Unbroken, Unmoved

Posted by J on Feb 1, 2013 in J Posts | 0 comments

Some friends passed along this poem from Sir Francis Drake for our journey:

Disturb us Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we dreamed too little,

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life.

I met John Komanya in the airport in Dar es Salaam. It was typically awkward for my sons: we were leaving the airport cafeteria after a quick muffin lunch when I met eyes with a stranger, he stood up, we introduced ourselves to each other … and my children disappeared.

Turns out, John used to live and preach in Maryland … but he returned to his home in Tanzania to run various ministries full time. “I’d love to see those ministries,” I told him. We then exchanged numbers.

A week later, I was with John in his four-by-four on a gutted road in a Dar suburb. He’d assembled all the principals of his small church for a special tour – a tour for me, only me – to meet people they were helping:

Seven children who lived with their mother and grandmother in squalor. A baby who needed surgery outside the country to repair a hole in her heart. Abused women and young girls in a yet-to-be constructed home in the country.

Throughout the day, though … my heart remained unbroken, unmoved.

Who knows why? I was embarassed to take pictures … I was hesitant to engage in some sort of hardship tourism … I was tired. I kept expecting someone to ask me for money, to ask for help … to NEED my help … but that request, that need, never came.

Our tour ended at a home for teenage boys who’d previously lived on the street. John lived there, too, ministering to – and fathering – these boys. Many of the young men were being trained as musicians – guitarists, bassists, drummers, keyboard players – to play in a worship band led by John Komanya.

When they played for us … I am so grateful to say that my heart was lifted ever so slightly. It was MUSIC that finally moved my spirit off its center.

I’m still waiting for my heart to break.

–

(Here’s a recording of one of the songs played by the worship band. It concludes when John invites me to sing along.)