Category: How Americans Think Page 1 of 8

We’re Black Panther fans in this house, it being the only superhero movie set in Africa and all.

Then I read Cobalt Red, and I told my kids that Wakanda is a real place – it’s called Congo. This is why: the fictional Wakanda held the mythical metal vibranium, which made it the most technologically advanced country on the planet. The nonfiction Congo holds more cobalt than the rest of the world combined, which is the metal required for lithium batteries. Given the worldwide demand for rechargeable batteries, one would assume that Congo should be the most technologically advanced country on the planet. Or at least the richest. Just like Wakanda.

But Marvel doesn’t mirror real life. Despite the fact that over 70% of cobalt comes out of Congo (111,750 tons in 2021), the country languishes as the fourth poorest in the world. In this twisted fairytale, the wealth of Wakanda is raped, exploited, ravaged. In the greatest irony of ironies, only 9% of Congolese even have electricity.

And then there’s the surprise ending: I benefit from this exploitation.

Luxury Cars or Walking Dusty Roads

By Amy Medina

On January 18, 2024

In How Africans Think, How Americans Think

He doesn’t have money for bus fare, so he walks miles every week to Tanzanian public schools to share the Story of God with teenagers.

This man is my friend. He went through our Bible School program. He is a wonderful husband and father, a faithful Christian committed to Scripture. He is an English speaker and savvy businessman with many skills, but finding regular sources of income in Tanzania can be challenging.

Yet his heart is for ministry. In Tanzania, public schools welcome outside teachers to cover religion classes. There is no pay involved, just a strategic opportunity for God’s servants to teach hundreds of kids about the Word of God.

This friend built a team to take the gospel to these schools. But he doesn’t own a vehicle and has no money for bus fare (about 25 cents a day) because any money he earns from side businesses goes towards feeding his family and sending his kids to school (which is never free). So he walks. Every week. He walks miles and miles to get to these schools.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, I watch a commercial for a luxury vehicle: A perfect man with a perfect suit drives on a perfectly smooth road in his perfect car, and the voice-over lauds the heated seats, 14-inch media screen, aromatherapy, and champagne holder.

Two men, living under the same sun. One with very little in his life to make him comfortable, yet prizing the kingdom of God. The other – epitomizing comfort.

Savior Complex: Thoughts on Renee Bach

By Amy Medina

On November 26, 2023

In How Americans Think, Poverty, Thoughts on Missions

This piece assumes you are familiar with the story of Renee Bach, which was recently depicted in the documentary Savior Complex on HBO, but also in the 2020 podcast series called The Missionary.

I have a lot of sympathy for Renee Bach because I could have been her.

I remember questioning whether a college education was worth the price when so many in Africa urgently needed that money and my help. If I had gotten the notion in my idealistic head that it was possible to go to Africa at age 19 and start a charity, I might have jumped on the next plane.

Did Renee Bach have a Savior Complex? Absolutely. So did I. So do a lot of young people. It might not be about missions for all of them – it might be climate change or racial reconciliation or anti-sex trafficking or gender equality or whatever is the current hot-button topic – but young people are known for their passion and idealism. Renee’s intentions were noble, and she helped to save babies’ lives. Isn’t this a good thing? It sure is a lot more inspiring than playing video games in the basement.

But young people don’t know what they don’t know, and this is what the adults in their lives need to help them see. So when I consider Renee’s story, that’s the part that strikes me as the avoidable tragedy.

I’m not sure what was in the water in Jinja, Uganda, that caused dozens of young American women to zip over and start charities all by themselves. (We never saw this trend in Tanzania.) Renee moved to Uganda the same year that Katie Davis published her New York Times bestseller Kisses from Katie about doing the exact thing. Katie was the darling of the evangelical world that year, so why would Renee question if this was a wise move?

Longing for a Better Country

By Amy Medina

On October 3, 2023

In How Americans Think, Living Like a Missionary, Thoughts on Missions

Living as a foreigner taught me how to live as a Christian

Imagine you read this in a newsletter from a cross-cultural missionary: 

We didn’t expect Hindu beliefs to be so strange. We were expecting the people to think more like us, and their differences are making us very uncomfortable, even angry.

We are especially worried about how Hindu beliefs are influencing us and our children. We don’t want to expose ourselves to these lies. We only let a few safe people, usually other missionaries, into our home. We want our children to have only good Christian influences in their lives.

Would you question whether these missionaries understood what they signed up for? Would you wonder if they are having any impact at all? This is not a true story, but there’s something to notice here: all Christians have been given the same Great Commission, yet sometimes we hold missionaries to a different standard than we hold ourselves. Can the missionary life illustrate God’s intention for all believers?

When a foreign country felt like home

I was a missionary kid in Africa for half of my childhood, and then my husband and I lived in Tanzania, East Africa, for 16 years. We adapted to driving on the left side of the road. We figured out how to combat millipedes and centipedes. We learned to snorkel; we knew where to buy the best roadside barbequed chicken; we hailed three-wheeled rickshaw taxis in Swahili. We formed tight bonds in the community. Life in Tanzania was not always easy, but we felt we belonged there. Visiting the States felt stressful; Tanzania felt like home. 

Yet, no matter how much I wanted Tanzania to be my home, it never really could be. Tangible reminders of my status as a foreigner followed me everywhere. Every two years, I had to reapply for a residence permit. I was not permitted to own a home. I could not vote. No matter how hard I tried, I would never look the same, sound the same, think the same as the people around me. I was always an outsider.

Scripture often refers to Christians as strangers (Heb 11:13), foreigners (1 Pet 1:17) and exiles (1 Pet 2:11). Making my home in a foreign land gave me this perspective. It granted me a picture of what my life as a Christian should look like in my own home country. 

Now that I’m living back in America, I discovered that living as a foreigner taught me much about living as a Christian. 

Go here to read the rest at the EFCA blog.

I Want to Need You

By Amy Medina

On September 21, 2023

In How Americans Think

I bonded with Mark and Jan when I called them ten days after arriving in Tanzania because I had a panic attack. I became friends with Prakash and Harsha when they invited Gil and me to sleep at their house that night.

Carol showed me how to grocery shop in a new country. I got to know Alyssa during her long hours combing lice out of my hair. Everest became an extension of our family during the years he fixed our plumbing, electricity, and immigration problems. We called Dan and Janet when Gil broke out in a sudden, high fever. Janelle and I became friends while being stranded by the old school car multiple times. Lucy and I shared our life stories while she patiently stretched my Swahili skills.

When thrust into a country where I had no extended family, didn’t speak the language, and had to learn new ways of surviving, I had to throw myself at the mercy of others. Yes, it was humiliating to be so dependent, but I didn’t have a choice. And when I got my feet under me and other new people arrived, they turned to me for a lifeline – and it was fulfilling and gratifying to help. Bonds formed quickly, deeply, permanently.

These weren’t just friendships based on casual, common interests. They were relationships built on necessity and desperation, forming an intricate web of the sorrows and joys of daily life.

When we relocated to a brand new city in California three years ago, I found myself frustrated that it took so long to make friends and feel like I was part of a community. In Tanzania, it had happened almost instantaneously. What was different? It slowly dawned on me: In America, I didn’t need to depend on anyone.

Category: How Americans Think Page 1 of 8

Wakanda is Real, but It’s a Nightmare

Luxury Cars or Walking Dusty Roads

Savior Complex: Thoughts on Renee Bach

Longing for a Better Country

When a foreign country felt like home

I Want to Need You