I
n the years I spent overseas
I was very conscious of
how much I had to learn. So
many elements of everyday
life were different: where to
buy certain items, which side
of the road to drive on or how
to follow certain customs of
hospitality. It can be easy to quickly label things
we don't understand as right or wrong in an
attempt to keep everything in the boxes of our
own cultural perspective.
I learned something about this during a visit to the
home of one of my neighbors, Magdalene. For a variety
of reasons, Magdalene found herself on the wrong side
of many things in her family and community. Life was
far from easy for her. As we walked to her home, and
were still some way off, she saw
us. With unashamed joy she ran
to meet us, to welcome us and
share food with us. For a few hours
there was fellowship. Everyone
who passed saw it. Some joined it,
drawn in by that simple but power-
ful testimony of human connection.
As we prepared to leave,
Magdalene kept thanking us. I
asked her what she was thanking
us for. What had these few hours
meant to her? She said simply,
"You came!" And I started thinking
about that. We were not judging,
not fixing, not preaching; we were
in the field that day, together.
I'm conscious of and grateful for
grace in my life. I know this is one
of the most needed and hardest to find gifts that we ex-
tend to each other. I think about the fields I have been
in, and the ones I hope to be in. Meet you there!
In Focus
............
The Field
(S
EVENTH IN THE
S
ERIES
)
APRIL FOSTER
is director of Others � Trade
for Hope (www.tradeforhope.com). In this series
she shares lessons learned from her 29 years in
overseas ministry.
"
Out beyond ideas of
right doing and wrong
doing there is a field...
I'll meet you there.
"
�RUMI
39
The War Cry | FEBRUARY 2016
Walk
Far
by
APRIL JOY FOSTER
"If you want to walk fast,
walk alone.
If you want to walk far,
walk with others"
--AFRICAN PROVERB
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