Masai people

When I was a young person still living in my parents home, I had seen some images of Africa. Usually those images involved vast deserts with wild animals, like what is often shown on episodes of "Wild Kingdom."  I also remember images of men dressed in colorful robes, holding spears, who did a unique dance. The dance involved jumping really high. For years my family would immitate that dance. My Tia Nita was the best at it. Now that I am an adult, I have learned that the Masai people are often known for this type of dress and dance.

On a recent visit to Kenya I had the opportunity to meet some Masai people. It was at a tourist resort on the coast, but it brought back memories from younger years. I suspect, had my family been with me they would have been dancing with the Masai and not sitting in garden chairs on the sidelines as many others were.

Being up close and personal I learned something interesting that I thought you might appreciate too. The Masai wear the most fascinating shoes.

The shoes are made of tire rubber. Yes, recycled tires can be used as footware. This particualr pair was approximately 10 years old. Wow! How many pairs of shoes do you have that you could wear every day and have them last for 10 years? Admittedly, I don't have any.

Tire shoes. Fascinating.

Just Sheri, grateful for the people I have met along the journey and what they have taught me

I am setting a "humanity" budget

A faithful reader of this blog and a person I am proud to call "friend" recently sent me an email as an answer to a long standing question I have had - what to do about the beggars I encounter on the street?

I first posted the beggar dilemma here and then a follow-up post here.

I have found the answer to my dilemma. I am going to assign myself a certain amount of "pocket change" each month as part of a "humanity budget." The amount will vary based on our income streams, but I am thinking 1% of our income to randomly give to those I see in need (including beggars).

My friend found this on http://www.bloodandmilk.org/. I am re-posting without permission because I like what the author has to say and would like to encourage others toward random acts of kindness, not because of sustainability or a judgement call on how our gift will be spent, but simply because it is valuing the humanity in others - especially those who are less fortunate than I.  Enough introduction, now for the good stuff...

Giving on the Street


I have spent my adult life confronted by people asking me for money on the street. In college in Washington DC, as a young graduate in Cairo, a grad student in Boston, and in the various countries of Central Asia. I have a policy now on who I give to, and why I do it. It’s the combination of some great advice I received from a Georgetown professor* and my own knowledge of development and poverty.

Here’s the policy:

I don’t give money to children. I will give them food if I have it, but I don’t give money. Children should be in school, not out earning money on the street. I don’t want to encourage children to beg, or their parents to send them out to beg. In accounting terms, children should not be a profit center – especially not in this way – and I am not going to contribute to it.

I don’t give money and expect it to have any long-term impact. Five dollars or a banana isn’t going to change anybody’s life. It will buy their next meal, or their next beer. It will make this day a little better for them. That is all. When I give money, I give it with that understanding.

I have a budget. I spend ten dollars a week on giving money to people who ask for it. It doesn’t come out of my charitable contribution budget, because I use that for donations that will have an impact. It has its own line in my budget.

If you had to name that line in my budget, I guess you could call it humanity. I give because I don’t want to become someone who ignores the pain of others. We’re all human beings, together, on this planet, and it’s only an accident of luck that means I can give and not receive. I recognize that, and so I give. If I was hungry and alone on the street, I wouldn’t be worried about sustainability, I would be worried about dinner.

That’s it. That’s the policy.

Note #1 – The story my professor at Georgetown told our class: He was in a North African Country – Algeria, I think – and he was very uncomfortable with all the beggars on the street. He’d plan his walk to his university to avoid them. He didn’t look them in the eye. He never knew if he should give. Then, one night, he was walking with an Algerian colleague. His colleague stopped suddenly in the middle of their conversation, and crossed the street in order to give money to a beggar. My professor realized then he needed to find a way to be equally compassionate himself. He went home and told his wife about it, and she suggested a weekly budget for him, and that is what he has done ever since. And also what I do.

Note #2 – I have a friend who used to have a weekly budget for giving to the homeless, when he realized one day that $10 a week is $520 a year. Now, ever January, he writes a $600 check to an organization that works with the homeless and he never gives money on the street. That seems like a reasonable and pragmatic approach to me, but it doesn’t suit my own heart.
 
Just Sheri, protecting my own heart from coldness and unkindness by giving (randomly) to the needy

The Power of a Whisper

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left,
your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,
“This is the way; walk in it.”

 
I recently finished reading an inspiring book called "The Power of a Whisper" by Bill Hybels. It may seem crazy to some to admit to hearing voices. But, I believe that Providence has guided my life and led me on this great adventure.  The author describes a similar experience in his own life. Is there any other reason we would uproot (again) and leave the known for the unknown? No rational reason that I know of, it just simply doesn't add up on a spreadsheet. I have never regretted following the leading of my God and I enjoyed reading stories of others who have responded to the call.
 
Bill closes the book with the following quote:

Listen up. Follow through. And then join your heavenly Father on a whisper-fueled adventure you'll never regret.

Will you accept the challenge?

Just Sheri, attempting to obey quiet promptings from the unseen

Learning a language means risking embarrassment

I have made great progress in being able to read and understand Portuguese. I have been reluctant to speak. The staff would speak to me in Portuguese (partially to test my knowledge), I would answer in English. Then they started challenging me - "No. Not in English. Answer in Portuguese." Somone pointed out to me that I must be a perfectionist because of my reluctance to speak Portuguese.

I was reluctant. But, partially because it took me so long to get a basic sentence constructed and things just moved faster when I spoke English to those who speak English better than I speak Portuguese.

I would hope that one day I could just wake up and be able to speak Portuguese.

My teacher and I started working on it. One hour of conversation. One hour of grammar lessons.

I forced myself past my mental barrier.

I try daily to speak a bit of Portuguese. It's coming. There is a long way to go.

Recently, I have found a couple of areas where confusion remains.

tired (cansado) and married (casado)

parents (pais) and countries (paises)

It is a very different sentence depending on pronunciation, when speaking I can't seem to remember and when listening I often confuse the two.

Ahhh, language learning. A lesson in humility.

Just Sheri, lifelong learner (now) willing to face embarrassment

a typical village greeting in rural Mozambique

I am going to miss this. Yes, I am. Only a few more days and this chapter of our lives is coming to an end. I hope to witness these types of events again in the future. I hope. I hope. I hope.

Just Sheri, you'd think I would be used to these major life changes by now (and yet I am not)