Mwanza Team in SF

Sunday night before the big exam, we enjoyed some Thai food with Cecily, Thu and Thu's friend Anu.


There's something really special about being with Mwanza friends outside of Mwanza. Though we've known them for a relatively short period of time, there's a strong sense of kinship. We've all gone through many of the same ups and downs of adapting to life overseas. They know. They understand. And they're as crazily excited about high-speed internet and grocery stores as we are. 


There's also a wonderful sense of relief in being together. Here are people who having returned to the US, are going through many of the same emotions we are, asking many of the same questions. Emotions and questions that we often restrain from expressing around friends and family who have not lived in developing countries because we're afraid we might end up sounding like an obnoxiously self-righteous broken record. Or unbearably judgmental.  


But those confused, guilt-ridden and sometimes angry feelings and questions are always there. We experience them each time we step into a Starbucks, enjoy a nice meal, see a Mercedes SUV drive by or overhear someone complaining about something that just (and I'm sorry for this) sounds so trivial in light of what life is like in Tanzania. And once again, perhaps one of the biggest questions looming before us as we prepare to return to the US in 2011 is, how will we live with integrity, with thoughtfulness and compassion after all we've witnessed in Africa? How will we share this effectively, how will we encourage our communities to also consider these issues? 


For wisdom and grace, we pray.