MISSIONARY KIDS MATTER

Sophia, Caleb, Ethan, Ruth, and Timothy Jenkins

All parents dream of their children doing better than themselves.   Can they run faster than me?   Get better grades than me?    Provide more leadership than me?   Make more friends than me?   Have more influence me?   Be more Christ like than me?

For missionary families these concerns are very prevalent.   Will taking our children overseas for years have lasting negative effects?   (However, much research shows just the opposite.)

Yet, another fear is what if my children suffer in a way I can only imagine?  And what if they suffer due to misunderstanding and prejudice?   Yet in their suffering can they find a way to preserve their dignity?

I have five different children with two basic skin colors - what the world calls black and white.

One of the most enraging moments for a parent is when I discover my children with black skin are unfairly judged.  A few times it has happened in such an ambiguous way that I can’t find a clear and reasonable way to address the offense so I just walk away.

A few times my children with black skin have been the subjects of prejudice when I was not near them.   They would keep the offense inside them for years, and only much later share the pain.   I would be enraged, but time and physical distance made addressing the offense impossible.

Yet there are even more subtle forms of prejudice that all my children face.    God in His infinite wisdom spoke against this more subtle but just as destructive form of prejudice.   This is the prejudice of group think against those who seem to have more economic resources (Exodus 23:2, 3; Leviticus 19:14.)

The marketing photos of poor African children by nonprofit organizations strip many of their dignity.    They strip the poor of their dignity because it subtly communicates perpetual victimhood.   They also strip the middle class of their dignity because these photos subtly label Africa’s middle class as exploiters of the poor.   Lastly, I’ve seen these marketing tools strip missionary kids of their dignity by subtly telling missionary kids they don’t matter.

I disagree with these prejudices.

Allow me to tell several stories.   My family are “faith missionaries” which means we have no guaranteed salary.   We live on the free will donations of churches, friends, and family.   We trust God for our daily bread.    We’ve seen God do the miraculous.   Yet, we’ve also seen why in the Old Testament law the Year of Jubilee was instituted (Leviticus 25.)   Sometimes God’s people don’t display the mercy and justice of God.   The community suffers until the out of the ordinary happens.  

We ministered for 19 years in nations that some would define as the economically poorest countries of the world.    While at times we’ve been struggling to pay our bills we’ve ran scholarship programs for vulnerable children.    

A multiple of times when my children were too young to understand what was happening I would be on furlough speaking in a local church.    Someone would ask about our kid’s education.   I’d explain the choices we were making and the costs of educating missionary children.   Another would ask a question about our sponsorship programs.   I would hope that donations would be given to both.   Instead, people would say, “We want our donation designated for the sponsorship program.   You will have to look somewhere else for your needs.”  Then they would write a designated check.   I would drive away from the meeting with checks, but not enough flexibility in the donations to pay for my travel expenses.    

Sophia and Doreen Rwigamba at Rugezi Wetland, Rwanda

Three years ago our family was in a situation much like the needs of Israel for a Jubilee.    We were in a hole due to medical expenses and a drop in funding.    We were doing a ROC reception to hopefully discover the financial resources to start afresh.     We were discussing Kigali International Community School (KICS).   In the discussion the conversation moved to the need for missionary children education.   My oldest daughter, Sophia was in the reception.

A wealthy donor began to ask critical questions.   We attempted to answer.   His tone moved from critical to a recycling of the issues God addressed in Exodus 23:2, 3; and Leviticus 19:14.   He used sophisticated language, but he was encouraging group think against Africa’s middle class and missionary kids.    His arguments focused on what percentage of the gifts went to the poorest of the poor, and that he did not want to see his gifts go to “administrative fees, nor expatriate life styles.”   My blood boiled.   I doubt his children ever suffered with malaria.   I doubt his children were ever bit by dogs or monkeys.   I doubt he ever carried his children on his shoulders and ran away from gunfire.    Sophia cried.   Then Sophia spoke.

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus going in refuge in Egypt

She offered no defense of our family.   Instead, she did what second generation missionaries do best.   She told the story of Rwanda’s returning Diaspora and their children.    She told the stories of her people.

She said, “Yes, I go to school with missionary kids and Rwandan middle class kids.   The Rwandan kids sleep in homes with running water and electricity.   Their parents drive cars.   They look wealthy.   What you don’t know is their parents grew up in refugee camps.   Then they in their own words, “Got lucky.”   They received an education.   They developed professional skill.   Rwanda became peaceful.   They came home.    Their parents work very long hours.   An entire nation’s future rides on their shoulders.    They did not have to come home.   In fact, many complain about brain drain.   If you want to stop brain drain don’t argue with the middle class.   Their kids need a good school.   Should that school not be one where the class sizes are small?    Should that school not be one where God is honored?  Why do we want schools like this in America, but argue against them in Africa?”

She hit the nail on the head.   The donor was conditioned by photos of the poor to be prejudiced.   The prejudice was more subtle than simply race.   It was the prejudice against professional skill and an economic class.

