May 18, 2008

Noah and the Large Canoe

Every day here is an experience in itself and I am reminded again and again that we that live in the world do not all think alike or have the same experience and those of us that live on the other side of the globe think even differently and have even different experiences. Generally speaking, we in the United States think relatively the same and have generally similar experiences but in my experience even that varies between, regions, towns, city and country, families and ethnicities. If that is so, how much more between the U.S. and Mozambique.
This experience was brought back home to me this morning as I was teaching Sunday School class. I was again reminded of the reality of the Mozambican experience, the expectations of people and how things are seen so differently. I was teaching on Noah’s ark and how Noah had to build this huge ark in expectation of a flood. I often think about how difficult that must have been for Noah and how crazy his neighbors and friends must have thought him to be. I was hoping to teach the class how sometimes God calls us to do things that look crazy to others. I asked the class to imagine what if God told someone from our church to build this boat as large as the town’s soccer field in the middle of town (Gondola is on a plateau with hills so there is no way it will flood) and is telling people that it will flood. What would people think? The response I got was: People will start talking amongst themselves and think, “Maybe he can build me one too.” Great, how do I reconcile that one? My point was lost. I will have to think a week to get my head around that one. Where I see a crazy guy and a flood, this person sees a yacht and he wants one. I should have started thinking more about it when I first heard someone say the story was about Noah and the “Canoa Grande” (large canoe). I suppose it is the same with many other things. Where I see an empty water bottle, someone else sees a container for selling oil, holding beans for storage or for water or a play toy. Where I see broken glass, someone sees a mirror or shards to put on the wall to keep thieves out. Where I see a corn stalk, someone sees a wall for a latrine or a fence to keep the chickens out of the garden. Where I see a car someone sees a moving target to hit with their tangerine. We all see things differently. It is no wonder we did not get along after Babel.