As I write this blog, I am 30,000 feet in the air flying over the African continent on my way to Malaysia. If you told me a year ago that I would have lived in Africa for three months and was on my way to live in Asia for five months, I would’ve told you you’re crazy. For sure. But nonetheless, here I am. And boy did life in Africa teach me a lot.
Africa is NOT for the weak. Africa knows how to put up one heck of a fight. Whether it’s the intense rays from the sun, the desolate landscape, the large insects that just want to harm me, the hopelessness shown in the children’s faces, Africa is tough.
I can honestly say that I’ve never sweat more in my life than I did in Mozambique. We visited in peak summer, so the combination of the powerful Southern Hemisphere sun (which I swear is 1,000 times stronger than in the Northern Hemisphere) and extreme humidity from the summer rains made for A LOT of sweating. Day and night. Day and night. Sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat.
In Swaziland, I learned a new level of dirty. I swear that I’ve never been dirtier. After showering, I would still have dirt in my everything! I am literally still suffering from the dirt in my nails, my MacBook keys, and my Bananagrams tiles. Not to mention healing my scabs from the intense mosquito bites! Ugh, the struggle.
My lungs have never experienced anything like Madagascar. Wow. Walking down the street you’d pass the butcher shop with all kinds of raw meat dangling in the open air, rotting garbage dumps with fathers holding their children over it to defecate, ditches full of litter and green, gooey water…. And that’s just within a 90 second stroll from our compound. And you think we have bad traffic on the freeway in America? Just visit Madagascar. I don’t think I could ever complain about traffic again.
To put it plainly, Africa’s sun and mosquitoes were not kind to my skin and the immense carbohydrates I consumed were not kind to my waistline. But I wouldn’t trade my three months of life there for anything. Africa taught me that shoes aren’t a necessity—God gave us two strong feet and that’s good enough for a lot of people. Kids don’t have to have the newest toy to play with to be genuinely entertained, they can play with rocks and empty water bottles and have more joy than kids with an iPhone 7. Church isn’t a building, but a group of people united to worship the one true God. I don’t need to be connected with the world 24/7 through the internet. Yes, the world still revolves during this time and things still happen, but I was not created to be consumed in every issue of the world at all times. Sometimes not knowing isn’t a bad thing! In Africa, children genuinely care for their siblings, partially because they have no other option, but also because of their unified hearts. Family is literally everything. I learned that chicken doesn’t always come from a factory and isn’t always boneless and skinless. In fact, it RARELY is. Food takes a lot more effort to both prepare and eat. Gross things are just a reality of life– nasty large bugs, litter on the streets, polluted waterways that people hand wash their clothes in—they all survive. So can I. And I did! Praise God.
I learned that the enemy is at work everywhere, and his #1 tool is distraction: anything that takes our eyes off God—even if it’s just for a few moments. African cultures may struggle with ancestral worship, but Americans struggle with “keeping up with the Joneses” and living the “American dream” and one distraction isn’t any worse than the other. I learned that God is present everywhere around the globe. From America to Africa, God is there and He is working. He stirs in the hearts of the Swazi’s just as he does to Californians. Monetarily, the Swazi’s may have so much less, but they still have the same God who gives them the same joy every single morning. They may give thanks in the morning for being alive rather than the possessions they have, but they are thankful nonetheless. Life isn’t about how many things fill your home, but who fills your heart.
I am so grateful for the people, the culture, and the ever-changing landscape of Africa. (Not to mention I’m extra thankful for washing machines, strong Wi-Fi, and constantly-running electricity and water—thank the Lord those luxuries will be more common in Asia.) I arrived in Mozambique wide-eyed and naïve to the world, and I am leaving Madagascar with more purpose than I realized I needed. The amazing thing about God is that He is already present in every country around the world that I am going to this year. I am so thankful for that because I couldn’t do this journey without Him. I want him to choose me as His vessel and use me to bring glory to His name. As my team and I move into a new season of many unknowns, relying on the Lord to direct our path rather than receiving assigned ministry, I need God more than ever. Please pray that the Lord will be evident in all of our interactions and that we will share His love with everyone we meet. Love and miss you all!!
God is good,
Britt
