Hi family, friends, supporters!
I cannot believe I am in month 10 already. Whose freaking out? I know I am!
Africa was something special and I wanted to share my thoughts.
Each time we leave a country and also a continent we have reflection questions. These are super awesome to fill out not only to help process what the heck just happened but also to have something to look back on.
I wanted to invite you guys into my reflection time for Africa!
Leaving Africa, What did God show me?
*Africa was an interesting, hard, amazing four months that I will never forget
*For one, God showed me what resting and just being present looks like
*He showed me how I can feel true peace when I don’t over commit my day and need everything planned out
*He sparked my passion of loving and serving the least of these, the poor, the needy, the lost etc
*He showed me that Love has no boundaries
*He showed me that months look different than I expected and that I am not in control
*He showed me that I am created to love and be relational, that I love taking part in cultures and love just being there with people.
*He walked me through a tough season of Squad Leading. I believe he was showing me how to put others before myself, how to be confident in my authority, in my beliefs and who I am as a person, and he showed me how to see people through my own eyes and individually, not by outside perceptions, circumstances, behaviors or by the views of other people
*He continues to show me that even if something I desire doesn’t work out, he will bless the alternative and there will still be something great from it.
*He shifted my eyes to truly love each individual person on my squad and see them as my family.
*He showed me that I love the village life and what true happiness and joy looks like
*He showed me how to be grateful for the things I have at home and the lifestyle I have been blessed with
*He showed me that my intimacy with him and my faith cannot be based on my circumstances
*He showed me that as much as I love to go with the flow, I do however like structure and timeliness in certain situation-“Africa time” can be hard to accept sometimes
*He recently showed me that I can easily be clouded by a negative attitude, expectations not met and distractions and not able to see the true beauty in each month because of that
*He showed me that I can lie to myself all I want and think I am all in or loving every part of this experience but the reality is…There are times I have been tired, run down, not feeling the passion, desiring the comforts back home and annoyed at certain things including cultural aspects and behaviors of others
*but within that…it’s ok to not always be embracing every second. Life on the field is not always sunshine and rainbows and that’s when we have to lean on and trust in Him more than ever
*He showed me that I love easily and love hard even though it makes saying goodbye really hard
*He showed me that I don’t have to be perfect, I don’t have to be a superstar at everything and that He desires my heart and love for Him and others above all else
What would I do different?
*For one, I would shift my attitude and perspective-Seeing every experience as a blessing, as a lesson and as part of Gods plan even if it doesn’t go my way
*I would press in each day, love hard and be committed even during the times when we only had a few days at a ministry or with people- you can make a huge impact on someone in a short amount of time
*I would be more positive about my Squad Leading role. I allowed the hard times to sometimes take over my thoughts and emotions
*I would see every opportunity as ministry and a way to love those in front of me.
*I wouldn’t focus on what my ministry, squad, or experience is or isn’t and just allow each moment to happen at a time and be what it is
*I would start each day with the Lord. I need him every day…I need him always- and the days I didn’t spend with him was surely reflected in my attitude and behavior.
*I would have faith in the little things
*Focus on him more
*Encourage and lift others up more
*I would ask more questions to get to know stories of the people I met
*That all being said, I am not wishing that I could do anything over. Everything happened the way it did for a reason and I have been able to grow so much because of it all.
What ways did I grow in intimacy, community and mission?
Let me start by saying, as an organization we focus on these three circles.
