My New Friend Chase

I met a new friend on my Africa travels. He is warm-hearted, generous, hard-working, faithful, funny, and I believe he loved his time in Africa. He is a young man with awesome potential. His name is Chase. I promised some stories, so Chase is one of them.

Here is the interesting part, Chase had zero interest in coming to Africa with his mom. He was being "punished" by his parents, or so he thought. He didn't go into too much detail when I asked him a few days into our trip if he was glad to be in Africa. Instead he asked me back, "Did my Mom tell you I didn't want to be here?" I fibbed a little and said, "No, I was just making conversation." Here is the truth: his Mom didn't clue me in, but others on the trip had. He followed up with, "I REALLY didn't want to be here. In fact, while we were in Houston making our connecting flight to Amsterdam I begged my Dad to let me come home. He wouldn't let me." I asked him why his folks were making him come to Africa. He mumbled something about "his attitude" and something else, but I could tell it was something he didn't want to get into, so I quickly changed the subject, sort of. I told him if he were my son and had asked if he could come home, I would have told him to start swimming. We laughed at that one. From that conversation I knew I needed to help Chase connect with Africa...to experience a life-changing voyage. He needed to see what kind of life of privilege he lived, and how much he took it for granted. From that point on, I made it my business to make sure Chase experienced a little bit of everything. Whenever we met a new group of Africans, I made sure Chase gave a little introduction of himself. Whenever we had thought-provoking opportunities, I always asked him his thoughts. I wanted him to learn about the culture of Africa, so I shared with him as best I could about the people, the customs, the food (partially unsuccessful), and the country. I hope he learned how to travel internationally from me.

We became friends on that day. I enjoyed his company and our conversations. I got to know his mother, and in a way, she introduced me to her husband and Chase's father. They are great parents.

I think America has too many distractions for our young people. There are so many choices and unlimited opportunities that our kids take all these blessings for granted. There is no struggle for our daily bread; it shows up on our plate whenever we are hungry (or not even hungry). They obsess about their appearance because they can, and they worry about what others think of them because they are thinking the worst about their peers.

In Africa, the struggle for survival is truly life and death, and it shows. The joy young Africans show when they get a good meal (one with meat included) is real. Watch a group of young people when you give them a used, ratty soccer ball to play with. They are excited because now they don't have to play with a homemade ball made of shopping bags and twine. When you see this and compare it to your life in the U.S., you begin to understand how good you really have it. Ask an African orphan to show you his worldly possessions. You will be shocked at how little they have. It might be a ragged stuffed animal that was given to him 2 years ago on your last trip. It might be a picture of him that was given to him years before. It will be as well cared for as possible. Privacy? What a joke...the average orphan sleeps with 2-3 others in the same bed.

I think this is part of what Chase experienced in Africa. First and foremost, he learned that kids are the same everywhere. He played basketball and soccer with some of the boys his age and the competitiveness and trash-talking was the same. The language might have been different, but nothing is lost in translation when someone questions your abilities. He hates to admit it, but I think he also learned that sometimes Mom and Dad do know best. He needed to come to Africa to reset his moral compass. He needed to see that what he thinks is difficult is nothing compared to the difficulties he saw in the slums. Wealth? Compared to his orphan counterparts, his family is blessed beyond measure.

The best lesson he learned is that people love him all over the world. His new friends from Seattle, Kisumu, Eldoret, and even Amarillo love him a lot.

How long will these lessons stay with him? I hope a lifetime. But I also know that it is too easy to get caught back up in our world of excess everything. I am praying for you Chase!

Chow!