There is a ride at Disney World called "It's a Small World" and if you ever ride it the song that plays throughout the ride sticks in your mind for days. Each time I've been to Disney I've made sure to ride this ride because it makes me think about the connections I've had with people in different parts of the world. It also brings home the reality that God does not see geographical or political boundaries. He only sees people, and expects us to do the same.

We often think that events happening in other parts of the world don't affect us, but they do. This week young men I know in Iraq and Afghanistan had friends in their outfits who were killed. I don't personally know the men who were killed, but I do know the impact that their deaths are having on my friends and their families. Events that happen in other parts of the world impact our lives.

Our congregation in the past has sponsored a refugee family from Myanmar and it was such a positive experience that we are preparing to do it again. Methodist pastors in Africa are walking hundreds of miles between villages to spread God's word, and when people here in the states learned of this they started providing bicycles so that the pastors could travel more quickly and easily through that rugged land. These people will more than likely never meet or even know each others names, yet their lives are connected in tremendous ways.

If the churches in Broad Ripple were polled, the smallness of this world would become immediately evident. There is no doubt in my mind that there is wonderful mission work and connected relationships between family and friends that span the globe. God's people are vast and actively involved in this world. There are numerous exciting opportunities in this community alone that further the reality that it really is "A Small World After All."