Many days we walked out of our humble abode (sometimes a concrete building, sometimes a house made of mud) in our long skirts and, in my case, tennis shoes. As we walked onto the main road of wherever we were staying in Africa, we would hear the all-too-familiar cries of
“Mzungu, Mzungu, Mzungu”
This is a word in Swahili that means “white person”. As a white person this phrase can be adorable when coming from the lips of beautiful African children. But after three months of hearing this, it began to get a little tiring.
It only took me until month three to see a little piece of the Kingdom in these energetic cries. It came in a conversation with a teammate and in the form of a question-
What if I wanted to know Jesus as much as an African wants to know a Mzungu?
With this question came a barrage of images. I remembered children in a schoolyard in Kenya running to the fence as we walked by on the dirt road. I remembered several occasions when a group of children would be on a hilltop far away and we would hear them scream ‘Mzungu’ and cheer when we waved. I remembered how they ran with us in Tanzania, and the two little girls (one cross-eyed) who sat with us on our porch in Uganda simply content to sit with us even though they couldn’t understand what we were saying.
I remembered all the times their cries were followed by one of the only phrases they knew in English- How are you?
And I started to think, what if I did that with Jesus. When I see Jesus in my teammates as they love and serve. Or when He shows up through a smile of a child or the grasp of a tiny hand. Or in His daily provision for me.
What if every time I saw Him, I ecstatically cried out “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. And not only that, what if I then called out “How are you?”- How is your heart, Jesus? What are you thinking in this moment? What are you feeling? How are you?
But quickly following this thought I remembered a second phrase that many children know in English- “Give me money.” The first time I heard the demand, I was a little shocked and highly offended. What do they think I am? I thought.
So as I thought about knowing Jesus, I began to think about how many times I’ve looked at Jesus and said “Give me…” a new car, a more comfortable situation, less struggles, more safety. It struck me how this must hurt the heart of God.
All I wanted when I looked at these children was to play games, and hear their stories and become friends with them. But when they demanded money from me, it put a block in our relationship. It pushed me away and put a wall between us. And I wondered how many times I have placed a block in my relationship with Jesus because I have looked at Him as my own personal genie who grants my wishes; instead of simply enjoying relationship with Him- playing, telling Him my stories, and becoming friends with Him.
Since that day I have thought about Matthew 18:3 where Jesus says
“I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sin and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven”
And later how He states
“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my Father.”
So I have realized how strongly I want to be like an African child who wants to know a Mzungu. I want to cry out Jesus’ name and ask Him how He is and then simply be content to be in His presence. Confidently knowing that I am not rejected and that my guardian angel is in the presence of His Father telling Him how I am and what I need.
