substandard sardines and Jesus

During my trip to Tanzania last year I had to build an impromptu roof rack for the clinic truck to carry all of nets back from Arusha. I purchased the lumber from a local guy on the side of the road...after some negotiating I bought eight feet of rough-cut 2x6 for $5 US. I needed some tie downs to keep the huge bundles on top. Peter, one of the drivers for the diocese wanted to use the traditional long strips of black rubber that Tanzanians used to tie down everything...I swear they would use it to tie a wing back on an air plane! But to be fair, it's local, it's cheap, and it's functional. "Driver" doesn't begin to describe what these guys are...they are expert drivers, know everyone everywhere, can find everything, fix everything, and put their lives on the line for you...but I was on a hunt for some came straps as the drive was a few hundred miles on dirt "roads"...

Arusha is the hub of all the tourist traffic heading off on safari so it has an odd mix of traditional and "modern"...we found this supermarket in town that was just insane! You could buy anything you wanted, at a pretty reasonable price...of course most folks in this huge place were mzungu (whites)...and every accent could be heard in each isle...


I found my straps in the automotive isle (having one of those was nuts enough)...and we poked around buying things we didn't need but were craving anyway...broccoli, coffee, candy...canned fish for the ride back...so this can caught my eye...

have you ever wondered where the world's supplies of substandard sardines ends up? It's a dirty little secret i guess you don't see on the "deadliest catch"..sure those fish suck, but hey, let's send them to Tanzania and make some money!...

I kinda think that's how most of us life out lives of mercy to the hurting world...we keep the best and send the substandard stuff along...how can i say this? It's so rare that new clothes make it through the sorting bins at a local mission agency where I volunteer with a bunch of guys that when a piece of tagged clothing comes through you'd think we found a hundred dollar bill...

sure, when disaster hits we all jump on, but what happens when the dust settles...
i guess it's a gut check for me...am i keeping all the best and sending along the crappy sardines? If we have been truly transformed by Jesus, we'll give away the best...just like God did.
When we peer into the manger, the cross, the empty tomb...and realize the once-for-all-deal that we have been given....you just can't keep the good fish to yourselves...