October 27, 2023
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE
Dan Selock
Volunteer, Illinois
"He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." - Ephesians 4:13
I have learned much about the essence of being human through Tom and Jocelyn Logan. The wells installed by MMM have enabled over five million villagers to have safe drinking water. Only a small number of them have ever had safe drinking water, “since the beginning of mankind,” according to one of the village elders my wife, Susie, and I met in Malawi in 2016.
The wells belong to the villagers; we were only there to assist. Only together, Africans and Americans, were we able to be who God created us to be. Only together did safe drinking water become available to thousands of villagers. Together, people of color and white people actualized a dream, became friends and established relationships, and served one another. Together, we sang songs and praised God for His goodness. The verses to one song are, “Who will enter into Heaven? Our Father is there. Only the holy will enter. You are holy. Enter into Heaven. Our Father is there.” Susie and I felt we had entered into Heaven for those moments of the song. Gestures of love from God’s children are powerful. The people of Malawi have such open and warm hearts.
Our experience in Malawi illustrates how people who are different can effectively come together and achieve a dream. In the United States the “American Dream” is at stake. The only way people of color and white people can actualize that dream is to become friends, establish relationships, and work together, as we did in Africa. The time for such an encounter is now; it is long past due. And, if we do not succeed today, what kind of world will our children and grandchildren inhabit tomorrow?
Application Question: How will I reach out to build relationships with people who are different from me? How can I demonstrate Ubuntu?
Prayer: Ubuntu; I am who I am because of who we all are. Many of us know very little about people who are different. Only through relationship building can we learn who we all are and, as a consequence, learn who each one of us are. I am because we are. Amen
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