The world is complicated.

A girl barely survives the Rwandan genocide after she was beaten by a club full of nails. At 15 she is orphaned with her siblings when she comes across an abandoned baby. She takes care of the child.

A girl of 20 takes care of 7 siblings after they were orphaned. That 7 becomes 8 after her little sister is raped and gives birth to a child. With a little help from ZOE Ministry, she is not only taking care of her 8 family members but with her group members takes care of 45 other children through a piggery, a cassava plantation, and a restaurant.

In a world gone awry, how can self-sacrificial love like that exist? This love is evidence that these stories exist within a larger story, one that encompasses our lives and provides a means of redemption. Such stories are witnesses to good in a hateful world – to God in forsaken places.

I leave for Africa on Wednesday with ZOE Ministry to sit and hear the stories of AIDS orphans. In Africa, there is a particular tree called the Baobab tree known for its wide branches so that many can gather and hear the stories that are told under its branches. This blog is titled “Stories from the Baobab” because I hope that this will provide the space to tell these stories. Some of the stories that I will tell do not yet have a redemptive ending. They will be full of sadness and pain, hurt and anger.

All stories, however, are located within a larger story. As Christians, our triumphs and tragedies are brought into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. That is the point of baptism; it connects us to a particular Jew 2,000 years ago that brought the kingdom of God near. Jesus may not make the world less complicated, but he does make it worth living. That is the story that we all must tell…