SIFAT

Last weekend I had the opportunity to chaperone a youth retreat to SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology).  SIFAT is located in Lineville, Alabama, and its mission is to educate people around the world about using appropriate technology.  This is not the technology that we think about here, like computers, cell phones, and iPads.  SIFAT focuses on technology that helps people have clean water, nutritious food, and safe shelter.  I have been on probably more than 30 youth trips in the past 8 years, but this trip was like none other.  We were forced to live like millions of people live around the world, in conditions that are very uncomfortable and different from what we are used to.  Friday night and Saturday morning were much like a normal youth retreat, with meals in the cafeteria, spending the night on bunk beds, and participating in team-building activities.  However, Saturday afternoon things changed.  We were given a potato sack and told to pack anything we thought that we needed for the next 24 hours in that sack.  We then went on a mile and a half hike with our stuff to the Global Village.  Before entering the village, we had to go through customs, where most of the things that we thought we "needed" were taken away.  All we were allowed to keep was our sleeping bag, water bottle, flashlight, Bible, and any medications.  Pillows, extra clothes, cell phones, and other personal items were taken back to the lodge.  For the next 24 hours we learned about various cultures very different from our own.  We experienced slum life, where we had to work for money to buy food and shelter.  We slept in a hut in "Uganda," and it felt like the longest, coldest night of my life.  We cooked our food over the fire the next morning before heading back to civilization.  As one of the youth put it, "it was the best worst experience of our lives." We were exposed to how life is for millions of people around the world, and we were able to see how truly blessed we are.  Both the adults and youth on the trip will never be the same!