Other views: Lessons from Kenya can help our Lowcountry community

If we are truly to serve as God’s hands and feet in the world, how do we work with people who come from countries and cultures very different from ours?

That was the question posed at the recent Kenya Mission Network gathering hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Hilton Head Island.

We were blessed by the presence of representatives of Presbyterian churches and presbyteries across the U.S. with mission partners and programs in Kenya. We gathered for three days to learn from each other.

Participants came from as near as Charlotte and Mount Pleasant, and from as far away as Oregon, North Dakota, Michigan and Texas — as well as Kenya. Several were Kenyan pastors currently serving churches in America.

The theme was “Building Cross-Cultural Mission Skills” and our guests from Kenya included the Rt. Rev. Julius Mwamba, moderator of the General Assembly of the 4-million-member Presbyterian Church of East Africa; and the Rev. Geoffrey Hiuhu, pastor of a church in Mombasa that was destroyed by Muslim extremists.

Mwamba is providing dynamic leadership for the Presbyterian denomination in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, with special focus on strengthening the Presbyterian University of East Africa.

Hiuhu — in the aftermath of the destruction of his church on the coast of Africa — insisted on a response of reconciliation and collaborative communication with the local mosque when many were advocating retaliation. He rallied his congregation to rebuild the church within a week to continue as a Christian presence in the community.

Best practices

Workshop sessions focused on best practices and sustainability in global missions, plus dynamic discussion of the need for Christians to understand their Muslim neighbors.

My “take-away” from the gathering is encapsulated in the word RELATIONSHIP and the emphasis our Kenyan friends placed on developing relationships prior to undertaking projects and developing programs.

We were encouraged to LISTEN to our mission partners describe their needs and their ideas of how we can help.

The concept of “toxic charity” was discussed, and we were admonished never to do for someone what they can and should do for themselves, and to think about working WITH rather than working FOR people.

Cultural awareness is a significant issue, and it behooves us to LEARN about those whom we want to serve. Examples, both humorous and tragic, were offered to explain how we can easily misunderstand each other, and even do more harm than good, despite our best intentions. We were cautioned to think of unintended consequences of our actions and to use locally-sourced technology and resources whenever possible.

Lessons for home

Throughout the conference, I kept thinking about how applicable this advice is for our Lowcountry, where we are a blend of Gullah natives, retirees from U.S. urban areas, young working families, Latino immigrants, and visitors seeking the beauty and lifestyle of our climate.

We bring a richness of diverse life and leadership experiences, as well as the energy and enthusiasm to invest and share those assets with the broader community.

We must face together many challenges in preserving our Lowcountry culture and environment, educating our young people, and sustaining our home.

Let us resolve to focus on nurturing RELATIONSHIPS, LISTENING and LEARNING about each other as we address the challenges before us.

We have the potential to be a model for a multi-cultural community, which evolves from co-existence to genuine community.

As our African friends say, “I am because we are; we are because I am.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Other views: Lessons from Kenya can help our Lowcountry community."