The Plateau

I've reached the phase of my experience here where not much is new or exciting and things just continue at a slow rate. In the same day or even morning, I can love being in Africa, sitting in my apartment studying or talking with a neighbor, but then the heat of the day comes or I find the vendors and the beggars on the street taxing and I wonder if I belong in this country. Little things continue to encourage my time, like last Saturday working with a group from the church in my community cleaning up a garden and having a neighbor touched by the initiative and act of service. I'm discovering the facets of life in the developing world, those who have means live a good life and those who don't scrap by to find food to eat. Injustice and inequality shows itself in sad conditions, as a boy on the street tells you if you don't give him 20 cents he will be beaten that night by his religious leader. You have to be careful who you trust, because even among locals they cheat each other just to advance a little step in life. Maybe in North America we don't walk down the street facing injustice in the way we do in Africa, but regardless we are all faced with little and big decisions to stand for justice and show compassion to our neighbor. I am learning these acts are little but require faithfulness to make them grow.