AFRICA’S CAPTURING BEAUTY
First of all, I’m in Africa! I flew out of Thailand with my squad on Tuesday morning and landed in Johannesburg South Africa Wednesday afternoon. We all packed into a few buses to head towards a hostel where we would spend the night. Immediately I started to fall in love with southern Africa. Rolling hills of green grass with yellow tips and wheat fields organized in neat rows extended as far as I could see. Overhead plump sunlit clouds floated at the horizon of a bright blue sky. Such a pleasant change from the haziness and smoke filled air of Chiang Mai. As the sun sank lower in the sky everything began to receive a golden glow. As I took in all of this beauty around me I was filled with peace and contentment and excitement for the coming months. Though this is Africa it reminds me of home.
After a four hour bus ride we arrived at the hostel and had a pleasant night there. First thing in the morning we climbed back on our buses to travel another four hours to reach our destination at the AIM base in Swaziland. Rolling hills of wheat and grass turned to more mountainous, rocky, and forest filled terrain, which then turned back into large open fields of wheat, grass, and African bushes and trees. Soon enough we pulled off of the highway, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and went a short ways down a dirt road and arrived at the base.
THE BASE AND MINISTRY
The AIM base here isn’t as nice as the one in Guatemala but it’s still really nice. The girls share two rooms that fit 20 each while us guys share one room that fits 20. Each room has three toilets (that flush toilet paper!), three showers (with hot water!), two sinks, and a mirror. Next to the guys room is the dining hall and the kitchen (with a fridge, microwave, toaster, stoves, and a sink). Between the girls room and the guys/kitchen, are two smaller rooms for our leaders, Caleb and Alexus. Behind this whole building is a shade structure that is specifically for hammocks. There aren’t any grass yards here but there is lots of space.
We start ministry on Tuesday. I’ll post a more specific blog on this after going through a week or two of ministry but here’s a brief overview. Most of the teams will be working at different “care points” for different communities in the area. This could involve playing with kids, putting on kids programs, and generally serving in whatever ways are needed.
Us guys on Mondays will go to a European couples’ house to be discipled, poured into, and relax, while also pouring out on them. We will spend the night there and then on Tuesday afternoons will go to a prison to minister there. Wednesday – Friday we will work at two different care points. Both don’t normally have an AIM presence there so our leadership doesn’t know how our working there will turn out. But I’m super excited to work at both of them. (Stay tuned to hear more about this in upcoming blogs.)
RUNNING AND THE PEOPLE
The last couple days being here at the base have been really awesome and I’m so so excited to get to spend the next three months here. It’s been really cool to be back together as a sqaud; to share meals together, play games together, and to enjoy each others’ presence.
Not only is it beautiful here but the people are so friendly! I went on a run with two of my teammates, Will and Jordy, and all the people we passed greeted us with smiles, waves, and English words. On the way back we passed a playground (at one of the care points a team will serve at) and decided to play with some of the little kids. They were so excited to receive love and affection from us. Some of them wanted to “race” while most of them just wanted to be spun around in circles. I’m really excited to get to meet more of these people and build relationships with them.
INTIMACY IN STILLNESS
It’s been so refreshing to have peace and quiet here. That plus the beauty is one of the things I’m most looking forward to here. Chiang Mai was always bustling with activity and noise and every night had music playing from the market across the street from Zion.
Last night I stood behind our house enjoying the sunset. It wasn’t a particularly stunning sunset yet in that moment of quiet stillness the Lord’s creation was screaming of His glory and majesty. I stood there in peace and quiet (oh wonderful silence of nature); in His presence I was filled with satisfaction and wonder. After a hot and sweaty day the cool wind and the shadowed land made me feel alive. To my left lay African wilderness with bushes and trees hiding whatever may be within. Fields and hills lay before me with clouds sweeping the horizon with a golden tinge from the sun sinking behind them. The rays of the sun shot out behind the clouds filling the scene with splendor. The LORD has made this all. Its wonderful beauty is a reflection of His; with how beautiful this is I cannot imagine what He will be like! I was filled with a desire to run and jump! To explore and discover these fields and hills; to duck and weave between the bushes and trees. All of this He has made for both my pleasure and His. I just stood there trying to soak up as much as I could. It was a satisfaction beyond mere enjoyment of beauty. It was a satisfaction that only comes from being in the presence of the most High.
To say I’m excited to make a routine of enjoying God’s beauty here is an understatement! I pray I never grow used to it.