Alexis and Grace Hixson, Ruth, Imfra Mwunvaneza, and Kassidy and Natalie Shreck

The donor realized his offense and thankfully apologized.  He realized missionary kids matter.     They deserve good schools.   They’ve missed out on many things.     Yet, God has done remarkable things in their lives.    In fact, their parents and their host nation know this well – Missionary kids will do far more good than their parents.   God is preparing them.

So this Christmas season as you prepare to make a year end gift I request that you look at the options, and simply say, “Missionary kids matter.”

PRAY FOR THE DIASPORA OF AFRICA'S GREAT LAKES

Dear Family and Friends,


We’ve heard a few questions.   One is, “What does it mean to be a missionary to the USA?”   Another is, “What people group can we pray for?”


It all goes back to the oldest parts of our missionary calling.    Jesus told us to go to “all nations, (KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT),” “people (NCV, GNT),” or “folks (WYC)” (Matthew 28:18-20.)  The Greek word in Jesus’ commissioning is “ethnos” from which English gives us the term ethnic group.   Jesus’ missionary instructions are more thorough than just ticking off nation-states on a world map.   Jesus’ instructions command for there to be a missionary presence among every cluster of humanity that uses the pronoun “we” to describe their “people group.”


Thus the missionary task will always be on going until the Lord returns.   Humanity is always in a state of change.   Missionaries are those called and sent by the Holy Spirit to make disciples and develop churches among each segment of humanity.   (For more reflection on the distinctive character of missionary calling see: http://jenkinsinrwanda.blogspot.com/2012/06/necessity-of-outside-in-voices.html and http://jenkinsinrwanda.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-missionaries-most-controversial.html.) These unique clusters of humanity are more complex than just racial, national, or ethnic understandings.    Migration, education, and economic standing continually create new social clusters.

The first steps in a specific missionary calling are the choices of compassion and prayer (Matthew 9:35-38).   Therefore, this month we ask for your prayers for our family’s “people group,” the Diaspora of Africa’s Great Lakes.

How do we define Diaspora?

• Dictionaries are really interesting on this matter.   Most start with describing the experience of the Jews going into Babylonian exile.   Then they discuss modern phenomena of people being scattered away from their ancestral homeland (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diaspora.) 
•    Dave frequently preached out of Post-Exilic History and Prophets in Uganda and Rwanda, and those portions of the Bible are very relevant to the Diaspora experience.  

Where are Diaspora of Africa’s Great Lakes from?

• There is a little ambiguity in the definitions of Africa’s Great Lakes.  It is not a political configuration, but an awareness of similarities of geography, language, history, and culture.
•  We define it as the portion of East and Central Africa where the Rift Valley created lakes, fertile highlands, and expansive plains.   Thus it is a region blessed by the creative power of God.   We consider this region to be Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Congo, and Tanzania.

What is the History of Africa’s Great Lakes’ Diaspora?

• In Pre-Colonial times the Great Lakes were ruled by powerful Kingdoms.
• The Colonial Rulers (1880-1962) were Germany (Pre-WWII), Britain, and Belgium.
• The East African Revival (1930’s to 1940’s) deeply transformed the region with unique pietism and unity movements.
• Independence from colonial powers was initially faced with optimism.   However, many nations experienced turmoil such as:
• Rwanda Turmoil: 1959 – 1994.
• Uganda Turmoil: Amin, Obote II, and Kony Terrorism.
• Burundi: Series of Civil Wars.
• Congo: Ungovernable East.
• Kenya Election Violence.
• Thus the Great Lakes have experienced many leaving as refugees.   However, while living as refugees many excelled as students and became skilled professionals.  
• In present days many are dispersing for education and economic opportunities as their home nation is at peace.
• Diaspora develop a unique language pattern that some call Sheng where they blend African vernacular languages with English.   Typically, Sheng will be used in situations such as music, humor, and social media communication.

Chrystelle Lwiza with her dad, Joseph at her university graduation

How influential are Diaspora?   Are they also, “thought leaders?”

•  The Diaspora are extremely influential.   Many have returned to their home nations during season of peace

o   The Returning Diaspora are the generation of Institution Builders (similar to the WW2 Generation in the USA.)

o   They are initiators of new churches, schools, business, hospitals, and transportation systems.   

o   Also they are the crafters of government policy and the builders of national infra-structure.

Kigali International School 2011 Graduates

• A New Generation of Diaspora is arising. 

o   Many carry 2 or 3 passports.

o   They are educated in both Africa and North America.

o   The remittances they send home is the largest source of foreign income to their home nations.

•  Yes, they are “Thought Leaders.”  (A term we borrowed from media leaders we knew in Uganda.)  

o   They are frequently on Skype, email, twitter, Facebook, and blogs.  

o   They stand as bridges between many varied nations.  

o   They are great social influencers.   You see their presence in some ways most clearly at weddings and funerals in which the parking lot is filled with cars with a variety of nations’ bumper stickers and license plates.

What are the struggles of Africa’s Great Lakes’ Diaspora?