*Intimacy-your faith and relationship with the Lord, Community-those around you (our teams/squad) and Mission-the ones you are serving and on the field life
Intimacy
*So I would say my intimacy with the Lord was amazing in Rwanda– I felt the fire, I felt close to God, I was passionate about sharing my faith and truly wanted that lifestyle to be my future. I was THRIVING-also super inspired by Heidi Baker and my host Fatier
*Uganda and Kenya were tough- they were both amazing with beautiful people and relationships but I personally felt distant from God. I read, journaled, listened to worship music but the Fire was burning low
*Ethiopia– a restful time with God but I was also reflecting on a lot with my faith and relationship with Jesus-Working through what being a Christian means to ME and what God is calling me to
Community
*I felt more a part of the teams I served with and felt like a big family. I got to know people better-there was time for joking, laughing but then time for deep convos-I enjoyed my time with each time I was with <3 They loved me so well xoxo
*God also shifted my perspective to love every individual on my squad even through the differences
Mission
*I continued to still love people and became more intentional with squad members
*Rwanda-put my all in- showing love in different ways and with no boundaries
*Uganda-I was present with the ladies and their babies and loved them where they were at
*Kenya-Realized my mission is to love those in front of me even if it’s spending a week in the hospital with a friend
*Ethiopia-Realized I love helping people with the resources I have-seeing the smiles on their faces is the best
*I really experienced how Love, even in a short time, goes along way
Biggest Celebrations in/leaving Africa:
*Finished my Internship while in Africa-Finally done with Bachelors!! WOHOOOO-Couldn’t have done it without the help from my sister Sarah and the support and encouragement from my family and friends both with me here and back home
*Hard goodbyes because that means I created deep loving relationships
*The amazing opportunities and experiences I was able to be a part of in each country.
*The culture is beautiful and I am grateful for the love and hospitality from the people we met and served with
*Rededicating my Baptism-When I got baptized at 19, I truly accepted Jesus into my heart but didn’t know what following Him looked like. I wanted to make the declaration now knowing what it means to have Jesus has my Lord and Savior.
*The money raised from people back home that went towards a huge community event, food, coloring supplies and a new bed!
*Awesome adventures:
-Rwanda-Wedding
-Uganda-Rafting the Nile
-Kenya-Safari
-Ethiopia-Mom visiting me!!! and Spa days at the crater lakes in Debre Zeit
Top 3 stories:
Ok-so many to tell but here are some summaries from each country:
*Rwanda: The kids were my absolute favorite and how they would come out of the woods, their houses, wherever they were playing to greet us with the biggest smiles and hugs. They loved the simplicity of just spending time with us. I put a movie on my laptop and had a movie night for the kids outside, I bought cookies for the kids and just sat with them on the grass, I would share my water, have races with the kids, sing silly songs, teach them cheers and gave them each a Polaroid picture to keep. Oh and I had a pet cow named Daisy 🙂
*Uganda: Dancing each night at worship with the girls. I loved being a part of African dance. We would join them each night and when they said our name we would get in the middle of the circle and do crazy dance moves. This made the girls laugh so hard at/with us-we also taught them how to Limbo. Oh and I got my hair braided, experienced crazy bunnies and bunny surgery, and the children were so stinking cute and even though it took time for them to warm up to us, it was worth the wait.
*Kenya: Simple convos with the women on staff and just laying in the grass with them while one of the ladies played with my hair, meeting pastors from all different tribes in Kenya, making a music video with the host family kids, spending a few days with the young women at the house- telling them a bedtime story (was not creative so I just told them a short version of my life aka “This girl name Kristen”)-then I got to meet the new baby and was able to buy her all new clothes
*Ethiopia: Parents visiting us at HopEthiopia! House visits and seeing the sweet smiles on the faces of the families, surprise serenading our guys at night through the window, working with Young Life leaders, Lake days, celebrating the New Year-2012!, being able to provide food and coloring supplies to a few families, chasing Hyenas, game and worship nights, adopting our watch dog Buddy-by the way, our goodbye was one of the saddest and I need to give you a visual to feel our pain…
There were a lot of stray dogs in the area but it seemed like this dog we named Buddy was welcomed inside our compound where we slept and at the school where we did ministry at. He followed us everywhere, sat with us at meals and stayed by our doors at night to protect us from hyenas. He was the best! You know when your dog just knows when you are leaving for vacation…well he was acting that way the day we packed up to leave. He kept looking around and following us more closely. He even tried to get on the bus with us. Then the worst happened…Buddy followed the bus. I turned around to look and he was chasing us down the road. Talk about heartbreaking! Ya I wanted to die inside. It was so sad and the people told us, once we leave he will not be allowed in either compounds. 🙁 So sad but at least he felt loved for the time we were there.
Anyways…
*Africa was amazing and I have definitely left a piece of my heart there. I will 100% be back! I met so many amazing, wonderful people who I will never forget. Africa did way more for me than I could have for it. I will never be the same <3
There is so much more that happened in Africa spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically and I hope to have the chance to share it with you in person!
Thanks for reading-I love you all <3
Love,
Kristen
