ON COMMON GROUND

I wrote this poem as I reflected on my interaction with the dear Chilean Christians we were able to serve with.

ON COMMON GROUND

Greetings to you my brother whom I have never seen,

and whose tongue at times I do not understand.

You approach me as if we have met before on some foreign land from here.

It cannot be that we have shared in conversation before. I embrace you as Family

even though we are of no relation. Confounded in shackles of

thought for why you recieve me so. As the days go by, clarity

finds itself browsing upon us. A stranger you are to my skeptical

eyes, but a friend so quickly to my heart. Intrigued I am by the way

you think and communicate. Chained is my tongue at times to respond

adequately so you understand me. As our fellowship prolongs, I begin

to realize that the ground which we stand has been shared before.

Something that cannot be clearly defined gives us a bond that cannot be broken.

The bond we share is in the God we share and pray to. Though the language

we speak be different, our God hears up both the same. To have shared

in the encounter of service with you has been refreshing and a blessing.

Though the soil we have served on may be foreign to me, the altar upon

which we both bow is only foreign to those who do not know the God we serve. Thank You!