What happens in May…

As I reflect back on this month, it has been quite a full month. I’ll highlight a few experiences here. The rain seems finally to have ceased so I’m happy about that! But I have some pictures which demonstrate driving through the water:

Lang’ata road becomes a river! Whatever water drainage system or plan is in place is not sufficient, and then after the rains the road is filled with potholes and has to be patched, which is why the entire road consists of extremely bumpy and uneven patchwork.

A few months ago I had discussed the new project my friend Zippy started in Machakos, Blessed Peace. One of the aspects of that project is a children’s home for abandoned children, which has really been growing! A few weeks ago I got to visit the home, and there are over 30 kids living there now.

The home is just outside of Machokos in a very beautiful area. Machokos is around an hour from Nairobi.

The kids piled in to take a short ride around the square! They were rather excited…and the car was full.

One other adventure I had this month was traveling to Lake Elementaita, a lake with a hot spring a few hours from Nairobi (between Naivasha and Nakuru). Almost 15 of us stayed overnight at a lodge, called the “treehouse”, which has some really nice views!

They say the hill looks like a man lying down, looking up at God. Can you see it?

Living Water

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about water. It’s been the rainy season here in Nairobi, which means I’ve been getting drenched on a regular basis. I made the very unfortunate mistake of leaving my rain jacket hanging up in my parent’s house in the US, and while it has been mailed to me I haven’t yet received it. So for the first couple weeks of the rainy season I did as best I could with my wind-breaker jacket which is at best lightly water resistant. But it soon gives up resisting and I’m utterly soaked in minutes. The rainy season means that for most days, it is fairly nice and even sunny for most of the day, and then about five pm, right when I’m leaving the office, it pours. And I mean pours – some of the hardest rain I’ve ever seen. At times it doesn’t even feel so much like it’s raining as that there’s water filling all the space around me.

I did buy some more effective rain gear, a rubber jacket and trousers, which is much better. But there’s another way water has been affecting my life…by not being there. In my taps that is. I arrive home dripping wet, remove all my wet clothes and change into dry ones, only to find that there’s no running water in my apartment. I went six straight days without any running water…which became a bit of a problem. I had been told my neighborhood doesn’t have a problem with water, so I wasn’t prepared to store a lot of water, and didn’t even have a jerrycan or anything. After a few days I went searching for how to buy water, was told to buy some old cooking oil containers, then a girl offered to clean them for me and show me where to find water, after which she proceed to go straight to my door…meaning probably just about everyone in my neighborhood knows exactly where I live.

It was an odd feeling to be carrying water from down the road to my apartment. I felt like a village woman…fetching water for washing, boiling to drink, so on. And it reinforced how central water is to life…it is terribly inconvenient not to have water. Washing dirty dishes really takes a lot of water! I would so much rather have the power go out than have the water run out. I knew that most people in the world didn’t have constant access to running water…but it’s a bit different when that now includes yourself. And most people don’t ever have access to running water, or clean water, which is a considerable worse problem.

I think back to what Jesus said to the woman drawing water…and He is the ‘living’ water. Now water is certainly necessary for life…but it is not alive. Try to imagine your water coming alive…I imagine that is a rather disconcerting notion. But Jesus said he was the ‘living’ water…and clarified that ”everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14 ESV).

If you carry all of your water from a long distance…imagine not only never being thirsty again…but having a your own personal (portable) internal eternal life wellspring!! That sounds pretty great. All your water problems solved forever. And that’s what Jesus offers.

Several times in the Bible rather inanimate things are referred to as being alive. I think of Peter referring to us as living stones…which is about as non-alive as I can imagine (1 Peter 2:4-5). Jesus also said he was the living bread (John 6:51). We know that God is the God of the living, not of the dead, and the central hope we have as Christians is encapsulated in the resurrection – that death itself has been defeated and we have been giving the gift of life which cannot be destroyed or taken away. My life here is somewhat tenuous…one swerve on my motorbike and I could be gone…but I’m glad that a life awaits in which carrying water won’t be necessary for anyone…because we’ll all have portable internal springs of eternal life water.

