A letter from David Walter
June 17, 2008
What does it do?
I need to tell you this story. It does not come from my region and, in fact, it was told to me secondhand, but I am sure it is true. I found it to be so compelling that I have to share it with you.
A couple of nights ago one of my students, George Bradley, (I am a substitute teacher part-time) called me. At one of the schools at which I teach there are some new arrivals. Their names are Aung and Kwa. Along with their youngest brother, they are refugees from western Thailand and have been adopted by a couple here in west Michigan. They are part of the Karen people, who make up the majority of people in Myanmar.
Originally refugees from Tibet, they have been trying to gain independence from Myanmar for years. I have had the pleasure of teaching both of the older brothers. They are quiet, studious young men who, as you can well imagine, are struggling to learn English and assimilate into our strange new culture. They were forced to endure a barbed-wire-enclosed refugee camp before coming here. What has happened to their parents remains a mystery.
Shortly after arrival in their new home, the youngest, who is more fluent in English, asked his adopted mother how much her ring cost. She said, “$8,000.” “What does it do?” he asked. The mother told my student that she knew right then that these boys were going to change her life forever.
My guess is that he simply could not imagine spending that amount of money on something that was not useful, something that could not improve or sustain his quality of life or help others. Spending money on frivolous things is unthinkable to most of the people of this world, perhaps even having extra money that’s not being put to use is unthinkable.
Like everyone else these days, I grumble and mumble when I fill up my gas tank. It seems that even cutting the grass has become fairly expensive! Food prices continue to soar, but then we do have plenty to eat! Yet all this pales in comparison with what this young child’s worldview is. Even though I spent several years in Vanuatu living with folks who had very very little in the way of worldly goods, that memory does fade, and I need a periodic reminder such as this of how very fortunate we are here in this country.
Maybe I need to slightly rephrase the question I posed as a title to this letter to: “What do I do?” Maybe I need to examine my worldview and reorder my priorities. Do I make a difference in something other than my own life? Do I do the right thing without thinking about it? If I am my brother’s keeper, am I up to that task? Do I treat everyone — friend and enemy — with love and respect? When I buy things do I ask, “What does it do?”
I need to think about these things and, if I don’t like the answers, I need to change some things. I owe at least that much to most of the rest of the world.
David
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 79
