Every Tongue

The importance of listening before doing

Mark — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:55:32 +0000

There is a huge amount of thought, energy and money that goes into development work in Africa and other places around the world, but every now and then one comes across efforts for which the best that can be said is that they were born from good intentions. This morning on twitter I came across a post of the 7 worst international aid ideas.

These bad ideas range from sending a million t-shirts, or thousands of pairs of shoes, to Africa (thus putting local traders out of business), to restricting the use of aid to achieve certain apparently unrelated business or political goals, to even taking up arms to rescue abducted children. (You can read more about these 7 ideas, and why each is so bad, in the original post).

Some of these examples of bad aid are simply a veneer of “helping” when the real motivation is selfish gain. But the majority are people who have very good intentions, but just get things majorly and seriously wrong.

Why does this happen?

I also read an apparently unrelated post this morning from Skye Jethani about how Jesus teaches that Christians should be discerning, but not judge people. He concludes that

Judgment causes us to see the other not as a person, but as a thing – as less human and therefore less valuable. And once we do that to a person, or a group of people, it opens the door to all kinds of terrible evil – segregation, injustice, abuse, even genocide. Jesus is warning us about excluding anyone, or seeing ourselves or our group as inherently better than any other. We may disagree and discern another person or group to be wrong – but when that discernment causes us to value another person or group less, then we’ve crossed the line into judgment, condemnation, and exclusion.

I wonder if that is what is happening in these examples of bad aid. Are we judging others, deciding that they are helpless and needy, and concluding that therefore we should just do whatever we can? Are we judging that they have no relevant opinions, or worse, that their opinions are not worth listening to? Do we judge ourselves to be better than others – because we are wealthy, have a certain type of education, or live in a certain political system – and then conclude that we have the answers to their problems? The irony is that many of our “solutions” are things that we would never dream of allowing in our own country (providing free meals for impoverished British school-children only if someone “likes” a Facebook page? Importing hundreds of thousands of free foreign-made cars for all the poor Americans who can’t afford ones made in America?) but apparently it’s ok for “those poor people”.

As Laura and I work with minority language communities we need to be very careful that we are not judging people. We need to bear in mind cultural distinctives and generalities, but also be very aware that each person and each community has unique and valid views of the world, and that they are inevitably much more knowledgeable about their own unique situation than we are!

We have come to Tanzania with certain skills, and with an organisation that has certain areas of expertise. While we are convinced of the value of certain things like mother-tongue education, and of churches having the Bible available in local languages, we cannot assume that we therefore know the best way to achieve these things in a particular situation, or even that these things are a priority for a community at this particular moment in time. We need to listen to communities, to their desires, to their ideas, contributing out perspectives and working out together whether our skills and expertise will be able to benefit them in any way. If so, then we need to work closely with them to determine what might be the best way forward. If not, we need to respect their desires and move on.

I think that it’s very easy for us to judge other people, and to sub-consciously regard them as inferior to ourselves. And I think this is particularly easy when we have good intentions of helping others. My challenge for today is to see myself and others as we really are, and to humbly listen to those who are very different to myself.

Kujifunza Kiswahili – Learning Swahili

Mark — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:35:56 +0000

One of the most crucial parts of our adapting to living in Tanzania is being able to speak the national language – Swahili – to a reasonable level. Having spent 3 years in Tanzania before I am able to speak Swahili fairly well (I’m happy to report I haven’t forgotten too much…!), but Laura has only ever visited East Africa so has never had the chance to learn much Swahili.

In order to help her learn we are spending a few weeks at a Swahili language school along with some of our colleagues, near the town of Iringa. We are into our second week here, and Laura is already making very good progress, picking up the fundamental parts of Swahili grammar and learning quite a bit of vocabulary that will enable her to speak and listen to people.

While Laura is in classes I am doing various things like finishing my MA essay, planning my dissertation, preparing for our move to Mpanda next month, replying to emails… and writing blog posts! I have also been enjoying teaching Maths (or Math…) to the 7-year-old son of our colleagues who is being home-schooled here, and giving some extra Swahili pointers to Laura and a few of the other students!

In our spare time we are making the most of the beautiful scenery, taking walks in the countryside and through the local villages, and also playing volleyball (which is a great way for people to learn Swahili numbers!).

