Converging it up

A couple of weeks ago the church that I intern with held an event called Converge. Basically the idea was for four different non profits that are based here in the States can come together, get to know each other, and get to share what all they have been doing in the last few years. This included Dry Bones from Denver, Water4 who bring water to countries all over the world, Kibo group a group who works in Uganda to encourage health and prosperity in the villages there, GPS Tulsa, which is the group that I am a part of, where we help students find their way in life. All of these groups are crazy different, so it was incredible to see them all coming together for one common cause. As I sat on the panel of people from each group, I almost felt unworthy. All of these people were doing such incredible work for the Lord. It was an exciting yet humbling experience.
As the night continued, I got to know Abraham and Ronald, the men from Uganda, pretty well. They told us all about their tree planting project, through which they have planted 37,000 trees in the last 7 years. These trees are taken care of by the village people, and will one day restore the deforestation that is happening all over Uganda. While talking to Ronald, I asked him what was the most different about the United States from Uganda. At the question his eyebrows shot up and he smiled a little bit and in his beautiful accent said, "well, not much is the same at all. I think the most different is that when my neighbors hear our babies crying, they will come over to our house and ask us how they can help us. Here, I don't think I've seen neighbors talk to each other at all." To this I just kinda smiled and nodded and told him that in the US most everything is about the individual, and it sounded to me like in Uganda everything was about the whole. He smiled again and said, "yes, I think you are right."
It was amazing to hear the stories of Ronald and Abraham and just build a relationship with them. I loved getting to know them and their stories. And that's what it was all about. Building these relationships with people so very different from myself, yet so much the same. Though we live on opposite sides of the world, we both worship the same Lord and work to bring Him glory through our actions. Our lives are so very different, yet our hearts are the same.
Converge was a blast to be a part of. I am so proud to be a part of something so unique and powerful. I think God is smiling.