…but it was good.
As I sit here and process through the last 4 months of my life, I have so much to rejoice in. So much growth. So many trials. So many new experiences. So, how was Africa? Such a loaded question. I want to break it down month by month for all 4 countries and share with you some of the hardest times, some of the best times, what God showed me, and my biggest takeaway/defining moment. I’m excited to digest the first 1/3 of my race with you guys!
SOUTH AFRICA
This was my first month on the race. The first time ever in my life that I have been away from home—from friends and family—for this long in a place so far. We were in Johannesburg and worked with an organization called Impact Africa. If I had to pick 2 words to describe South Africa for me personally, I would choose the words growth and learning.
I learned to trust God. World race life is often not knowing your own plans even for the present day. Things change. Plans change. All the time. And little did I know that by the end of Africa, I’d become a total “go with the flow” type of person.
I learned in South Africa what it means for me to live freely. It is in vulnerability. I walked through healing from some stuff in my childhood that I didn’t realize I was even holding onto still. I learned in South Africa how to evangelize. Little did I know that the next 3 months after that, my team and I would be teaching others how to evangelize. I learned how to spend time with the Father. I experienced so much growth—in confidence to pray out loud in front of people and to share the gospel with strangers. I hungered to read my Bible each morning and to just experience more of God than I already was. For the first time, I pursued the Lord more this month than I had any other time in my life. My relationship with the Lord was becoming just that—a relationship. A real relationship where I spend time with him, read my Bible, talk to him, etc. and not just because I feel like I have to because I am a Christian, but because I actually want to.
My least favorite moments: All the moments I let comparison and lies into my head—believing that I wasn’t good enough because I didn’t know as much as others, having to go to the dentist for grinding holes into my teeth, getting some weird skin thing on my elbows, worrying so much about life after the race, seeing the good changes in myself and worrying so much about if I will still be accepted when I go back home, probably diarrhea
My favorite moments: Getting to know my team really well, all of the growth I experienced, going to Cape Town and seeing penguins and surfing, this really funny Uber driver that had us laughing the whole ride home from the mall, getting to hangout/evangelize to drunk people, petting lion cubs, my 22nd birthday, visiting a mosque, having really awesome translators that we became friends with, getting visions from God and them being confirmed through other people
ZIMBABWE
Ahh month 2 in this wonderful country. Zimbabwe is one of my favorite months on the race so far simply because of the relationships we made. Team Overflow stayed in Bulawayo and we worked with an organization called Youth for Christ. If I had to pick a word to define it, I’d pick the word “joy.”
Not kidding, I would wake up EVERY single day full of so much joy. I’d wake up so excited to get to the YFC center. I’d literally wish our days started earlier and ended later. The YFC volunteers were all our age, and we got really, really close with them. They were so talented. Every one of them was great at something whether that was singing, dancing, poetry, painting, sports, etc. This month was full of SO much laughter and lots of dancing.
From September 23, my journal entry says: “I am so content. Im super sweaty, having raging diarrhea, vomiting from bad meat, not showered in a couple days, a million mosquito bites, daily power outages, sleeping on a couch cushion on the floor. Yet I am so content. My heart has swelled so big for Bulawayo. I smile just thinking about Zimbabwe and the immediate connection we’ve made with Sheunesu and Susan and our friends at the YFC center. Wow :)”
My least favorite moments: Definitely diarrhea, hurting from a failed friendship back home, all the tears that were shed when we had to say goodbye, having to leave Bulawayo
My favorite moments: Becoming fully funded (praise God), the all night of prayer, Susan and Sheunesu (our hosts aka our Zimbabwe parents), playing lots of basketball, doing skits in high schools, putting on a successful movie day to reach high school students, learning that I like to write poetry and I’m actually pretty decent at it, all of the friendships that came out of this month (we still talk to some people from there almost every day), getting to see Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world)
ZAMBIA
Month 3 we were in Livingstone, Zambia. We worked with two organizations who were partnering together— Africa 4 Jesus and Come Foundation. I would describe Zambia as “challenging.”
This month was hard for me and my team. First of all, temperatures averaged about 106 degrees F every day. The hot sun was beating down every day and there wasn’t even a cloud in the sky to provide the occasional few minutes of shade. We had 16 hour power outages every day. It would go out early in the morning and usually come back on around 10 or 11pm. This meant even when we were inside, we couldn’t even plug a fan in to cool us down. No electricity also meant not being able to cook in a kitchen. We cooked over hot coals outside. The heat was miserable and made it hard to do anything. There were monstrous, terrifying spiders and cockroaches so big that they looked like they were galloping when they ran across the room.
