Well, people who live in the U.S. tend to be a bit insulated from other cultures. The French say that people "look at their own navels". (The idiom doesn't translate well, but you may get the picture.) When we watch the news, it's largely national and local news. It takes something drastic for American news broadcasts to focus on other countries. But when you are a part of a foreign language congregation, you meet people from other cultures. You begin to care about them and see the world as a much more diverse place. In the French congregation, one meets friends from France (bien sûr), Africa (Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, etc.), and a place that feels particularly poignant tonight...Haiti.
We have some friends who moved here from New Jersey to serve in the French group and to help it become a congregation. We have done so, and they remain here, working hard, inspiring, and helping us to grow as people. In meeting and getting to know them, we also got to meet and know her mother, Marie-Thèrese St. Louis. She seemed shy, but once we got to know her she became more open and we all came to be friends. She headed back to Haiti several months ago and was scheduled to come back to the U.S. next month. We are all looking forward to seeing her again.
Then it struck. The earthquake. Haiti appears devastated...and we have no word yet of Marie-Thèrese. All of us are praying that she and her family are safe and sound. We just don't know yet.
But now that I think of it...our world hasn't grown. It has shrunk dramatically, because lands that seemed so distant...so remote...now are a part of our lives. Lands such as Haiti. And people such as Calixte, Nastaha, Nahas, and Marie-Thèrese.
The world doesn't look the same now, and as we meet others, it will look smaller still. And one day, disasters won't happen ever again. Until then, my prayers are with the family, and with the people of Haiti.
3 comments:
It is truly amazing how much your world changes when you join a foreign-language group. Things that once seemed so strange (saturday meeting? no door-to-door?)are now routine. You learn about countries that you couldn't have found on a map if your life depended on it before. You make friends that cross cultural and continental divides. I certainly count my life as being much improved.
I still need to come visit your hall! I want more people to be worried about! And, no, I'm not joking.
You are welcome to come and visit any time.
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