It was a really nice trip, very very nice. St. Louis is such a poor yet important city that really open up my mind. Yes, St. Louis is poor, to a lot of people's surprise. It is also the top 5 for US' most dangerous cities... Also, the racial discrimination is a really serious issue over there, since there are lots and lots of Afro-Americans, and refugees from Africa. St. Louis, according to my sister, is one of three major cities who take care refugees from African countries that are politically unstable (insurgence?). However, the US government couldn't help them build up their lives here, so that cause a lot of problems in the city. So, in St. Louis, there are areas that you can only see White people, and those you can only see Afro-Americans. Very very sad.
However, that's where I see God's blessings. The church my sister went to is a total testimony of the blessing. The pastor of the church is a White, and originally the church is in the "white area" or "wealthy area" which is in the west part of St. Louis. But, God has given him the burden to see God's love in any ethnic groups. The pastor sold the church building, and moved to the poor area (the east part). The congregation came too (that's amazing)... So, in the church, you can really really see white people and Afro-Americans sit together (not in separate congregation!) worshiping God together. You might think this is not a big deal since in California we have this diversity. But, here it's not only the case of ethnic groups, but also the issue of poverty. So, you'll seldom see people dress up very nicely in Sunday service (well, people dress neatly, but not with suit..). Also, this church has a French congregation since there are too many refugees from Africa who can only speak French. Personally I hope the two congregation wil become one instead of separately.
St. Louis is also an interesting place in history. It's deeply related to Civil War and human rights... Clark and Lewis started from St. Louis to the westward exploration and mistreated the Indinans. They have Dred Scott case which catalyzed Civil War. In the museums, people remember the history of the US, but also the history of African-Americans and other civil rights movement. Although ironically this is not truly practiced in St. Louis and other places, I see God motivate His people to do something small yet important.
There was one Burger King where only Afro-Americans go and my sister became the first "other-color" customer. Her Taiwanese classmate couldn't even put up with sitting there eating. But, my sister went there frequently, and six month later, she saw a white person went in. We went there during the trip, and inside were lots of white people. Even my sister was surprised too. Don't you think that's beautiful? And see how many churches might potentially being called by God to promote the reconciliation between ethnic groups....
(email to Anna... haha... )
photo albums on facebook. Feel free to leave comments if you have an account with facebook. : )
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117281&l=7270d&id=563540005
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117290&l=ae5ae&id=563540005
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117302&l=01059&id=563540005
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