Ok picture this, sitting in the back of the bus “jamming out” to Shania Twains Honey I’m home, on the way to listen to Crystal speak at a church of 1,000 people every African on the bus turning around and starring and there’s a strangers child on my lap (due to the overcrowding on the bus). It’s beginning to get dark and looking outside all I can see are hills and the city lit up by the lights of homes and businesses.
What was crazy to me just three months ago is now somewhat normal. But the reality hits me every so often. I’m in Africa, singing along to a hilarious Shania Twain song, with a random child on my lap, going to a church of 1,000 people. Weird. This is just so surreal.
3 months in Africa is coming to a close, next Wednesday we will be on our way to Asia. In Asia we will have a whole new team to live life with, be in a whole new continent and have a whole new sense of normal. This change of course calls for somewhat of a reflection on what this last 3 months have been.
I feel sad that so many of you have not met my wonderful team of 6 other people that I have been living with all over East Africa. (or in that case my whole squad). The 7 of us though had really no idea what we were getting ourselves into this year and especially the first 3 months. Together we got crammed into taxi’s of 15 people in Kenya, broke down on motor bikes in Uganda, and preached anywhere and everywhere in Rwanda.
Africa can just be really hard. Yes people are happy here and there is so much love, but coupled with extreme poverty, then the aspect that electricity is so often nonexistent and even when you have “running” water, well you just don’t really ever have running water. Top it off with a group of 7 people working through their own mess, living together and doing more ministry then we thought possible. Haha ok it’s really not that intense but this way to live is definitely new for all of us. And there was a reason that God wanted us all to start in Africa. God is funny, and I have this thought that he just really wanted us to know what we had decided to do for 11 months.
But what is true about God in the bible is true about God in our real lives. He loves us well, and when we remember to just surrender into His love life is really good. For a majority of the first 3 months I was confused and so easily disappointed with the fact that not everyday was easy here or in that case not everyday was a good day. Yes that was me in Africa talking to a women in prostitution thinking to myself about how I wish I was having a better day. But if I can just share one thing that I have been seeing over and over again these past 3 months it’s that, that is ok. God doesn’t love you any less even if you are in Africa wishing for more.
I want to take in Africa with all my senses before we leave. I want to remember the time I spent 3 months in Africa and the hundreds of laughs that came with that. And thank God we are ending in Rwanda cause my sense of smell is a lot easier to take here then Kenya and Uganda. FUN FACT: the last Saturday of every month Rwanda shuts down from sunrise to 11 a.m to do a countrywide clean up.
Anyway I’ve been gone for 3 months, with stories stored up in me that I just wish I could share right away with so many of you. (I mean depending on if you would even like to hear them). Haha.
One of my team members loves art a lot and she wanted us to do prophetic art one morning. So I tried. And after coloring a picture and adding some duct tape to it I had something. The picture was not much but on the back I wrote change the direction to which you look and you will see that it is better, you will see that it is already better. Many things that I hold onto and tie my happiness to are just not where I should be looking. So much goodness lies in the direction we set our eyes to.
My team.
sharing some fruit.
