My first week of being in Africa has been quite the adventure.
Rwanda, to be exact. It’s beautiful. It is also known as the Land of a Thousand Hills. It is one of the few countries that host the endangered Silverback Gorilla, and it is also one of the best places for tea & coffee.
If you know me well enough, you know that I love good Coffee. 
As much as I love the coffee here, there is one thing that I love most of all:
The people.
No matter where I go, if I have a question I can ask anyone. They are so hospitable and kind. We were lost one night, my team and I, and a stranger walked up to us and helped us get home. He even called us when we got home to make sure that we got back ok.
Our Ministry host: Pastor Moses, I love him and his family so dearly. They all have a sense of humour.
They told us the first day we arrived that we needed to perform a traditional ritual to be accepted in their culture. The youngest person on our team had to walk around the house with a stool on her head. The rest of us had to follow her with our hands together, almost like we were praying. When we made it around the house, he told us to gather around the stool and pray.
He said before we were going to pray, “Oh, and by the way, this was all a joke..” He then proceeded to laugh.
I was so happy that he was funny.
We also have received Rwandan names. People here have two names, one english name, one Rwandan name. Pastor’s youngest son’s english name actually happens to be Josiah! He is so cute that little guy. His Rwandan name is “Ganza”.
I thought because my english name is also Josiah, they would give me the Rwandan name “Ganza”. That was not the case.
We stood in front of the church congregation and they named us for what they saw in us. My good friend Devin got “Ishima” which means Praise. I thought this was very cool because my friend is a singer and a dancer and uses those things to Praise our God.
They got to me and weren’t sure for a second. They were all quiet until someone in the congregation shouted “Inhwari!” They all agreed. My Rwandan name means “Hero.” This almost made me laugh. I have no idea how accurate this is, but I know I must live up to it.
Not for my sake, for God’s. What I want to make my name mean is “Hero of God”.
I want to live up to that name, by being a disciple of God, a child of God, and a Hero of God.
I want to help him reclaim all that he has made. I pray that every living soul may know the love and grace that he gives by getting close to him. I pray that I would help him in his battle against the deceiver.
The truth is, there is a battle happening right now. Between God and what is not of God. We need to live up to be called God’s Heroes. We are his army. We need to fight in prayer and in love for what is rightfully God’s.
This may sound heavy, or hard to grasp, but it’s the truth. We all need to realize that our lives are not our own. They are rightfully God’s. He needs us to fight for what is right. For what is God’s.
I have heard many people call me ridiculous for living for something that “isn’t real”. For all those people that do not believe, I say this:
“If I am wrong, than I did waste my life. If you are wrong, than you have wasted your eternity.”
