Every time I have the joy of spending extended time in Africa, I find my heart is full. It is such a privilege to stand with people of power and wonder who live and serve in vulnerable communities. I come back deeply encouraged about what it means to follow Jesus. There is an account in the Gospel of John, where Philip states a universal desire – Show us the Father (God), and we will be content. Jesus answers in a unique way—he states that he is in God and God is in him, and then says, “If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works.” The words from John resonate with me. There is something that happens in my spirit when I see the works of God that births faith and hope.
During a recent visit, we were immersed in communities where the works of Jesus are plain to see. No water? It is the followers of Jesus who fund and hand-dig wells. No schools? It is the followers of Jesus who start schools under trees, and these eventually grow into schools in buildings. And the schools are for everyone – no matter your faith, your tribe, or your economic status. Traveling to Africa and being with our partners there, saves me from the disillusionment of big words and disappointing actions, to hope through the simplicity of feeding the hungry, educating those with no opportunities, providing access to a clinic for those with no health services and words of hope that there is a God who loves us and a place of support and fellowship under trees, drinking chai, and maybe eating a Mandazi (Tanzanian donut)
I met with Grandma Anna from Enguseru again – we have no common language, but we know each other. She was one of the two grandmas who walked 20 km over a couple of days to meet with a pastor. Their simple faith was that when the people of God get involved, things will change. And they would not leave the pastor’s house until they had also met his wife, because they said, “Women make things happen.” And now the school exists. “Greater works”, Jesus said. That school will educate children for generations, allowing them to learn, grow, and discover how to use their gifts.
I titled this article “Advocating for People Investment”. This can be called capacity training or leadership development. Recently, I was talking to a friend in South Africa. She had been part of our new government after independence and had the opportunity to talk with Kadar Asmal, a leader and hero of the struggle against apartheid. He stated that the greatest failure of the liberation movement of South Africa was leadership development. While fighting apartheid and then governing the new South Africa, they did not invest in future leaders. Not enough. Not as a priority.
Our commitment in Loom is to do the work, to stand with partners as they do the greater works. To raise funds, connect people, and build schools and clinics so all humanity thrives. We have to invest in people and in training to see thinking change and values solidified. We have to ensure that twenty years from now, the child who sat in a classroom and was taught by a teacher will raise their children well, take care of the marginalized and the vulnerable, start a business, and not just fall into the trap of financial success and self-preservation.
I am so grateful for the work being done as people from different countries partner together. I am grateful for houses being built for widows and for schools being built in rural, forgotten areas. I want to ensure that this continues for the next hundred years, when we are all gone. Please pray for our work in capacity training, in investing in people that they will bear fruit that remains and sustainable change will be like the waves of the ocean – never ending.
