The majority of my Race has
been spent in the city. I’ve gotten used to waiting in traffic, the insane
drivers of public transportation who play chicken with oncoming vehicles, the
smell of exhaust, bumping into people left and right, and the usual hustle and
bustle of city life.
This month, God decided to
place my team in the bush of Rwanda. We are surrounded by gorgeous hills, and
hills, and more hills. Every morning I get the opportunity to sit on our pastor’s
front porch and take in the beauty of God’s creation. Large hills, trees,
flowers, the long-horned cow in the yard across the red dirt road, the striped
lizards running across the sidewalk, and the roosters picking threw piles of
trash are all a part of the view from our home.
My team and I have felt like
the disciples since we arrived in Rwanda. Every morning we set out to do door
to door evangelism. Some days our translators lead us to each house to preach
the Gospel. Other days, we find ourselves walking behind Pastor Caleb for
hours, having no clue where he is taking us, and surrounded by nothing except
tall grass, huge birds (storks), red dirt, and endless hills.
One of the first days we
arrived, I walked outside and saw our pastor sitting in the yard. He didn’t
have anything in his hands – no book, no laptop, no ipod, no magazine. He was
just sitting there all by himself, taking in the scenery and enjoying life.
When I waved at him, he laughed and lifted his hands in the air and started
dancing in his seat. What a culture!
Our dirt backyard is where
the dishes are washed, where the clothes are washed by hand, where the food is
prepared and cooked over a fire, where the dirt squatty potty is located (that
is 20 feet deep), and where the bathing room is located. We bathe with a bucket
of water whenever the spicket has running water. And the power in our home goes
out at least once a day. I love the quiet that comes when the only light in the
house is from one candle burning.
I am getting accustomed to
not having a mirror (my teammates and I have looked in our laptops’ webcams a
couple times this month just to see what we look like), to having calloused
feet from the dry dirt, to tucking in a mosquito net around my mattress every
night, to eating the same meal everyday, and to having “tea time” 3 or 4 times
per day.
I am struck by how simple
life is to these people. The majority of their time is spent sitting with one
another, talking and enjoying each other’s company. The rest of their time is
spent at church. They have a service every evening and two on Sundays. Each
night the church is packed with people raising their hands and shouting to God
with pure joy on their faces.
In watching and living life
with the Rwandans, I have learned that what people do with their lives
is only a small part of the equation. The part that matters the most is who you
spend it with.
