Vol. 1, No. 7
“…ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40
July 2005
Anticipating the Visit of Pastor Maurice
By Esther McDaniel
As I contemplate the imminent visit of Pastor Maurice
from Hope for Children Center, I cannot help but view
America through different eyes. How thrilling it will be to
witness his wonder and excitement as he views one marvel
after another. How he will wish that Edith were with him so
that he could share each special moment with her on the spot.
How he will long to take so much of America back home to
all of his children at Hope Center. I can understand those
longings because I have felt them myself on both of my visits
to east Africa.
Recently, I traveled from my
home in West Virginia to Minne-
sota and back. For much of the
trip it seemed like there were
more trucks on the road than there
were passenger cars. Apparently
we need so many trucks to keep
the American people living the
lifestyle they take so much for
granted.
I am sure that Maurice will
marvel as he sees our roads so
packed with vehicles, all traveling
in such a quiet, orderly fashion
with hardly a pedestrian to be seen. Surely he will see the
contrast between that and what I saw in his own country
where there are relatively very few trucks on the road and
even fairly few vehicles, but the drivers all keep their hands
on their horns because of the number of pedestrians and bi-
cycles traveling their roads. In fact, large amounts of their
commodities are hauled by bicycle instead of truck. When
one of our sponsors inquired about sending packages to the
Center via UPS, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the picture
that emerged before my eyes of a bicycle, stacked high with
boxes on the back, traversing the rugged road to our Center,
sporting a large UPS sign.
Another of our generous sponsors brought a smile to my
face as I pictured Edith’s puzzled countenance as she opened
up a small box containing the new electric hand mixer that
this sponsor wanted to send. Try as I might, I couldn’t figure
any kind of a use that Edith might find for such a “conve-
nience.” Truly, our culture and theirs are “worlds apart.” Just
to give you a glimpse of how far
apart, I will mention the worker at
the Hope Center who said to me,
very seriously, “I have heard that,
in America, some people have a
machine to wash their clothes.”
Then there was the girl who
told one of our American girls
that her teacher had told her that
in America everyone has robots
in their homes to do all their work
for them. The robots will turn
lights off and on, and even brush
their teeth for them. Though it
sounded funny put that way, as I
thought about it, I couldn’t help but wonder just how a
teacher could explain all the electronic and battery-powered
appliances and gadgets to be found in the average American
home. How might you explain it to young people who are
living in mud huts and sleeping on a mat on the floor? To
someone who must gather wood and build a fire in order to
cook a meal and carry all the family water for cooking, wash-
ing and drinking, sometimes for long distances. Perhaps “ro-
bots” is a pretty apt description after all!
Hearth to Hearth Ministries’
A Nairobi street scene.
