Two Worlds Collide

Eight months ago, God connected me with Joël, a thirteen-year-old boy in Burkina who was crippled by a bike accident two years ago. Six months ago, God connected me with Ray of Hope, an organization that provides kids in developing countries the opportunity of high level medical care in the United States. Five months ago, God connected the rest of the dots and Joël boarded a plane.

What makes the story sweeter is that Ray of Hope is located in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, the same exact city where my family moved this year. Coincidence? I think not. 

Yesterday, I arrived to my new home in Ft. Wayne for my ten week furlough, and today, the Lord brought Joël and I together again in the same place, and my two worlds collided. 

When I first saw Joël, I didn't know whether to hug him (the American thing to do) or shake his hand (the Burkinabé thing to do). I didn't know whether to speak English or French. We ended up doing a mix of both. I didn't know whether to talk about life in the U.S. or his life in Burkina. We ended up doing both of that, too. It was a crashing of worlds, and the moment was awkward and yet so beautiful at the same time. We knew each other, but normally in the context of Burkina, so the faces were familiar but the environment was different, giving us a feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity at the same time. 

Whether Joël is wearing his Burkina athletic shorts and t-shirt or the jeans and jacket from America that he was sporting tonight, he is still the same sweet kid with the same shy, kind personality and the same squinty-eyed grin. Whether he sleeps in a hut or a carpeted room, on a mat or on a bed, whether he eats tô or pizza, he is the same precious child that God sees and loves and cares for. The American life is not better because of the existence of air conditioning and wal-marts and skyscrapers and paved streets. He is not happier because he has Nike tennis shoes or watches his favorite shows on a big TV. This is not about whether he gets all the luxuries of America or not. 

What it's all about is this: This evening, I got to tell Joël that I remember the first time we met and how we prayed that God would provide healing for him. We prayed that one day he would be able to walk and run and play and jump and dance again. And I told him that God is answering that prayer. 

We aren't trying to spoil Joël with the riches of America because he is some poor kid from Africa. If that's what we were doing, that would be ruining him instead of blessing him. That would be stealing his culture of relationships and replacing it with a culture of materialism. Instead of offering Joël the experience of America, I pray Joël would instill in us Americans the richness of Burkina culture. And I pray that above all the sparkling distractions of America, he will preserve the simplicity, honesty, and beauty of his Burkina home in his heart. May the faithfulness of God be the one thing he remembers about his time in the U.S. Not the fancy food, not the big buildings, not the unnecessary extravagance, but the way that God answered his prayers. 

Joël is currently wearing a brace that is gradually stretching and extending his leg, and he is still patiently undergoing wound care for his knee, which is around 50% healed. We are praying for the possibility of a skin graft in the near future. We are also praying that his bones will support the tension of this brace without cracking because of the fragility of his bones from chronic malnutrition. Most of all, we are praying that he will go "walking and leaping and praising God" one day, and that he returns to his family and village with a testimony that will bring many to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Please join us in these prayers and in thanking God for his love that transcends culture and location and extends to every people and nation no matter their richness or poorness, development or undevelopment, advancements or obstacles. 

I loved how my two worlds collided tonight with seeing Joël here in Ft. Wayne. It serves to remind me why I love both places and their people. It makes me thankful that God has given me both, and I love it when they come together in moments like this. It also helps me remember that when cultures collide for me and Joël, they don't for God, who knows all people and values all cultures and speaks all languages and works through all circumstances. He is one big, amazing, global God.