Constructive Concern

Preparing to leave for Peru in less than 48 hours now, I am aware of the large community I have supporting me, and I thank each and everyone of you. I am also aware that many are worried or concerned for my safety and well-being. I would like to challenge you to worry or be concerned just as much for all those who daily live the realities I will be experiencing and worse. If you hope that I am welcomed by the community, ask yourself if you are welcoming to strangers and offer hospitality to those who are new or in need. If you worry about me not having enough to eat, think of the thousands who die daily from starvation, they are part of my body as well. If you worry about me being robbed, think of those who not only have money or possessions stolen, but have their houses destroyed and their land taken away. Hundreds if not thousands are robbed daily of their culture, their roots, their home and family. If you worry about me being sick, think of all the preventable diseases which claim the lives of many because we have not learned how to share our resources and knowledge. If you worry about my health and saftey, ask why my health and safety are threatened. What are the structures that create poverty so some must steal from others because they have been stolen from? Or why are there greater health risks in impoverished areas with little to no health care? See if any of your worries or concerns for me can become motivations for social and structural change. Everything is interconnected and we are all part of the same body and the one Spirit. When one part suffers, we all suffer, and when one part rejoices we all rejoice. If you care about me, if you care about yourself, care about Our body and work to protect it. Work to ensure that all parts, all peoples, are treated with dignity and respect, and in that I too will be treated with dignity and respect.