Dear Reader,
I should be packing. I leave in 12 hours. But I work best under pressure so I would rather write you a letter of all the wonderful things about this beautiful country I’ve had the pleasure of calling home this past month. I came up with a list of 11. It seemed appropriate since it’s kind of a theme here, in case you didn’t notice. So here’s 11 moments, memories, things I’ve learned-highlights if you will.
1. I’m convinced that Africans are the most hospitable people on the planet. Every single one of them. It’s like it’s in their DNA, I don’t understand. I thought I was a pretty hospitable person, but they put me to shame. For example, we weren’t even in the country for more than an hour after border crossing and my bus driver informed me to announce to the group that dinner was covered for us for the night. I was super confused. We had just spent 5 hours driving from Johannesburg and we hadn’t even met anyone in Lesotho, how was dinner prepared for 59 of us?
Here’s how it happened. As we crossed the border at 9pm, dinnerless, the handful of people who worked at the border or lived nearby came to greet us and introduce themselves. One of them just so happened to work at the mall 10 minutes away so he drove to the mall quickly before the food court closed down, and announced that there is a team of 59 hungry Americans coming. My first meal in Lesotho was a burger and fries. PTL.
2. Which brings me to my next subject. Expectations. I can’t identify what my expectations of Africa were before I arrived, but this definitely wasn’t it. First of all it’s freezing. Africa’s winter is really cold, ya’ll. Thank God I grew up in the Midwest for a little prep. I just wish I had brought some gloves. #frozenphilanges
But also, it’s really westernized here. Seriously, I bought overalls at the mall down the street. *eyeroll emoji* but to justify that purchase, I’ve worn them 3 days straight already and decided that they will go to every country with me. #overallstheworld Cute right? I know, I thought so too.
I’ve eaten peanut butter in some shape or form every day. We currently have 2 massive jugs of it in our cupboard. That was an item I was told I would live without most likely. HA SUCKERS! I found the motherload, it exists at Pioneer mall down the street where we get all of our groceries. And they have the best cookies on the planet.
All that to say, westernization is weird. It’s odd that I can travel to Africa and still carry so much home with me because I don’t have to live without the comforts that I have access to in America. Also, westernization takes away from the true Lesotho culture, and that sucks.
3. I have learned that every part of everyone’s story plays a part. Every single part. Reader, I used to steal a lot. And that’s my least favorite part of my story. But it’s still a part. It’s on my record and it was just a lot of dumb decisions I made and created a bad habit from age 16-19. But it was used for God’s glory this week. Some of the girls at Save the Children broke into our room. They rummaged through our things and took a few items. Silly things like deodorant, gum, cookies- stuff that doesn’t matter, nothing malicious, but stolen none-the-less. We had to go to our host about it for safety precautions in the future. One of the girls who was caught was pretty upset about it. I could see the shame in her face and I recognized it. That was me at 19 when I was caught. That sucked. God whispered “tell her how we conquered the shame.” So I had the chance to share with her the least part of my story, which is now kind of a favorite because I have a feeling I will share it much more throughout the next 10 months. God knows what He’s doing, even with our worst moments.
4. As fun as God is to talk to, He’s much more fun to listen to. Listening prayer is something I’ve been practicing the last few months and He’s been rocking my world. I could give you a million stories about this topic, but instead I’ll just encourage you to give a listen yourself. Slow down. Whatever your to-do list looks like, nothing is more important than listening to what your Creator has to say to you.
5. Language barriers have nothing on the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard so many African prayers that I have no clue what was spoken but I knew it was good and I knew it was God because I got all the tinglies and freedom feels. Which encourages me to never stop praying my English prayers over this country. God is so much bigger than us.
6. Reader, I have homework on the race. I’m super reflective already and don’t need a shared google doc to do so, but for the sake of accountability we all come together and enter in our experiences for our Squad leaders to read and stay updated on where we’re at mentally, physically, spiritually, etc. It’s basically like finals week for the race.
But one of my favorite excerpts from my month one homework assignment is a quote about false self vs. true self. I’ll just copy and paste at this point because homeboy explains it way better than I will.
“Our false self is who we think we are. It is our mental self-image and social agreement, which most people spend their whole lives living up to — or down to. It is all a fictional creation. It will die when we die.
The false self is inherently needy because it has no metaphysical substance whatsoever. It is formed entirely in psychological and mental time and changes or dies easily. Yet most people spend their entire lives projecting, protecting, and maintaining this fiction.
The true self is indestructible and characterized by an inner-abundance. It is not needy, easily offended, or hurt. The true self is characterized by contentment, an abiding low-level peace and happiness.” – Richard Rohr
Needless to say my homework is pretty BA.
7. I live with 6 girls. I have 6 new sisters. I thought I would hate it but I love them so much. They are such gems and the Qadashians have figured out healthy community living very quickly. We jive. We’ve found our groove. We give each other feedback in a loving and genuine way. There’s no gossip. CAN I GET AN AMEN?! It’s a beautiful thing to live in healthy community.
8. LOGISTICS. Can I just say that when they called me out and told me I would have this job I thought it didn’t make any sense but now that I’m here and I’m doing it IT MAKES TOTAL SENSE. Here I am, 12 hours before we leave and it was last night that my partner (Sherry) and I completed our checklist in finding lodging for everyone. Literally less than 24 hours before we leave. And I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking I was super stressed and frantic. But I wasn’t. They told me when I left that this would happen, and I know that God will always work it out. And He did. And it’s such a good feeling.
But if there’s ever a time we don’t find lodging, we all have tents. So really, it’s a win win.
9. FATTY CAKES. They are basically donut holes. Fried bread. Delicious goodness. We put honey on them as if they’re not fattening enough. I’m salivating right now just thinking about them. But don’t worry, my jeans still fit so we’re good.
10. Out of all the chores, morning time is my favorite. As rough as it is to wake up at 5:30, let me explain to you its sweetness. You have to hang laundry, but you get to see the sunrise. You have to bathe the babes, but they’re so cute in the morning time. You have to serve breakfast, but the little prayers and “thank you mae’s” you get to hear are priceless. Then at 7:30 you walk them to school. And they fight over who get’s to hold your hand. And it’s precious. I love the babes. *BOO BOO*
11. I’ve never felt God’s protection in this way before. I have yet to be homesick, I thought that would happen quickly. Reader, don’t get me wrong, I miss you. But I am not heartbroken like I thought I would be. I don’t miss the things I thought I would miss. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely not hard. It’s refreshing. God’s peace and protection- I can literally feel it. When we go out into the streets, I can feel Him actively surrounding us and going with us. Just the other day we took the time to go on a prayer walk and ask God who He would have us pray for. As He led us through the streets a man stopped us. He asked us what we were doing and we told him we were missionaries from America and we were praying for people as God instructed. He asked us to pray for him so we asked him his name. “Emmanuel,” he said.
God is with us. Fighting. Protecting. Covering.
Reader, God is with you. Slow down and take a moment to listen to what He has to say. Life goes by SO FAST. Month one has taught me to be in the moment. Tomorrow will come soon enough, but if it’s all I’m thinking about, I’ll miss what’s right in front of me. Be present. He has good things in store for each day. Even the hardest parts of your story can bring Him glory, so be vulnerable. Even when it’s hard. Don’t be afraid to be the light. Don’t be afraid to share His goodness. The world is waiting for you and me to hear The Truth.
“And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:15
Love always,
Linds
