For years and years I have wanted to go to Africa. I have wanted to ride down dirt roads with kids chasing after us wearing the biggest smiles and waving. I have wanted to hop in a jeep and go on a safari to see all of the wildlife that I love. I have wanted to experience life in Africa. For the past three months I have made that dream a reality.
I have ridden in the back of a pickup truck in Malawi and watched those kids run. I have climbed into a jeep in Botswana and seen hundreds of elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos, and so many other wild animals. I have gone on another safari in Zimbabwe where I got out and walked within 20 yards of an endangered white rhino. I have laughed with our host family in Zambia. I have fed homeless people at a soup kitchen in Zimbabwe. Zim has been my favorite month and ministry so far on the Race. It has been a month of full of immaturity at its finest which has brought immense joy.
Immaturity has been a huge part of this month. Here are a few examples:
1. The babies’ home. This is an orphanage in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where 20 or so kids all under the age of five are living. I have cried from laughing so hard here, I have wanted to pull out my hair from the kids driving me absolutely insane, and I have felt my heart bursting at the seams with all the love those kids show us. It makes us feel so good when we pull up to the gate and see those smiling faces running down the driveway to be the first to give us a hug. We have helped with laundry, fed them lunch, taken them on a walk through a park, played soccer and rugby with them, and made them tackle and wrestle each other. Immaturity is a great thing when loving on little kids. The hardest day to date on the Race was the day I left that home for the last time. One of the kids, Mduduzi, would not let me go. I asked him for a hug and he instantly threw his arms around me and held on tightly. I kept telling him I had to leave but that just made his grip tighten even more. He stuck his bottom lip out so far and pouted like he’s never pouted before. He was whining and almost crying. I tried to walk away. He ran in front of me and blocked me and put his arms up. He would not let me walk away. How could I resist that? I bent down, picked him up, and told him I would carry him to the gate but then I had to go. Once we got there, I put him down while giving him a kiss on the cheek. I closed the gate behind me. He held on to the gate peering through watching us walk to the car and drive away. Talk about heart breaking. I am going to miss all of those little kids so much.
2. “I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”
I’m not sure if I have ever read anything that is more true than this. I have had to work through translators because I can’t speak to some people (especially in Ndebele, one of the languages in Zim, where they use clicks), I can’t read some of the signs, and I definitely can’t cross a street without help. They drive on the left side of the road here and after three months I still get confused which way I am supposed to look first. This quote is true. Being in a foreign country will definitely make you feel like a five year old. An immature five year old. It has taught me to rely on others when I might not know the best way to do something. I have formed friendships with people in each country because of this.
3. Prank wars. My team has recently been involved in prank wars. The bathroom where we are staying has the light switch outside the room. Good luck finding your stuff if you are showering at night. That light is guaranteed to be switched off on you. I have made it a habit to take my phone with me and turn on the flashlight just in case I need it. We have hidden water bottles and given clues where to look. We have taken hats and hidden them. One night, Holly, David, Tyler and I stayed up running around the house pulling prank after prank on each other. Or at least attempting to. It’s hard to be sneaky when you are laughing. Our host family was away until late into the night so we were like little kids whose parents left. Phones were taken and passcodes changed, clothes were thrown around rooms, and sheets were taken off beds. I got launched onto a bed by one of the guys when I tried to steal his phone. Today, when we came home from ministry, I tried to open the door to our bedroom. I could only open it a few inches because all the mattresses had been stacked behind the door. I had to squeeze through and then two of us had to put all the mattresses back on the beds and find our sheets and blankets from their position piled on the floor in the middle of the room. The guys had gotten back before us. Payback is coming guys… These pranks with the guys have made my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. Some of my best memories from this month are pulling pranks and acting like a little kid. Immaturity has brought this team closer.
These are just a few examples of all the immaturity that has taken place in Africa. Through all of this, I have had some of the greatest joy. The other night, I received a huge compliment. I was told that I “almost always have joy which moves the team”. I’m assuming “almost always” was used because joy is the exact opposite of what I portray when I first wake up in the mornings. I was told that joy is a huge asset to this team and that I my laid back personality on travel days is important because almost everyone else is incredibly stressed out. While everyone is freaking out I just hang out bus windows and talk to the vendors on the street and then sing to them. I have found great joy in the midst of immaturity. This month has been refreshing. It is refreshing to laugh with my friends. Through laughing, I have become closer with several people on my team. God is using immaturity to bring us closer together. God brings joy.
This is Africa. Immaturity and joy at its finest. Here’s to hoping there is more joy on our final leg of the Race that is about to begin in less than 1 week: Asia!!!
Word for month 7: joy
Verse for month 7: Philemon 1:7
“Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”
