If someone asked me how I would describe life in Africa with one word after living here for two weeks I would easily be able to say, simple. Every aspect of it is simple. The way they cook, the way they do laundry, the way they reserve water for the days it shuts off, the way kids entertain themselves during a day; it’s all so simple. I’ll give you a few examples to let you in on what my everyday life has looked like. To cook our meals we use a tiny stove with two burners but, that’s only when we have electricity. When we are without electricity we use a little charcoal stove on the floor. For laundry, the only washers we have are the two hands God gave us. I’ll let you in on a little secret that I quickly learned and will help you if you ever want to try this out: no matter how much confidence you have that you’re doing it right… you’re not. But that’s why it’s a blessing that I have my three awesome host sisters here, Faith, Josomo (means Grace), and Sharon to help me become a pro (Okay maybe not a pro, but I’m making progress!) To reserve water they fill a big barrel outside whenever with the water when it’s on and then when it’s out we use that to do things like flush the toilet and do dishes. The longest we’ve had without water has been four days. In those four days it came on for an hour here and there but never long enough to do things like have 12 girls get a shower. After that forth day you can imagine the excitement when the water came back on at 11 pm and we all anxiously waited our turn to take our first shower in four days not caring how late it was getting. It’s the little things in life, like water, electricity, or a shower, that we take for granted until you are left without it. And when it comes to the children that live on our road, they can always be found with their friends that live near by. Most days we can find them waiting under a small tree outside our house waiting for the minute one of us steps foot on the front porch and they come running to give us hugs and play. They don’t sit inside all day and watch TV, they don’t have phones to take them away from the beauty that surrounds them, they don’t have big (or small) fancy toys to play with, they don’t have anything flashy that the world says we need to be happy. They simply have each other.
They simply have each other. I think that’s something we often forget; we don’t need all the possessions the world offers us when we have tons of unique people, all with different stories, surrounding us everywhere we go. A lot of times we can just get caught up in our own little worlds and live a “me” centered life and ignore the opportunities we get for quality conversation. Since being on the race I have learned how much quality face to face conversations mean to me. Having limited communication with people back home has been challenging at times but it has taught me to cherish and value face to face conversations (or while on the race it’s more like cherishing the Skype conversations). For example, since being in a long distance relationship especially I have learned the importance of quality communication. Yes, it’s good to keep in contact over messages back and forth but there is something extra special about getting to hear my boyfriend’s voice and seeing him after a long time of only being able to message back and forth due to only having wifi once a week and being 7 hours ahead. Also, with limited communication back home and limited wifi, it has forced me into a community of 12 amazing girls, all seeking after the Lord’s heart, where I have endless opportunities to have quality conversation. It’s crazy how even in the smallest aspects of the race, like wifi access, Jesus is teaching me things that are so valuable to keeping a strong, healthy relationship.
Sometimes I think about how this is the way our relationship with Jesus can be. When we’re in our daily routine at home we might give him a quick minute here and there to ask for something but often times we don’t give him enough time in a day to sit down and have a quality conversation with Him. He has a lot to tell us. We just need to slow down our pace of life, sit, and listen. Quality communication is so important in building and growing a relationship, so why should our relationship with God be any different? I challenge you to take time out of each day to sit in His presence and simply listen. You will be amazed at what comes out of the time, and I can assure you it will be well worth your time! ||Psalm 37:7||
As I’m learning and totally loving this simple way of everyday life, I wanted to give you guys a little overview of what our ministry has looked like this past week. Each day we do a different ministry and most days it is in the afternoons so we have the morning to rest and prepare for the day. A few of the ministries have been: widow ministry, soccer ministry, a feeding program, loving on abandoned babies at a crisis center, visiting a primary school as well as a salon in the city center, and going to our host’s church and churches in the villages 2 hours from our house. At the majority of these ministries we have a few of us share our testimonies and someone also shares a piece of the Word. I have had the opportunity to share my testimony in one of our church services and share a message at the salon in the city center. Evangelism was intimidating coming into the Race but it has quickly started to feel like a way of life. Sharing the love that God fills me with to others every day feels normal; it’s become a lifestyle. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Serving God isn’t just thing we chose to do in Sunday’s at church. It’s simply a way of life. I’m not saying I’m the perfect Christian because believe it or not, I’m actually far from it. But I am learning every day and with God’s unending grace, my imperfect self is choosing each day to pursue Him and what He has for my life.
Here’s just two stories I want to share with you on how I have seen God working and felt His presence this past week:
(Story 1) One of the ministries I mentioned was loving on abandoned babies at a crisis center. Going here made my heart so happy but also made my heart break. It made me happy because give me a baby to hold and I will be content for hours. But my heart broke as I held Agnes, a little girl who wasn’t yet a year old, and looked around the room at all the other babies. Questions flooded my head. How could someone abandon their child? Why was I blessed with loving parents when this little girl was abandoned by hers? How is that fair? As I was in the middle of asking God these questions and getting a little angry and upset I was reminded of the devotion I read that morning. It was titled “Questions won’t always have answers”. There was a challenge at the end that I gave myself and it was to look where I see God in a situation and discover how He will turn that situation into good rather than question why it is the way it is. As I sat holding Agnes asking all these questions I found myself at a perfect time to put this challenge into action. I stopped asking questions and looked around the room. I saw babies being rocked to sleep, I saw a little girl being tickled and laughing with the most joy filled laugh. I saw so much of God’s love being poured out in that room. Yeah, I may never get to help those babies but if I didn’t go there that one day, they may never have gotten that little dose of love from the Father who will never abandon them. Were my questions answered? Nope, not at all. But Jesus redirected my attention from questioning Him to becoming aware of how He was working in the situation to bring life and joy in that moment.
