After traveling over 41 hours from Durban, South Africa to Seronga, Botswana, I asked myself the question, “Is it worth it?” Is it worth all the travel, the 3 full days spent on a bus, the lack of proper nutrition just to come spend 3 weeks with a couple of missionaries out near the border of Namibia? But then we got to the edge of the delta that we had to cross via ferry to get to our ministry site which was a final 2.5 hour stretch down a dirt road. And all in a moment, I knew it was worth every minute spent with my knees crammed up against the back of another bus seat. All of it, just to see this beautiful slice of creation with the sunsetting over the water lilies mingling with the hippos made it worth it to me. And since then, God has given me many, many more moments like that that have reminded me that it’s all worth it. Every travel day, every time I repack my 70L pack to go to yet another country, it’s always worth it.
It’s worth it to Muetsepi. Muetsepi is a woman we met on our first day evangelizing the village of Seronga. She expressed a hunger for knowing God more, so we went back and visited her every day the rest of the week with a prepared lesson on different aspects of God and His will for life on earth. We are seeing God transform her concept of marriage and through her example, lead her pregnant daughter to a better understanding of God’s good plans for us.
It’s worth it to Poifo. We have learned far more from Poifo than she has from us. On Monday she showed us her technique for hand washing laundry, Tuesday included a millet pounding lesson, and Wednesday she showed us her incredible method for making an oven out of a hole in the ground. On Thursday, my teammate Bre and I got to go see her family’s fields where they grow maize, millet, watermelon, and pumpkin. Hanging out with her family in the shade of a tree and drinking watermelon juice right from the rind was a moment that made every back-ache and every moment of pure exhaustion worth it.
It’s worth it for the kids we play with every afternoon. To see their faces light up every time they see the rusty old van pulling around the corner; the squeals emerge from throwing them up in the air again and again; the perspective rocking image of kids using an abandoned old car windshield as a playground slide; to hear them call, “Grace” when I pass by on a run early in the morning; it makes it all worth it.
I feel like this month is my own hidden treasure. I haven’t been able to post many pictures or share many stories of what God’s doing here, but if I had to do it again, I would keep it all the same. It’s like the hidden treasure that a man found and covered up, and in his joy he sells everything and buys the field (Matthew 13:44). I would joyfully sell everything I have and travel through 8 more countries just to get to my little hidden treasure in a field in Africa.
Forever His,
Grace