Here are a few photos from our first week here…

Our small stone house

Laura learning Swahili in class

The beautiful cascading rapids (click for larger image)

A nice friendly millipede

And our neighbour, who liked to come around for a drink of Azam mango juice...

A Day in the Village

Mark — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:27:43 +0000

One of the highlights for us of our 3-week orientation course was the trip last week to a village near the historic town of Bagamoyo. We spent a few hours with the people of the village, enjoying their hospitality and getting to know a little bit about their way of life.

As well as being served a delicious meal, we also got to see some of the crops and fruits that they grow in their fields, even picking, roasting and shelling some cashew nuts – quite a process, which explains why cashews are generally so expensive!

We have now safely arrived at the Swahili language school, just outside of the town of Iringa, about 8 hours west of Dar es Salaam. We’ll try to post some photos from here in the next few days, but for now here are some pictures from last week…

Picking fruit from a tree

Roland and Al try the fruit, as Brian looks on...

Harvesting cassava

Preparing green vegetables for dinner

Roasting cashews to remove the shell

...and breaking out the nut from inside

The house and kitchen

Sampling some sugar cane

Orientation and preparing for the next stage…

Mark — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:40:31 +0000

After a couple of weeks in Dar es Salaam we’re now coming towards the end of our 3-week orientation course, and looking ahead to the next stage!

We have definitely learnt a lot in the last couple of weeks, about life in Tanzania in general and about Bible translation and language development here in particular. At the same time we’ve been trying to prepare ourselves for the long trip out west to our new home – Mpanda – at the beginning of March. This has meant buying various things for our house including some kitchen equipment, making sure the car that we’re borrowing is in good condition for the trip, obtaining Tanzanian drivers licenses, and meeting with various people to discuss the work we’ll be doing in Mpanda.

In the midst of all the busyness we’ve also really enjoyed visiting with people here in Dar, and one or two nice times of relaxing on the beautiful coast!

On Saturday we’ll be making the 7-hour trip inland to Iringa, where we plan to stay at a Swahili language school for a month before moving on to Mpanda.

We’re really grateful for those of you who have been praying for us since our arrival in Tanzania. We are thankful for your support in this way, and have seen many of your prayers answered as we have settled in well and generally been very healthy. Please continue to pray for us in this time of transition, especially that we would be able to get everything done that we need to this week, and for a safe drive to Iringa on Saturday – thanks!

Learning about different types of food...

Laura being a good student...

Dagaa - very small fish!

Some colourful fabrics being sold in downtown Dar es Salaam

Laura relaxing on the beach

Tumefika! We have arrived in Tanzania…

Mark — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:47:50 +0000

After five years of anticipation and preparation, on the morning of January 13th we finally touched down at Dar es Salaam International Airport to begin the next stage of our work supporting Bible translation. We are happy to have safely arrived in Tanzania where we are working with SIL International, an organisation devoted to serving minority language communities as they write down their languages and translate the Bible and other materials.

A friendly tarantula welcomes us on our first night

We are currently staying at the main SIL office in Dar es Salaam, where we are in the middle of three weeks of orientation. We’ve been learning about a wide range of things, from food preparation to cultural differences, from organisational governance to how to stay healthy and not get malaria.

Us outside the office

At the end of next week we plan to travel to Iringa, where we’ll spend a month at a language school for Laura to learn Swahili. She has made an excellent start already, and is learning more and more each day! But we hope that the four weeks of dedicated time will give her a good foundation that she can continue to build on when we move out to Mpanda (in Katavi Region) at the beginning of March.

Preparing a red snapper for dinner

Thanks for all your prayers and support for us! We are extremely excited to have finally arrived in Tanzania, and grateful for all the supporters who are joining with us in this new stage of our life and work. We are looking forward to continue to partner with you as we prepare to head out west in the coming weeks, finally meeting the church leaders you and we have been praying for, and seeing our friends and colleagues again!

Laura studying hard

England

Laura — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:20:00 +0000

The last week has been a whirlwind visit to Mark’s family and our supporters in our other home country, England. New Year’s day we flew into London Heathrow airport very early in the morning and were met by Mark’s happy, sleepy parents. It had been a year and a bit since I’d seen them and about 7 months for Mark, so it was a very happy reunion!