(Story 2) We went to a primary school where the kids had just finished testing and we’re getting ready for their Christmas break. we told bible stories to the kids, taught them songs, played games with them, and just hung out with them so their teachers could grade tests. It had been storming the whole time we were there so when we finished we went into one of the classrooms with the older kids to wait out the rain. As we sat there I looked around the room just taking it all in. I have heard God’s voice clearly a few times before in my life and the voice I heard that day was without a doubt God. All I heard was, “you’re going to give your shoes away to a kid here today.” I had no idea who I was supposed to give them to but I knew what I needed to do. I kept looking around the room but this time I looked at people’s feet. Looking for someone with no shoes specifically because that would’ve made my decision easy. I saw a boy standing pretty much directly in front of me and when I looked down at his feet, I knew. He only had one shoe on and he held the other shoe in his hand because it was broken. They were a pair of girls sandals and the strap was broken. I didn’t even have to think about it, this was the boy that was going to get my shoes. I grabbed my shoes, walked over to him and handed him the shoes and told him to try them instead. He didn’t care at all that he was just given a girls pair of neon flip flops, he slid them on and they fit perfectly. He looked up with a big smile, said thank you, and that was the last time I saw him. I went the rest of way home on our bike taxis barefoot and every time I looked at my muddy feet I was reminded of how simple it is to share God’s love. It’s as simple as being obedient. It’s as simple as a pair of shoes. Sure, I gave him my shoes but I take no credit because I wouldn’t have given them to him if God didn’t tell me to. All the glory goes to Him; I’m just here to be used by Him.
I don’t share these stories to make you all think that I’m the greatest, most generous person who’s out traveling the world and living the perfect Christian life, because that’s not me. I’m just like you. Someone who is following where God has called them and pursuing His heart. He calls us all to different places; wherever we go, that’s our mission field. I share these stories with you to encourage you. Encourage you that when you are obedient to the Lord, He will do incredible things in and through you. God is at work. He’s at work here in Africa. He’s at work back in El Salvador. He’s at work in the Philippines. He’s at work in America. He’s at work all around the world. And when He’s at work, He wants us to be apart of what He’s doing. He has chosen you and me. He doesn’t need us to fulfill His plan but He wants us to be apart of it. That’s an honor. We are His children and He is calling us to run along side Him as He works out His powerful plan. I want you to join me in the challenge I have given myself. It’s a challenge to join God in the work He is doing around you; wherever that may be. Whether that’s in a place as small as Mount Joy, or as big as Europe. The role you play matters. Don’t belittle what you do. God can use each one of us, if we surrender to Him and are willing to follow where He leads. There are challenges along the way but the gain we receive when we follow the Lord is so worth the costs along the way. I’m ready to take the challenge; are you?
PRAYER REQUESTS:
-With Christmas being in a few days it’s a extra hard for me to not be home. I find myself sitting and thinking of all the traditions I’ve had growing up and realizing how special they are to me. It’s hard knowing that I’m not going to be apart of them for the first time in 18 years. A little nugget of information on the holiday’s here: Christmas isn’t celebrated at all prior to the day, they only celebrate on the day. We are planning to bring a little American Christmas to our host family by making/decorating Christmas cookies, we bought them a little fake tree that were decorating with paper ornaments, and we’re going to wrap presents for them to open. Prayer that I would find peace while being away from family, my boyfriend, and friends during Christmas as well as find joy in the way we celebrate it here would be super appreciated.
-That I would be able to cast out lies that Satan is overwhelming me with and truly believe the truths that Jesus speaks over my life every day.
Thank you all for the continued prayer support; I’m am so blessed by my support system back home.
I’m wishing you all a Merry Christmas all the way from Africa! Don’t get wrapped up in all the gifts (there might’ve been a little pun intended in that) and don’t get caught up in the “me” centered Christmas. This is a beautiful time of the year and one of the mis special parts is having family all together. Cherish this time and love each other (family as well as others you may encounter) with the sweet love that God loves each of us with.
One more quick prayer request:
-My boyfriend’s family is celebrating their first Christmas without his brother this year. Please join me in praying for them in the days to come, that they would feel an overwhelming sense of God’s love, peace, and comfort. They are such an amazing, strong, sweet family and I have been so blessed to get to know them. Thank you for joining me in praying for them in this way! Prayer is so powerful; don’t underestimate what God can do through each of your prayers.
**shout out to any of the Sweigart family that might read this; I miss you guys and hope you all have an awesome Christmas!**
||Philippians 4:6-7||
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
||2 Corinthians 9:7-8||
“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”
Blessings,
Julie
