New York: Tuesday

Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

One of the toughest things about connecting with the people is the large culture gap. Different ethnicities, different cultures, different skin colors, different languages, different hobbies and entertainment. An even greater hindrance is that our team is part of the national 'majority' culture, and our target group, the West Africans, are vulnerable immigrants. They are strangers in a foreign land and have little welcome from Americans. Strange to me, there is even a longstanding tension with the African-Americans.

But that is part of the beauty of the Gospel. In our sin and our shame we were divided, hostile to God, far away, strangers to his people. Christ humbled himself and sacrificed himself on the cross so that we could have peace, so the hostility would be torn down, so we would have hope and be near to God. Muslims have an acute sense of the holiness of God and the distance between this world and God's dwelling. What they are missing is the peace of knowing that in Jesus, God has brought himself near to us, despite our utter sin.

Today, we seek to continue breaking down walls between ourselves and the people we are trying to reach. A couple members of our group have spent time (or were even born and raised) in Africa and know some of the languages or the colonial French, which lessens the culture gap. For the rest of us, the work may prove hard and slow. But the Gospel runs deep and is powerful. For the glory of the Father.