When I am walking the streets of Jesup, Ga I usually fit in. There is not really anything that makes me stand out from other people or that marks me as something different. I can slip into the background and there is nothing out of the ordinary. But here in Lasaka, Zambia I stick out! For the last couple of days we have been going to a compound called N’Gomb. This compound is (large) and has 100,000 people in it. We got the chance to walk around the compound and see what the conditions were like. There are so many huts and buildings pushed into this small place with lots of people, trash, and dirt. During the day there are many children running around. We have visited three community schools, that have no government support, and the only special needs clinic in Zambia. As we were walk around N’Gomb it is evident that the children and some adults are not used to seeing 7 white people walking around their compound. Most people stop, stare, and then point and say “Mzungu.” Mzungu means ‘white person.’ So as we walk around we usually gather a crowd. Kids will want to see what we are up to; they are curious about us. They know there is something different about us and they want to check it out. The difference they see is obviously physical, but as these children continue to follow us … I wonder what Jesus looked like walking the streets. It says many times in the Bible that Jesus had a large crowd following him or even the 12 disciples walking with him. The question that I ask myself is why?? Why did people just automatically follow him?? Matthew 4:20,22 & Mark 1:18& 20. The disciples never witnessed Jesus perform a miracle, but when Jesus said “Come Follow Me,” they dropped their stuff and left. He was not physically different from them and he did not radically stand out, but for some reason they followed. I think they followed because of what they saw that was in him not about him. His love, his compassion, and his authority had to shine out. They could tell there was something different about him even though it was not physical. He represented hope, he represented life, and he was the savior. Now I wonder if I was similar to the people here in Lasaka, if I looked like them, would they still be curious? Would they follow me to see what I was about because they saw something else different in me?
When I go back home I want to stand out and look different not because I am tanner because I’ve been in hot countries but because they don’t see me anymore they see Jesus! Jesus attracted people because he had something inside him that was different, something that was by his nature true and pure. As I prepare to serve these next 10 1/2 months I want to grow in my likeness to Jesus. I want to know Him more so I can be like him. I hope that He shines through me so that more people will follow not me but they will follow Jesus.
