As we’ve shared the news that we’ll be moving to South Africa, the question we most often get is “What are you going to be doing while you’re there?” It’s a natural question, and the first inclination we have is to give an answer that satisfies the question and seems to somehow make sense. But that wouldn’t be the truth. As we had some fellow Africa lovers over for dinner tonight and shared with them our news, they reminded us to forget going with any specific goals or plans, because that’s just not how things work in Africa.
Culturally we are very oriented in our lives by our work. We ask, “What do you do?” as an ice-breaker, and the information we receive allows us to place people into neat little categories in our minds so we can make sense of them. And not only do we “do” life but we also quantify the progress of our actions in various ways, from grades we get in school as a child to the annual review we receive at work. When there’s a problem, we look for a solution, often before thinking through what caused the problem, and questioning whether the solution will be long-lasting. This emphasis on doing misses the mark in so many ways, that it’s hard to see it — it’s so ingrained in how we were taught to operate in the world.
When we think about going to Africa, we know our tendency is to want to do something quantifiable, i.e. build a structure, start a program, etc. Instead of thinking along those lines, we’re trying hard not to think about what we’ll do, but how we’ll be. How will we interact in a way that brings dignity and honor to those we spend time with? How can we be good listeners? How can we be true servants? What does it look like to build deep relationships as part of what we “do” and not feel like we’re being unproductive? These are things that do not come naturally to us—things we’re not good at, things we can get away with not doing well here in the U.S. Culturally, we have so much to learn from the beautiful shining faces. The same faces that suffer from AIDS, poverty, violence, prejudice—all the things that might cause us to pity. Yet somehow these things bring them closer to God—they bring out true faith and trust—we have much to learn.
To answer the question: we’re looking forward to learning a lot.
