February 28

Today's reading included an article about helping, fixing and serving.
The difference between them is that helping someone implies that they are superior and the one being helped is weaker. Fixing implies that the one who is being fixed is "broken." Then serving, is seeing life as whole and being equals.
While trying to think of why we were required to read this article, I came up with this: While abroad, we can't have the mentality that we are helping or fixing the people or a person. My intentions are not at all to try to change anyone while I'm there, if anyone is changing, it's going to be me. I'm not trying to fix anyone or tell them what's right and wrong about their culture, because who am I to say that? It reminds me of the movie we watched called Barbecue Area which is about going into a city of white people and commenting on their culture and trying to fix their problems. It's a parody on how developed countries feel like it's their need to go into indigenous people and tell them what they need and want because their lifestyle is wrong and barbaric. This kind of attitude is extremely ego centric, and one that we should not have. I should be going in with the attitude of serving, and just loving the people in Tonga like Christ would!