So one of my favourite things about life in England is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. England, specifically London and Manchester, is a melting pot for people. London and Manchester are both very much like New York City or Dallas in that if you pick 10 people off the streets, you are nearly guaranteed to get people of 10 different nationalities. I’ve been blessed to have good friends, of several different faiths, from all over the world. I have friends from the States, England, Scotland, Italy, Finland, Zambia, and Libya that I interact with on a regular basis “in my going” here in England. And that isn’t even taking into account the nationalities of all the different kids, young people, and adults that we work with!
Just down the road from is a “take away” shop that I frequent called “The Pizza House.” There you can find the best quality and cheapest burgers, chicken, kebabs, chips (fries), and pizza around. Apparently, I’ve been there more than I realized over the past several months because the staff began to recognize me and we soon regularly engaged in pleasant small talk conversations while I wait for my food. There is one guy in particular who was very fascinated why a group of Americans would want to come to Salford (not the most desirable place to live by any stretch of the imagination) to live, seemingly leaving so much behind. Shortly into our new friendship, I learned that his name is Monthana and he is from Libya. Over the weekend we exchanged mobile phone numbers and made plans to meet up on Tuesday.
So on Tuesday, Rachel, Drew, and I met up with Monthana (from Libya), his girlfriend Audra (from Lithuania), and another mate of his, Jamal (also from Libya) in City Centre for a drink and a chat. The hours passed quickly as we shared about our families, our lives back home, and what we hoped to do in the future. We also found common grounds in morals, values, the importance of prayer, daily devotions, and belief in God. Monthana and Jamal are devout Muslims and Audra does not come from a faith background. We found that as 19-25 year olds we have much in common and many common interests.
In the book “Can You Hear the Heartbeat?” Dave Andrews writes that:
You cannot introduce yourself to people as someone different and expect them to treat you the same as a friend. To identify with your neighbour, you must introduce yourself in terms of those things you have in common. I am a member of a Baptist church, but I never introduce myself to anyone as a Baptist unless they are also Baptist. To the Orthodox and Catholic I identify myself as a follower of Jesus. To the Hindu and the Muslim I identify myself as a believer in God. To the agnostic and atheist I identify myself as a student of Truth. Dave Andrews “Can You Hear the Heartbeat?” p 64
Through our conversations we learned that neither of us had every visited a mosque or church of the other’s faith. So, Drew and I are going to visit the mosque that Monthana and Jamal attend and Monthana, Jamal, and Audra are going to come to a church service at St. James. I am very excited about the opportunity for all of us to expand our understandings of other faith systems.
We have plans to hang out again on Tuesday. This time I think we are going to go bowling and continue learning from and about each other. I think next Friday is when Drew and I will visit the mosque Monthana attends and then next Sunday Monthana, Audra, and Jamal will visit St. James Church with us. Please be in prayer for this new friendship and that I will continue to genuinely enjoy them as friends and as people that God loves dearly; to love without an agenda.
I close with my favourite thought at the moment:
I’m not too interested in with what I am going to do. I am more interested in who I am becoming. I want to be a lover of God and people. -Shane Claiborne “The Irresistible Revolution”
May we all each day strive to be a better lover of God and people!
Chaddington
