Nothing For Us Without Us

Theologian Harvey Kwiyani named “Nothing for us without us” in a recent newsletter as the ‘first rule of mission in the twenty-first century’. As an African, he exhorts those of us from the West to welcome the leadership and vision of Africans when we seek to join in God’s work in Africa.

Bob and I both worked under strong, faith-filled African supervisors when we first went to Rwanda and that gave us an awareness of how much we had to learn and gain from the wisdom and experiences of African Christians. Since that entry into Rwanda twenty years ago, we have repeatedly been humbled by the gift of working alongside incredible men and women of rich faith and wisdom in Africa. But still, how many times have I slipped into the Western cultural perspective which says I know the best approach or that it would be better if we could just move forward on our own to ‘accomplish something?’ Repeated trial and error have showed us that being willing to listen deeply, supporting the indigenous leadership, and being willing to not go at our own pace always produces more effective results.

In July I attended the Sudan/South Sudan Mission Network, a collaboration of congregations, presbyteries, and other groups in the U.S. who are involved in Sudan and South Sudan through relationships with churches and people there. Most of the Americans present have made multiple visits over 10 or 20 years, and they have also welcomed into their homes the colleagues from Sudan and South Sudan. I appreciate the deep relationships and mutual respect built up over many years. Several South Sudanese Americans have joined and become more active in recent years, and their bi-cultural perspective helps to remind those of us who are European-Americans of some of the local realities of cultural issues we might be overlooking. The network makes the effort to hear directly from South Sudanese in pursuit of living by that principle – “nothing for us without us.”

This year I introduced the mission network members to one session of the Healing Hearts Transforming Nations workshop. We broke up into ethno-cultural groups and looked at the losses that each group has experienced. It was a good opportunity for us as European descent Americans to identify the losses our communities have experienced, like loss of our cultural roots and the loss of respect for one another. We also discussed some of the blind spots and deceptions which have resulted from these losses, like our perceived cultural superiority and extreme individualism. Taking time to name and discuss some of those losses and weaknesses reminded us how much we can benefit from the influences of people outside our culture, like our Sudanese and South Sudanese friends.

One group at the mission network discussing their losses

Sudan and South Sudan are still experiencing war and instability. People are suffering. This is one reason that we accepted the invitation to accompany our friends in South Sudan, praying and working for peace. But the South Sudanese leaders are the ones to drive the peace process. Lasting change will come only when it is initiated from within. While in the U.S. I have been asked, “who is doing your work when you not in South Sudan? Does it continue?” If you know us well, you know that we work with capable South Sudanese colleagues and that they continue on when we are not there. As the motto says, “nothing for us without us.” We are grateful to participate and partner together, praying that God will work through us.

At the mission network meeting in 2019 with
some of the South Sudanese and Sudanese members