“Enjoying” instant coffee and oatmeal this morning, it hit me again, that I only have 2 more weeks of ministry, and just 3 weeks til I’m back in the mix up and hustle of home. Instant coffee and oatmeal weren’t the only instant things in front of me this morning- I felt instantly filled with gratitude as I reflected on the last couple of weeks.
I wrapped up last month feeling pretty disappointed by my Zimbabwean experience- don’t get me wrong, I loved Zimbabwe and got to meet some pretty incredible people, who blessed my team and me in big ways. It just wasn’t what I had dreamed Africa would be like, and I’ve been dreaming of Africa for a while. My heart longed for rambunctious kids, red dirt, and African culture. What I got was hostel living, wifi, and a lot of white people. You can imagine my disappointment when I received the set-up sheet for my last month in Malawi, that informed me that we were yet again, staying in a hostel, and gave very little information about what our ministry would be.
A little over a week ago, my team packed up and hopped on a bus from Harare, Zimbabwe to Lusaka, Zambia. Unbeknownst to us, this overnight bus didn’t actually drive all night, it stopped around midnight and waited for the border to open around 6 AM. Naturally, a few of us hopped off the bus and pitched our tents in true world race fashion- we were gonna sleep well if we had the chance! At some point during the night, a wild elephant strolled up to the bus that half our team was attempting to sleep on, and past our tents maybe 20 feet away. We found out in the morning where the bus had parked was a game range, wild elephants and all… Maaaybe not prime camping ground.
Anyhow, after a quick stay in Lusaka, we bussed over to Lilongwe, Malawi where my team is stationed for the month. We checked into our hostel, complete with a giant pool, armed our tents against the devil-ants which inhabit Malawi with some anti-ant powder, I woke up pretty swollen due to a reaction to said powder, #nowimsleepinginabed!, and met our contacts Felix and Blessings. This month we get to live out James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” Oh, and bonus, we get to play soccer.
God knew just what I wanted and needed for this month, and He poured it out on me. Thinking over my last couple of weeks, I quickly realized that I spent far too much time thinking about me, what I wanted, and how tired I was. Even after 11 months, I’m still learning that I need to focus on God, because He is good and works all things together for my good, and ultimately His glory- even when things don’t look how I thought I wanted them to.
So, as my time on the race quickly concludes- YIKES! I am pushing myself and getting ready to take on the challenge of choosing to focus on God always, no matter where I am. I have almost no idea what my life will look like or what direction it will be headed in in less than a month, and that’s ok. I am choosing not to waste time worrying about the future, but instead to take every moment captive and make the most of it. I’ve realized how easy it can be when I’m caught up in my own head to miss God’s fingerprints on my days, to miss His plans and purpose interwoven in each breath of my day.
