So, yesterday we were doing house to house visits in the village we live in. I can not say that house to house is my favorite thing to do…many times I feel like a Jehovah’s Witness traveling to houses trying to get people “saved”. What I have learned though, is this is what they do in Africa. This is how many people learn who God is and hear that He died for them for the first time.
So, I was sitting on rocks outside of a house just listening as my pastor talked to the families in Swahili for an hour. As I sit there, many things go through my head. I wonder what they are talking about, I stare at my feet and realize just how badly I need a pedicure, I make faces at the kids who are staring at me, or I listen to what is being said in Swahili and try to decide what English word it sounds like. As I was sitting at one of the houses a man walked up. My eyes grew huge and I got a little too excited, because he had an Ohio State Fiesta Bowl t-shirt on. I kept pointing to his shirt and squeaking out “Ohio!! That is me!! Ohio!!” No one knew what I was talking about and I looked kind of like a crazy. Fortunately, Pastor Paul realized what I was trying to say and let them know that I am not a crazy person, I am from Ohio in America.
I do not know why seeing the African, who has never been to Ohio, wearing the Ohio shirt meant so much to me. It made me realize how much I love my beautiful Ohio and how blessed I have been to grow up where I did. I did not have to walk through garbage heaps or human feces to get to my house. I did not have to contend with men who continually try to grab you and make demeaning comments toward you. I did not have to worry about how my school fees were going to be paid or where I was going to get my next meal. My water was always sanitary and the few hospital visits I had did not end up with me loosing a limb, because the nurses are just too lazy to do their job.
I grew up surrounded by corn fields on roads that barely had any traffic. I would go outside to play in GRASS, not on piles of rocks, mud and trash. My biggest concern was who my friends were and what I was going to wear to school, not how I was going to survive another day. My parents were incredible, they loved me, disciplined me and took great care of me. I did not have to deal with a drunk dad who beats his family or a father who is too lazy to work, so he sits outside all day and cat-calls every woman who passes by. My brother and sister, although we did not get along at times, have supported me and loved me in every decision I have made in life. I did not have siblings who competed with me for the best food on the table or beat me up because they were bored and that was the only thing to do.
I have been blessed. I knew that before I came on the Race, but every day I see it more and more.