• The Diaspora in North America are diverse in matters such as ethnicity, national origin, education, and professional skill.   They include recent refugees, students, and upwardly mobile professionals.
•   The second and third generation Diaspora are properly TCK’s (Third Culture Kids), but they have little pastoral care to help them process their complex cultural makeup.
•   African vernacular based churches typically do not work well for second and third generation Diaspora.
• Yet, typical Anglo Evangelical churches also are difficult for Diaspora assimilation and pastoral care.

Thank you for keeping our people, the Diaspora of Africa’s Great Lakes in your prayers this month,

Mungu akubariki (God bless you),

Dave and Jana

Jana's dad and missionary mentor, Gaston Tarbet

P.S.  Please keep Jana’s dad, Gaston Tarbet in your prayers.   This Wednesday he will have a triple bypass heart surgery.   Jana is in Roscoe, Texas to support her parents.   Dave is in Chicago with the kids.

DELAYED OUTRAGE AT GENDER PROPAGANDA

My oldest daughter, Sophia and I at the Nile, Uganda, 1993

I sit as a strange teller of stories. I was not in Rwan­da in 1994. However, I was next door in Uganda with Banyar­wanda friends. My memories of those days have never left.

Last year, I told some of my memo­ries. Another one came to mind a few months ago. It is one that I am ashamed did not trigger outrage in 1993. I remember, regret, and repent. I just did a Google search and am confident though my memory is true, it would be difficult to document. If I do not leave a record of my memory I strip victims of their dig­nity. Truth heals and it must be told.

One of the weapons of genocide was rape. Such brutality is not the nature of man as an image bearer of God. Such bru­tality must be nurtured with hateful my­thology. Only when man’s eyes are blind­ed by hate can one destroy the daughters of men.

Jesus cleansing the temple

One of my acts of repentance is to hold a prophetic stand. I seek out places where I can speak publicly so that I will never be silent when God’s people must speak. Thus I seek out friendships in the media. However, the history of Rwanda’s media has left me so troubled that I must seek to understand and wrestle with my motiva­tion. A few months ago, I found a must read book, The Media and the Rwanda Genocide by Allan Thompson and Kofi Annan. I picked it up to judge my motives. In the process I found a chapter on media and sexual violence written by Binaifer Nowrojee. My best summary of the chapter is that Batutsi women carried a sexual mystique that was hated. Thus the haters found justification for horrific rapes. A similar article is Why Rape Was a Key Part of Genocide in Rwanda of the Center on Law and Globalization.

Jesus feet washed (Luke 7:36-50)

As I read the chapter, I remembered an article I read in 1993 in Uganda’s independent newspaper, The Monitor. At the time, The Monitor was just getting off the ground. Sometimes its articles were cultural nonsense and gos­sip designed to sell newspapers. Sometimes these played to stereotypes. The article I remember was on the sexual prowess on the women of various Ugandan ethnic groups. It started in Uganda’s east and worked its way west. It had the tone of dorm room humor mixed with academic re­search. I suspect the author was in his twenties. As it started with the Sabei on Mount Elgon it made the case that due to Female Genital Mutilation the Sabei women had little sexual prowess. It made comments about women in vari­ous ethnic groups in Uganda. Its conclusion was about the great sexual prowess of Batutsi, Rwandan refugee women living in Uganda. It even discussed the genital anatomical details of Rwandan women compared to Ugandan women. I do not remember the author’s name or his sources, but I am confident of my memory.

In reading The Media and the Rwanda Genocide, I real­ized I had once read hate literature that seemed almost academic while in reality being pornographic. I remem­ber, regret, and repent.

Seventeen years ago, I should have been outraged and sent a letter to The Monitor editors.

Alexis Hixson and my daughter, Ruth

How do I display my repentance today? First, it is personal. My daughters are now beau­tiful young women with beautiful young Banyarwanda women as their friends. They are all daughters of men and children of God. As such they are all worthy of respect. A sin against my Banyarwanda women friends is a sin against the humanity of all. I cannot lose my empathy.

Second, history is a great teacher. A few months ago, I found a book from 1948 in a Rwanda missionary library called The New Congo by Tom Marvel. It details the story of an American traveling through Belgium’s African colonies. Like many of us when he reaches Rwanda he is stunned. He made one prophetic commentary that I can never forget. He was convinced that the colonial enterprise was leading Rwanda towards disaster. His biggest concern was that young Banyarwanda women were not receiving quality educa­tion. He predicted without Banyarwanda women being educated Rwanda’s future would be tragic. There are many reasons for Rwanda’s tragic history, but the non-literacy of many Banyarwanda women must be factored in as a significant one.

Women were the first to see Resurrected Jesus

My understanding of Rwanda pre-colonial history is that women served as the unifier's of society with great leadership capacity. With a colonial system that marginal­ized women and a post-colonial media that treated them as subjects to sexually exploit, disaster was imminent.

Thus today I cheer loudly for all Rwandan women I know who succeed as students, entrepreneurs, and lead­ers. Their dignity must be guarded. Their voices must be heard.

Last, my repentance means I must be a participant and advocate for all academic and business enterprises in my influence who give extra opportunities for women. I should never assume “girls are not good at math and sci­ence,” or “business and politics is too rough.”

My delayed outrage is delayed repentance. May my voice for Banyarwanda women be simply one of many that say, “Never again.”