(My team at Debbie’s going away party)
One of the best (and worst) parts about the race is the goodbye parties that are often thrown in your team’s honor at the end of each month. get to celebrate all that you got to see that month, you get to laugh at the funny memories and rejoice as your new friends send you off to your new destination.
This month we lived with a woman named Debbie who was a friend of our hosts. We got to really connect with her and her family, who threw us a goodbye party on our last day in Cape Town, South Africa. As we were sitting in Debbie’s sister’s house we got to celebrate with fancy sandwiches called The Gatsby, cakes and YouTube karaoke.
There were two young girls I noticed in the corner of the room who were unfamiliar faces. As we began to pray for our food our little friend Nathaniel yelled at one of little little girls,
“She’s not closing her eyes!”
She responded: “That’s because I’m a Muslim!”
This wasn’t weird for us. We heard a Muslim Mosque play a called to prayer every day, several times a day from where we did ministry in Lavender Hill. In fact, we interacted with several Muslim children every day.
I walked outside for our team picture with Debbie when I suddenly felt this little tug on my shirt. I looked down and saw the same little Muslim girl with a tight grasp on my clothes. I knelt down to be on her eye level when she whispered in my ear;
“I really like your hair.”
I complimented her pigtails and began to tell this little girl how beautiful she was. She asked:
“Can we be friends even if I’m a Muslim?”
I had to pause for a second before answering to contain how shocked I was that she even had to ask that. Once the shock wore off, I asked her what her name was and how old she was.
“My name is Zaida and I’m Seven.” she replied.
(Meet Zaida)
I gave her a hug and told her how excited I was that I had a new friend and went to take my group photo.
I went and sat back with my team as we were beginning our first round of YouTube Karaoke when she came up to me and whispered in my ear asking if I could go and hang out with her in the back of the house. I said yes with the intention of giving her just enough attention to where I could go back out and be with my team again.
She eagerly took me back into her friend Shelby’s room where she asked if we could have a dance party and do make up to celebrate our new found friendship. As she began to dance I watched the way her hips swayed and the way her body so meticulously moved in a way to grab people’s attention.
“Zaida, where did you learn to dance like that?”
She began to tell me all about how the men in her family love her moves and when her mommy goes away that they make her dance in front of the family.
In that moment my blinders fell off and I realized the reality of this girl’s life.
How quick are we to just pass by and forget about the people we interact with?
I went into this day with one intention: to celebrate the month and say goodbye to our sweet friend Debbie. Sure, I wanted to hang out with this little girl, but on my own time.
If I’m honest I would have rather hung out in the living room with my team and the delicious desserts that were waiting for us. But instead the Lord took my passion for children who feel unseen and unwanted and showed me that in this moment Zaida needed my time a lot more than I needed my time.
We spent the night talking about her dreams, letting her do my make up and coloring pictures that we exchanged to help us remember each other when we were no longer in each other’s physical presence.
Zaida left that night and I sat by myself for awhile processing what just happened. The Lord showed me that even on the World Race we’re so quick to forget our missional living.
I could have chosen to spend the time that day with my team, and The Lord would have loved me all the same, but how much more worthwhile was my evening spent loving on this little girl who needed to be told that she doesn’t have to lived segregated even when her culture tells her she does.
Sometimes when we set out to do things for ourselves, the Lord ends up giving us an opportunity to be there for someone else. And every time I choose someone else the Lord shows me how much more rewarding missional living is.
So try it.
Maybe it’s uncomfortable. Maybe it’s frustrating.
I’m on the world race and it’s frustrating being interruptible.
But the reward will always be greater than any initial frustration.
