Long Walk To Freedom

Since we've been in South Africa, I've been trying to speed read my way through Nelson Mandela's, Long Walk To Freedom. It's massive and weighty and often deeply disturbing. But it's also hopeful. Let me share three excerpts toward the end of the book that I found particularly moving. By the way, last week we were in Port Elizabeth which is the area of Mandela's childhood. This week we are staying in a friend's place outside of Capetown and tomorrow will visit Robben Island, where Mandela spent most of his 27 year imprisonment. He was released on February 11, 1990.

Not long after his release, Mandela went on a six-week long journey to Europe and North America. After meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Mulroney, the small jet carrying Mandela, stopped for refueling in a remote place north of the Arctic Circle called Goose Bay. He writes,

" I felt like having a walk in the brisk air, and as I was strolling on the tarmac, I noticed some people standing by the airport fence. I asked a Canadian official who they were. 'Eskimos,' he said. In my seventy two years on earth I had never met an Innuit, and never imagined that I would. I headed over to that fence and found a dozen or so young people in their late teens who had come out to the airport because they had heard our plane was going to stop there. As a boy I had read about the Innuit (the name 'Eskimo' was given to them by the colonists), and the impression I received was that they were a very backward people. But in talking with these bright young people, I learned that they had watched my release on television and were familiar with events in South Africa. 'Viva, ANC!' one of them said."

I'm not sure exactly why, but I find this little story hopeful. Perhaps it's the politically engaged young people or the solidarity found among those with similar struggles. It also affirms Mandela's character as a leader who relentlessly tried to stay connected to "the people."

In reflecting on his inauguration, Mandela writes about his belief that transformation was happening in his country not only because of great political heroes, but because of the courage of ordinary men and women.

"I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love....Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going."

Mandela concludes his amazing memoir with these words,

"[T]o be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others......I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended."



Again, here are a few photos. Some are of beautiful landscapes here in SA. Some are of my husband, who has given me so much support and freedom in this time of sabbatical. I must say, he has done a marvelous job of driving me around unfamiliar places in South Africa, on the left side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right and manual stick shift on the left. What a guy!

Hope and hospitality.

"I understand hospitality as the practice of God’s welcome, embodied in our actions as we reach across difference to participate with God in bringing justice and healing to our world in crisis." Letty M Russel, in her book - Just Hospitality

I would change this definition of hospitality only slightly and add "hope" to what we bring to our world as we practice hospitality.

Two bright themes threaded throughout our African journey, perhaps not surprisingly, have indeed been hope and hospitality. Our time with the Gimbas in Mozambique, was no exception.

Istifanus and Esther Gimba fetched us at the Lilongwe airport. Soon we were on a trek toward their home in Tete. We cannot say enough about their welcome and embrace and the excellent food we enjoyed. Yet, "a world in crisis" was also a theme that could not be ignored.

Some of you know that the Gimbas are Nigerian. While we were with them in Mozambique terrible atrocities were acted out in Nigeria and they were receiving frequent messages from home requesting fervent prayer for their families and nation. We prayed together often and were moved by the prayers of their daughter, Hannah, for not only the victims but also the perpetrators of these violent acts. It made us cognizant that there in lies our only hope. Our hope is in the God who hears our prayers, no matter our age, location, or ability to understand the world's sometimes horrible complexities. Our hope is in the God who has not left us to our murderous, selfish, sinful selves but has come to us in Christ and invites us to follow Christ's way of shalom.

Traveling in Africa is a reminder of the tremendous differences among the people of our world. In each country we've visited there are many languages spoken. Currently we are in South Africa which has eleven official languages and countless other non-official languages spoken. Yet, living hospitality, demonstrating the loving embrace of God, means recognizing something greater and deeper than our obvious differences. It calls for constantly looking for ways to include and empower those who, like me, are created in the image of God, created to flourish and to be a part of God's New Creation already breaking into this world. It's exciting and encouraging to see this happening in places like Tete, Mozambique, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, as well as on the corner of Neland and Watkins, Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is an incredible privilege to join with Christians in another part of the world in praying for God's Kingdom to come and will be done, in ALL the earth as it is heaven.

