On the Journey in Community

by Teresita C. Valeriana

Have you ever moved? Maybe more than once? I never used to think about moving. When I grew up in the Philippines, my address did not change for more than 20 years. But now I have been in the United States for 14 years, and I have moved at least five times — all for good reasons: college, internship, first congregational call, successive ministry calls. From place to place to place!

As I reflect on the story of Ruth and Naomi, I try to imagine their move from the country of Moab to Bethlehem. Describing that move as difficult is an understatement, especially for two women during those times, without the benefit of such modern resources as trucks and telephones.

They traveled on foot for many days on an uphill road to Bethlehem. But I think more challenging than the physical journey was the cultural understanding of relations between men and women at that time. These women had little identity without their husbands, no rights to property. Now we consider such treatment of women as oppressive and unjust, but that was the situation they found themselves in. What gave these destitute widows strength as they walked from Moab to Bethlehem? What sustained them?

The widows Ruth and Naomi were refugees. Like Ruth and Naomi, many people in our own time move from one land to another in hopes of finding a safer, better life. They move because they are driven by war, persecution, or extreme poverty. Recall that Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, first left Bethlehem for Moab because of a famine.

Land: redemption or bondage
In this Old Testament story of two women, land is an important factor. Ruth and Naomi cannot stay in Moab because there, they can own no land and so they have no livelihood. They go back to Bethlehem where there is a chance for survival because of Elimelech’s land.

Land can represent either opportunity or oppression. It can bring power and wealth to some, or it might bury people deeper in poverty.

Take Lucia Tapna, for example. Lucia is a 45–year old wife and mother of two who lives in the small village of Nizpara in Bangladesh. Lucia and her husband have no formal education, but their children are in school. She and her husband own their house and two acres of land, but the produce of that land is not enough to keep the family fed and clothed. Both take seasonal jobs as laborers, but the pay is small. And because hunger and poverty make them more susceptible to illness, they often miss days at work — and that day’s pay.

Despite their desire to survive on their own resources, they couldn’t see a way out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Desperate to save themselves and their children, they went to the moneylenders (known as sharks in their village) and borrowed against part of their property. The 6,000 taka (or $87) loan came with a very high interest rate. They couldn’t get out from under the ever–compounding interest and repay their debt, and they were forced to borrow more money against their land. This land, once a source of hope for Lucia and her family, became a source of anguish.

Who would walk with them as they searched for a way to redeem their land?

A reconciling community
Lucia became a member of the Nizpara Nishi Female Group, part of the Tribal Empowerment Project of Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS), a nongovernmental organization in Bangladesh. The RDRS is associated with the Lutheran World Federation’s Department for World Service.

Soon Lucia learned about the group’s land redemption program, which offered her a loan with a low interest rate. She used the group’s program to pay their debt to the moneylenders. This was the start of her family’s journey to new life again.

The Department for World Service (DWS) is a humanitarian and development agency of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that works with marginalized and disadvantaged communities in the areas of their greatest need.

Grounded in the mission of the church, DWS is committed to accompanying Lucia in rebuilding her family’s life, offering freedom, integrity, stability, and hope. In many countries that have suffered conflict, natural disasters, and resulting poverty, people just want a quick fix. But the LWF, through DWS, seeks to accompany them as they rebuild, find a new home, or relocate in another country. They stay with them until they are settled, liberated, sustained, hopeful, and transformed. Because of the help Lucia and her family have received from the LWF, she is committed to transformation: of herself, others, and her community.

Ministry of transformation
Lucia also attended community forums where she learned about more effective farming and community cooperation. Through the LWF–DWS accompaniment, she released herself from the bondage of poverty and oppression by paying back the moneylenders. She cultivated her family’s land with crops that earned more than enough to pay back her loan to RDRS. But more than that, she also found solidarity and support with other women.

Through the efforts of Lucia and the women of Nizpara Nishi, residents of that village have resisted the manipulation of money sharks, developed strategies to improve life, educated themselves about their political rights, and showed the community how to live as equals. Lucia’s path took a turn toward transformation that would not have been possible without advocacy that challenges the culture to formulate policies that promote justice and peace. Lucia and the women of Nizpara Nishi were not only given assistance — they were empowered. Our mission is a journey together, as we accompany others to find lives of sustainability. Ruth and Naomi’s journey was one story of accompaniment, a story of hope and redemption. If you meet Lucia today, she will tell you how her life is filled with hope and happiness. Her story is only one of many stories from her village. The DWS project, through advocacy, has also created a new awareness of and more positive attitude toward minority communities. All have been empowered.

Like the journey of Naomi and Ruth, Lucia’s journey from poverty to new life is also our journey. We walk with Lucia through the ministry of the worldwide Lutheran communion. Lucia walks with us because of who she is: It is her gift to us. Lucia’s journey continues in the land redeemed — not alone, but with us, as we celebrate God’s faithfulness and grace together.

In mission together
In a fast–moving society like ours, it is sometimes hard to be attentive to the challenges and suffering of others who are forced to leave their homes by the harsh realities of the world we share.

There are many Ruths, Naomis, and Lucias in the Lutheran communion of churches. The journey together with others around the world is a gift we receive when we participate in LWF’s mission. We do this through loving, reconciling relationships within our own communities and with the rest of the world. We do this through courageous acts — big and small — that affirm life. Through the gift of empowerment, our walking and acting together bear witness to the world. So, join the journey, sisters, and move!

The Rev. Teresita C. Valeriano is regional officer for the Lutheran World Federation in North America, based at the Lutheran Center in Chicago. Prior to coming to Chicago, she was Lutheran Campus pastor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Before that, she was executive secretary for youth with the LWF Church and Society Desk in Geneva, Switzerland