It's A Small World

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead


Me and my beautiful Zimbabwean friend, Chrissy!

I don’t like to fly! Those words are no surprise to anyone who knows me well. I have flown, I can fly, but I don’t enjoy it. I’m not afraid of losing my life in a plane crash, as a matter of fact, I love take offs and landings, the most dangerous times of any flight I’ve been told. It doesn’t bother me to go through all the security or run to catch a connecting flight. What I don’t like is the feeling of being trapped in a small space with no means of escape until the pilot leaves the clouds behind and returns his “ship” to earth. I am very claustrophobic.

Living in the Washington, D.C. area has opened doors to the world for me. We have close friends on several continents and as much as I don’t like getting on a plane, I LOVE greeting friends who are getting off of them. Over the years we have hosted friends from all over the globe, Australia, Malaysia, Latvia, Switzerland, France, Germany, China, and more. Currently, our dear friends from Zimbabwe are visiting us. Unlike our local friends, the visits from our international guests are less frequent, and therefore, to a certain extent, life as we know it is temporarily suspended. These are very special times for us as we share meals, enjoy local attractions, and talk late into the night. Every moment spent with these friends is precious, like sighting a comet that only passes close enough to earth for viewing once or twice in a lifetime. As thankful as we are for modern technology that allows us to “visit” via Skype or e-mail, there is nothing like face to face conversation and breaking bread together at our kitchen table.

Having international friends has taught me some important truths. The world doesn’t seem nearly as big when one has friends encircling it. Connecting faces and conversations with countries around the world draws the circle closer. Discussing and sharing political view points, government policies, leaders, and various customs with foreign friends is fascinating and enlightening, and makes me proud to be an American more often than not. I’ve learned that there are good and bad people no matter where you live or visit. Sadly I’ve discovered that American media is not as interested in world news as they are in news about the U.S., we are a very inwardly focused country by in large. It makes it harder to keep up with the day to day happenings of my friends across the pond. I am, however, thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given to expand my view of the world, it’s taught me to appreciate and understand my brothers and sisters here and abroad more deeply.

As I write this my Zimbabwean friends are sitting across the room from me. We haven’t seen them for 18 years, yet when we reunited it was as if no time had passed. We have a lot in common, our faith and commitment to family just to name a couple. We also are aware of our differences; we live in a Democracy whereas they live under the rule of a very vile dictator, despite our depressed economy it’s better than theirs, we live with abundance on every front while they often visit stores with empty shelves. I’m already dreading the goodbyes coming up when we drop them at the airport early next week. I will shed more than a few tears, chances are we will not see them again, face to face, this side of heaven. And there’s the rub, the door to the world swings both ways, the goodbyes always come. These are the times when I remind myself the world isn’t all that big, I know because little by little, person by person it has passed through my door. I know because we have friends in Australia who raise cattle, they have named one after me, somewhere on a hillside in Australia, there is a cow named Roberta, and somehow that makes that pasture seem just a little closer!

Me with the Eddens

Here is a picture of Minto Roberta with her newest calf!