End of Year Resolutions

The year 2011 is coming to an end, and it got me thinking. Every year I attempt to make New Years Resolutions. Yes, sometimes they've actually happened, but for the most part... It just doesn't happen. The biggest hinderance is not my lack of motivation but the idea that I have a whole year in front of me to get it done. Well, I have decided to try something new this year. I am making End of Year Resolutions. Nothing huge, just a couple of goals I have for myself before we ring in the New Years. So here we go...

1. Lose 2 more pounds. Yes I'm aware this is cliche and silly BUT I gained between 15 and 20 pounds during 2010, and this year I have lost all of that except 2 pounds. It's gonna happen folks-- and it's gonna happen WITHOUT me cutting out all the holiday yummys. Just watch.

2. Pay off my debt. This sounds much more intense than it really is. It really just means making sure all of my credit cards are completely paid off when I start the New Year. I want to start the New Year owing no man anything except to love them in Jesus Christ.

So those are my End of Year Resolutions. What are yours??

Rainy November Day

Opinion From the Other Side...

Many of you responded to my twitter about my professor's discussion of Christian missionaries in Africa today. One hundred and forty characters isn't enough to explain so I thought I would link you all to my blog. My teacher is a Kenyan man who was a kid when what is known as the "Mau Mau Rebellion" occurred in Kenya. This was a native rebellion against the British colonial government. Both of his parents were what he called "devout Christians." While he has never shared where he stands, I have gathered that he is rather indifferent to religion. He doesn't seem bitter towards it or even opposed. He might even be a believer, but he just doesn't really discuss it so it's hard to tell. Today a student asked about what caused the divisions between Kenyans in the rebellion. Economic divisions are discussed most, but the student asked if there were more reasons. Jid (my professor) replied that it was a great question because while class differences were a big contributor, religion was also very influential. He went on to call himself a "product of missionary schools". He said that Christian missionaries have really helped African educational systems. Additionally, he pointed out that they have brought lots of medicine and helped the overall health of Africans. However, when the Africans wanted to build their own government and get out from under colonial powers (much as the US did a couple hundred years earlier), the missionaries often sided with the colonial government. This placed Christian Africans in an awkward place. Their leaders were telling them to essentially fight against their brothers, creating Civil Wars. For example, my professor had a paternal uncle fighting for the Mau Mau and a maternal uncle fighting for the British, much as we saw in our own Civil War. He said that this occurred not only in Kenya but in many other countries like Zimbabwe and Mozambique. True, in the case of the Mau Mau, Christians did not want to have to take the Mau Mau oath to kill, but that does not mean they wanted to fight for the cause of the colonial powers either. All in all, Jid seemed to feel that the pros of missionaries outweighed the cons, but it got me thinking... Why do we so often try to force our comfort zones onto natives? We should be supporting local governments and being a help, not a harm to them. Yes, colonial struggles are now completely over in Africa, but it is still up to us to aid in the building of strong and successful governments, not to create divisions amongst the people. That's really all that was said, but, at least for me, it was food for thought.



Did you know that after the horrors of World War 2, concentration camps were used throughout Africa (such as in Kenya, as seen below) where prisoners were tortured and thousands of women and children died of malnutrition and disease?