The Confusion of Culture!

Culture is complex. The study of culture is weary to the mind (mainly because the one studying belongs to a specific culture). Culture within itself is not wrong or right, but amoral. The mistake of homo sapiens is to say that this or that is wrong sole on the basis that it is different than their own culture. I would go as far as to say the majority of religious convictions held by people are actually cultural preferences. This is sad to think people will supposedly "die" for their culture over their religion. So what's the key to understanding the confusion of culture? I don't know fully, but I am convicted, from my own experience, that one has to dive into the complexities of culture to begin to see the charms and harms of their own. So when I saw this article on tooth imperfection I started reminiscing how i spent thousands of $ on making my teeth straight. I thought it would be a worthy share:

Meanwhile, in Japan, a new fashion has women paying to have their straight teeth purposefully disarranged.

A result of tooth-crowding commonly derided in the United States as “snaggleteeth” or “fangs,” the look is called “yaeba” in Japanese or “double tooth.” Japanese men are said to find this attractive: blogs are devoted to yaeba, celebrities display it proudly, and now some women are paying dentists to create it artificially by affixing plastic fronts to their real teeth. CLICK HERE to read the entire article.

The Face of Harvest

I am excited to announce i have joined an non-profit organization (NGO) called Face of Harvest. I met the director of Face of Harvest, Isaac Moonzwe, in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009. Isaac and two other colleagues were networking with a medical clinic that reaches Somalis in Nairobi. Their vision of reaching the unreached in Africa and the Middle East matched mine. Their mission consist of biblical holism:

FOH was founded with a mission to advance “the wholeness of persons, families, and communities...” The concept of wholeness is derived from the Hebrew world “Shalom”, which is often translated into English as “Peace”. However, the fullness of the word conveys being ‘complete’, or ‘whole’. The concept of advancing ‘wholeness’ conveys the need for us to promote both physical and spiritual well-being without neglect of one or the other (John 14:26). FACE OF HARVEST embraces its mission to advance shalom/wholeness through out Africa and the Middle East.

To read more about this movement that i am flowing with CLICK HERE.

Changing seasons!

If you notice, my blog has a new name, Crazy Beautiful. You might ask, "Why the change?" The reason is simple, my life has changed. I am no longer at Negst; therefore, I can say sayonara to Aaron at NEGST. I not only graduated from Negst, but I also got married the same month. Some called me crazy, but i thought it was beautiful.

So why Crazy Beautiful? I feel this expression explains where God has my wife and I at this time in our life. Crazy in the sense that I don't know what God is up to. Experience has shown me that this is God's ways. I have observed He is not too fond of narcissism and pride. So in December I will pack my two suitcases with my wife and we will safari down to Mombasa, Kenya. Besides sweating profusely, we will be apart of Injili ya Tumaini or Gospel of Hope. Injili ya Tumaini's mission is to share the holistic gospel message to those who have never been given a chance to hear. We echo the words of Oswald J. Smith, "No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once."

So what's next? I could give you a fifteen page strategic plan (and I do have one), but something tells me I should not. I think this is God's crazy ways, we simply don't know everything, but we do know enough. My wife and I are excited for what God has for us because we know his plans no matter how crazy they seem are always beautiful. We are ready for this crazy beautiful life God has in store for us.