Praying for the world

As many of you know some of our dearest friends and family are in Johannesburg, South Africa right now, spending as much time as they can with the students of the University of Witswatersrand. A lot of this time is spent just talking about life, building friendships, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with these students and hopefully being able to draw them into the Campus Outreach community that already exists on the campus. You may have also heard about the riots that began in Joburg a week or two ago and have now spread to other major cities in the country. 42 people are dead and hundreds of thousands displaced because of the burning of the “shanty” towns in which they were living. At the heart of these riots is the long-festering ill will towards immigrants primarily from Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique.
There are about 4 million of them who have come into South Africa seeking jobs because of the state of their own countries (the unemployment in Zimbabwe is up to 80% and they have been in between leaders for a few months now and are still awaiting run-off elections for the next president, so nothing is getting done). Unemployment in South Africa is between 30-40% and there is a strain on all resources-food, water, housing, etc. Thus the “xenophobia” towards those who have come into the country and been taking whatever jobs they can get for lower salaries than the South Africans. Basically, the state of things is not good, but there is not necessarily any reason to fear for our friends from the U.S.

I do want to ask that you all be praying for this situation, and of course for their safety. On the team are David, Jenny, and Julie(my brother and sisters-in-law), Katherine Tarwater, Amber Sansbury, Elisa Carluccio, Lindsey Clark, Robert Binion, Josh Hensley, Kirk Stafford, and Peter Swanson. They also have a blog you can check out: ccpsouthafrica.blogspot.com

We’ve definitely felt the same attitude as this among Argentines toward Paraguayans, Bolivians, Chileans, and others. And, of course, we can all see how it relates to the influx of Mexicans and other Latin Americans to the U.S. I think one of the most valuable things the Lord is showing us through these things we’ve seen and heard is that we so easily dehumanize people by placing them under the most familiar labels of nationality and news and statistics. It’s very difficult for us to remember without first hand encounters with people that they are in fact the same as us. Their love for each other is the same, the value of their families is just as sweet, and their need for food, clean water, and a roof over their heads is no different than our own. They are also created and dearly loved by the same God as each of us.
In an article I was reading on CNN.com, a South African professor was quoted saying, “It’s as if we need to protect our resources. When we talk about a better life for all it was meant for us, not for other people.” This, to me, shines a light on a way of thinking that is pervasive in our world-that national borders are the ultimate definition of unity among our own country’s citizens and division from the rest of the world. I want to ask that all of you join us in praying that we would know more and more our God as a God who is over all the nations, and that we would think of and pray for all human beings as the same as us: with the same hearts created for God and the same basic needs.
Our church here in Buenos Aires has been such an incredible picture of the healing and unity among nationalities and races that knowing Jesus Christ can bring. Each Sunday we worship the Lord and pray with Argentines, Chileans, Colombians, Paraguayans, and Puerto Ricans (these are just the people we’ve met) who have all found salvation in the same God and community in this church. This is the vision for the Kingdom of God that we are laboring for in South America along with our friend Brad Cox (Costa Rica), what the team of our friends is laboring for in South Africa, what our friend Julie is laboring for in China, and the reason our friend Katie is heading to Kosovo. Please pray with us for these people and so many others and the work God is doing through them to bring about eternal peace, joy, and unity in Christ for all of His people of all the nations.
We love you all and are praying for you.