Foreigners & Exiles

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles ...

1 Peter 2:9-11

I can think of nowhere this is more true than in Rwanda. The genocide destroyed lives by turning communities into isolated survivors.  The gospel binds individuals in Kingdom communities defined by redemption, hope, and support.

Foreign missionaries are constantly bombarded with the message that they are different.  Life is never as easy as it is at "home".  It is ironic that their goal is to make others feel like foreigners in their home country.

Local missionaries struggle with this as well.  We call ourselves and our peers out to form of self exile from the societal norm of compartmentalization.  Instead, we intionally isolate ourselves in comfortable places on a slippery slope to complacency.

What is the secret sauce in Rwanda?  That's what I'm here to find out.