My orientation to this land was quite nice. I see that there is very little I can do for the precious children that I will be spending my days with, and my heart is really all I have to give. I am excited to give it though, and I am excited to see how my life will intertwine with the Lord's precious orphans. It is just so clear that He loves them dearly that it is quite a privilege to get to love them as well.
In orientation we went through some parallels from the book of Ruth. Ruth being a girl who chose to follow Naomi to an unfamiliar land. Ruth being an outsider and Naomi being an insider. Matt believes that one of the most important tools in doing ministry is communication and the most destructive force in ministry can be communication as well. Just as Ruth followed Naomi and listened to her advice in the new land, I will need to follow the advice of the insiders as well. Matt mentioned some of the local efforts to minister to the orphaned children. They took some of the orphan boys (who are all black) on buses to a revival that was held in a wealthier area. The idea was that the boys would be blessed by the music and the glitzy performance and feel some of the privilege of their white counterparts, but later the boys told Matt, "We NEVER want to do that again. We were just the orphan boys in the corner, and we'll never fit in with the rich white kids." Matt later even found out that one of the wealthy boys turned to one of the younger orphans at some point and said, "hey, I donated those shoes!" An effort to make them feel loved really just made them feel lousy and isolated- major miscommunication and assessment of needs.
Ken, a doctor here in Zim told me a story about these missionaries he knew that went out to a bushmen tribe and tried to educate them on safe sex to lessen the spread of HIV. So they went in and got all the people together and gave out tons of condoms. They told the people the condoms would stop the disease from spreading and used a stick to demonstrate how to put one on. They left and heard some time later that nothing good had come out of their training. So, they went back to the village to talk to the people and the men said, "we are doing what you told us. Every time we lay with our wives, we take out our stick and put a condom on it."- miscommunication. So, the missionaries gave a proper demonstration and got rid of the stick. Now the bushmen knew the correct place for a condom, but some time later the missionaries again heard that it was not working as effectively as hoped. So they went back and as they drove down the path, all the men came running to meet them. And as they got closer, the missionaries saw that the usually stark naked bushmen were this time all wearing a condom!-miscommunication.
It is very easy to miscommunicate when you are an outsider, or to properly assess the needs of the people you are trying to serve. And studies show that to really become an insider takes about 2 years! To become an insider you must fully understand and embrace the culture, just as Ruth told Naomi "your people will be my people and your God will be my God." It is sometimes hard to seperate culture from spiritual beliefs because they both combine to make up a persons perspective and behavior, but it is crucial to do so. For me, there is no need to teach these young children about Western culture, but the utmost need for them to know that the God who created them loves them dearly.
So, that was the bulk of my orientation and it was so nice to hear! The heartbeat of the people I am working with greatly reflects my heart for ministry and I am really looking forward to learning and serving with them. I think it is a great reminder no matter where you are called to make sure you are communicating the heart of the message. Make sure you are respecting the culture and the nature of the people you are trying to love. And try to express the essence of your heart and feelings rather than the parts of your life that just may not be relevant to them. For instance, my testimony and in many ways, my easy life, may not be relevant to the orphans here, but the God that I know and love sure is!
I pray that we are all given wisdom and an open heart as we love and serve God this summer!
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