The next few days were sleepy ones with few events planned except a dentist check up. On Wednesday evening we were able to attend a prayer group for Mark’s home village Semington where we shared a bit about what we’ll be doing in a few days time. It was a very encouraging time as we caught up with supporters, including our friend Sarah who has been working in the United Arab Emirates and has very interesting stories about life in Abu Dhabi.

On Thursday we took a trip to Burnham on Sea to visit Mark’s grandparents, hearing their amazing stories of growing up in rural Wiltshire in the 1920s, with no electricity and getting water from the well outside.

Friday was our 5th wedding anniversary, so we wandered around the lovely city of Bath for a couple of hours, stopping at a little tea shop for a nice break. And then on Saturday it was great to see Mark’s sister, brother and sister-in-law (as well as cousin, cousin-in-law and cousin’s-daughter-probably-something-once-removed) who came over. It was a good time of catching up, and Mark even managed a quick game of tennis with his Dad, brother and sister.

Then on Sunday we had the privilege of speaking at two of our supporting churches, Cornerstone in Thame, and Queensway in Melksham. It was really encouraging to see many friends again, and to be prayed for as we look ahead to the next few weeks and months in Tanzania!

This week we have a couple more family visits, one immunisation, re-packing our bags, and then it’s off to the airport on Thursday evening!

Laura with Mark's grandparents

Speedy knitting...

Mark's brother and sister-in-law

Mark's sister and parents opening presents

Looking back: Kids’ Soccer Festival

Mark — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:47:46 +0000

This week we are busy packing up our belongings deciding what to give away, what to leave with friends, and what to fit into the four suitcases that will come with us to the airport on Saturday morning as we head to England, and then on to Tanzania in a couple of weeks!

Much as we are looking forward to arriving in Tanzania, we will be sad to leave friends and family here in the US. One of my enduring memories of our time here over the past year or so is the 4-week “soccer festival” that our church hosted for kids from the local neighbourhood last summer. Here’s a great little video from the festival made by Stephen, which will help to bring back some great memories when we’re on the other side of the world…

Joyeux Noel

Mark — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 04:15:44 +0000

This Christmas Eve we spent the afternoon watching the movie Joyeux Noel, the story of Christmas in the trenches during the First World War in 1914. The movie of how the soldiers of various nationalities who had been fighting each other for months ceased their fire, greeted each other in no-man’s land and even played football together.

The most striking part of the movie is the absurdity of the war. When the men meet up at Christmas they realise they have a huge amount in common, and yet on every other day they are trying to kill each other because that is what their commanders, and their nations, have ordered them to do.

In many ways the First World War was the height of modernity, with the European nations accepting without question the narrative of the unstoppable march of civilisation and progress. In reality the nations at war had a great deal in common – shared histories, similar languages and cultures, and apparently a shared religion. And yet their narratives of progress, despite their similarities, could not co-exist but clashed leading to the loss of millions of lives.

As the soldiers socialise and share stories on Christmas day the absurdity is obvious to all. They have no hatred for each other, in fact they realise they have a huge amount in common. Their sole reason for being on the front lines is to carry out the orders of the generals, and the political leaders, who are in a totally different world. The ridiculous nature of it all is brought home on the day after Christmas when it is left to the priest to convince the soldiers that they are in a holy war, that they are God’s children and that it is their duty to kill those in the opposite trenches who are God’s enemies.

Watching the movie it is easy to see how the First World War was the start of the end for modernity and the myth of progress. The post-modern suspicion of metanarratives, controlling powers and absolute and abstract truth divorced from personal relationships, is the only natural response when you are commanded to put your life in danger in order to kill others, simply because the colonising ambitions of your countries are incompatible.

And yet while post-modernity is an understandable and vitally important critique of the absurdity and supreme arrogance of the modern Enlightenment project, it poses more questions that it answers, deconstructing good and bad alike, and pointing eventually down the road of hopelessness and despair.

If Jesus was on the front lines in 1914 I think he would have ridiculed the grotesque empire-building ambitions of the European nations and their arrogant myth of human progress. But I think he would also have warned against the descent into despair where all meta-narratives are viewed with suspicion. Maybe he would have pointed towards a new story, that starts with a child in a manger. Here we see the claim of absolute truth which is not abstract and detached, but the person of God himself. We see the claim of a universal story, but it’s a story not of power or control, but of God coming in humility and service. The victory and climax of this narrative comes not in military victory but in the child who grew up, living a life of humility and self-giving love, suffering and dying at the hands of a great and cruel empire, forgiving those who killed him before eventually being raised to life.

