Oh Africa….
I just realized the other day that I haven’t experienced hunger pains in almost 3 months now(Yes Mom and Dad, I am eating well!) . Ha! I am definitely not complaining at all. We have been so blessed to be here. These people are different than any people group I have ever encountered. You could visit them for a week, and suddenly they have a picture of you on their wall, they talk about you to all their friends, any gift you give them will definitely be shown to everyone they know and if you ever came back, they would let you stay in their home as long as you wanted. This is a family.
I have seen hospitality at it’s finest. I have been taught how to serve and be served. Greetings are a big deal, so if you don’t shake someone’s hand they will ask why. They love to laugh and crack jokes with you. For example, today our contact went around the room saying something “funny” about each of us. He told Alycia she was strong because she came to ministry even though she is sick, he said Miranda was his little princess and that I look like an elder and that Miranda should sit on my lap. Ha! We got a big kick out of it. He continued to go on and on and even started saying I should carry her on my back. I was red at that point. Things like this happen everyday. I am constantly finding myself laughing.
We wake up every morning and eat breakfast at 7:30, which by the way, if you don’t eat what they serve you it is VERY offensive. So we eat that meal, then we go to ministry which is a different place everyday and they feed us breakfast again! Breakfast means eggs, peanuts, pineapple and bananas with tea. The second breakfast is usually around 11am. Then we go onto ministry which consists of 4 hour church services (NOT even kidding!) where they ask at least one of us to speak a sermon and at least one to give a testimony. That ends around 4 and we have lunch or lupper which is lunch and supper combined. You would think if it’s lunch and supper there would be no supper after, but that’s not the case at all. We get back around 6pm and then have tea time at 7pm and the real supper at 7:30. Basically, I am constantly stuffed full of food and tea! Ha! It’s awesome!
When they say Africans take their time, they weren’t kidding! Many days, they tell us we will be leaving at “approximately” 9am. It turns into 10:30am before we go anywhere. In Uganda, they say they measure the time in handfuls. The other day one of the pastors we visited said we would be eating lunch at “2-3-4 pm” Basically, it’s within a 3 hour range and we should just expect it to be around 4. We ate lunch at 5pm that day. =)
So folks, the moral to this is.. TIA—This Is Africa!
It is so dramatically different from American culture that I have often times had a love/hate relationship with this place because I have felt like I am constantly being pushed well out of my comfort zone by the way things are done. I finally snapped last month. I got so tired of being called “Muzungu”(White person) every where we went. Being as white as I am, I stick out like a sore thumb. I just wanted to paint myself black a few times just so I could blend in. I went to God about how frustrated I was and asked Him to help me first get over myself and second to love these people and this culture the way He does. Now I am used to being a “Muzungu,” and I forget that people are even staring anymore these days. You just learn to go with it and smile along the way. What’s the point in getting frustrated?
The truth is, I will miss this place. Africa has treated us well. We have been blessed and this place is blessed. The Lord loves these people and their way of life. I will probably be back again.
Two weeks from now, we will be moving onto a new continent which means new people, ways of life and a new season of ministry and growth! Just 3 months from being back in America and I can’t even believe it’s been this long since I have seen my beloved friends and family! I miss all of you dearly by the way! I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all of you supporting me every step of the way, so I am so grateful to have all of you in my life!
