One man’s mission field is another’s land of opportunity.
I realized this in a fresh way as I was interacting with some immigrants to South Africa from Malawi.
They were telling me about their home nation, Malawi. The common descriptions were of a lush, green, and beautiful nation which was peaceful.
They left their homeland for South Africa, also a beautiful land. But on the day I was having this conversation, we were bracing ourselves though near gale force winds blowing sand through every opening on buildings. You could hear their longing for home in their voices.
And, they remarked often how they had left safety for crime. These immigrants left home to live in shacks in an impoverished, crime ridden community.
A community which I consider to be a part of my mission field.
Why you ask?
“There are no jobs in Malawi”
These middle class Malawians left peace and safety to become impoverished foreigners in a land which often projects xenophobia (fear of the foreigners) onto those with different passports.
All this to have a chance to work.
- They gave up peace and relinquished better houses.
- They chose to move far from family, often leaving behind spouses and children.
South Africa is my mission field. But to these beautiful people from Malawi, it is a land of opportunity.
One man’s nation in need of “missions” is another’s land of opportunity.
As I got to know these natives of Malawi, I found myself wondering why they chose this life. What drives educated folk to choose a downgrade in lifestyle in hopes of climbing higher in the future?
In my years in South Africa, I’ve met Zimbabwean doctors and Rwandan lawyers cleaning houses and washing cars. Often they fled political turmoil or tyrannical dictators for a crime-ridden, but governmentally stable nation.
I get this. Sad as it is, I can make sense of it.
But leaving a family in a peaceful land is harder for me to grasp.
I came away struck by the power of hope. These people left home in search of a better life.
In my nation, we call that the “American dream.”
I found myself so drawn to the hope these saints carried in their hearts.
In this time of year, Christmas, we speak often of the power of hope. Here was a tangible example of that hope.
I have hope to see transformation in South Africa which motivates me to serve here.
My friends share a similar hope that South Africa will be a land which provides their families a brighter future.
This is a lesson I do not want to forget.
One man’s mission field is another’s land of opportunity.
May God bless South Africa as well as the immigrants and refugees seeking a better life within her borders.
Photo credit: liquidnight via photopin cc
