Greetings from Africa!
That’s one of those things you wait your whole life to say. Like, “I loved the wedding gift!” or, “thank you for the million dollars!”
I guess not everyone waits their whole life to send greetings from Africa. Truthfully, I never even knew I wanted Africa until a few years ago. No matter. I’m in Africa now. And I greet you.
I’M IN AFRICA HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Ahem)
On Friday, January 8th, I caught a one-way flight out of my beloved Iowa and headed to Atlanta to launch with my squad. Everyone kind of jokes about launch, like “enjoy your last night with a comfortable bed and hot shower!” I guarantee you that while I was aware of the fleeting luxury of my American life, it was far from my mind. I was ready to be in Africa, like, yesterday. I would even be so bold as to assume that my comrades felt the same. It felt like I had been dreaming/talking/preparing for this ONE DAY forever. I did enjoy the nice bed and hot shower, though. And the Chick Fil A. And the Walmart. And the fact that you can throw toilet paper in the toilet. But more on that later.
We caught a flight to Johannesburg on Sunday night. I was nervous, having a) never been out of the country, and b) never flown on a plane for longer than three hours. The flight from Atlanta to South Africa is roughly 15, but we made it in about 13.5 thanks to a good headwind. We flew on the biggest plane I’ve ever seen, which caused lots of buried existential questions I apparently have about aerodynamics. The experience was overall enjoyable. There was food. I slept most of the time, and there was a bathroom close by. It was certainly not the most exciting leg of my journey. But stepping off the plane was sublime. It was like walking into summertime! (Sorry, Iowa! I still love you!) And after days and months and years of travelling, I was here! In Africa! Did you know that I’m in Africa, by the way? From the airport, we crammed 36 people and all of our things into two vans and headed for the border.
A note on travelling in Africa: it takes a LONG time to get anywhere. And driving here is terrifying. Not just, “drivers in Iowa are nice and courteous people” terrifying. It’s scary. Everyone drives at least 120 miles per hour, and I’ve seen like one seatbelt the entire time we’ve been here. I don’t think I would ever want to drive in Africa. Sometimes even just riding in the car, I have to close my eyes and beseech the Lord for all of His protection and mercy. Also, I just really don’t understand the whole driving on the left side of the road thing. There’s apparently a learning curve.
After stopping at a hostel for the night in Nelspruit (by that, I mean a three hour nap), we were off in the van again. The border between South Africa and Mozambique opens at 6 a.m., so we hit the road pretty early. Now, I have literally slept more hours in vehicles this week than I ever have in my whole life, but I was seriously blessed to have stayed awake for this car ride. South Africa is stunning. There are mountains so lush and thick with greenery that I don’t think there’s any way they could have ever been touched by anything other than the hand of God. Perhaps I was just romanced by the sunrise, but it was by far one of the loveliest things my eyes have beheld. One of my squadmates challenged my definition of “mountains,” but to a gal from the Midwest, it’s all about the same.
We crossed the border into Mozambique without incident, even though it’s been a challenge for World Race teams in the past. One thing I’ve noticed about Africa is that there are people EVERYWHERE. All the time. Some are selling things, some just seem to be loitering. Most of them staring at the nervous-looking white people. Even driving down the road, there are so many people just walking alongside. A lot of the women carry things on their heads. There are also a lot of motorbikes (Americans read: scooters) which I think are unsafe even under the best of circumstances. It is kind of an exquisite chaos, the ecosystem of an African highway. I want to look at absolutely everything.
We arrived in Maputo to drop off a few of our teams mid-morning. The teams there are working at an orphanage run by a Texan named Angie, and I am not worried about them having fun at all. It seemed like a wonderful place to do ministry. After a few of us got showers (not me, but I was really sweaty and needed one…by the way, I considered titling this blog “Chronicles of Not Showering in Africa), we ate lunch, and my team and another team hopped on a taxi to the bus station. This taxi consisted of 13 people in a van designed for seven, with all of our big packs and day packs. It was cozy. Also, it’s 100 degrees and 200% humidity in Mozambique, which I love, but may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I simultaneously got punched in the face with a guitar AND had my head rolled up in a window in this taxi. Yes, it was caught on video. No, I will not show you. In the interest of self-disclosure, I smelled really bad, and so did my friends. This is Africa. T.I.A. I’m pretty sure we came up with this motto during this particular taxi ride. I kept closing my eyes and thinking, “this is the dream.” And it is a dream. Life here is vibrant. I know that’s a thing that people in a new place say to people in their old place, but it’s so true.
