After few weeks in Beira, Mozambique two things were very obvious. We stood out and people made it a point to let us know. The other was that they didn’t feel comfortable having us around. Most of the time we spent our time inside our ministry. Within the walls of Kedesh we ate, worked, played, and poured our hearts out. The kids made it easy to be contempt with staying inside. But like most times with traveling, we found the need to explore a little. We were advised in advance about the possibility of being over charged on products and services. We were told that sadly when people are friendly it’s because they are measuring you up to see if they could pick pocket you. There were stories about people who had the shoulder straps cut in order to steal someones backpack. Needless to say, we were a little skeptical stepping out on our own.
As we rode around in a van with 17 people that seating was for 12, we looked out of place. Riding in a Tchapela for 3 with 5 people, others notices. As we rode back home, we laughed so much about the experience that when it was directed at pedestrians, the smiled and laughed with/at us. The next time I went out I thought about those smile we attracted. I thought about all the people that have complemented me about my smile. I always thought it was something nice people just say so I went along with it. And them one of my squad leaders told me something before we left the States. He said that I had a quality about me to be able to set the tone and atmosphere around me. I choose right then that I would yield to the side of faith over fear.
As I reflect back on some of the people I met and some of the friendships I made, I see that offering trust first was key in truly giving love to others. I know that not every time or everyone is innocent but I also know that not everyone deserves to be treated as a threat because of stories of a few bad ones.