Pictures
1. Esther and Hannah Gimba. Wonderful cooks! Beautifully hospitable!
2. Corn storage is often a challenge. This is a common storage crib.
3. Walking through the village toward the farms.
4. A thankful farmer.
5. Examining some of the new farming techniques.
6. Women sifting the corn in preparation for grinding it. The porridge-like food the corn eventually becomes is mainstay of the diet.
7. Greg couldn't help but fix a few things around the Gimba's home.

Back to Kenya

"When Jeremiah saw the vision of the presence of God suspended over Babylon as well as over Jerusalem, he realized that he had to give up everything he had ever thought about Israel, about God, about the world. Until that moment, a Jerusalemite, he had been convinced that YHWH shone about Jerusalem alone and for the Jews only. But now, seeing the presence of God poised protectively over Babylon ... he also realized that what he got instead was a God who was greater, a people that was broader, and a world that was holier than he had ever imagined."

"The "other" is the one who teaches us that we are not the whole world. We are only a piece of it waiting for the "Other" to make us more than we were when we began. Alleluia."

These words were written by Rowan Williams and Joan Chittister, from their book, For All That Has Been, Thanks (Growing a Sense of Gratitude)

"The more insignificant your brother, the stronger Jesus comes to the fore." St. Chrysostom.


On our travels in Kenya, Greg and I were given the gift of glimpsing a God who is greater, a people that is broader, and a world that is holier than we had ever imagined.

It happened mostly in Hannah's garden. Hannah is a farmer. At the death of her brother, for whom she had faithfully cared for many years, Hannah received a small piece of land. Through a local partner (the Anglican Church) of CRWRC, she learned about something called conservation gardening. Hannah employed every strategy she could, including using compost and manure instead of expensive fertilizer. She mulched her garden and planted to optimally utilize the land available to her. She told us her plants were not looking "smart" right now because it hadn't rained for 2 weeks and the pipe that sometimes brought water from the city was broken. Despite this, Hannah was very hopeful her garden would flourish - as rain was expected soon and if it didn't come she could now afford to purchase some water if needed. Hannah exuded joy and confidence in what she had accomplished, yet gave the glory and thanks to God. Along with James from CRWRC and Lois from the local partner, Greg and I held hands with Hannah (reminding us that our faith family is broader than we imagined), in the middle of her garden (a place holier than we imagined), and prayed a prayer of thanks to the God who is greater than any of us can imagine.

Hannah sent us off with gifts of produce from her garden. Hospitality beyond measure.

While in Kenya we also met up with Davis Omanyo, other CRWRC staff from Kenya, as well as a friend, Anna Katavi, who works with the Timothy Institute in east and southern Africa.

We are thankful for the work they do and pray that God will continue to smile on each one of them, on Hannah, and on God's image bearers in all of Kenya.

Again, pictures.
1. Before going to Hannah's garden, we sat in on a training for conservation farming.
2.The group was so welcoming and gave gifts of mangos to us.
3. Davis Omanyo works for CRWRC in Uganda. Neland is one of his supporting churches.
4. James Mwangi (CRWRC) and Anna Katavi (Timothy Institute).
5. Hannah and her farm. The picture doesn't do justice to Hannah's garden as it doesn't include the large part that was flourishing the most. Hannah also raises rabbits and chickens to sell in the market.

Full Day

I wrote this post a week ago and have been unable to send it due to the remote regions we were inhabiting. :)

We're back in touch and hope to post again soon.

Jan 27, 2012
Today we had breakfast in Kenya, lunch in Malawi, and dinner in Mozambique. We left the dry, dusty roads of Nairobi and entered again into the lush landscape of Mozambique (through Malawi) in the midst of rainy season. Beautiful! This time we've come to a part of the country we haven't seen before. We are in Tete province, hosted by our friends Istifanus and Esther Gimba. They work for CRWRC here and are eager to show us the development work being done in collaboration with their partner, Igresia Reformada do Mocambique. They are gracious hosts.

We also have many stories to tell from our time in Kenya but internet access and time to write have been scarce. Enjoy these photos taken with our IPad. We're unable to down load pictures from our camera currently as we need to purchase a new cable (available when we get to South Africa).
1. A stop on the side of the road to buy mangos brought spectators.
2. Wish you could have seen their faces after they saw themselves in the photo on the IPad.
3. Larry and Linda McAuley, and Istifanus and Esther Gimba. CRWRC staff in Malawi and Mozambique.
4. Lunch with the Gimbas.