There’s an old Jonathan Taylor Thomas movie entitled, “Walking Across Egypt,” where as a troubled teenager with no family and a questionable background, he befriends an elderly lady (played by Ellen Burstyn) who takes him under her wing. She introduces him to God, shapes him up and becomes like a grandmother to him. It’s very Hallmark-ish, but anyone who knows me knows that those are right up my alley. It’s been a few years since I’ve actually watched this movie, but I’ve never forgotten one of the frequently used lines derived from the title.
“I’ve got about as much business doing –insert any crazy task- as I do walking across Egypt.”
With sun beating down on me, a fifty pound pack hoisted on my shoulder, my travel-swollen ankles struggling to keep up with the long, lanky man leading me through a more-than-chaotic parking lot, I couldn’t help smiling as a similar phrase popped in my head.
“What business do I have walking across Africa!?!”
Almost anyone on The Race will admit that we have more than our share of days when we wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into, and during our travel marathon from Cambodia to Tanzania, I joined the ranks. Tanzania is one of the countries on my Race route that I’ve been most excited about serving in! Now as we start month six, I’m here, but not without a few bumps and frustrations.
For starters, J Squad spent a whopping 5.5 hours sitting in blazing sun as we tried to leave Cambodia and cross into Thailand (en route to Bangkok Airport.) As I told several people, the last time I stood in a line that long, there was at least a roller coaster at the end of it! Be careful what you wish for… After all 56 of us managed to clear Thai customs, locate a bathroom and rustle up anything we could find to eat, we boarded one large bus and one small van. No exaggeration, the 13 of us in the van got the ride of our lives, with plenty of brake slams, numerous throw-you-three-feet-out-of-your-seat bumps and one or two before-our-eyes-life-flashes! Never fear, we escaped unharmed and perhaps a little more prayer inclined!
Hello Bangkok, Airport! Minus a blunder on my part (i.e. forgetting that my two knives were in my daypack and therefore losing them to “Thai TSA”) this process was pretty smooth and I even scored a DQ Blizzard before boarding our nine hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya! Overnight flights are beautiful in that passing out is completely acceptable and highly encouraged, so I take full advantage anytime I can! The only problem, this time, was that the DQ Chill-dog I’d had alongside that Blizzard did something to my system that goes best left unsaid. Oi vey! Never-the-less, we landed in Africa and I cheered loud alongside an incredibly pumped J Squad! We’d finally made it!
Let the madness begin. First item of business: get my team some money so we can procure food. Shelli and I set to work talking with vendors in every kind of shop imaginable seeking someone willing to break a $20 for $10s or $5s, and after probably 10 stops, we were able to get enough “small change” to divvy up provisions for everyone. Next item of business: get myself on another plane. Because J Squad is quite large in it’s entirety, we sometimes have to split into two groups when we use smaller airplanes, and on this particular trip, I was in the first to go. I got my instructions for what to do in order to help make things easier on those coming on the second leg, went through yet another security check –helped people chug the waters they had just bought- and walked outside to board the plane, for the first time setting foot on actual African soil.. err, concrete. But still, it was cool! And I couldn’t help getting excited about return ventures to Nairobi in years to come!
The flight from Nairobi to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania is just a hop, skip and a jump, so it wasn’t long before we were back on the ground and rocking again. Get approved for Visa. Clear Customs. Locate GIGANTOR backpack circling the luggage carousel. (This is becoming strangely normal.) Find SIM cards and get minutes for all the phones on the Squad (14 in total.) Take out money for each team to survive over the next few days (food, lodging and transit expenses.) Pile GIGANTOR bags together and station people to watch them while others seek out food and bathrooms. Then…. Wait. The second group wouldn’t catch up to us for a few hours, so we played guitars and cards, ambled about over-priced airport shops, wrote in journals, found a horizontal place to sleep… any of the above.
True to hurry up and wait fashion, things were slow until about 3:00 PM, when all Team Leaders were told to grab their bags and make for a waiting bus, go to our hotel and make sure we had rooms for the night. So began a five hour process of loading people and bags onto buses (the one I rode in held 24 people and all of their luggage – I quite literally was wedged by bags from all sides and was only visible from the waist up! We are anything if not efficient!), pushing through traffic with a few more close calls, dealing with unexpected hang-ups at the hotel (like a $35 discrepancy on price/room – in World Race budgeting world, that’s like millions!), trying to keep everyone hydrated and fed, and heck, just trying to get everyone to the hotel, period! Van Morrison was right when he said, “Mama said there’d be days like this!” They are just plain tough, and sometimes, they’re enough to make me miss the comfortable world I haven’t seen since August! It’s difficult not to think that life would be so much simpler and stress-free sitting in an office job, going home to a Mom or Ma-cooked meal, knowing where I’ll lay my head every night and being assured of small comforts like air-conditioning, HOT running water and a full-sized toilet.
So… what business do I have walking across Africa? The answer lies in two encounters I had throughout our travel marathon.
First, while Shelli and I were on our search for small bills in the Nairobi Airport, one of the vendors we met was a man named Daniel who was incredibly interested in why a flock of 56 Americans had just descended on his homeland. We explained what we’re all about, that this is an 11-month venture and in every country we simply strive to be the hands and feet of Christ. He pressed further, wondering what the cost of such an endeavor would be and marveling that none of us have income for the entire year that we are on the mission field. His questions all seemed to stem from one root… “Why would you do this?”
Our answer was simple. “We love Jesus, and we want you to know that He loves you.”
Second, while waiting at the airport in Tanzania, Liz and I wondered into a store where we mean a lady named Leah. She, too, inquired as to what all the “white people” were doing there. We explained, and quickly learned that Leah is a Jesus Lover, as well. She told us that when she got off work she would be going to church. Ding, ding, ding! Liz instantly asked if we could pray for her and for the prosperity of her shop, and we learned that the shop was actually not Leah’s, at all, but that it belonged to her friend, Hilda, who had been quietly listening to our conversation from the corner. Leah seemed skittish to allow us to pray in such a public place, afraid that it might offend potential customers of differing beliefs. Hilda, however, had other plans. She told Leah (in Swahili) that it was okay for us to pray in her store, and when we asked if there was anything specific we could pray about for her, she told us about a pain she’d been experiencing in her right side. Confession: Saying such things in the presence of a World Racer is like waving a steak in front of a salivating dog. I asked if she minded me laying hands on her stomach; she had no objection, so we began to pray, speaking healing over whatever was causing her pain and asking God to use her as a testament of His power! Not even in Africa for 24 hours and already praying for healing; God totally lines these things up!
I’ll be praying for many more like moments throughout the next three months, as I walk, run, bus, bike, plane, donkey, Moto, elephant and any other possible mode of transportation across Africa!
Be Blessed,
Ashlee
