Iiiiiiiiiiiiit’s Africa!! I finally made it to this amazing continent & I am so so happy 😀 It’s pretty much as you may have imagined — hot & dusty with women carrying heavy loads on their heads, small children being carried on the backs of their mothers, & so many vibrant colors wherever you see people 🙂 I can’t stop smiling just thinking about how much I love this place 🙂 & I haven’t even seen Victoria Falls or been on safari — this is an assessment purely based off the people.
Perhaps you’ve noticed a pattern in what makes me love a country most 😉
So the one thing I knew coming to Africa was that we were expected to wear long skirts most of the time. Now, I went to a super strict Christian college where we had to wear skirts every single day, so I still have a little PTSD from the inability to choose what to wear as an adult in college. I was stoked to come to Zambia but I did NOT want to wear a skirt. Bleh.
We all arrived to the airport in the evening & our hosts were waiting for us. There was a guy in a really nice suit & I was like, “Oh. No. Not that guy, Lord. Please, not that guy! He’s gonna want us to dress up all the time & I just wanna wear a tshirt & shorts & call it a day.”
Guess who my host was.
“The all women’s team, this way please!”
I know God is everywhere but I found myself looking up to the sky with a half frown & a shake of my head.
“You think You’re so funny,” I complained under my breath, then followed him to the car.
I was already grouchy because we had just gotten new team, & mine was all girls. Bleh. Then instead of getting to go to the African bush, we had to stay in Lusaka. Come on! I’m in Africa! All girls! Staying in the city! Why??
God, forgive me — Your plan was so much better than mine.
First of all, “city” might be what it’s technically called, but by no means is the place we’re actually staying any sort of city I’ve ever seen. I guess we must be on the outskirts…I’d maybe call it a big village at best. None the less, we were technically inside the city of Lusaka. We were staying at a Baptist seminary, which to our standards was kind of like an old camp in terms of amenities. But for the World Race, they were some pretty sweet digs! Beds with real mattresses, a kitchen with a stove AND fridge, & 2 working toilets & showers! The biggest luxury of all was a washer AND A DRYER!! Except for an accidental brief encounter with a dryer in the Philippines, this was our first dryer of the Race!
Maybe there were a few benefits about not being in the bush…
Anyhow, our host is Pastor Zulu & everybody calls his wife Mama Zulu. I now know that he was so dressed up because he was honoring us, which is super sweet. I wanted this month to be everything it could be, so I tried to pull myself together & trust that despite God’s sense of humor, He’s a good God & would work it all our for good because I love Him & He loves me.
But. I still would hafta wear a long skirt. Bleh.
The next day our lovely hosts presented us with a gift. It was 2 meters of red material with pictures of fruit baskets on them. You wrap them around your waste & tuck it in: they are the traditional chitenge.
We were given these because they told us people would receive us better if they saw us wearing them. Really? A wrap around skirt would make us more acceptable? I mean…people couldn’t stop staring at us…kids yelled “mazoongoo!” (which means white person) & wanted to touch our hands & our hair. We really needed this fabric to make it all happen?
Remember that previously referenced sense of humor that God has? Yeah. I definitely deserved a kick in the butt for my horrible attitude, but instead I’m pretty sure He just got a pretty good chuckle watching me eat my extra large slice of humble pie.
The chitenge was a HUGE hit. The very first day we went out into the community wearing them — compliments, left & right. There were big smiles & nods of approval. I couldn’t believe how much a couple meters of fabric changed things. I had been too stubborn to see how my dislike for skirts was making me miss a huge cultural cue. Wearing the chitenge embraced a culture that was happy to receive me, & I would have missed it if I had been given a choice.
That very first day we went out to meet people we told them who we were & what we were about. The abbreviated version is, hi. My name is Aj, I’m on a trip around the world telling people about the one Who changed my life completely, Jesus. Do you know Jesus?
The first woman I met was already a Christ-follower, so the translator looked at me & said, “okay, you can just encourage her.”
Whaaaaat?
“You can encourage her with God’s Word.”
“Oh…yeah, okay, sure. Give me just a sec.”
I frantically opened my Bible & searched for something — anything — to encourage this complete stranger with.
Honestly, I have no idea what I read to her, but I know the Spirit helped me because I had no idea that I’d be doing that & yet He still somehow used me to speak to her. I read scripture, gave an explanation & a word of encouragement, & then asked her if I could pray for her. She was happy for prayer & we prayed before leaving.
Okay. Okay…I’ve read the Bible all my life. I had read it even that morning — I could do this. Okay…
But the next man didn’t need encouragement — he said almost immediately that he wanted to accept Jesus. I was a little shell shocked. I’ve been sharing Jesus with people for years but it’s been probably since high school that I’ve seen anyone accept the precious gift that is offered.
