Enkounters

To whom much is given, so much more is expected. Today, let us be mindful of these words as we clothe our bodies in black, in solidarity with women who have been raped and stripped of much; their basic human rights and dignity.  As we commemorate this first Thursday in Black at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, South Korea let us reflect deeply on this injustice in the world. Let us be compelled to action, to speak up on behalf of the voiceless and those unable to speak for themselves. (Proverbs 31:8-9) Let us be the hands and feet of Christ in the world.  Around the world women and children are falling victim and prey to the most overt form of slavery in modern history - human trafficking in the sex trade. It is happening right under our noses and next door to us and sadly, their cries go unheard and their pain goes unseen as their lives are destroyed and snuffed out.  So for today, the following days in Busan and when we depart for our home countries, let us invest in mission trips to

It's been almost two whole months since I came back from Mexico and though my battle marks from rolling down an Arizona desert are almost gone (thanks God for vitamin E, Aloe Vera & Shea Butter), I still reflect on that experience ever so often. One thing that will stick with me is just how strong the sense of community is, especially as it relates to how community groups are organized. In my Caribbean context (or maybe Jamaican) I am accustomed to many of the community groups receiving some amount of funding from  the government or government initiatives. (Or maybe I'm speaking from ignorance of my own society...hmm...feel free to interject here and help me out). Back to Mexico...I was incredibly surprised at the number of rehabilitation centres that were self-sustaining and run entirely on the goodwill of the community itself, receiving no government funding. We visited a rehabilitation centre for recovering and rehabilitated drug and alcohol abusers; a women's com

On my recent visit to Arizona/Mexico I was awakened to the power of language when I met an Aztec man, Netse, 70, and his 20 yr old son. Both are descendants of the Mesheeka people, indigenous to the Arizona/Mexico lands. It was interesting and heartbreaking to find out that even though Netse still spoke the languages of their ancestors that his youngest son could not speak any.The son shared that it was a sacrifice they had to make so that he could get an education in English and learn in the same way many other children around the world were learning. Sometimes I wonder if it's such a bad thing that people around the world are losing their language and culture and instead adopting a global language that increases communication?  Or is it just another form of control and cultural hegemony? As always there are many sides to a story and multiple ways of looking at things. When I look at my own life, I'm thankful that I speak a language unique to my people. When I speak my la

~Love God,Live life,One Enkounter at a Time~

I  feel like I've been to quite a few places in my life Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad, US: Florida, Tampa, Detroit, Ohio, Atlanta, Texas, Arizona, New York, Monterrey/Mexico, Sonora/Mexico, Toronto/Canada, Busan/South Korea...  The more I see, hear and experience in these countries is the more I realize just how small the world is.  I've seen so many similarities that I could reflect for days.  For instance, when I look at the issue of the border separating Mexico and the US, I see the same border separating North and South Korea. I see the same pain of a people longing to be reunified with loved ones, friends, community, a land they once shared.     US- Mexico border     North-South Korea Border  When I look at Toronto, I see New York, I see Busan and feel the same hopes and dreams of immigrants looking for a better life. When I look at Guyana, I see a glimpse of how Jamaican community life used to be back in days gone by -when community spirit was high and people reall