We’re down to our last full week in Bulawayo; holy wowza has time gone fast. I won’t lie, this past week has been the hardest on me emotionally since leaving home. A mix of missing my friends and missing the comforts of the easy life I live back at home. It all kind of hit me at once – considering I haven’t been homesick up until now. Coincidentally this past week was also our halfway mark on the trip. Some days I can’t decide if it’s gone super fast or super slow. Like I mentioned in previous blogs, adjusting to Zimbabwe from Zambia has been incredibly hard on me.
I thought as time went on that it would get easier. Most days I find myself wishing we somehow would’ve ended up stuck in Zambia. I had no idea this transition would be the hardest on me. Who knew that two cities just a 7 hour drive apart would be so different from each other.
Missing home and still trying to stay present do not go hand and foot at all. As much as I hate to admit it, some days I find myself counting down the days or weeks until I get back home. One of my teammates brought a book on the trip that we’ve been swapping back and forth taking turns reading.
“Come Matter Here” by Hannah Brencher talks about being fully here and present, while living in a world that is constantly looking forward to the next big thing. The first chapter of the book is titled Be Where Your Feet Are. She mentions that it’s hard to be “here” and present when there are a million little things pushing us to be somewhere else. Half of me can’t wait for lake days this summer, or moving to Muncie in the fall to start college. The other half of me is fighting with my other half, telling myself that as soon as I get back to my ordinary life I’m going to be missing the life I’m living here. As soon as I read the first chapter of this book, I decide to adapt this as my motto for this trip. First month, this wasn’t a struggle at all. I was able to fully be there and enjoy every minute we had in Zambia. Being present came so easily that first month that silly me thought the second would be no problem at all! I never imagined myself to be on such an incredible trip and be wishing I were somewhere else.
Like I said earlier, this is our last full week in Bulawayo. I feel like I’ve spent most of my time here comparing it to Zambia or wishing it away. While I can’t get this time back, I’m going to soak up every last minute here and truly be where my feet are.
This is also our last week going to Killarney, the squatter camp we visit on Fridays; also my favorite ministry this month and the thing that gives me the most joy here! As we transition out of this country and into the next, I’m going to try my hardest to live presently each day. To soak up each last ministry day we have and to continue to build relationships, even though we will have to say goodbye again soon. And most importantly, each day I’m going to be where my feet are. Not counting down the days or looking forward to the next big thing. Taking in each last moment in Zim.