Settling In – Part 2 (pictures)

My building from the courtyard.

View of the high school from my balcony.

View of the street from my balcony.

My living room.

My friend Ngila helping me move in.

BG cleaning the bathroom (the house required quite a bit of cleaning).

Settling In!!

Today is the first full day I’m spending in my new place…wow!!! Quite a lot has transpired since I landed in Nairobi on the 19th. My first order of business was to locate housing, which was not an especially easy task. I called everyone I could think of, and even before I left the US I had been sending facebook messages to all my friends who lived in neighborhoods that I was considering. That led to a few houses I looked at, but no really good options so I then tried the obvious way to get housing: wandering around the neighborhoods I had identified and asking random people. This led to way more houses, and one particular security guard in Ngummo I struck up a conversation with provided to be invaluable, connecting me with three different house agents and probably about 10 or so apartments within the price range and basic parameters I had specified. But several of the really good places I saw were not really available, and involved someone else who was at some stage of paying for the same place. I almost paid for one place but couldn’t finalize the deal due to someone else who had already put something down on it…about which they had not been very forthcoming at the beginning of the process.

My two weeks I had dedicated to finding a place ran out and I had nothing…so I had to postpone my start date at Carlile, and was becoming increasingly desperate. I kept praying for the perfect place to materialize, but things had not been working out. Friday was the day I almost paid for one place, but left feeling rather discouraged, and thinking rather apprehensively about the fact that I was supposed to begin work on Mon… Saturday was the end of the month, and I had been promised that several people were moving out of this one apartment building which I really liked. I showed up Saturday morning…nothing, no movement. The caretaker promised me that he would call the instant the first box emerged from an apartment, but I was concerned that they would all change their minds, which as it turned out they did. But I met with one of the house agents I had been working with, and he showed me a couple of new places, and after seeing two, I felt I had to make a decision and less than an hour after seeing it for the first time, I was at the landlord’s office in town paying for the apartment.

The next week I was waiting for the place to be painted, cleaned, have the toilet hooked up, faucet working, so on…so that took several days! So far have called the office 42 times (my phone keeps track)…trying to keep on their case so the painter would actually show up, etc. As I’ve been waiting, it’s been great to hang out with friends at NEGST! I have felt so welcomed, great to have that feeling of having difficulty walking from building to building because I run into so many people who greet me, ask how my family is doing, have a brief catch-up of the last 8 months, so on. I generally allocate about 30 minutes to travel 30 meters or so on campus after being away for a while.

For Easter I did a road trip up to Eldoret with BG and 15 of her friends. Oh yeah, it’s been really great to see her again. It was some of the same terrain I had explored on the young adult road trip last year, and was fun to see it again and meet so many of her University of Nairobi friends. Also had some time to reflect on the resurrection and the incredible power that it contains for our lives today. Such an amazing event… I had hoped to include some pictures from moving in, and from my balcony, but my Orange modem which has been serving me so faithfully all day seems to be losing steam. I really like having a balcony by the way! Spent a good part of today there. Yesterday heard a guy playing Blessed Assurance on his saxophone, today heard Britney Spears and Usher from the high school athletic competition and rally or something like that just across the street…Well tomorrow is my first day at Carlile, so I hope that goes well! Should sleep soon. More to come!

Nairobi Here I Come!

It’s finally happening!! In 11 days I’m flying out of DC and returning to Nairobi, Kenya as a missionary!! As many of you might know, I have been raising support for the last several months in order to return to Kenya. My current project is to teach and work at Carlile College. Since they don’t pay me a salary, I’ve been meeting with friends, family, churches, and sharing what I’ll be doing in Nairobi, and things have finally come together.

