If you have read any of my past entries, you know that I frequently speak on the concept and practice of christian life as well as the north american church...
I was talking with a friend of mine today as we were eating some exquisite roast beef sandwiches at a little shop called Maverick's near Saint Paul. I ran an idea by him that I have been thinking about for a day or so and has sparked my curiosity... here it is.
What if...
I were to spend a year traveling across the United States of America and would completely depend on churches and their members to take me in, feed me, let me sleep at someones house, care for me, and send me on my way....
?
What if I spent a year doing that as I traveled all across this country? Do you think that the people in the church would really look out for me and offer me care and provision? My immediate suspicion is no, but I would like to think yes, I really would like to think yes.
This is the other part - I don't tell them that I am doing this as an experiment or test, I don't tell them that I had been on staff with a church or done international mission work, or any of that jazz... I come to them in brokenness and humility ( I am sure that I would n0t be faking this after the first month on the road) who loves the Lord and is expecting his people to show me His love.
If I were to document this experience, i wonder what we would find out... Would I be accepted? Would I be dismissed or cast out?
It struck me as a very interesting thing to consider... I am sure you would be interested to see this actually happen and to hear updates as the year goes on. Well.....
...maybe someday I'll be that person and give this a shot. I am sure I would learn a ton and be forever changed... but until then I would like to think that if the tables were turned I would be willing to take that person in, if just for a little while and show that person love and compassion.
Now that I have processed the idea a bit, the oddest part of the whole thing is that this concept of welcoming in a stranger is such a foreign idea.
I once met a man who did something similar to this. He was from France and began his travels in The united States. By the time we crossed paths he had made it all the way to the Darien Gap, and realized that nearly everyone who has crossed this guerrilla and cartel infested stretch of rain forest separating Colombia and Panama has written a book about their survival. He probably made a good call in turning around. He was a storyteller and performer and had spent close to a year travelling the Americas, refusing public transportation or paying for a place to sleep. he was kind of a modern day E.C. Frommens. He became dependant on mankind for his care and survival. In exchange, he would tell stories and perform, he would teach, sing, dance, juggle, and share pieces of culture that he had learned along the way. The mission that i was working with gave him food, shelter, friendship, and opportunities to share his stories and crafts for the time he was with us, and then he went along his way... I haven't thought much about him since until right now...
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