Where I've Stood

An old Haitian proverb, "We see from where we stand."

"When we change the places we stand, 'our perceptions of the world will be changed and challenged.'...Where have you stood?" Small Things with Great Love p. 43

I have stood in many, many places in my life and I'm only 28.

The most different and most memorable I have been in was the villages in India.  I went with YWAM when I was 14 to Guwahatti, India.  I saw people taking baths in the river or even out on the sides of the street actually.  I saw and smelled the streets lined with trash.  I saw extreme poverty everywhere we went, people who barely had anything. 

I saw a village we visited lay out the craziest and most elaborate spread of food for us when we visited them, just because they were so happy to see us. 

I've seen the people of Haiti and Jamaica and the desperation in their eyes when they were trying to sell us things they had made.  I went on a cruise with my family to these two places and saw the irony of people who had everything in the world going to a place where people had almost nothing, and do nothing for them but stay in their own comfortable, successful bubble.

I saw the people of Taiwan and their drive to succeed.  I saw the most amazing worship services in Banner Church in Taiwan where for the first time I could really FEEL the love of God and FEEL the Holy Spirit in a church. 

I've been hiking up mountains in Alaska and snorkeling on beaches in Hawaii.  I've seen God's beautiful creation in both. 

I've seen the irony in Mexico of really nice houses next to desolate shacks.  I've seen the poverty of Mexico several times, the stray dogs running around everywhere, the trucks of police officers standing and holding M16 rifles ready to shoot anyone.

I've stood in many, many places, and yes all these experiences have very much shaped my view of the world and gave me a balanced perspective. 

May God open doors for me to see many, many more places.  Amen. :)