Taking A Bearing: Inform and Rethink

"But you've probably heard about the conflict in the Congo."
"No. What's going on the Congo?"
Lately I've been assuming that everyone's aware of the mess going down in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our neighbors, because its so everyday for us here but am realizing more and more that maybe its not getting much play in the United States of Ay, so I put a link for people to check it out! It's getting really bad. And doctors are getting deeply concerned about a possible epidemic of cholera in IDP camps. Cholera. I swore we had eliminated that with Polio. The victims can't come back to Rwanda because they're probably wanted by the Rwandan government. Genocide complicity. It's really bizarre to be four hours away from a war and still feel isolated from its sting.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/11/200811121854913189.html
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Questions I appreciate and am think-thinking over:

• Is poverty a virtue? Or do we fail to take into account its dynamism?
• In what ways do I create stipulations in my daily life about how much I will give or do? Is that okay to do sometimes?
• What is my perspective of my position: Do I have, so I give in order to create restoration? Or do I have nothing and participate in communal restoration?
• When children are begging or singing for money, what do you do??
• If I'm honest, am I about issues or people?
• How can we discern the heart of our actions?
• What are some examples of how the inequality of the world has been made personal for me?
• Do I let the existence of inequality change me?
• What is rich?
• Does being materially rich = blessing?
• What does the Word say about who is rich and who is poor?
• What does it mean to renounce all we possess? What do you make of this condition of discipleship? Was Jesus literally serious or symbolically serious? Is it more about obedience? What should push us to respond? What does obedience look like?
• What do I consider to be the evidence of God's favor?
• Ownership. Would we have resource problems if we rethought what ownership is or rethought its value? Is equality more about membership?
• It is easy to interpret poverty from the premise that they are the ones with the needs; whereas I have need of nothing. Are there areas of wretchedness and blindness where God is pointing out our own poverty?

Being here has warped everything I once believed about "rich", "poor", "development", "compassion" and "discipleship". I don't have answers but am learning to ask better questions.
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We do have fun too! We went to Kivu Lake in Kibuye for holiday and slept on the comfiest beds in East Africa. I rolled over in the middle of the night and smiled, they were so soft. I had really good, brilliant conversations with Hazel, Allison and Kirsten. I took the complimentary soap before Hazel could steal it from me. The next day we climbed Bat island. I'm so out of shape! I thought I was, no joke, going to pass out but I made it. And got sweet pictures of 236643928374659383621 bats. No one, however, got any pictures of Kyle's speedo. We don't want to talk about it.