One of my worst nightmares EVER came to life this month…
I’m a hair stylist and I’ve seen plenty of interesting things on peoples’ heads,
Terrible tangles, no problem
Downright disgusting dandruff, I can handle that
M&M sized moles, bring it
but nothing could’ve prepare me for this…
Are you itchy yet?
This past month we were in the bush of Seronga, Botswana. Tucked away on a plot just off the Okavango Delta where many animals call home, including a hippo that my teammates have named ‘Biggie.’ We had been adopted into the Booyse family. Our hosts Willie, his wife Estelle, and their two daughters, Simoné and Arista had been nothing short of intentional and lovingly hospitable. From the beginning this beautiful family had welcomed us in with family bible studies, delicious home cooked meals(my favorite is Fat Cake Friday), movie nights, amazing adventure day trips, and obviously their genuinely warm/friendly personalities.
Not even a week into our stay, and they were combing and treating my hair for lice! This continued for the rest of the month, so something had to be done…
Our host family has done so much more than feed us and give us a place to stay though, they’ve truly invested in us. The majority of our ministry has been evangelism in villages and children’s ministry. From the start the Booyses’ sat down with all of us and told us all about the culture, peoples beliefs here, and how we can best reach them personally and evangelically. We were given amazing resources on how we could present the gospel with illustrations that the people would understand here.
Story telling plays a huge role in this culture. No matter how long or short, they will listen to every word you say, take it heart, and maybe pass it on for generations to come. This is very helpful because the bible is stacked with stories! This also gives us the platform to share our own stories and have other people share their story.
I’m not going to lie, at the beginning of the first week of evangelical ministry I was nervous and intimidated. The image I had in my mind before the race on evangelicals was not what I was looking to portray here in Botswana. The “white savior” complex was a fear of mine as well. I was dreading bringing up the gospel because of all the ways I had seen it done wrong. “Don’t say this, don’t do that, this is how a Christian acts.” I had to put these lies I was believing to rest.
It wasn’t until I shifted the focus to God that I realized I was viewing this all wrong. I have the opportunity to build relationships with people and let God’s light shine in whatever situation I’m in.
We got the opportunity to build relationships and share the gospel with a couple people. One of them was a young man named Moagedi. We’d visit, hangout and share with him almost every morning for the last 2 weeks of our stay. It was cool to see his great interest in the gospel and living for something more. By the end of the month we came to know his whole family. It turns out they all attend Delta Cross Ministries Church often.
It’s not about the number of people I share the gospel with, or the number of people I get to come to Jesus. It’s about the quality of the relationships I build with people that ultimately may lead them to a strong relationship with God. Creating believers that don’t just say “I’m going to heaven because I’m a good person.” No. This is giving the glory to us, when it’s God’s. All God asks is that we believe in him, which means we have a relationship with him, which means we share and confess everything with him, the good and the bad. When we turn our back to the world, what the world thinks/says and we set our gaze on Jesus. Ultimately living this way should result in us being good people, but it’s not through our WORKS that we will ever get to heaven.
So I’m sure you’re wondering, what had to happen in order to get rid of the lice for good?!
Since the beginning of Cambodia I had been debating on cutting my hair. What better excuse to shave it than a lice infestation! So I’m back to my old style I had before deciding I was going on the race…