What does it mean for us to live out this story this Christmas time?

Jiizas Buk: “It’s as if Jesus is right here with us”

Mark — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:25:11 +0000

The BBC has a great 2-minute video about the translation of parts of the Bible into Jamaican Patois for the first time. This has been a controversial project for many of the same reasons that the English Bible was not accepted when it was first translated over 600 years ago (as I wrote about on the Wycliffe UK blog back in 2008).

But despite the inevitable controversy, it is extremely exciting to see the impact that the translation is already starting to have:

Our pastor, he’s sitting on the side of the street with the boys, he speaks like they speak as equals, so he meets them on their level. It’s the same thing with the Scripture, it’s as if Jesus is right here with us, and speaking with us in the same way.

Take a couple of minutes to watch the video below and read the article on the BBC website, to see the impact that the Bible is having in Jamaica this Christmas!

The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

Mark — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:12:58 +0000

A few days ago Wycliffe UK Director Eddie Arthur published an article on the Guardian newspaper’s website, about the six years that his family spent in Cote d’Ivoire, where they had been invited by the local church to help translate the Bible into the Kouya language. The article is very interesting if you want to read it, but one of the most striking features is the comments, which are generally negative and often hostile towards the concept of Bible translation and Christian mission in general.

When faced with criticism it is easy for us to become defensive. In reference to the supposed “war on Christmas” here in the US, I have heard several people comment in the last few days that western society values tolerance of every religion and belief, except Christianity. Is this fair, and is it true?

Reading Lesslie Newbigin’s The Gospel in a Pluralist Society has been a challenging but enlightening experience for me. He makes the point that western culture makes a sharp distinction between the private sphere, of personal beliefs and values, and the public sphere, of scientific facts and universal truths. While western society has a high value of pluralism, and tolerance, in the private sphere, there is extremely little room for tolerance in the public sphere (you won’t find much acceptance for your belief that the earth is flat).

When Christianity is practiced as a personal private faith there is a great deal of tolerance and acceptance of it. But the message of Jesus and of the Bible as a whole is not one that accepts western society’s division of life into private and public spheres, agreeing to stay quietly in the private part of life. Rather, it claims to rely on objective historical events, and to have universal relevance for all people and cultures.

This is where the conflict with modern western society arises. True Christianity refuses to be confined to the tolerant private sphere of personal beliefs, and insists on being heard in the public sphere of facts and universal truth. At the same time, the historical facts upon which it relies are notoriously difficult to prove in a scientific way (which is what western society’s public sphere requires). Certainly there is much evidence that can be debated, but it will always be impossible to prove scientifically that God exists, or that he created the world, or that Jesus of Nazareth was God, or that he was dead and came back to life. Not only this, but even when the evidence seems to support the claims of Christianity (as N.T. Wright for example argues in his exhaustive three-part series about Jesus and the early church), the conclusions drawn, that God became a human, that God died, and that he was raised to life, are so surprising and unintuitive to us that it is virtually impossible for anyone to believe them purely on the basis of the scientific evidence alone.

So where does that leave us? Newbigin concludes that

Almost everything in the “plausibility structure” which is the habitation of our society seems to contradict this Christian hope. Everything suggests that it is absurd to believe that the true authority over all things is represented in a crucified man. No amount of brilliant argument can make it sound reasonable to the inhabitants of the reigning plausibility structure. That is why I am suggesting that the only possible hermeneutic of the gospel is a congregation which believes it. (Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p232)

Newbigin, without denying that the gospel does rest on firm historical facts and truths, and hence that Christians must engage with these objective questions when they arise, nevertheless believes that ultimately these debates on their own are unlikely to convince anyone of something that goes so totally against the way our society thinks and acts. At the end of the day the most effective witness to the truth of the gospel is the transformation of the lives of a community of people who are following Jesus, humbly loving, giving up their rights and putting others first as they seek to follow in the footsteps of the one who has brought God’s victory through what seemed to be the ultimate defeat.

I really like Eddie’s article about how the story of God becoming man is for people of all nations and languages. But I think he would agree that unless the people we are engaging with are able to see in our day to day lives the truth of the gospel of love, humility and service as we take up our cross and follow Jesus in the power of his Spirit, they are always likely to be hostile to our strange and revolutionary message.