Rebel Loon

 

Minnesota's Rebel Loon

It’s been about two and a half years since I have been back here in Ghana and with Hope for Life. At the two-year point, I am advised to take a break - - which I took during the second half of Oct & Nov. At the beginning of my leave, I started a blog update about the people and things I’ve already written about - - Rose, Genvieve, Dawood, mushrooms, etc…. It was just going to be brief updates about each person, where they’re at now, what’s going on in their lives, successes, struggles, whatever it is.

But I found it hard to finish the update, in part because an important part of my leave also involved figuring out my future. I just had a milestone birthday this past year and I’ve had friends and family expressing concerns about what will happen to me as time goes on. I still feel like I’m in my late 20s, though. And yet, reality is reality. So, one goal of my break involved discussing my future with various current “bosses.”

That kept me preoccupied and not getting around to finishing the update. However, that is only part of why I still haven’t finished. Other thoughts and feelings delaying the update’s completion are related to what has been going on in the US over the majority of this past year, particularly during the past few months in Minneapolis.

I’ll get around to finishing the update I started, but first, there’s Minneapolis…the broader US…and then the fallout around the world. 

       The Streets of Minneapolis, Bruce Springsteen (with lyrics) 

There are people – recently in sub-zero weather – who are supporting their neighbors – protecting the stranger – standing up for what they know is humane, what is human, Christian values (whether they believe in Christ or not)… despite knowing they may face consequences, but not imagining those consequences could mean being killed by government agents.

I have family in Minneapolis that has needed to teach their children not to open the door to these government agents and that if those agents insist to the point of breaking the door down, that they need to be filming and shouting, “We do not consent! We do not consent!”

I remember as a child being taught to wave as a police car drove by. Times have changed…

These same children witness abductions taking place a block from their school as they are being dropped off. And after school, parents need to take shifts keeping watch while groups of kids go sledding - not to mention the parents who are also taking shifts keeping an eye out at drop-off and pick-up times or who are dropping and picking children whose parents are afraid to leave their house and potentially be separated from their kids.

What are children learning? They know their teachers and fellow students and neighbors and friends are not criminals…. And the ones who should be protecting them from criminals are the ones breaking down doors and “disappearing” people.

I am far away - - all I can do is write some letters to my representatives…and I can try my best to stay on top of what’s going on...and I can vote.

In spirit I am with the strong, amazing people of Minnesota. It’s made it hard to focus on writing updates about Hope for Life and the people I’ve been with for the past couple of years. My mind is distracted by the horrors the government is committing there and with the bravery of the people who are protecting their neighbors and doing what they can to demonstrate that “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love.”

I am so moved by Minnesotans standing up, standing strong and standing peacefully – as well as those across the US and the world who are out supporting Minnesotans and who are against ICE’s tactics. Yes, there are the observers and those filming/documenting what is happening, as well as those using whistles, car horns and megaphones to warn about government operations in the area that are invading homes, schools, restaurants, stores – and I have been told they are fully aware there could be legal consequences for this. They are prepared for that because their values of loving and caring for the marginalized matter that much to them. There are others giving their support through food drives, picking up school children, driving to medical appointments, helping with home births and translations, whatever might be needed to take care of the health and safety of families who might be afraid to step outdoors. Of course, there are others, in protests across the US, writing letters to and calling Senators…supporting businesses that support the community and avoiding businesses that are complicit.

These are the people that give me hope at this time. These are the people that I am standing with from a distance. These are the people that are constantly on my mind and in my heart - - good people standing up for love of each other, no matter the color, religion or country of origin. People who see each other and care…who, even if they are not “believers,” are living the values that the Bible says Jesus, once an immigrant and a person of color, taught and lived.

What these people are going through, how so many across the US are standing strong, preoccupies my thoughts. I’ll get around to finishing the other update, but first there is the amazing pride I have in so many Minnesotans especially, as well as in so many more across the US – and the surprise, disappointment and even shock and horror at others who, despite saying they are "believers," are turning a blind eye, or worse. 

 

Minnesota Anthem - The Rise of the North