I was born in the United States, and I have spent most of my life here.  In fact, I’ve spent all but a few months of my 33 years on earth, inside of the United States.   Even when I have been gone, the influence of the U.S. was never far away.   I really won the genetic lottery when I was born here, and being a United States citizen has given me so many advantages and privileges that I otherwise may not have had.  These privileges become especially apparent when I travel.

In my life, I have visited Germany, Haiti, and Nicaragua, plus a smattering of airports in still more countries, but it wasn’t until this year that I found my way to Africa.  A friend is working there in a sub-Saharan country, and I had the opportunity to spend a week with him.  It was an incredible experience, at times it reminded me so much of my times in Haiti, and other times our experiences were so outside of the realm of what I was familiar with that I had a hard time adjusting.

One of the things that I found incredibly surprising was how welcoming everyone seemed to be.  If you’ve ever been on a trip with me, you know how ridiculous I look as I wander around with backpack full of gear.  For those of you that haven’t been on a trip with me, imagine a camel walking around on it’s hind 2 legs, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what it looks like!  I never really know how the locals in any given country will respond to me, but in this part of Africa I felt incredibly welcomed!

Speaking of Camels!

People of all sorts welcomed us into their homes.  We were invited to several meals, and sometimes when we were visiting one person, another would come to invite us to see their home, taking the time to show us all of their favorite parts of the place they lived.  We were given several kinds of snacks in the market by a friend of my friends, and time after time I was struck by just how kind and giving the people we were meeting were.

It didn’t make any sense.  I didn’t speak their language, I could barely communicate with anyone, and if I am ever on your team during a game of charades, I apologize.  It is going to be terrible for both of us. I didn’t look anything like them, in fact, one little girl ran away screaming when she saw us because they see so few white people in the village.  So to be received so well, by such a large percentage of the people we met, was astounding.

Just one of the many people who received us with such grace.

I began to wonder how they would be received in the United States if they came to visit us.

Unfortunately I knew their welcome to the U.S. would not be the same as the one I had received in their country.  I knew this because even as I left court battles were raging over travel bans that were affecting countries just like the one I was in.  We were actively trying to refuse visitors simply because of the majority religion of the area of the world they lived in.

I know what awaits those who come to the U.S. and can’t speak English.  Derision and mocking at the very least, perhaps worse.  There are few in the U.S. who would invite a stranger into their home who could not speak English.

It was a humbling trip.

Even now, in the U.S,. we are openly in conflict with those who are not like us.  Perhaps I am more attuned to it now, but I’ve heard more blatantly racist statements made in the last year than I remember hearing my entire life, previously.

“But” you say, “we are not at peace!  We ARE in open conflict with those others.  They are seeking to destroy us!”

Yes.  I agree.  We are not at peace.  Perhaps it is because we are no longer a people of peace.   We no longer welcome the tired, the poor, the huddled masses, and as a result, we no longer understand what living in peace with our neighbor is truly like.   Instead of reaching out to understand those who have come to us in search of safety or sanctuary, we build walls to keep them out.  We fight to keep ourselves separate, and not equal.  We hold ourselves above them, struggling to protect what is ours.  We take more than our share, while those who seek equality are refused at the gate for being born in the wrong place.  We bomb from above those with ideological differences, and are horrified when they strike back.

I would love for America to be made great again.

We must seek the path of peace, or will never succeed.  

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ~ Hebrews 13:2