A Conversation:Ethnocentrism

So I told someone I was going to India in the Spring and they answered, "like for a Missions Trip?"
I said, "I'm actually gonna study there" and I think they said, "Oh."

While I can understand her reasoning, I feel like this shows American ethnocentrism.  Dictionary.com defines it as "Belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group".

Often times as Americans we can think that we have all of the answers and can be the saviors of the world. We can go to other countries and help them, which I'm not denying that we can, but through what type of eyes are we viewing those we help?

While I know perhaps missions trips and service can come from a place of real compassion and care, I think we also must realize that we need a dose of humility whenever we think we are there to "help them" when in reality they might be the ones to teach us something. We need to stop looking at ourselves as superwoman or superman and realize that they are people just like us who have come into different circumstances.

Also we must be in check with our motivations. Why are we helping them? Are we helping them to make us feel good about ourselves? Or are we trying to accomplish a greater task?

I was challenged and reminded earlier this year by what Matthew 6 says about service:

1“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.^(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^(B)

We should not serve for others but to please the One who made us. He will reward what is done in secret as he sees our true motivation to serve Him.

Join me

Wow.  Fall semester is over. The time has come to finally focus on preparing myself to go to India. It all still seems surreal. Am I really not going back to Messiah in the Spring? Wait I'll be flying by myself across the ocean to a completely different time zone? Oh and on top of that going to a completely different culture?

Yes. It's true. I am nervous, excited and all of the above. 

One month from today I will be boarding a plane to go to India.

I've had people ask me, "Why India?" 

At face value, I am excited to wear Indian clothing, visit the Taj Mahal, and see the many colors of Indian wares, temples and landscapes.

However on a more serious note, I want to make it perfectly clear that my mindset for this journey is not one of a tourist. It is getting to know and be present with those I encounter and meet. I want to learn about their lives. I hope to be able to tangibly see what it is like for Christians in India to live in the pluralism of their society. I believe that through understanding these challenges I will grow in my faith and get to know those who are different than me. I have found it is good to be pushed and that it allows me to grow and see other perspectives. I will also have the opportunity to serve during my time there. I want to build relationships with the people and learn how they engage with the poverty in their own country.  With this new found knowledge I hope to serve others in the U.S. as well as worldwide. I don’t want to live in ignorance of what is around me and what is happening but to engage with it so that I can make change. I want to step outside of my perfect bubble of cleanliness, my stability of having more than I need and learn what it really means to live for others who I don't see everyday.

I've had so many people pray with and for me in this next part of my journey and I am so very thankful. I am excited for what this next part of my story will bring with the ups and the downs and all that I will learn. Please join me in this journey to truly live life through the eyes of my creator and not ignore those who live just as I do in a another part of this crazy, broken, beautiful world.