Africa. The place missionaries dream about. It’s seen as a place of opportunity for evangelists and a continent where deep hunger for the Lord and devastating human need collides. It’s why the majority of my squad joined the Race.
But not me. To me, Africa was just another stop. Like I’ve said before, Central America was “my place” and I thought nothing else could replace it in my heart.
And then I took off from Qatar heading to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. All throughout the flight I felt excitement building inside me and I couldn’t sit still. I tried to journal, read, listen to music, but it was useless. All I could think about was Africa.
As we began our descent and the clouds started to thin, I was plastered to the window. The land was so green and so beautiful. Distinct and precise plots of land where there were people farming could be seen from thousands of feet in the air. Upon landing, we boarded a bus that would take us to Kigali, Rwanda. My eyes were glued to the life going on around me until well after the sun was gone from the sky. I thought my heart was going to explode.
Back when we were still in the Philippines I was reading through the book of Joshua. If you’ve never read it, it’s all about the Israelites going in to the Promised Land and clearing out the people who were currently inhabiting it. The number of times the word “slaughter” is used in that book is staggering. I was disturbed and confused. This wasn’t the Lord I knew.
So, I decided to ask one of my squadmates about it and invite her in to the struggle I was having. She explained it to me like this:
“The Lord’s anger is slow burning. The people who were living in the land had turned their backs on God and if they were allowed to survive they would’ve turned God’s people against Him. Even though His anger is slow burning, when it comes to fruition it’s like a flash. Quick and final.”
I wasn’t completely satisfied with that answer. But then it dawned on me, the Lord’s righteous anger is a lot like His promises. They’re slow burning. The Israelites wondered in the desert for years and years. And when the Lord delivered on His promise it was quick and final, they took the land promised to them. God doesn’t make us wait to punish us, He’s for us, and it’s in the waiting that true faith is grown.
As this plane was touching down, the Lord was making good on promises He’d made to me long ago. I thought they came to be in Central America but I was wrong, as usual the Lord has so much more in store for me than I ever could’ve imagined. I came to the realization that here in Africa I feel more like myself, more like who God created me to be, than I have in my entire life. Maybe it was exhaustion. But maybe, just maybe, I’m starting to walk in the truth that the Lord is FOR me, just like He was for Joshua.
Since being in Rwanda, I’ve experienced a joy in my spirit that was missing the whole time we were in Asia. As we spend the month teaching and preaching I’m excited to see the way the Lord uses this joy to bring His glory.
Africa. The place where miracles happen. I’m ready.
All the love from Rwanda,
Katie Mere
