We’re in Africa!!! I know I’ve already been here for several days and even posted a blog about it but it really hasn’t gotten less cool. I keep pausing and looking at my team to say “Guys, we’re on the World Race… AND we’re in AFRICA!”
As you read about before, our actual journey to Livingstone took quite awhile and the journey of getting to this place in my life has taken one hundred times as long. I hope that it doesn’t ever cease to amaze me. I hope that each day of the race, I can take a moment and look around at my team and say “Guys, we’re on the World Race!” and be just as thrilled by it as I am today.
I hope that I will always be amazed by walking around a village compound with my team, looking for people to share the love of Jesus with. The picture of colorful fabric skirts against rich, ebony skin and big, white-toothed smiles will stick with me even after the red dirt of Africa is a distant memory for my shoes. I hope to always cherish the hour in Libuyu sitting under the shade of a big tree with Micah and Pastor George sharing with 3 families about the importance of being unified as husband and wife in Christ. I hope that I never forget the way the tiny Zambian children run after us on the street and their tiny voices call out “How are you? I’m fine!”
More than just remembering or being in awe, I want to be transformed by these people and this opportunity. Yesterday, Derek and I went out with Pastor George and stopped in the village near a giant tree that the compound was named for. As we stared up at the massive trunk and tried to photograph the sheer majesty before us, a group of children ran up to us shouting “mzungu! mzungu!” (the word for white person). The group included a 13 year old boy named David. We began to chat with David and learned his desire to be involved in ministry one day and had the chance to pray over him and his future. It was truly a moment to cherish. I did not expect one of the first conversations of the day to be encouraging a young Zambian boy to pursue his dreams and live out his passions. More than that, I didn’t expect how much it would encourage me to hear his heart.
Wednesday night we were given the opportunity to be part of a church service in Livingstone. We arrived a bit late and settled into our seats in the balmy, warm warehouse building. The wind blew through the open windows as robust African voices filled the humid air with worship. We were welcomed in the warmest way with such hospitality, as has been the rule for everywhere we’ve been in Zambia. The pastor even invited us to “be at home, not just feel at home.” If nothing else, I know that Africa will always stand out to me as a place of hospitality, boldness in faith and freedom in worship.
Already my time as a World Racer has felt rich and full and overflowing with life and conversation. I know that there will certainly be times where it feels dry and draining and frustrating but for now, I hope to live in celebration of the present trusting that God’s grace will sustain me in the difficulty.
Are you living in the fullness of today? What’s been amazing to you this week? Are you allowing your expectations to dictate your experience?
