If you know me, you know that the words sustainability, community development, empowerment and dignified employment make my heart sing. When people ask me what I’ll be doing after the race, I point to organizations that facilitate this kind of growth, or I muse about starting my own. The work we are doing on the world race is wonderful, but with only a month in each location, my ultimate goals reach farther than this 11 months. We spend time encouraging, helping and supporting our ministry hosts because THEY are the ones who will be left when we go on, and THEY are the ones doing the heavy lifting. Alongside this work for them and the people we meet, my more personal goal is to gain insight on the culture of each country I serve in, record some observations, and intentionally think about the ways I could fill needs there in the future.
The questions arises then, what are the needs? I am from an entrepreneurship background, so ideation is my first response. What is the problem here? What solution could I provide? What networking would be needed to bring the solution? It’s my internal dialogue as I walk around slums, talk to local business owners, and encounter new pain points. Thinking about ways to help and even writing plans of action helps to remind me that the suffering can be overcome, that it has not won.
One thing I’ve found though, on the race and through other over-seas travel, is that many people seem to think that the way to make countries or communities better is to make them more like the United States. As a nation, we get in lots of trouble for this. Many of our greatest mistakes in foreign affairs have come from the blind assumption that our way is best, and sharing (or forcing) it with others is the best plan of action. From my time abroad, this just isn’t the case. Sure, we may be more financially prosperous, but there is so much more to it than that.
At training camp, we had an afternoon where World Race staff dressed up and acted as if we were in a market scenario; we had to buy our day’s food while simulating the disorientation and chaos of a busy town square. As she sold me my team’s rice, one of the staff members, role-playing as a local, said longingly “I wish I could come to America.” Without skipping a beat I said “Well we would love to have you you’re always welcome, but honestly your country is wonderful. We are blessed to be here! You should be proud.” This staff member came and thanked me personally later, saying that it’s rare to answer that way, and that keeping the dignity of the people in mind is so important. I didn’t understand the weight of this until now. It breaks my heart hearing so many people I meet here say “I wish I could come to America” or “you are from the US, you are so lucky!” when I see so much beauty and hope in their country! There is an subconscious idea of “The American Dream” that should be full of hope, but instead causes envy and in a sense, shame.
I don’t want to be a part of perpetuating this idea. Not only does it down play the dignity of this country, but I just don’t always agree that America’s way is best. I am blessed to live there, and we are forward thinking in many ways, but my hesitation to share our way of life with them is not a lack of generosity. As these countries develop and grow, I hope they move in a BETTER direction. I recently finished Orson Scott Card’s “Speaker for the Dead” and as odd as it sounds, a scene from that resonated with me as I’ve been thinking about this topic.
“Rooter says (she) will teach us everything,” said Cups. “Metal, fire made from rocks, houses made from black water, everything.”
Speaker raised his hands, fended off their babbling. “If you were all very thirsty, and saw that I had water, you’d all ask me for a drink. But what if I knew that the water I had was poisoned?”
“There is no poison in the ships that travel to the stars,” said Human.
“There are many paths to starflight,” said the Speaker. “Some are better than others. I’ll give you everything I can that won’t destroy you.”
Unfortunately, there is no good conclusion to this post. I just hoped to share some of my thoughts lately, since this subject is one I think about often. There is no easy answer. There will always be conflict on how much government should be involved. There will always be conflict on how to best build economies. There will always be conflict on social issues. The only thing that I feel 100% confident sharing is my relationship with Jesus, because it’s the only thing I am confident is worth sharing. As I move forward into figuring out what practical steps are best after the race, I ask that you’ll pray with me that we can generously contribute to the lives of those with less opportunity. Let’s pray that as we try to better the lives of others, we will keep in mind that better does not, and should not, mean more western.
