In honor of 11/11 for 11n11, I want to write a blog about 11 things that Africa has taught me so far since being on the Race. Because I don’t know the wifi situation in Ethiopia, I am posting this early. These lessons can range from being silly and crazy to Jesus-Challenging Lessons and personal insight. So without further adieu, let’s get this show on the road:
1. Jesus. I know this is a cliché lesson to learn while out on the Race since it is all about Jesus. But I have never seen Jesus work in the ways I have seen Him work while being on the Race, both in myself and in my team mates. The biggest lesson He has taught me is pretty simple. That while I was and am sinning, He still died for me. Nothing I do or say is going to stop Him from holding on to me… There is immense freedom in that if I let go and turn toward Him.
2. Humans are not going to fulfill me, but Jesus will. There is nothing I love more than waking up in the morning to have my cup of tea or coffee and then to read a couple chapters in the book I’m reading right now. After breakfast, I might read a chapter from Isaiah (which is what I am currently reading through), and then I might write and use that gift that God gave me.
3. I have mastered the squatty potty. Enough said.
4. Beauty. This is something I’m still processing through. But I have noticed that kids in Africa don’t care what you look like, they care about the arms around them and the broad smile you give them just to figure out how to make them smile. They don’t care about acne on your head or how overweight or skinny you are. Kids truly see what is inside of you, and that is where the beauty comes from anyway. I am also learning about care for my own beauty from my team mates, too. I never used to care about makeup or clothing and how I looked around people that always saw me on a daily basis, but now I enjoy making myself look a little more presentable… If you do it for you, then everything shines from the inside out.
5. I have figured out what ignites me with the Lord. It should have been something I knew a really long time ago, but now I am absolutely sure of it. That thing is music. This point is an entire blog for another day, though, so I am going to leave it at that!
6. Water (especially the cold stuff) is a delicacy. I think water is something I took for granted back at home because it was always there. But we lost our water intake during our last week in Rwanda. Without it to shower and wash our hands on a consistent basis was hard. It made me think about how important and vital water is in a whole new light. (Side Note: About an hour after I was finished writing this, God opened the floodgates from heaven and it rained hard enough for us all to take showers outside… Talk about a provider!!)
7. Family. If you need some elaboration, please read my previous blog named “What Rwandan Children can teach you about Family”
8. Having washing and drying machines back at home is a luxury. In Uganda, we did our own laundry…. By hand. And it was hard. Here in Rwanda, there are people that do our laundry for us, but we are still at the mercy of the sky and whether or not it’s sunny or rainy… Should it rain? Forget about your clothes drying for two days (and you might just have to put up a clothesline in your room).
9. Beds are a luxury, too. What I mean by that is beds that are raised up off the floor. I have learned that I appreciate my bed space a lot and it is almost like a sacred space for me. It’s like the one thing that I can consider to be “mine” back at home. Here in Rwanda, we’re just kind of using the floor with mattresses all alongside one another. My bed is not really “mine” because people have to walk on it throughout the day to get to a shelf that hangs right over it. That is extremely uncomfortable for me. Throughout the month I have become a little more comfortable with the idea that my bed isn’t “mine,” it’s just a gift that I have been given. Should I need to share it or let others step all over it and sit on it (or even sleep in it back at home), I should give away that gift I have been given freely because it’s not mine or yours in the very first place.
10. There is a story behind this lesson. On Halloween, my team and I met up with some of our other squad mates at a local bakery for a night of worship. I was all into it and then I opened my eyes and looked around at everyone else. One of my friends was worshipping with her entire heart to the point where it moved me to tears with a huge smile on my face. I went up to tell her that the way she worshipped was beautiful. It wasn’t until I got back to my seat that the whisper came to my heart… “The way you look around at everyone worshipping and the way it nearly moves you to tears is the same way I look at YOU.” This may tie in with problems I have with comparison, but for some odd reason, I have believed that God finds me repelling and that He doesn’t look down on me with a smile like He does everyone else… That night He redeemed that feeling completely with that whisper. My story is different than yours, it is different than the people I am ministering with, BUT, God finds each of our stories beautiful, and He loves to see us worship together, seeing us all as His individual children.
11. Pain is normal, necessary even. It’s what we do with it that matters. This World Race thing is no piece of cake (sorry to burst the bubble, future racers… I know you won’t believe me until you get here, though, because I did the same thing)… Hungry and Abandoned children are pain. Hearing the stories of people in the Genocide Village is painful. Even knowing we can’t do a whole lot to bring justice to situations we see and feel is hard. But the fact that we have to walk away from every soul and situation we meet to leave them behind is even more painful. But there is strength in it. There is courage in it. God doesn’t leave with us, He is still working now and He is still working as we leave. There is light, and darkness CANNOT and WILL NOT overcome it. Our most painful experiences shape us into the people we are and are becoming. God is working in it all and He is NOT done yet. Not with all these people, not with you, not with me. He is not done and He will never be finished.
So there it is. The lessons I have been learning while on the Race. I still have about $3,500 to raise by the end of the year in order to be fully funded. In honor of 11n11, I am asking humbly that anyone who feels led to give in any multiple of 11 from now until the 11th of November to please donate by clicking the top bar that says “Support Me.” God has been speaking to me very clearly while I have been gone and I believe that this is only the beginning. Each donation that I have received since being gone on the Race has been a testament to how God has always wanted me here in these exact places. I am trusting and placing every ounce of Faith that I have in Him. Even while that is tough and not a piece of cake, it is growing me. I ask that you put some true prayer and faith into Him as well and join me on this wild ride. :]
All my Love!
~Ash