Since I have been out of the US for the last three years doing my MDiv, and out of the Maryland area for the last seven years, finding a sending church proved a bit tricky. At last, however, I have one: the Mid Atlantic Community Church in Crofton. The pastor there, Lew Schrumm was my boss when I worked at Sears in high school…he actually interviewed me and hired me for my first official job when I was 16! Sometimes at work we would discuss theology and he would talk about his dream to retire and plant a church to foster genuine fellowship and impact the community…and now 9 years later that dream is a reality! Back in 2004 I actually attended a few of the planning meetings for the MACC, and even attended their very first service. Last week I met with their missions committee, and they have agreed to send me out to serve in Kenya. This is a huge answer to prayer and I’m so glad it worked out!

So now I’m preparing to leave, saying goodbye to my friends here and planning what I should pack, etc. Once I arrive in Nairobi one of my first objectives will be to find housing, so for all my Nairobi friends, if you have any leads on good housing, please let me know! I’m so excited to be heading back, and this is such a powerful evidence to me of God’s faithfulness. I could have evaluated this situation as impossible, looking at the economic conditions, that people told me giving is down, not being certain about a sending church, not having spent much time in the US the last few years…but God is greater than all of that! He has promised to always be with us.

I thank God for this provision. Currently, I’m about 80% funded, with a few hundred a month remaining to be fully funded. Adding only a few new monthly supporters could easily bring that to 100%…and starting ministry in Kenya fully funded would be a huge blessing. Since I’ve announced I’m returning to Kenya, I’ve already added a few new supporters, so I am even more excited about the possibility of having all my funds committed! If you’d like to contribute, that can be done online at www.cten.org/bawks. It could also be mailed to: CTEN, PO Box 291307, Kerrville, TX 78029-1307. Thank you so much!

If would like to receive updates, please email me at davidbawks@cten.org. I’d love to hear from you!

Prayer Requests

• Thank God for all these details coming together!
• Safe travels
• Housing for when I return to Nairobi
• Settling into my new role at Carlile College
• Serving the Lord in all aspects of my life

Reality of Religious Persecution

Came across this story:

A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.

Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.

It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.

“The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

“This one case is not just about one execution. We have been able to expose the system instead of just letting one man disappear, like so many other Christians have in the past.”

It is also feared that Nadarkhani will be executed in retaliation as Iran endures crippling sanctions and international pressure in response to its nuclear agenda and rogue rhetoric. The number of executions in Iran has increased significantly in the last month.

“This is defiance,” Sekulow said. “They want to say they will carry out what they say they will do.”

The order to execute Nadarkhani came only days after lawmakers in Congress supported a resolution sponsored by Pennsylvania Rep. Joseph Pitts denouncing the apostasy charge and calling for his immediate release.

“Iran has become more isolated because of their drive for nuclear weapons, and the fundamentalist government has stepped up persecution of religious minorities to deflect criticism,” Pitts, a Republican, told FoxNews.com. “The persecuted are their own citizens, whose only crime is practicing their faith.”

The ACLJ has been a major driving force in keeping Nadarkhani’s case in the international spotlight. Many other advocacy groups and human rights organizations also have mounted global campaigns and petitions against the Iranian government, and experts credit Nadarkhani’s international support for keeping him alive.

The ACLJ recently launched a Twitter campaign to publicize Nadarkhani’s case, asking participants to dedicate a daily tweet to “Tweet for Youcef,” stating the number of days he has been imprisoned (currently 863) and ending the tweet with “ViaOfficialACLJ,” sending readers back to the organization’s website where they could learn more about his case.

