Just some of the countries represented at Amahoro Gathering 2009
My journal says that the 250+ participants came from: The Netherlands, Switzerland, USA, Australia, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Swaziland, Canada, Dominican Republic, D. R. Congo, New Zealand, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, England and South Africa. I hope I didn't forget any!
In this and the next few posts, I’m going to try and make sense of my scribbled journal notes to share some words and reflections from the Amahoro Gathering. If they seem incomplete, or if you find yourself wanting to plumb these more deeply, they all come from talks given during the conference and the mp3s for all of them can be found HERE! At the very least, I highly recommend the ones I’ll be sharing on in these posts.
On the first night of the Gathering, Edward Simiyu inaugurated the proceedings and spoke on “the ministry of presence.” Edward is a pastor and new friend from Kenya with a powerful understanding of how people are best woven together. He spoke to how Africans engage one another in life’s ups and downs, and what that means for any Westerners or conference attendees who hope to enter in to conversations, let alone work, that seeks restoration for the continent and its church/communities of faith.
Edward began by suggesting that Africans are only recently beginning to use watches and as such are becoming more beholden to the West’s tendency to be governed by the time of day and our schedules and our pasts and our futures…whereas “in Africa they walk with the time.”
Furthermore, in Africa if there is funeral for someone in a village, the people and neighbors go (rather than send a card). When a new baby is born, you go. Therefore, speaking to the Westerners (the minority at the conference, but see the list of countries above), Edward offered that to come here from the West is in and of itself a powerful ministry.
Oral communication is huge – but in person. We in the West must be there physically first and foremost, just showing up and letting them know by our presence that we care. These nuggets of wisdom were not untethered from potent challenges. Edward challenged very specifically and by example that in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, praying is all well and good, but not enough to show you truly care. You must come to stand with those who are suffering. Email, phone…they don’t cut it. Physical presence communicates everything. Physical presence can be and is a ministry to another. A ’satellite conference’ does not work in Africa. Sit – and hear thoughts, words and conversation.
Only then can you truly “dance with the other.”
-Seth-
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Again, I highly recommend listening to Edward’s actual short and powerful welcoming message, and then sharing your own thoughts below!