I felt distant. Distant from the Lord and distant from my team and a disconnection from our ministry. The Lord provided me a space (our front porch) to get to sit and read and pray each morning, but I often felt nothing and wasn’t excited to do it. Overflow was split into 2 different teams. Half of us were with half of the Africans, and the other half were with the other Africans. This meant everything we did, we weren’t together for it. Which caused disconnect between our team. By the time we were finally able to be all together for team time, it was late and we wanted nothing more than to just sleep. I also didn’t feel connected to the ministry. I think I was experiencing burn out. The excitement of the race had worn off, and I actually found myself wishing I was back home often.
I learned to appreciate the things I had. I learned that a washing machine and running water and power are privileges. I learned to thank God for the 7 or 8 hours we did have power even if it was while we were sleeping. I was thankful for a mattress to sleep on and a house to live in (thankful I didn’t have to tent this month).
I loved immersing ourselves into the culture. We purchased and wore chitenges just like the women who lived there wore. Chitenges are a 2 meter sized piece of fabric that you just wrap around your waist (like you would a towel after getting out of the shower) and wore as a skirt. We got to continue going back to the same people in the villages each day we did outreach. That was something we had never got to do before—continuing to visit the same people. I learned that Satan will try to bring up your past and convince you that you’re not changed. But to remember God calls you redeemed and a light and new in Him. I learned God is still good and his promises are still true even in the silence. And lastly, I was reminded once again of the beauty and intimacy that comes with vulnerability.
My least favorite moments: The heat, being distracted a lot and not being fully present, all the terrifying bugs that I encountered, all the times I felt so homesick, diarrhea again, spraining my ankle
My favorite moments: Going out to a nice dinner a couple times with my team, swimming with our African friends, Pastor Fred’s church, Tiff’s 22nd birthday, getting to visit with Janet (a Zambian we met at church who is an amazing woman!), going to Devil’s pool at Victoria Falls, the team time we had at the end of the month where we all broke down and talked for hours and recalibrated our intimacy and intentionality with each other, answers from God about something that was really distracting me during the month, discovering that meat pies exist and are freaking delicious
MALAWI
And lastly, month 4 in Lilongwe, Malawi—my last African country. We got to work with Youth for Christ again! A word I’d use to describe the month is “rainbow.”
Let me explain. A rainbow comes after a storm right? Maybe it is a little dramatic to describe Zambia as a storm and Malawi as a rainbow, but that’s the analogy I’m using. Zambia was tough for me. It was hard. Don’t get me wrong, there was still a lot of beauty that came out of it, but a storm and rainbow is the best analogy I can label it as. We felt so much joy and got to dance and laugh a lot this month.
Malawi is one of my other favorite countries from the race so far. As I mentioned back when I was talking about South Africa, I have learned to go with the flow. This has came in handy this month. Some days we would wake up and not even know what the plan for the day was. Haha.
I re-fell in love with reading my Bible. I began doing the Bible Recap which is a podcast by The D-Group. It goes through the Bible in chronological order. You read specific chapters each day (usually a few chapters), and then you listen to a podcast that’s usually 5-10 minutes long. The podcast recaps what you just read. Wow. I wish everyone would do this. I’ve learned more from doing the Bible Recap plan than I ever have. Once again, I found myself getting excited to read my Bible. I found myself getting excited about what I was going to learn for the day. I have seen more of God’s character through understanding what I have been reading.
They call Malawi “The Warm Heart of Africa” and I can see exactly why. Everyone was so kind to us and welcomed us with Open arms. This month, I stepped into more boldness and courage than I ever have before. I spoke in front of church congregations multiple times (with my team), and I even prepared my own sermon for the first time all by myself at church! I’m thankful for my teams encouragement and affirming words. The Lord has also allowed each one of my teammates to use our gifts (ex: art, singing, cooking, etc) and share them with other people. Malawi was a great book-end to Africa and a sweet blessing from God to close our time as team Overflow.
My least favorite moments: Diarrhea again (this has become a trend lol), everyone on my team getting a parasite (we’re fine), my impatience and hunger would get the best of me when church would be 4-5 hours long, knowing it was our last month as team Overflow
My favorite moments: Using our gifts and talents, getting to preach and teach, meeting so many wonderful people, playing basketball and soccer, Thanksgiving, all the sweet team times we had, going out to a couple nice dinners, having our squad leader Amy with us for 10 days, reflecting on my love and thankfulness for Khurry and Tiff and Autum and Calla
Thank you for reading!
With love,
Hals
