Arriving in Gambella

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“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has entered the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him….A natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2: 9,14, 16

Today I travelled to Gambella – the flight was full of representatives from USAID, the UN, Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, OxFam, Berlin Mission Society, some Irish delegation, 5 folks from PC USA, and a Bishop from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Gambella is in the cross hairs of all of these organizations for a variety of reasons that are best not to “blog” about.  Though I can say I left the Gambella airport with a military escort – that would be misleading; it was really just a courteous and honorific welcome for the Bishop.  Everyone else had to wait until the convoy was well underway – we ate their dust, as they say.

Though I had been warmly received here before (the Church had sent their choir and drummers to the airport last year), I was not expecting something beyond this. Well, we were met again by the choir and drums outside “baggage claim” and then when we arrived at the compound, the people formed two singing, clapping, drumming lines along a path of freshly strewn palm leaves.  Half way down it, we were made to sit down so they could wash our hands face and feet.  Here were two of the fiercest/proudest tribes the Anuak and the Nuer (with a shared history of violent tribal conflict) signing together joyously at our arrival. There we were, pasty white Americans smeared with sunscreen not knowing exactly how to hold one’s face so that it can be washed.  Thankfully, the Africans in our delegation were also greeted in this way – so it wasn’t just for us “forengies” – however, if your “politically correct” sensibilities are getting inflamed right now then I won’t recount to you the sermon…more than to say it could have be titled “Thank God for the Americans Because They Brought Us the Light of the Gospel.”  Though the cynic in me tried to recast the reception as merely intense and well rehearsed “donor relations,” there was something much greater afoot here.  Something that put tears in your eyes and made it hard to breathe – and when you looked across the way and saw that many of them were crying too – you just thought, good Lord, what is going on?  The emotional content of this moment was NOT that we were not being treated as saviors (believe me they “get” the US’s complicity in their suffering and they know about our problems) RATHER that we were being treated as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Something, speaking just for myself, I knew I did not deserve. It was Grace they were showing us, just Grace and it was very beautiful.