Going to Sierra Leone didn't make me feel whole instead, it made me feel incomplete. Life there is built and sustained around community and relationships. Everybody unselfishly plays their part for the good of the people in the community. For example, a man doesn't chop wood for himself but chops it for his family, friends and community. Amazingly, they do the same amount of work for a strangers in their community as they would for their family. If they see you struggling, they stop everything to help you and refuse to leave until your condition is cured. The level of unselfish generosity was initially shocking but felt enormously natural to the spirit over time.
Coming back to the States, I realized how far away from true community we are and subsequently, life felt incomplete and harder. Immediately, I saw vast contrast between the African and U.S. definitions of community We have an abundance of resources, they have an abundance of love. Wish we can combine the two together so we can feel whole. Community matters!
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