A Piece of Humble Pie

Once again, it takes an experience outside of my own comfort zone to bring life into a clear perspective again! Once again, a contrast exists that is as great as and bigger than black and white. Wonderful to see how a picture full of contrast is a beautiful image that speaks louder than words.

The image is against the backdrop of a village in Limpopo province called Mmamethlake, a village that exists in a hostile environment, stark, dry red ground, and a dusty haze in the air defines this sun beaten place. Shade comes at a premium and every inch is taken up by a life trying to maintain some small amount of comfort.

It is an image of 18 teenagers and young adults residing in upper class suburbs of Pretoria East emersing themselves for four days in this harsh climate and foreign environment. The objective foremost in their minds is to share their firsthand experience, knowledge and expertise in running and participating in a Holiday Club with five local churches in the Mmamethlake region. My objective possibly a little broader, not only to benefit those to whom we are taking our experience but to enrich the lives of these 18 young people who are with me, through service for Jesus Christ to those less fortunate than themselves (in many respects but not all). Limited running water, camping in dusty tents and no flushing toilets hardly brings the word "enrich" to one's mind but these obstacles will become the images of "hardship" which will forge the understanding and gratitude of privilages not everyone gets to experience for a long time to come. The experience is an image that will allow them to see the value in relationships and community, slowing down and waiting, savoring every little gift God provides and not taking our material blessings for granted.

Living and working alongside each other is a contrast that I believe changes perceptions, and the hearts and minds of both sides and it is a beautiful image that can only exist in acceptance and love for one another. It is an image painted by the hand of Christ himself and it is an image that few will forget. To God be the Glory for these things He has done!

Contrasts!!

We live in a world of contrasts... Within one month, in one moment I found myself in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok with it's endless traffic jams and oppressive Carbon Footprint, multi story shopping malls and polluted river courses and in the next, I was experiencing the serenity and simple life of a small village at the edge of the Great Rift Valley overlooking the Eastern Shore of Lake Malawi.

If I ask myself where I'd prefer to be or more specifically, which lifestyle I would choose to adopt, I'd most definitely have to go with the simpler, more "chilled" of the two, Malawi. Why then, do I find myself in an environment resembling Bangkok more? Why do I allow complicated schedules and deadlines, bank accounts and house bonds to crowd out the simple things in life? I had to ask myself, is it purely economic or is it my "Western mentality", my human need to feel "productive"?

The reason for my visit to Malawi was to film some friends of mine who have committed 12 years of their lives to missions. He had an interesting point, "We can adapt to another culture to the point where we exist within it but we will never loose our own." He is an example in the flesh, a project driven individual who seeks to make life easier and more comfortable and more healthy for the people he works amongst. What he does among the people, piping water into villages, installing sanitary slabs for their toilet pits and building sturdier houses could be perceived as the first steps towards technology... does this make him wrong, introducing Western ideas into a community that has functioned adequately for several millennium? Contrary to that, when a local man turns down the offer for a potential income because his crops were good this year... despite the fact that two years ago he was pleading with the same "westerner" for famine relief because his crop failed, does this make him wrong?

There is a fine line between simplicity and productivity? God will most certainly not reward productivity one day when it was at the expense of sleep and healthy family relationships. By the same token, he will not reward the sluggard who does not work to feed his family and accept his lot in life.

I have to admit, I too would look for projects to inspire, motivate and create if I lived within simplicity and maybe that is why I have chosen the "city way". However, I respect and crave what the simple, less complicated, and lets face it, less materialistic side has to offer. It is this contrast that determines who we are, may we be lead by Christ in our determination to find rest in attaining our purpose.