Newsletter 

Pr. Jon's May letter - - - - - - -

“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not

oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to

you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as

yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the 

Lord your God.”  (Leviticus 19:33-34)

This month, a lot is changing around the Wendt household.  But let’s start with a fact that  surprised me: over 1 million international students are currently living and studying in the USA.  That’s right, over 1 million.  Here in Wabasso, we have had Garcia with us, and the school has had up to 5 others during this year.  Surprising in that so many youth have chosen to come here to the United States to see how we do school, work, and live.

They have come to the states to get a world education, work on their English speaking abilities, and learn about our culture as a whole.  Which brings me to what I have learned this year from our resident alien……..

For those who don’t know, Garcia is from Brazil.  Brazil is very much like the United States in their cultural identity.  I have found many, many things that we have in common.  Garcia likes a good steak, medium rare, with a side of potatoes – any kind.  He is not one for much vegetation (which he believes should be saved for the cows and rabbits to eat, fattening them up for him to butcher later).  But one difference I have found is in the use of rice.  Here in the Midwest, rice is not often a staple of diets.  When we have made it, Garcia will often tell us how we didn’t make it like his mom does, but it is still edible.  Then again, who can ever compete with a parent/grandparents’ ability to create succulent dishes?

We have also discussed the differences between the education systems here and in Brazil.  The system that Garcia came from consists of studying and learning so that in your last year, you can take an exam that is administered by the colleges of the country.  If you score high enough on that test, you will be invited to attend a particular university.  Unlike here, where you apply to universities and they look at your grades and test scores (like the ACT), his country invites you.  Therefore, his education consisted on how to pass a very important test, and not how to live life as a contributing resident.

For instance, when he started chemistry class, he knew a lot about the equations and properties of chemicals, but struggled when it came to knowing what and how to use a microscope.  Since they learned what was needed for a test in Brazil, he never got to do lab work.  I also found that this lack of “hands-on” teaching also made him very curious about farming and agriculture.  One that this area was keen to teaching someone from Brazil!

But most of all, we talked a lot about faith.  Both his faith, the faith of the people of his area in Brazil, and the whole concept of Christianity around the world.  He claims that his people look at faith with a sour tone due to the way things have happened in his country.  Brazil has a main church that is state sanctioned, like the Church of England.  Some of the taxes that are collected by the government go toward the church, and sent out to the church “headquarters”. 

What was fascinating to me was that the people of Brazil are not happy with the church since their money was taken and sent away, and when the world church used those funds back in Brazil, it was to build large cathedrals and ornate worship areas instead of helping the less fortunate, orphans, and widows.  Therefore,  they see the church as a corporation instead of a body of Christ.

And that is something that I often have worried about in my journey of faith.  How can we make sure that our money we give in offering goes to doing God’s mission here on earth and not toward our own hopes and dreams.  How can we be disciples of Christ, using the resources we are given, to help those who are oppressed and in need?  Do we really need a fancy, gold cross, or would a handmade, not perfect, wooden one fill the same role?

As Christ has said in Matthew 22:21 and Mark 12:17, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  Are we more inclined to give to man, or to give back to the one who gave us everything, God?  It is something that we all struggle with each and every day.  This is a concept that Garcia had, and continues to struggle with, in his time here in the United States.

How much do we share what we are given, and how much do we store and keep for ourselves?  Christ talks of how we are to care for one another, love your neighbors and yourselves, and serve each other with humility, both friends and foes.  How do we do that?

The Wendt house has found that by hosting one of these exchange students, we not only provided a safe space to excel academically and integrate into the community, but also hosting has brought us so much more than we provided him!  A friend, brother, world insight, a new culture, and much more than I could ever write about in a short article (which this one has already pushed boundaries of the term “short”!)

And now, it is time to say goodbye to Garcia.  It seems that just yesterday I had been explaining how he couldn’t get lost in his new home (“just turn around if you hit a cornfield”), and now he is packing to leave.  So before he leaves, I want to offer a chance for everyone to say goodbye to someone who has made a great impact on the Wendt household and the Wabasso community. 

Come visit us on May 23rd, between 4 and 6 pm, at the church to wish him good luck on his next adventure.  He will be joined by his parents as well.  Come meet, greet, and say your goodbyes to a young man who is destined to go out in the world, making a difference in ways we can’t even imagine-as of yet.

                                                                                                                                                             Pastor Jon Wendt