We have arrived. We are officially in Beira, Mozambique, a city about halfway up the coast, lined with white beaches and covered in lush, green mango trees. We are living in a cinder block house with a tin roof and dirt/concrete floors. We take bucket showers and our bathroom for the month is a hole in the ground outside hidden by bamboo branches. Our contact is a godly man named Elias who is a youth leader at his local church. We are still in the beginning days of our ministry, so we will fill you in as we go.
The words listed above are the words I jotted down as I was sitting in our four-hour church service, the morning after we arrived. They were my feelings at the time. Finally arriving after 4 days of bus travel and learning that this will be our home for the month, I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t in shock. As our team scoped out our situation, we had looks of all emotion on our faces. I guess, “This is Africa.” I was frustrated because I couldn’t stop thinking, “Ash, you signed up for this. Is this not what you wanted to do?”
This is the most trying month we’ve had thus far. We are uncomfortable physically and confused emotionally. When almost every one of your normal comforts has been stripped, reliance on the Lord is nonnegotiable. In only the past few days, however, the Lord is showing me that in order to get to the point of growth and hearing His words clearly, I must deny myself. Each morning I wake up in a pool of sweat and walk to the fly-infested outhouse, I’m forced to deny myself. When we are sitting in an outdoor church service lasting four hours without water or food anywhere in sight, I must deny myself. When we haven’t eaten in 8 hours because we’re on “Africa time”, I must deny myself. When I’m covered in mosquito bites and dirt constantly, I must deny myself.
We remind ourselves often that we chose this. We signed up for this and felt confident that this was where God was calling us. We’re still sure, but this month is testing our motivation. Last year we were reading blogs about this very situation from the comfort of our apartment. Well, here we are. We are now on the other side of that computer and the world and the question I keep asking myself is what will I do with it? Am I going to coast through the discomfort on auto pilot hoping it will end quickly, or am I going to engage and be present and view Mozambique as a time of testing, challenge, and eventually growth?
This week we will celebrate the birth of our Savior. As I reflect on our home for the month I’m captivated by the thought that we are experiencing a humble Christmas. Maybe our celebration, without our usual hustle and bustle, will allow us to be taken to a time of simple worship, mirroring the night which Christ entered the world and changed eternity for all.
Our living room for the month!
