Our time in Africa is ending in just a few days. It seems like yesterday we were all flying into Johannesburg with such anticipation of what the eleven months would hold. With month three over, I find myself with a similar feeling. The changing of continents brings a sense of finality. A chapter is ending.
For me personally, this chapter of the race held more than I would have ever written for myself, but I wouldn’t change even a moment of it. I was able to see just how strong my family is as they walked through my dad being diagnosed with lung cancer. I got to experience what true community looks like when my squad never once waivered in their support as I too had to deal with the diagnosis. I have lived in a city, on top of a mountain, and in the bush. I fell in love with a group of teenagers in Swaziland who changed my life in such a way that compelled me to get baptized on that mountain. I’ve held orphans for hours on end. I’ve pumped my own water from a well. I’ve gone on runs where I was surrounded by nothing but crop fields and I’ve seen the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’ve helped build a mud hut for a man who had his home destroyed by a flood. I’ve shared the Gospel with people who have never heard the name of Jesus. I’ve prayed for people who are mute, blind, paralyzed, and terminally ill. I’ve made more memories than I could count with some of my best friends.
Most importantly, I’ve grown closer to the Lord than I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve learned dependence on a new level. My journey through my father having cancer would have been completely different if I had been at home. Being thousands of miles away forced me to lean on the Lord for comfort and peace. I’ve learned that Jesus really is enough and that I don’t need anything else. He’s taught me that ministry isn’t what I should be in love with, He is. I can gladly say that I am already so different from who I was when I left in September.
Spending thanksgiving on the race brings with it a lot of emotion. I miss my family and spending the holidays with them, but the fact that God is allowing me to spend it in Mozambique makes my heart want to explode. I have so much to be thankful for right now. The experiences I have had and will continue to have for the next eight months are irreplaceable.
Here’s to seeing what God writes in the next chapter of my race.
-LD
