WHICH WEB DO I SURF?

Yesterday, I got a phone call from my wife, Jana that required my immediate attention. One of our children had a minor medical issue arise and we needed to think through the implications. Next week, will be a school break; and a trip to Nairobi or Kampala to visit a doctor while shopping, seeing the movies, and taking in the night life sounds like a pleasant break. I hate to admit it, but the timing was impeccable. I wish my kids would always time their crises this well.

Jana quickly got on the phone to her Kenyan roots to see if any doctors she knew would be available. All that she called were out of town for the week. Thus it was my turn to surf my Uganda relationship network. Thank God for mobile phones and the cheap price of an SMS.

I knew the doctor I wanted to see, but it had been 5 years since we had seen him last. I’ve gone through 3 computers since then so his e-mail address is out of date and no longer in my address book. I don’t know how many times I’ve changed phones in 5 years so I don’t have his phone number either.

However, I still possess an African equivalent to a Gold Master Card. I have lots of friends. Surely, one of my friends could put me in touch with another old friend. Thus my relationship debt accountant went into 30 minute frenzy.

First, let’s try the neighborhood route. I scanned my phone addresses and found a Uganda friend who lived in the same neighborhood as my old doctor friend. I fired off an SMS asking if my doctor’s neighbor had my doctor’s contacts. I sat for a minute with no reply, and started to smell the aroma of Khana Kazana.

I can’t let this opportunity slip by me. If not a neighbor, maybe a professional acquaintance would know the number. I sent an SMS to another Uganda doctor friend, but again I received no quick reply. I started longing to listen to a Uganda radio debate, and knew I needed to try another route.

Maybe, I could find another consumer? I quickly found the contact of a Uganda friend with children. Maybe, she would have my doctor friend’s contacts. Off went my next SMS. A few minutes later my phone was still silent. I counted the grocery bill I’d save at Uchumi; and decided I need to try another route.

I hated myself for my next move, but I did it anyway. I sent a note to a friend who shared my doctor’s ethnicity and economic class. Surely, he’d know how to find my doctor friend. Again, my phone was silent; and I remembered the last time I had taken in a movie. It was time for a desperate measure.

My doctor friend had grown up in Dar Es Salaam during the 1970’s. I knew a couple others in Uganda who had spent the 70’s in Dar. Surely they’d know the contact. Off went my last attempt to find my doctor friend’s contacts.

Then the phone rang. My clever bride had discovered a new web of information called Google. She typed in our doctor friend’s name, hit enter, and within seconds had the contact. A few minutes later she was on the phone, and she called to inform me that the appointment was made while I was still waiting for my relationship web to produce. (However, 30 minutes later I had 3 replies with the information I required.)

Now I get why this ICT stuff makes so much sense. I’m a dinosaur relying on my complex web of relationships to keep me informed and solve my problems. If I fail to keep some piece of information surely there is a friend who has just what I need. I may replace my computer or phone when it gets old, but I’ll keep banking in social debt and making friends until I die.

Maybe, I need to get on board. Friends are more than just a network of personal problem solvers. The internet can replace them as my network of information. In fact, maybe both my friends and I would be better people if we relied a little less on each other for personal problem solving. I think this ICT stuff may have a point.

Yet, Google and its cousin Face Book will never do some key parts of life. They can’t share a meal, hold me while I grief, dance with me in celebration, and give me a discrete piece of advice. Nor can these ICT wonders tell me who should be my business partners. Discernment and good judgment are still best face to face.

Next week, I’ll be in Kampala making sure my daughter is well. I’ll trust an old doctor friend who has shown himself trustworthy. I won’t trade that for anything. However, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll give my friends the space to be friends, and use them as my savings account a little less. Hopefully, we’ll all be better people in the end.

Come run with me.

Dave Jenkins

WHAT ABOUT VULNERABLE CHILDREN?

I've gone on a long journey for many years wrestling with what is our responsibility for vulnerable children. I've adopted 2 children, been an advocate for more adoptions, at one time sponsored 200 children to attend school, employed lots of people, facilitated many university scholarships, and started a school. I could make a nice CV about what I've done, but I find it has been short.

Though I've done what some may consider a great amount I emotionally avoid engagement. I don't go to orphanages and pretend I don't see street children. I've grown weary of unending problems and dependency. I'm weary of short sighted projects. I'm weary of expatriates who are unwilling to commit themselves, but put band aids on problems and snap photos to send back home as they request more money.

I've thrown my life in Rwanda into a vision of developing leadership that will be a source of transformation for generations. I'm convinced I can't be an advocate of the poor if I am not for the establishment of the middle class.

I tend to work with statistics to discern if my intuition is correct. I put some startling statistics together 2 months ago.

• 1 % of population has attended any type of Post-Secondary Education.
• 3% of Rwanda's population could be considered middle class (A/B audience) by Rwanda's media. (About 300,000 people or 50,000 households)

• 34 % of households are headed by widows.
• 13 % of households are headed by children.
• 26 % of the population under the age of 14 are orphans (Somewhere between 825,000 and 1,000,000 children).