Read more at Fox News

15 Free Software Programs You Should Have!

How about an IT themed post…. now I am all about freeware, useful programs that can do amazing things! Some of these may be familiar to you, but I figured I would include a list of some of the free programs that I use regularly and find to enhance my life. They are only a download away:

 

Antivirus/Spyware/Malware

1) AVG - There are several very good free antivirus program, but I believe AVG is probably the best.

http://free.avg.com/

 

2) Spybot Search and Destroy – Along with basic scans and browser immunize features, they have a feature that alerts me whenever a program attempts to add itself to my start-up, which is a pet peeve of mine.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

 

 

3) Malwarebytes Anti-malware – a good secondary program to use along with an antivirus program such as AVG.

http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware

 

Cleaners/Optimizers

4) Advanced System Care – It does a deep clean of your computer, including your registry, privacy sweep, security defense, disk scan, etc.

http://www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html

 

5) CCleaner – Similar to ASC, also allows you to uninstall programs and easily check what’s on your start-up.

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

 

Media Players

6) iTunes – A music player, in my opinion far superior to Windows Media Player.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

 

7) VLC – an excellent media player, can play basically any video file.

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

 

 

Others

8) Anki – a flashcard program. It utilizes spaced repetition, so a word or concept you find easy, you won’t need to review for increasingly longer periods, but ones that you keep forgetting you review more often. It includes hundreds of potential card decks, from Japanese to GRE words to economics…anything you can put on a flashcard. Plus you can write your own personal decks of facts or words you want to memorize…I find it incredibly useful.

http://ankisrs.net/

9) Youtube Downloader – So useful…download any youtube video, and then can also convert different file formats, say from flv to mp3, and can even specify where to start and end, in case you need just a snippet of a song.

http://youtubedownload.altervista.org/

 

10) Calibre – an e-book reader. Well organized, easy to use.

http://calibre-ebook.com/

11) E-sword – free Bible software with a number of version and other available downloads.

http://www.e-sword.net/

12) X3Watch – free accountability software that will send an email every month or two weeks of any objectionable websites to two or four accountability partners of your choosing.

http://www.x3watch.com/

13) Zotero – if you are a student or ever use citations, such as footnotes, this will save you a ton of time! It creates a virtual library of your sources and automatically formats them correctly according to the format you specify, eg. APA, MLA, or Turabian. Then it automatically creates a biblography (or works cited) when you’re done! It can be a bit tricky to set up, but so helpful.

http://www.zotero.org/

14) MagicDisk – this is probably not something as many of you would use, but in case you need a program to mount an ISO, I find it really helpful!

http://download.cnet.com/MagicDisc

15) Dropbox – a remote storage and backup option, can access your important files from any internet connection. You start off with 2 gb which can increase as you invite your friends to use it.

https://www.dropbox.com/

 

CNET – not a program, but a download site, as you can see from a couple of the links I’ve included in this post. They also have very helpful reviews on all sorts of tech stuff.

http://www.cnet.com/

From Beijing to Nairobi

The famously atheistic Chinese government appears to be warming to Christianity, and actually sent a delegation of government officials to Nairobi to find out how to promote Christianity in China! Check out the following:

Last spring, a delegation of 11 Chinese government officials visited Nairobi, Kenya. Their mission: to seek advice on how to promote Christianity in China. Wang Zuoan, director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, which regulates religion in China, reportedly told Kenya’s Anglican archbishop that “religion is good for development.”

Amid growing social tension and an ominous economic outlook, some quarters of the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party seem to be warming to Christianity. Land is being donated, churches built, andresearch being conducted on positive Christian contributions — all by the Chinese government, which until recently treated religion as a harmful but unstoppable force. In 2001, Chinese President Jiang Zemin called for religion to be cautiously accommodated, but actively discouraged, and adapted to the socialist culture of atheism and materialism.

The traditional antipathy toward religion in the Communist Party stems from Karl Marx’s idea that it is the “opiate of the masses” that “dulls the pain of oppression” from capitalist aristocrats. In an egalitarian socialist society, there’s no need for this remnant of exploitation.

