What Good Will it Do?

Were descending from the Grand Tetons area to Casper, WY for the next transition. 160 miles, most of it downhill! I'm up in 45min. To check out the exploits of Team Kinjara as they crushed the Tetons (in our absence) check out the team blog: http://raceforcongo.tumblr.com/

While at the KOA, I struck up a conversation with Barbara. She was a sweet lady with a bit of pessimism thrown in for good measure. In her own words: "maybe I've lived too long." But her question to me was a good one: what good will biking across the country do to help people in the Congo, and even more pointedly, she questioned whether we really have a responsibility to do anything to try to help. When I pressed her as to what she thinks we should do to help, she was pretty to the point: "I think we should leave them alone."

I didn't have time to give a well thought out answer, but I did say that if I was a woman in Congo, injurred by rape, shunned by my community, trying to find a way to feed my starving family and I knew there were wealthy Christians in the US and their response to my situation was to "leave them alone" I would feel quite discouraged. But having more time to reflect on our conversation, I wished I would have said this:
First about the bike race.
Our goal is to raise $43,000 (of which we have raised $38,350 thus far) and so that will go far to build peace in the three cities World Relief has targeted for their peacebuilding initiative. If the program has success in those locations, they will be models for future towns and villages. But beyond that, we want to generate interest and raise awareness; to put the plight of the Congo back on our radar screens, so to speak, as the cumulative affect of our culture is to numb us into apathy and selfishness. The prayer is, an event like a ride across the US reminds all of us who care about the Congo, as well as teaching those unaware of the situation. As much as I'm normally against Blogs and socail media, I can't deny the fact that they have done well at creating interest and hopefully empathy leading to action.

Second about our responsibility
Barbara is right of course, she isn't responsible for the people in Eastern Congo and more than she is for the people of Haiti or the situation developing in Eastern Africa. But scripture calls us to compassion. Jesus tells a story of a wealthy man who has a destitute homeless person living at his gate and ignored him every single day. The story concludes with Abraham (in heaven) sharply rebuking the man for his lack of compassion and empathy, resulting in action. The point of the story is clear: we might not be responsible for evey tragedy, but the opposite extreme of selfishness and apathy is even more damning. For us at Kettlebrook (if you are in our community) Congo has been laid at our gate, so to speak. Through a confluence of circumstances God has undeniably invited us into his heart as we begin to be concerned about the people in Goma and Eastern Congo. We won't fix the problem. But we can help. And even more important we resist the tendancy inside us all toward narcissism, self-indulgence, and elitism.

Perhaps we need the Congo more than Congo needs us.
Gotta go and pedal for my brothers and sisters. My time is here. I'm on a vista looking over a beautiful panoramic view of buttes and valleys. WIsh you all could see it!
Peace.
Mike