One of our early church experiences in Maputo, Mozambique was a stretching one for me. I grew up in the protestant churches, where we used lots of tiny individual cups for the communion service. Deacons filled the cups with grape juice, representing the blood of Christ, and passed them around for individuals to take. Next they passed out the wafers or crackers that represented the body of Christ. I had never experienced sharing one cup for communion. Visiting Churches Early On One... Read more
If he were alive today, what would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. say about all the craziness we’ve seen so far in 2021? Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure, but it might be interesting to think about based on what we know of history. Historical Context: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I can always remember which year President John F. Kennedy was assassinated because it happened the year I was born, 1963. Within the next five... Read more
I remember the first night we heard the drums. Upon arrival in Maputo we were so exhausted we probably didn’t hear much of anything. But soon after traveling from Louisville, Ky., to Chicago to London to Johannesburg, South Africa, to Maputo, Mozambique, with three children, fourteen tubs, six carry-ons, and countless farewells, the culture shock hit. Within days after our plane landed, we heard the drums. We were told these were the drums of the “witch doctor.” And as I... Read more
Sometimes we think we know what’s going on, but we don’t. We assume the situation could only be as it appears on the surface, but if we look into it further, we may find we don’t know what we think we know. A Conversation at the Mosque One afternoon, my husband Martin was leading a group of Christians on a tour of a local mosque. As president of a peacemaking organization, he promotes relationships between groups of different faiths. When... Read more
Dang it, I would have to practice what I taught to my students. Why did I always teach them to love the outsider and stand with the oppressed? I was invited to the Mosque. As a Christian, did I truly need to go? My tribe is Christian and we’re supposed to imitate Jesus. Jesus shared meals and spent time with quite a diverse group of people, and his enemies criticized him for it. He engaged in conversation with the Samaritan... Read more
In some ways, 2020 has been like a long, difficult pregnancy, but I’m hoping to give birth to God’s dreams in 2021. Do you have a word for 2021? My word is “birth.” About this time last year, I heard the idea of choosing one word as a focus for the year to come. So, in January of 2020, I chose the word “breathe.” Last year, I planned to breathe in the blessings of God—the word “inspire” means “to breathe... Read more
Learning to Love God by Loving Others
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