Beauty From What Is

There are so many subtle assumptions that can sneak into missions work and global outreach without us even realizing it. Assumptions that abundance is mostly about material possessions. Assumptions that people with fewer resources must somehow have less wisdom, creativity, or value to offer. Rwanda dismantled so much of that thinking in me!

One of the books we went through in Fellows is When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. A huge takeaway from the book is that poverty is about so much more than material things. We often enter communities thinking we are bringing what is missing, while overlooking the creativity, dignity, wisdom, and image of God already present there. Sometimes the deeper poverty is not material at all, but relational in the ways we fail to truly see one another and recognize that everyone has something to offer.

I remember watching children in Rwanda play soccer with a ball made from bundled trash wrapped tightly in layers of string. I was immediately amazed by the creativity of it and the joy it brought them! What struck me was not what they lacked, but what they created together from what they had. That little soccer ball became such a powerful picture to me of the creativity and resilience woven throughout Rwanda.

Those kids were not waiting for perfect resources before choosing joy. They took what was available and turned it into something life-giving, something communal, and something beautiful. That same spirit showed up everywhere!!! I saw it in businesses, in art, in worship, in fashion, in cooking, in storytelling, and in the way people cared for one another! Creativity seemed woven into everyday life not because people had endless excess, but because they knew how to create beauty, meaning, and community with what was in front of them.

Rwanda constantly pulled my attention toward abundance: abundance of joy, hospitality, resilience, creativity, and human dignity. It reminded me that every community carries gifts. Every culture reflects something unique about the creativity of God. Human dignity cannot be measured by wealth, convenience, or material resources.

The longer I was there, the more I realized this was not only a place I came to serve, but also a place I was receiving from in ways I did not expect. I gained perspective, humility, wisdom, and a fuller picture of the Kingdom of God.

I left Rwanda deeply grateful because I encountered a culture overflowing with beauty, creativity, dignity, and life. I do not think I will ever forget that soccer ball made of trash and string, because in many ways it became a picture of Rwanda itself: resourceful, resilient, creative, and full of joy!

With wonder,

Morgan!