Personal Narrative: My Field Trip To Chicago

Our field trip to Chicago offered me a new way of seeing the city. I have been to Chicago multiple times, yet this trip offered me an experience I was not expecting. It offered me an insight to the darkness that covers the city and the beacons of light that try to shine through that darkness. It opened my eyes to those who are searching for a truth, a love and an acceptance and are finding it in so many different places; whether it is Jesus People USA, South East Friendship Center, Olive Branch, a Krishna Temple or an Islamic Mosque. In each of these places individuals are just trying to figure out where they belong and if they can find acceptance, but what each offers is entirely different. Our first stop in Chicago was the Southeast Friendship Center. I have been there in the past, yet I experienced something new this time that was probably …show more content…
Hindus believe in Christ often, many have simply added him to their current temples, but does making things so similar also confuse the Truth from the lies. Now I recognize that my Western knowledge of the Church does not need to be forced upon them, but I also remember speaking to Indians in India and them saying that needed to see God as their God, but also have a place that was not similar to the temple. This for me created an ethical dilemma on what is being ethnocentric and what is being cautious and recognizing what could blur lines for individuals. It makes me think that in my practice one day, when will I be able to tell what is cultural and what is a hindrance to the flourishing of individuals. I want to be someone who is always culturally sensitive, but I also do not want practices that might be harmful to continue. What would I do if an individual comes to me and says it is part of their culture to marry their daughter off at fourteen, or that their culture requires them to create a separate place for men and