The next leg of our journey took us to a bus station, where we were hurried onto a sleeper bus by a man in a purple suit. If you don’t know (I didn’t), there are busses in the world where instead of seats, you lie in a bed. This is awesome. It’s also hot and crowded and smelly, and the bus driver might not speak English, and probably won’t stop very often for you to use the bathroom, and possibly will try to leave you if you take longer than 45 seconds to pee. But it’s really very cool. After we took our seats, our bus journey began. Then, two blocks later, our bus journey ended suddenly. That’s right, the bus broke down. I can’t make this stuff up, folks. We sat on that 100 degree bus in a square in the capital of Mozambique for three hours, until they sent another one to pick us up. Then! We were on our way! The trip should have taken 16 hours, but in actuality took about 21. I did a lot of sleeping and a lot of looking out the window. I was afraid my attitude would get the best of me but as I laid there and prayed, God kept reminding me, “this is My dream for you.” If you know me at all, you know that historically I have a hard time arguing with that logic. Even though it was a long and arduous journey, it smelled bad, and we had no food, I’m glad to say I had the experience. I feel like it solidified my status as a world racer. Would I do it again? Probably. Travelling in a 120 mph bed really isn’t the worst way to go.
If you’re thinking that this sounds like the longest travel day ever, I’m not even done yet. I should’ve read more blogs and asked more questions about travel days, because I was completely unprepared for the maelstrom that is getting from place to place in Africa. After the world’s most epic bus ride, we were finally in Beira to drop off another team at their ministry site- an orphanage for boys. We hopped off the bus, grabbed our stuff, and hiked about a kilometer, we were greeted by lots of young boys, dogs, some cows, and Coca-cola! We met up with our ministry host Jaco (finally!) and went shopping to buy food for the month in town. Just driving around in Beira, I began to feel a deep love for the chaos and rhythm of the city. It’s very crowded. People will run you over with their cars if you don’t get out of the way. I elbow high fived a guy in the produce aisle of ShopRite because his hands were full of apples and we don’t speak the same language. We bought skirts called kapulanas because ankles are a no-no when you’re doing ministry in Africa, and a skirt with zebras on it is not something you pass up anyway.
Anyway, on to the last leg of our journey- from Beira we had a four hour drive to our own ministry site in Gorongosa. When I say four hour drive, I mean five people in the cab of a pickup truck, two people in the bed, along with 20 bags of groceries and twelve backpacks. Four hours. And then, by the grace of God, at 11:37 pm on Wednesday, Team Rhema finally arrived at our ministry site. We quickly set up our tents and showered for the FIRST TIME IN FOUR SWEATY DAYS, and went to bed. Since then, we’ve been spending some time as a team to pray together and get to know our hosts, Jaco and Maria. If you’re wondering how that’s going, I’ll let you know that I now have a set of South African parents. They tease each other constantly. Yesterday, Jaco held Maria in place and tickled her for at least ten minutes. They are truly lovely, wise, God-fearing people, and we feel so blessed to be partnered with them. Tomorrow, we will be heading out into the deep bush to share the Gospel and baptize people. There will be crocodiles. There will also be Jesus. I’m very excited, even though I’m pretty sure I’ll be preaching in front of a congregation sometime soon, which happens to be my biggest fear in the whole world. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Mozambique is so beautiful. I love the people here. I live in a tent and wake up to the sound of birds and animals I’ve never heard before. The bugs here are huge(HUGE!), much to my own chagrin and the amusement of those around me. Our internet isn’t super reliable, but I’ll post and be in touch as I’m able. Pictures may have to wait until the end of the month. Since I’ve been here, I’ve learned how to cook outdoors on a wood-burning stove, and baked bread with Mama Maria. I’ve spent almost 100% of my time outdoors. I’m constantly filthy. I’ve developed quite the affinity for instant coffee as well as something called “brown pudding.” We’ve been fortunate enough to have a toilet that flushes AND a hot shower AND a washing machine. We are truly blessed here. I do feel a bit of homesickness at times, but then I remember God’s promise: “this is MY dream for YOU.”
Please be praying for my team as we begin our ministry tomorrow. A couple of girls haven’t been feeling well, so we are praying that God heals them. Also pray for our other teams who are spread out across the whole country of Mozambique, that they are able to complete the work God has for them here.
I know this was a long blog with no pictures about one very, very long travel day. Thanks for champing it out, my friends. I love you and miss you more than you know.
I can’t wait to tell you more stories. Did I mention how big the bugs are?
This is Africa. This is the dream.
Erin