I wasn’t sure that he understood what he was asking.
I quickly ran through the major points of salvation. We’re all sinners. The consequence of sin is death & separation from God forever — hell. But. God’s gift to us is eternal life through His Son, Jesus, who said that He was the Way, the Truth, & the Life, & that no one could get to God except through Him. That the gift was because of His grace & we just had to ask for forgiveness & accept that gift since nothing we could ever do would get us to heaven & a relationship with God.
The guy said he knew & was ready to accept Jesus as his Savior.
I admit, I fumbled a bit. He wanted to be led in prayer. I encouraged him that prayer is just talking to God & can be done any place at any time, but I still gave him words to repeat to help get things started. Something like:
“Dear God, I know I’m a sinner & that I fall short of Your glory. Thank You for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for my sin so that I can know You. Please forgive me & give me Your free gift of salvation. Help me to live for You. Thank You for making me Your son. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
I had been in Zambia for a little over 24 hours & here was a man giving his life to Jesus…becoming a new brother in God’s family. I was a bit overwhelmed & couldn’t stop a few tears from falling.
There’s a verse I remembered from my childhood about the the fields being white unto harvest — people just being ready to know God & just needing someone to show them the way. I couldn’t believe how true this was. That guy was just waiting for someone to show him the Way, & I got to be that person.
I thought about how many times I’ve told people about Jesus & how awesome He is & how many times people politely more or less say, “that’s nice for you” & go about their lives. There have been times I’ve wondered if it even matters that I share Jesus if nobody ever comes to Him because of my words or my life.
When I met this guy I knew. I knew that someone else had done what I’ve done. Told him truth. Prayed for him. Hoped he would see the truth. & then he did & was just waiting for someone to help with that last step of how to accept Jesus. I bet there’s someone in his life who is so stoked that they had done their part of sharing the hope of Jesus, even if they didn’t get to see him finally come to the place of accepting Him.
It renewed my strength & my zeal.
I don’t think God is asking me to be a full time missionary in a foreign country, though I’ve loved this trip so much & hope to return to many of these places. I think God wants me to get more serious about doing my part for the Kingdom of God at home.
Some of you are freaking out a little because you’re afraid that I’m going to become some kind of fanatic & get all up in your grill.
Just so you know — I’ve always been a fanatic.
Jesus changed my life completely & I am not ashamed of Him at all. I don’t have all the answers & there are some wicked difficult parts of trusting in Jesus. & I’ve messed up a lot so I know I’m not the greatest example there is of a Christ-follower. I’m broken, but He’s the Healer & I can’t keep that to myself.
The truth is, it legit is completely counter-cultural to really follow Him. It’s not popular & sometimes He wants us to do super difficult things. But there has not been a day in my life that I have regretted knowing Him. In fact, when I look back on my life, most of my regrets are not trusting Him more & going harder after Him.
I’m not sure of all the details of how my life will look different when I get home, but I know my heart is different. Some of you reading this are people I’ve prayed for for years, & just so you know — I won’t ever stop praying. I don’t want to force God on you AT ALL…it’s gotta be like that guy who just knew it was time. It’s gotta be you coming to a point where you know that there’s an emptiness in your life that you just can’t fill because only He can. It’s not an easy choice — it means a whole new life. But oh man — it is so worth it.
I’m ridiculous…I didn’t want to be where I was placed because it wasn’t where I thought I should be, with who I thought I should be with, & it wasn’t what I wanted to wear. But God…
That’s one of my favorite phrases 🙂
But God took my bad attitude & my pride, & showed me He could still use me to accomplish His purpose. I got to help 2 people meet Jesus that very first day & then got to encourage many others. I wasn’t even sure that the encouragement would be good — I didn’t know these people or what their needs were. But time after time they would look me in the eye & hold my hand just a little too long as they thanked me for sharing. & that, friends, is God. The Holy Spirit using me even though I thought I knew better, because He is good & He is powerful…so much more than anything I could ever do on my own. His plans include the big picture when I can only see what’s right in front of me.
There’s so much more I’d like to say but this is already wicked long, so til next time, just know that God is working powerfully here in Zambia despite my being stubborn. I promise to share pictures of the absolutely precious kiddos that throng us daily & tell you more about this community that has completely captured my heart. Our translators are so awesome & the kids I get to teach on Sunday are so so adorable! You’ll fall in love too 🙂 Til next time, know that God will get done what He wants, stubborn hearts & all 🙂 if He hadn’t intervened, I really would have let a skirt keep me from doing all He had, but instead souls came to know Him, & that is pretty freaking great news 😀
