Loving Your Neighbor

The words said it all…

“What a world it could be…

What a world it could be…

Everyone living in Harmony…

No more war, no more strife…

Everybody loving one another”

Yes, isn’t this what we all want…EXCEPT AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING AT 500 DECIBALS!!!

Instead of peaceful, loving thoughts, the only thing I can think of is how I could attach the cords to the bumper of our car and drive off with the speakers trailing behind me through the streets of Chimoio. That would keep them quiet. Maybe water balloons launched into the party would break it up. Then my sense came to me and I realized that doing that to about 100 drunken people would not be in my best interest. I must turn the other cheek and bear the pain.

The irony is just too great. We have spent a wonderful first week back in Mozambique. It has been the first time we have returned when it really feels like home. It was great to see our house workers, to see the fresh coats of paint in town, the new lines and crosswalks painted the new construction bringing hope that progress is happening. All in all it has gone well with the baby, granted we have lacked sleep and I was developing a sore throat and the last couple of nights. We had finally reached the weekend and N had fed early and was ready for bed. We decided to turn in early to get extra rest, looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning.

No sooner than we had laid our heads down on the pillows it came…

BOOM…BOOM…BOOM

Screaming through the cracks in the window, bouncing off the wall in our backyard, circulating through the plumbing…dance music, signaling to the entire world that there is a party and the party is in our back yard.

I guess this is a modest plea from a sleep deprived man that loving your neighbor is not just the poor or suffering person on the other side of the world. Maybe it actually means loving your neighbor. And that building peace means turning the music off so there is one less person in the world tempted to put a car in front of their neighbors house and turn the car alarm on to accompany their morning hangovers.

Joel