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| Teresa, Rehema, Judy, Curt, Bethany, Anita, Susan Maryknoll Lay Missioners Mombasa |
HERITAGE
We've welcomed a new missioner to our community, Teresa Villaruz. She was born in California but both her parents came from the Phillipines. She's a primary school teacher and full of enthusiasm and compassion for her students. Anita's mother is Philipina and her father is from the US. The rest of us are various mixtures of German, Irish and who knows what else.
Teresa has been mistaken for Chinese here in Kenya. When she happily greeted a woman on her way to Swahili language class she was met with an angry barrage in an unfamiliar language. The Chinese are not well liked in Kenya for various reasons.
Being white I have been called 'mzungu' (Tanzania and Kenya) or 'kawadja' (South Sudan) often over the last 30 years. They both mean 'white person' and it seems impolite to me.
Anita had an upsetting incident as well recently. She got on a matatu which is a small van for public transport of 14 people. A young Kenyan man of Arab descent told the conductor, "All white people are bad. They disrespect our culture by teaching women to dress in short skirts and no sleeves with no cover on their heads. They don't respect Mohamed (may peace be upon him)." The Muslim woman next to Anita said, "It's true." Anita felt trapped in a small vehicle with people who obviously didn't like her and so she only spoke in swahili to ask to get off the vehicle at her stop.
When she came to our house she was understandably upset and didn't know about the Charlie Hebdo incident in France which had just occurred. If she'd had the chance she would have said, "But aren't we all God's children? When we say 'all' those people are bad then not a single one of us can represent our God of love and peace."
There are still people in the US who think that President Obama is a Muslim, which for them seems to be a bad thing. Even among educated US citizens there are many who label others and allow racism and prejudice to continue in schools, work places, neighborhoods and places of worship.
This is not a religious war. It is a worldwide problem that persists because leaders and governments choose violence over conversation and dialogue.
We, as Maryknoll Lay Missioners, try to be a bridge between our home culture and Kenyan cultures. That is one of our eight core values. We all know many Kenyan Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths who are peaceful, generous and loving. Let us admit our prejudices, move forward and love each other and embrace one another in peace and forgiveness. Then we can build a world that loves through our differences because we are beautiful, we are the image of God.
Teresa has been mistaken for Chinese here in Kenya. When she happily greeted a woman on her way to Swahili language class she was met with an angry barrage in an unfamiliar language. The Chinese are not well liked in Kenya for various reasons.
Being white I have been called 'mzungu' (Tanzania and Kenya) or 'kawadja' (South Sudan) often over the last 30 years. They both mean 'white person' and it seems impolite to me.
Anita had an upsetting incident as well recently. She got on a matatu which is a small van for public transport of 14 people. A young Kenyan man of Arab descent told the conductor, "All white people are bad. They disrespect our culture by teaching women to dress in short skirts and no sleeves with no cover on their heads. They don't respect Mohamed (may peace be upon him)." The Muslim woman next to Anita said, "It's true." Anita felt trapped in a small vehicle with people who obviously didn't like her and so she only spoke in swahili to ask to get off the vehicle at her stop.
When she came to our house she was understandably upset and didn't know about the Charlie Hebdo incident in France which had just occurred. If she'd had the chance she would have said, "But aren't we all God's children? When we say 'all' those people are bad then not a single one of us can represent our God of love and peace."
There are still people in the US who think that President Obama is a Muslim, which for them seems to be a bad thing. Even among educated US citizens there are many who label others and allow racism and prejudice to continue in schools, work places, neighborhoods and places of worship.
This is not a religious war. It is a worldwide problem that persists because leaders and governments choose violence over conversation and dialogue.
We, as Maryknoll Lay Missioners, try to be a bridge between our home culture and Kenyan cultures. That is one of our eight core values. We all know many Kenyan Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths who are peaceful, generous and loving. Let us admit our prejudices, move forward and love each other and embrace one another in peace and forgiveness. Then we can build a world that loves through our differences because we are beautiful, we are the image of God.
LOVE
"Love people even in their sin, for that is the semblance of Divine Love and is the highest love on earth. Love all of God's creation, the whole and every grain of sand of it. Love every leaf, every ray of God's light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."
Fyodor Dostyoevsky - The Brothers Karmazov
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| Invite someone different to share your love! |
