Where we are in Swaziland is exactly how you would imagine Africa to look like: red dirt, heat that’s unbearable, bucket showers, children everywhere, and homes that look like they barely survived a hurricane. Africa is a very slow paced culture and sometimes with that comes a slow paced month of ministry. This becomes even more true when there are 20 women living at one ministry site like we are this month.
On Monday, when we were done with our weekly meetings there was enough time for some of us to go to the grocery store and grab enough food for a few days. We took a komby (the public transportation here) to the store, and, with the intention of grabbing 4 days worth of food, we managed to come out with 2 full grocery carts and only 4 sets of hands to carry them.
Laughing and wondering how we were going to fit all this in public transportation, we pushed our carts out the doors of our local shop and into the parking lot. After multiple attempts at finding a komby that would fit me, my three other teammates, and our two full carts of groceries, we found a man named Msdenisi who led us to his komby at the back of the parking lot. He told us that he would take us and our grocerices without having to fill the whole van up with other Swazi’s first and that he wouldn’t even charge us extra.
At some point in our journey home, Msdenisi, who was sitting next to me, began to tell me that he knew world racers. I asked him to tell me some of the people he’s met just as a conversation starter and he told me about a man named Kevin and his team. (Funny enough Kevin was originally supposed to be on our squad.) He then proceeded to list off five names of people he’s met and how great they all were. It’s not uncommon in countires that host a lot of world race teams for locals to have met 1 or 2 people they really connected with. But for him to be able to list off first and last names from squads that were here anywhere from 2 months ago to years ago blew my mind.
I sat in my hammock later that day telling God about my frustrations with not feeling super connected to ministry this month. When he reminded me of that man in the van.
“God I don’t know what to do, a month is hardly enough time and we’re already one week in.”
“Brittany my child, you don’t actually need a month to make an impact.”
God then began to remind me of the names of those racers he knew from 2 months ago to years ago. Msdenisi’s not someone we as world racers get to do ministry with on a daily basis. He’s not even somone we get to see on a weekly basis. He’s just a man who runs the van who happened to take us home from the grocery store that I chose to have a conversation with.
We make things so complicated sometimes as people who are trying to live on a mission. Always in search of that one person we connect with who we can make an impact on their life.
But the reality is, it’s not about who we connect with.
In fact, it’s not about us at all.
As Americans who are constantly moving from country to country and community to community, we are always being watched or spoken to.
We have no idea how impactful taking the time to have one single conversation with a person can have.
This isn’t just something we as world racers can do.
This is something that we as Christians can do.
Notice people.
Converse with them.
And of course, follow up if you can.
But if you can’t, you have no idea what sort of impact that one single interaction can have on a person.
I’m sure Kevin and the other world racers had no idea that one conversation with Msdenisi would mean that he remembers them 2 months or even 2 years later. And not only does he remember each one of them, he remembers how each one of them treated him.
If we really trust the Lord is with us in all that we do, then we really don’t need more than a moment to make an impact.
