What would you give up?

57 years ago today, five men attempted to reach out to the Waodani people in Ecuador and it cost them their lives.

Just a few days before, they had a great interaction with two women and one  man from the Waodani, a tribe known at that time to be incredibly hostile and violent to outsiders.  The men spent several hours together with these guests, sharing gifts, pleasantly trying to communicate with them, and Nate even took the man  in his plane on a short flight over the Waodani village. 

Nate Saint and "George" 

When then did the Waodani people come back only to spear these five men to death?

I have found the stories of these five men, their families, and that of the Waodani people, incredibly fascinating. I have read every book that I could about each of them and seen related movies. It is a story full of adventure, intrigue, and drama. Check out this link for the 1956 Life magazine article detailing the final days of these five men. . Really it is amazing to see how the events unfolded from the Waodani side.  It feels so much like a Latina soap opera. It came down to a guy being jealous that another guy was alone with his girl and so he rallied up other Waodani to take out their vengeance on the white men who happened to be close by. (Check out the book End of the Spear for the Waodani side of the story)

A tragedy, a pitiful waste of these men’s lives, so unnecessary. Or was it? The one thing that draws me to this story is the total compassion that the five men and their families had for the Waodani. They longed for the Waodani to have freedom from the vicious killing cycles that they were trapped in. They wanted the Waodani to know that they are loved by their Creator, that God wants a relationship with them, and that they can have hope, joy, and peace rather than anger, pain and death.

These five men willingly died so that the Waodani can have life. It is so beautiful to see how the story unfolds beyond that sad day on January 8, 1956. A year later, Nate’s sister Rachel and Jim’s wife and daughter go and live with the tribe, able to live out as a daily examples of what it means to love and not retaliate. The Waodani culture at the time necessitated that if someone in your family was murdered, you would have to go and reciprocate by killing someone in the murderer’s family. Rachel and Elizabeth broke this paradigm by choosing to live with the very people who had killed their brother and husband. As a result, a number of the Waodani decided to break the killing cycle themselves and to learn how to walk the path that Jesus walked.

What seems to be a tragic story actually blossoms into an incredible story of forgiveness, redemption and restoration. Nate’s son and daughter , Steve and Kathy, had the same love for the Waodani that their dad and Aunt Rachel had. They spent their summers with their qunt living with the Waodani. Nine years after their father died, they both chose to be baptized in the same river where their father and the other four men had been murdered. Who baptized them? Kimo, and Dyuwi, two of the Waodani men who had killed their father. Wow, isnt’ that amazing?! It gives me the goosebumps just thinking of the miraculous transformation that happened in all of their lives!

Kathy Saint getting baptised by the men who killed her father.

This story highlights to me that whatever we give to God isn’t taken away from us. Rather it is redeemed and multiplied in a way that revolutionizes lives. The death of these five men brought hope and life not only to the Waodani but to countless others around the world.

This is the story that has planted in me long ago  the desire to be willing to give up  the comforts and security of what I know to go and live in the unknown . Why? Because God takes what you give to Him and returns it to you in a gift that is better than you could have imagined!

What are you willing to give up? You may be blown away at what you get back!

It was one of those moments that will forever be etched in my soul. A glimpse from God’s perspective that would forever alter mine…

I was at church and the song was “Word of God Speak’ by Mercy Me. I had my eyes closed and immersing myself in the song, picturing myself at the top of a mountain scene like this, admiring His majesty in creation.

When all of a sudden the scenery changed on me. 

This time I was standing in a place like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Refugee_camp_in_Congo_2008.jpeg

I knew I was in a refugee camp somewhere in Africa. The conditions were horrendous  No running water, raw sewage running through open ditches,  not enough food to go around.  Thousands and thousands of people displaced from their homes, uprooted from their lifestyle, with limited possibilities to be productive. Just sit and wait and dwell on the injustices that have transpired.  This was a breeding ground for bitterness, resentment to be turned in to violence and hatred.

In this scene, I am standing with a group of African women, all of whom have been raped while in the refugee camp. They are doing their best to take care of their children, who have been overtaken by disease and hunger. If there is a hopeless place, this has got to be it. Then the lyrics from the song began to narrate the scene:  

Washing my eyes to see

Your majesty

To be still and know

That You're in this place

I sensed God whispering to me  “Even in this midst of this dark and evil place. I am here, My majesty is on display even here. These women can see it even in the midst of their pain and struggle. Can you? Take the time to be still and see me in this place. Let these women show you.”

When the song was over and I came back to my surroundings, I knew that was a God moment. There is no way I could come up with something some profound on my own. It makes no sense in the human perspective but had such a deep significance spiritually. I know many people see Africa as a broken place, as the "Dark Continent". But I will never be able to see Africa that way. If anything, I am on a quest to see what these women see...

2013 - Year of Risk

It hit me today that theme for 2013 is risk. That is taking the step to put myself out there to do something that I am not really comfortable doing. 

 

Take starting this blog for example. I never really realized how private of a person I am until the thought of putting my personal musings on the World Wide Web. What if someone doesn't like it? What if they think its silly? What if they criticize me or attack me for my beliefs? It sure feels safer to keep my thoughts to myself. Yet, I have come to recognize that not everyone is going to like what I have to say. Not everyone is going to agree with me. And that is ok. In fact, it probably even better that way. I think we learn so much from hearing different perspectives. That is why I am taking the risk to put mine out there.

I enjoy asking people what accomplishment they are most proud of. What about you? What accomplishment are you most proud of?

For most people that I have asked, it is not usually something that came easy for them or something that they are naturally good at. Typically, it is something that they struggled with, something that they really had to put time and energy into, something that they had to step outside of their comfort zone to do. Something that was risky for them.

For me, one of the things I am most proud of is sticking with the McBride Honors Program in college. McBride was aimed in equipping engineers to be well-rounded, critical thinkers through reading, writing, and lively discussion of social and ethical topics.  I didn’t mind the reading and discussion aspect but writing for me was torture. I am the slowest, most methodical writer and so being in a program where I had to write at least 2-3 page paper every week along with some bigger term papers, was not exactly thrilling for me. I would rather work on fifty advanced engineering math problems than write a paper. Each week when it came time to write that paper, I thought about quitting instead. I really didn't need to be in those classes to graduate, so why am I doing this? But I stuck with it, and I am so glad I did! It was through McBride that I had some of my favorite college experiences, my favorite classes, and made friendships that will last for a lifetime!

 What would life be like if we didn’t push ourselves out of our comfort zone or take risks? There have been times where I stuck with the easy road. It was nice and comfortable at first but after a while, life started to get dull and dreary. I think we are created to take risks. After all, God is a risk-taker.  Jesus left the comforts and safety of heaven to become human. And it wasn’t all roses and sunshine for Him. Since His birth, He had people determined to murder Him.  He was betrayed by one of his closest friends and forsaken by his other friends at his time of greatest need, he was beaten, whipped, and hung on a cross.  But where would we be if Jesus hadn’t taken the risk?

So I am hoping to take more risks this year. To be willing to take the risk to talk to the person asking for money on the street and hear their story,  to take the risk to stop and pray with a stranger, to take the risk to stop and give my time to someone who really needs it even when the to-do list is calling my name, to take the risk to apologize when I am the one in the wrong, to take the risk to do the right thing, not the easy thing, to take the risk of loving those who can’t or won’t love me back.  

What about you? What is something you have dreamed of doing but fear and uncertainty has held you back? Let 2013 be there year where we step out and take the risk! 

As my favorite quote from Jamba Juice says: 

Don't be afraid to go out a limb - that is where the fruit is!