Do you see the problem? I don't think it will be possible for Rwanda to become a middle income nation if we don't effectively deal with these vulnerable children. They will become an economic weight that will break all gains. Also, many are under the age of 15 and thus were born after 1994. Given the genocide was a major factor that created this dilemma, but we are now dealing with the second generation of this phenomena and a cyclical problem is developing.

Though some may consider me seasoned, I’m not an expert. However, let me offer three principles that may have some merit in addressing the issue of vulnerable children.

The first comes from the UN Geneva Convention. It is “Every child has a right to a family.” This seems to make perfect sense. In fact a popular African proverb states, “There are no orphans in Africa.” The extended family is to take care of all. None should fall through the cracks. However, children are falling through the cracks. I advocate adoption as a partial answer to the problem of vulnerable children in Rwanda. However, raising the issue of adoption raises certain questions. A few may even whisper, “Can a parent love his adopted children as much as his biological children?” Let me from experience say clearly, “No. Jana and I love our adopted children, Ruth and Timothy, much more than our three biological children.” (Please tolerate my humor, but I really am proud of my adopted kids.)

My second principle is programs can not undermine community institutions such as families, churches, and schools. It is far too easy to in a hurry set up a program that inadvertently undermines the community institutions that have the capacity to solve the problem. A few years ago, a colleague of mine said, “If you want to increase the number of orphans in a community start an orphanage.” Though we may chose that a new institution is required to solve this problem, we cannot in any way set in course a chain of events that undermine the fundamental institutions of community.

The last uncompromising principle is that this problem requires commitment for the full education of children and their incorporation as proactive members of society. We should do no projects that are not comprehensive in scope. Thus my solutions would be about the building of three basic institutions – families, schools, and businesses. Vulnerable children can not be isolated from community. Values are taught in families and we must creatively find ways for vulnerable children to become part of families. Schools provide the intellectual tools of knowledge and creativity. Vulnerable children must be in school and learn the tools of self-reliance instead of despair and dependency. Lastly, this issue will not be solved quickly. The creation of new businesses to generate wealth, jobs, and cycles of economic growth are fundamental. Donor dollars, emotional appeals, and short-term projects have failed. It’s time to find an answer within our community with our own resources.

Dave Jenkins

Too Busy for Church?

Thank you for all of you who have expressed your prayers and concern as Jana has been in the U.S. for medical treatment. This week we had pleasant news as the mass that was previously seen appears to be gone. Jana will still likely have surgery, but some areas of concern are relieved. God is showing His abundant care through this season.

This week we will begin a series of lessons called “Distant Diaspora Voices.” We will listen to those voices we frequently don’t want to hear. These are the voices that remind us of our most basic commitments and responsibilities. When we try to create an illusion that dilutes our responsibility these voices call us back to reality.

We will take a look at one of history’s great Diaspora experiences that took place roughly 2,500 years ago. A nation was scattered in a tragic military defeat. Their homeland was small, but at the cross-roads of regional commerce. Their small homeland was a fertile well watered highland. Before going into exile their marriages were polygamous. Their religion knew the stories of a single creator God full of gentle kindness in His covenants. However, they struggled with borrowing the gods of the nations that surrounded them. Their livelihood was from agriculture.

During their time in exile everything changed. Their religion became their mark of identification and they became devoted to their one creator God. They did not possess their own land so they became successful middle class entrepreneurs. They married and produced children. Their children acquired the skills and habits of the nations in which they had been exiled. Due to their economic shifting they no longer practiced polygamy. Though they changed as a people they still kept their language, dance, and culture of home. They never forgot who they were or where they came from.

After three generations of exile the international scene shifted and they returned home. As they came home they were filled with hope, enthusiasm, and an unstoppable work ethic. The nations that surrounded them were full of jealousy and continued to undermine their best efforts. Thus they threw their whole being into building an urban middle class population. They labored for the business and built homes to imitate what they had experienced in exile.

Yet something was missing. Their labor never quite acquired what they longed for. There was always a need for more. The biggest hole in their lives was their busyness. In fact, though they defined themselves by their religion they did not have the time for church.

Sound familiar?

This week, we’ll listen to our first Distant Diaspora Voice. Are we really too busy for church? Or is there something about those faith communities that are absolutely essential for a building Diaspora?

I hope to see you this Sunday,

Imana ikurinde,

Dave Jenkins

P.S. After our worship this Sunday CCR will offer our Beginnings Class. This is where we explain our CCR vision and how you can become a member. The class will take about 3 hours. We’ll provide a light lunch and child care if needed.

English Training

Hello. Beginning this week, we will have a group of six Let's Start Talking workers at Christ's Church in Rwanda to help with conversational English skills. This program is for




–Business Professionals
–Government officials
–Active university students

- N.G.O. Professionals

Please contact Bryan or Holly Hixson (number below or e-mail) for more information. Please fill out the attached application and return to Bryan or Holly by Wednesday, 20 May.