But recent moves toward religion suggest this ideological aversion is transforming along with China’s socioeconomic situation — albeit more slowly. Since Deng Xiaoping began opening China’s economy in 1978, its GDP has grown 40-fold with increasingly serious side effects. Corruption, yawning wealth inequality, environmental degradation, and the threat of a major banking crisisweigh on the Communist Party’s ability to maintain control. The religious opiate could be just what the doctor ordered for a nervous Communist Party.

Academic studies and think tanks devoted to studying religion’s political and sociological effects have been sponsored by government organs to explore topics such as Christianity’s role in developing the United States and Europe. And institutions like Fudan University’s Religious Studies Department in Shanghai and the Institute for Advanced Study of the Humanities and Religion at Beijing Normal University are becoming more common in Chinese academia.

“There’s a fair amount of overlap between the government agenda and the Christian agenda,” says Gerda Wielander, who researches Chinese religion and politics at the University of Westminster. “When you speak to [Chinese Christians] or look at the data, they all emphasize what good citizens they are and what good citizens they want to be, so there’s a lot for the government to tap into there.”

Fascinating stuff…check out the rest of the article here at Foreign Policy.

Money and Giving – Paul’s views from 1 Corinthians 9

As I have been raising support of late, the subject of giving and finance strikes quite close to home. I plan to post some more reflections later, but will begin with the following analysis from 1 Corinthians 9.

Money plays no small role in the theology of the Apostle Paul.  As he wrote his letters to many of the early churches, this was a topic which arose again and again.  One of the fullest expositions of Paul’s view of the support of church ministers is found in 1 Corinthians.  His exposition of this topic in chapter 9, starting with verse 3, deserves a closer look:

This is my defense to those who would examine me.  Do we not have the right to eat and drink?  Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?  Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? (1 Corinthians 9:3-7)

As his basic premise, Paul uses a series of rhetorical questions to demonstrate that a full time ambassador for Christ deserves to earn a living.  This is clearly seen through his appeal to the right to life and survival that is the basis of all society.  He uses the example of a soldier to prove that someone who has dedicated their live to the common good, in this case the defense of a region or group, is supported through the pooled donations of those being protected, i.e. taxes.  He points out the inconsistency of Barnabas and himself being the only ones excluded from this basic premise.

Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.’ Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.  If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? ( 1 Corinthians 9:8-12a)

As his next move in this argument, Paul moves beyond a priori philosophical arguments and brings in the Old Testament Torah (law) as additional support.  It is not merely principles of human reason that supports his logic, but the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.  He quotes from Deuteronomy 25:4 and applies this to the question at hand.  While this original commandment did literally apply to the treatment of oxen in the harvest of grain, it also applies to the broader concept of a worker earning his own wages.  In fact, Paul argues that God is not really concerned at all for the oxen, but this principle is actually for us.  If a worker is working in an industry making and selling objects for a price, then he has every right to expect a salary.  For those who are not actually sowing and harvesting physical food but rather spiritual, they none the less deserve the same wage.  In fact, Paul argues that the spiritual harvest is even more important than the physical, and thus more deserving.

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:12b-14)

Now that Paul has proven his initial point, he brings in an additional twist.  The support of the pastor or missionary is not the primary objective.  Rather, the gospel must always come first.  This is an absolutely pivotal principle which must be carefully and critically applied in all ministry situations, but especially those concerning money.  Even though there is clear logical, humanitarian, and scriptural arguments in favor, to avoid the slightest obstacle to the gospel Paul has not enforced this right and demanded material support.

But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:15-18)

Paul concludes by saying that this extended section is not intended to raise money.  He notes that merely preaching the gospel does not earn him any reward, since he is obligated to do so out of necessity.  However, preaching the gospel “free of charge”, and not utilizing his full rights, does merit a reward.  Even the preaching of the gospel itself is included here within the rubric of stewardship.

What Paul is saying here is highly relevant for missions.  In some contexts, any appeal for money would be misinterpreted and cast suspicion upon both the messenger and the message.  In such a situation, while it is still valid for the ambassador of Christ to earn his or her living by the gospel, to look for some other means of support is to elevate this gospel above personal livelihood.

