I am sitting in Mwanza, Tanzania in our pastors house, Pastor Paul, and I kept sitting here thinking that I have nothing to write a blog about. Nothing special has happened this past week that would be worth writing about. It’s so easy to feel like our blogs need to be about the amazing things on the Race. I should be writing about people being healed, raising the dead and people becoming Christians. None of that happened this week so I have felt useless to you all. I want to tell you about the incredible things I see and feel. I’m afraid that I am becoming jaded by my daily activities and I don’t want to be.
As I am sitting thinking this, I can hear the noises outside. The women who completely take care of us here are laughing and talking as they cook our dinner. They have already been such an example to me of giving out of nothing. I went to market with Noella and Elikada to get fresh food for the day. After we were done buying our food, Noella and Elikada stopped and bought jewelry and then started putting it on me. They put a necklace, earrings and a scruntchie (that 80’s style hair tie…mine is pink and black velvet with a rose at the top…nice) on me. As they were putting all these pieces of jewelry on me, I just kept thinking about all the things they don’t have and yet they are still spending the few shillings to buy the jewelry for me. I need to remember that every day when I start to ignore what is going on around me.
I was sitting in the living room of Pastor Paul’s house this morning. As I sat there, the front door was open and the cool morning breeze was coming in. I looked out to the mountain across from us and took in how beautiful it was. Every Friday night the church we are working with, Evangelical Assembly of God, has night prayer. As we were walking to church Friday night, I looked across to that same mountain across from us. The houses on the hill looked like stars twinkling…it was beautiful! I never want those houses shining like stars to become normal to me.
I don’t want to be Jaded.
