The G20 meet in London while my son, Nicky, leaves with a lesser numbered school group for an immersion stay in Zambia. There he will live with the locals, bringing in the harvest, doing some building work and helping out with orphaned children. He will be a lifetime away in a different hemisphere, completely removed from this pampered existence.
We had a lovely service of commitment this morning during which we, parents, placed our boys into the care of teachers and staff. There were tears of parting and worry tinged with the sense that we were saying goodbye to children who would come back from their immersion experience older and wiser. Improved.
What will they see, hear and feel during their time in Zambia? What will they bring back that will stay with them for the rest of their lives? What would they say to the G20 and their promises about reducing world poverty by 2015?
At our service we were reminded of the judgment call for social justice in Matthew 25:35 - verses to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.
We need the doing words. And we need the actions now!