Raising A Child: Does it Take a Family or a Village?

As Rick Santorum has become more prominent of late, I was interested to hear about the book he wrote, It Takes a Family. What interested me was the fact that this book was written in opposition to Hillary Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village. I haven’t read either book, and I have no intention of doing so, so this post is based only loosely off the books themselves, and more on the underlying concepts. The following is taken from the publisher’s book description of It Takes A Village, on Amazon: “Her experience with children has strengthened her conviction that how children develop and what they need to succeed is inextricably entwined with the society in which they live and how well it sustains and supports its families and individuals. In other words, it takes a village to raise a child.” I recently watched Santorum say that it doesn’t take a village, but rather a family, to raise a child…which surprised me quite a bit, as I will explain.

First of all, arguing for the value and importance of a ‘village’, the surrounding society and people outside of the immediate family, does not negate the value of the family!! Of course it also takes a family. I can’t speak for all who would hold this position, but as seen in the description I quoted above, the value of the ‘village’ is in sustaining and supporting the family. So this is not a either/or scenario, in which those who argue for the need to ensure we have a strong society therefore believe that families are weakened proportionally. I would imagine this would work the other way as well, and even the families that Santorum advocates for must live in some sort of wider community, a village. Aside from the need to disagree with Hillary Clinton, I don’t know why he would see the need to deny the role that a village plays in family life. My first thought when I heard his comment was that this is such a narrow and limited American perspective.

Having lived in Africa, where the notion that a child is not the sole property of the family alone, but of the wider community, is strongly prevalent, makes such a debate even more absurd. I remember having a discussion my first year at NEGST on email policy, where an email would be sent out to the entire campus announcing the birth of a child, and then there would be 20 or so replies to all, going out to every email user on campus, from various professors and other leaders in the community congratulating the parents! That would drive the Americans and other Western students crazy, I certainly found it rather annoying. But the Kenyan students said, no, this is an important aspect of our community that the leading members would be able to register their congratulations to all. These new babies were not being born to families alone, but into a wider community. It was customary to visit the new children with small gifts, and during my time on student council, it was one of the responsibilities of the council to send as large  a delegation as possible to visit these new arrivals to the community. I participated in many of these visits. These visits also took place when children (or others) were lost, which happened with tragic frequency, and the house of the bereaved would be packed for days with members of the community circling through to express their condolences and demonstrate their solidarity.

While I think in many ways it is somewhat simplistic, and not always accurate in my experience, to say that ‘African’ cultures are communal, and ‘Western’ cultures are individualistic, this is one way that I believe many Western cultures lose out the value of the larger community, the ‘village.’ I’m sure that even Santorum would advocate for the importance of wider community life, but I believe that publicly acknowledging the value of the village in the development of a child is a good way to start.

One of the distinctives of the English language is that is lacks an official second person plural, which many other languages, including Greek and Hebrew, use. Thus many of the imperatives in the Bible are addressed to ‘you all’, not just ‘you’ as English is forced to misleadingly reduce it. The people of Israel clearly led a very communal life, and the tribe of Levi was not even given an inheritance when the Israelites settled in the promised land, but rather they had to share the inheritance of all the tribes and live among the people as the priests and representatives of God. The metaphor of the church as a ‘body’ has strong communal implications, when we see the people that compose the church described as an eye, nose, mouth, and hand all working together to form one cohesive unit. How many churches are close and intimate enough that  the abilities and gifts of their members are known, let alone utilized, in the ministry of the church? That is the model that the New Testament is advocating. Let me include a brief passage from 1 Corinthians 12:21-26:

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. ESV

In summary, from my personal philosophy, understanding of the scriptures, and especially after my experiences in Kenya, I would argue quite strongly that yes indeed, it does take a village.