Dr. Holly Hixson
Director, ROC Education Projects
0788232785
+250788232785 (if calling internationally)

Want to Sing Better?

If you are interested in learning how to use your voice to its fullest potential, please join us for an all day seminar at Christ’s Church in Rwanda - Gaculiro on Saturday, April 25th. Barbara Bennett has given concerts and taught singing seminars throughout the world. If you are interested in singing and music you won't want to miss out on this time. On Saturday afternoon from 1:30-3:30 PM, Barbara will teach us how to sing with confidence and strength. During the second afternoon session from 4:00-6:00 PM, she will talk about what it means to be a true worshiper, both in and outside the church. There will be a 1,000 franc fee. We look forward to having you join us.

Please e-mail or call me if you are interested (holly.hixson@gmail.com or 0788232785).

Thanks.

Holly

Can Freedom Be Taken Too Far?

I hope as we've gone through a week of paradox you have found hope. I hope as 2009's calendar placed the Week of Mourning and the Week of Christ's Passion together you found in the story of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection a God who is near and suffers with us. I hope that today as we celebrated Christ's resurrection you were able to discover a greater measure of life. This morning's gentle rain reminded me of God's desire to bring new life.

This coming Sunday, we'll turn back to our discovery of freedom in Paul's letter to a group of churches in the Roman province of Galatia.

Many of you have sharpened my thinking on this journey. Frequently, you've asked some questions related to freedom being taken to far. Some of us have seen the most horrendous behavior in churches. The Week of Mourning reminds us that in Rwanda's history the community that should have been the guardian of life instead became an accomplice in genocide. A friend of mine once candidly told me, "I hate churches." As I listened to his story I could easily understand why he had such feelings of anger.

I've never seen a church become a place of violence, but I've frequently seen it become a place filled with back biting and division. I've also seen it on occasion become a perpetrator of ethnic or racial prejudice. A strange dynamic I have observed is that sometimes churches that throw off the shackles of rule keeping become filled with sin. Freedom should bring a community of love, but sometimes instead freedom is used to promote selfish agendas.

Paul was dealing with these dynamics of ethnic prejudice when he wrote Galatians. Some in the church were dividing people along ethnic lines and they used church rules to promote their own prejudice.

An easy temptation for Paul could have been to create another set of rules. Instead Paul shifts his argument back to two keys for our personal and community health. The first key is love. The second is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

This week we'll spend some time looking at one of humanity's oldest principles of ethics. This is to love our neighbors as our self. Paul quotes the Old Testament as he makes the argument. Jesus also made this his base of ethics. In fact those who study world religions find this principle in all religions. Something inside our humanity knows sacrificial love is the answer to a community wracked by anger, hatred, and prejudice.

History shows that the principle of treating others as we would want to be treated has transformed nations. The former United States President John Kennedy quoted this principle when he decided to force the University of Alabama to admit black students. He understood that the true test of freedom was our ability to love beyond our prejudices.

It seems that today we also must have the courage to embrace freedom motivated by love.

I hope to see you this coming Sunday as we continue our journey.

Imana ikurinde,

Dave Jenkins

P.S. If you would like to join CCR as a member or learn more about our vision please stay after worship this coming Sunday to join us for our Beginnings Class. We'll provide a light lunch. Also, we can provide child care if needed.

Hope in Grief

The next week will be one of the most difficult weeks of the year as we remember the Genocide. Tomorrow morning we’ll take some time at 8:00 to begin praying for healing as we enter a season of grief.

This past Sunday we began the Passion Week at CCR. We celebrated Palm Sunday. Approximately, 2000 years ago Jesus of Nazareth entered Jerusalem as a King of Peace. Life is full of perplexing paradoxes. Five days later, Jerusalem turned upon Jesus and crucified him.

It seems to me that the intersection of the Passion Week and the Week of Mourning in 2009 is a mark of God’s desire to bring healing.

Jesus spoke of our need to grieve when he stated, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).”

Jesus modeled compassion when he wept for the family at the loss of his dear friend, Lazarus (John 11:33-35). At that moment he proclaimed that death would not be the final matter. Then he raised Lazarus from the dead.

A few days later, Jesus faced death; but in 3 days triumphed over death. Now, history counts itself based upon the historic reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Everything changed.



It is this strange paradox of life that we must continually undergo in order to be whole people. We must both grieve and celebrate.

This week I invite you to join us in this paradox at CCR.

On Friday, 10 April we will remember the death of Jesus with our Good Friday service at 3:00 p.m. I believe that as we ask the question, “Where is God when we suffer?” We find that God is in human form as Jesus suffering with us.

Three days later, we’ll stare at an empty grave. I believe the best evidence proclaims Jesus of Nazareth is God himself and He conquered death. On Easter Sunday, 12 April we will celebrate resurrection. I believe this historical reality fills us with hope in our process of grief.

I hope you will be able to join us in this journey.

Imana ikurinde,

Dave Jenkins