I recently sat across a table from a white, middle-class, 20-something American man from Texas and it was just so…wonderful.
No, I wasn’t having tea with a mirror.
When we aren’t helping Fallujan babies get heart operations, we’re constantly encouraging you to engage ‘the other,’ to find someone radically different from yourself—preferably someone you would deem an ‘enemy’—and to connect with them. You get extra points for learning from them, and even more points for loving them when they treat you poorly.
But there is something really sweet about connecting and refreshing with like-minded people, and that’s why our recent trips across the United States have felt like a breath of fresh air. We speak the same language, we agree that Mayo on fries is nasty, and we share a common cultural heritage. Not to mention you guys teach us so much!
The eyes-wide-open passion of the students and faculty at Cedarville University, Bryan College, Taylor University, Calvin College, and Pepperdine University blew us away; it gave us hope.
So, to all the individuals and institutions who have hosted us in recent days: THANK YOU!
Your role in the Coalition is invaluable—you’re saving lives in Iraq, and you’re certainly making ours better.
We’re headed back to the States this month for a series of speaking engagements, and we’d love to see you! Check the listing below to see if we’ll be in your area, or leave us a comment/send me an email if you’d like to host one of our staff for a dialogue about enemy-love, peacemaking, or our development work in Iraq.
Houston Baptist University – February 19 – Houston
The Justice Conference – February 22+23 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Loft Church – February 23-24 – The Woodlands, Texas
Ecclesia Church – February 24 – Houston, Texas
Eastgate Community Church – February 25 – Cincinnati, Ohio
Cedarville University – February 27 – Cedarville, Ohio
Photo Credit: Calvin College