It was like any other day. I woke up early to the sound of rats on a tin roof and giggling laughter coming from the kitchen as both teams and the host family rushed to fix their breakfast before starting a new day of ministry. My team headed out about 5 minutes late per usual and hurried along the dirt road. We needed to catch a ride to the bus depot about an hour away to meet the pastor we’ve been working with this month. Almost every day of ministry we take 2 minibuses to get to our location: one to the bus depot and one from the bus depot to our final stop. It’s not unusual for my team to spend 3 hours a day on a minibus, which really wouldn’t be that bad, aside from the physical exhaustion you get from long days of travel, if it weren’t for the fact that every minibus packs it’ passengers like a can of sardines.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes, we were hurrying along the dirt road to catch our first ride of the day. Upon coming to the corner and picking out a rather sketchy minibus (this is unavoidable) to take us to the bus depot, we started to crawl over the limbs of our fellow passengers to get to the back seat. As I was squeezing my way to the back I received a rather nasty jab from the metal bar of the fold out seat in front of me leaving a gross looking quarter size bruise on my lower leg. Minibus: 1. Dani: 0.
Fortunately, I made it to the bus depot without any further unpleasant altercations. My team met up with the pastor and we switched to our second bus of the day to take us to an orphanage where we preached, gave our testimonies, and taught the children bible songs. The dirt road on the way to the orphanage was filled with pot holes and I’m pretty sure the driver didn’t know where the brake was located because we slammed into each pot hole with such force my face was painted in a permanent wince. Elbows were flying, my head was banging against the roof of the minibus, my knees were crushing into the seat in front of me, and for a brief moment I was air born.
Then, the sound of groans filled the minibus. By the time we arrived at our location I think we all looked like we had been put through the ringer. Good thing we didn’t have to preach, share testimonies, and teach songs that day. Oh, wait, yes we did. I wish I could tell you that the score has remained Minibus: 1 and Dani: 0, but sadly that is not the case. I have officially gotten beaten up by minibuses more times than I would like to admit to, but just so you get an accurate picture of how much I loath this month’s transportation, I’ll let you know the score. Minibus: 22. Dani: 0.
I hope you all found that humorous. I told you Africa was going to be different from Asia and that doesn’t exclude the transportation. Oh, how I miss the days of tuktuks. On a more serious note, I want to talk about what’s been going on this past month. Something you should know about Africa: don’t ever expect to go to ministry and not have to preach. There is a lot of preaching in Africa. This month my team has preached at multiple orphanages, at secondary schools, and at church every Sunday. It’s kind of funny that the new season of my life is taking place in Africa-a place full of preaching-when something I’m trying to work on is having more of a voice. I know God wants me to speak up more and share my thoughts on things and I’ve definitely been sharing this month. It’s also nice to hear the encouragement from my team after I give sermons, which just confirms the fact that God is working in me and helping me find my voice. I know God will continue to grow me in this area for the rest of Africa and beyond. I don’t know what God has in store for me in the future but I just have this feeling that something big is right around the corner. So, I’m going to ask you to pray for me and what lies ahead. Please pray that I can stay focused and that I follow wherever God leads me because I want Him to be in complete control of my life. I’ve learned that giving Him control is the best way to live. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next blog.
P.S.: If you would like to donate and help me finish my race then please click the support me button on the side of my blog. The next financial deadline is July 1st and I need to be fully funded by that time. I would like to see what else God has in store for me and you can help me do that. Thanks so much!
