Days are slow but fast. The world grows smaller each month I’m traveling the world. I had to stop the other day in wonder that when this journey is over I will have gone literally all the way around the world. I can’t fathom how in his greatness God keeps up with all the people in all the countries on all the world. I’ve struggled to talk to my handful of friends at home once this year. But he does and oh I love to see how he does that. I’ve seen God so alive and active these last three months in Africa. He is working in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in such unique ways and I was so blessed to be a part of that. As I’ve been reflecting these past few days at debrief I want to give a small glimpse into the lessons learned.
Malawi taught me that education is something I truly love both for myself and to give to others. I still think about my sweet little students from Mzuzu and miss their sweet hugs and faces.
Zambia taught me the importance of getting to know people. People want to be known and noticed just as much as I do no matter where you go on the world. Fear tries to steal that but when you don’t let it, the reward is magnificent.
Zimbabwe taught me that you don’t have to love where you are to be used by God. Zimbabwe was not my favorite country but I still saw the Lord working so much in our ministry with the high schoolers. They have a deep desire and passion for God’s word that encourages me to dig deep into the word. Their excitement is contagious and genuine.
The biggest lessons in Africa came from my team. Our team had to work hard. We had to fight for each other through having hard conversations, giving and receiving constructive feedback that didn’t often feel good, and push to love each other even on days we didn’t like each other. And I learned about what love really looks like from them. They reminded me why I came on the race. I want to go home a changed woman of God, closer to the true version of myself than I was 11 months before. As we sat in our team debrief God just started revealing the things he had grown in me. I am kinder. I am more patient. I am more confident in myself and the word He gives me. I am not afraid of conflict nearly as much as I was. I am good at teaching, both school subjects and His word. I am not as afraid to receive correction from others because their words do not define me. I can shake it off when it’s not truth and when it is truth, I can apply it to life without taking the words on as my identity.
As we enter this new team and Europe, I look forward to squeezing out every last drop of growth God has for me in the last four months on the race. Because today should be the farthest from Jesus I am for the rest of my life. I’m excited for this wild European ride!
