houses. They can’t get passed their belief that just by virtue of being an American, the missionaries must be rich. However, here and there, the missionaries have shared experiences in which they have really been able to participate in the sufferings of the people here. And not only have they have participated in them, but the Ugandan’s have seen and experienced the presence of the missionaries in their suffering. They have noticed and been thankful to have someone with them in their troubles.
My guess is that this tension won’t ever be solved, and maybe that’s how it should be. Maybe being a Christian means to live in the midst of unsolvable tensions. So, don’t stop asking questions. Don’t stop wrestling with tensions. Don’t give up when something seems to be impossible. Resist the temptation to give up on seeking solidarity with others. Resist the temptation to give up on being a partner with those in suffering and becoming nothing but a patron. Give to those in need; help those in trouble; and serve the people of this world. But never, ever stop seeking solidarity with them.
Still, the question remains: is there a way through this tension? Is there some way to really suffer with those who are suffering? And I guess the only answer I can give is one given by Bonhoeffer to a similar question: “Only the suffering God can help.” |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 04 August 2008 06:19 )
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