We are here! We are in Zambia! It is beautiful here. It is Zambia's rainy season, so while it is hot and humid, afternoon showers bring breezes and cooler air that is refreshing. Before I left, my Uncle Marvin told me "When it's hot, enjoy the heat. When it's cold, enjoy the cold." Which is interesting now because one of the church workers here, named Joseph, said "It is good to know different places. You appreciate the Lord more." In the States, I would call this enjoying the little things, but here in Zambia, things take on a slightly deeper meaning and appreciation.
We are living with our contact in his house in Lusaka. We have a roof over our head and it isn't a tent. We have showers, but the kind you hold the shower head in your hand and if you hold it too high the water stops flowing. We have toilets, but no toilet seats. I'm sharing a box-spring with my teammate Derek, but it isn't the floor. For our first meal after getting here, we had pizza and ate outside. We can easily use public transportation, but instead of 16 people in the van –as it was designed– there are 23. I've started to think of these things as the littler things. The things that if we had things like this in the States, I would not appreciate them nearly as much as I do here. I might even get angry and think I hate my life. We aren't in tents. We have an actual roof over our heads. We have running water. We have showers and we don't have to bathe out of a 5-gallon bucket. We have a kitchen and can cook our own meals.
I'm starting to think that God enjoys the littler things from us too. I was so afraid of coming here. I was so afraid of doing ministry… and I don't actually know why. But in the last couple of days, I've tried my best to push through the fear and not allow inexperience to be an excuse for me to not do what God has called me to do. It has been hard, and honestly I am anxious all the time while doing ministry (at least thus far). But I think that even the littler thing of me pushing through the unknown and trusting that to God is something that He enjoys. I just showed up and took the smallest of steps… at least it was a step in the right direction.
It's easy to take things for granted. I'm guilty of doing it… like, a lot. It's also easy to let your circumstances define your attitude. I've already felt tested and stretched, but thankfully, God is gracious in His love. Simply show up, try, be thankful for every single thing, no matter how big or small. Enjoy the littler things.
