promoting peace

I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson…AMAZING!! It’s an incredible story of the author Greg’s determination and passion for the people and children of Central Asia (Pakistan and Afghanistan). He devotes his life to building schools in remote villages where there, the children sit on the grass and draw their arithmetic with sticks in the dirt because they have no school, no supplies, and no teacher.

I loved this book for so many reasons. I am passionate about cultures and I love to experience foreign places, culture, food, people, and ideas and values. It was fascinating to me to live overseas and experience a foreign way of life and culture, but what impacted me the most, was the people….to know the people.

The author and main character, Greg Mortenson is astounded at what he finds when he stumbles upon the Pakistani people….he is profoundly changed by their hospitality, their dreams, and their values. After he asks to visit the village school and finds children seated on the ground doing their arithmetic with sticks, he promises to build them a school. And that he does. He toils, struggles, suffers huge obstacles, and ends up raising money to build a school in the village that he has come to love so deeply. He forms profound life-long friendships with the people of this village. Years, and many new schools later, he creates the Central Asia Institute and builds 77 more schools in small villages throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan, all the while gaining the respect of village elders and national leaders. His driving force is his belief that to change a nation, is to educate its children, especially its girls. This is how a nation becomes empowered to sustain itself. It is educating its children that will eventually fight and end terrorism (not war). He gets to the root of the issue of terrorism instead of just fighting it. “In America’s case, that’s not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever” (page 310). If only more Americans would understand this!

Throughout the book, I got to thinking…I don’t know whether Greg knows Jesus, but his story is that of the incarnate Christ and how we as Christians are to imitate Christ to others, and to cultures and nations that we encounter. Greg spent time with the people, he taught himself the language of the people, he dressed liked them, and learned their customs and what they valued, and why they did the things they did. He took the time to learn them and understand them. I love that. That is what “ministry” and missions is to be. We enter in to a culture as guests, to learn everything we can and most of all to serve them. This requires humility.

Another thing that is crucial to missions and ministry is that it be locally owned and run. Greg sought out the elders of the village for advice, wisdom, and direction. He used the nation’s tools, materials, supplies, and built schools in the context of their culture…not “American” schools, but Pakistani and Afghani schools that reflected their culture and arts. He raised up teachers from within to teach their schools. He didn’t bring in Americans to teach their people. This is so that they can sustain themselves and continue on and teach their own people…passing on peace from generation to generation.

Likewise, missions or ministries in other cultures and nations must be started with the goal that it be led by natives. From the start, we are to be raising up locals to carry it on. So it is with the gospel. Christ must be shared in the context of one’s culture (by the way, you've got to read Peace Child, if you haven’t already). We do not bring an “American gospel.” A question to ask is, How will this people understand the sacrifice of Christ from their cultural understanding?

These are just some of my thoughts that I am super passionate about. Man, if I could live a couple of years in every country of the world, I would, for Christ is revealed in different and unique ways in each culture.

All that to say, Three Cups of Tea is a must read!

To read more about Greg Mortenson's work visit: http://www.threecupsoftea.com/

~n