You know what I didn’t expect? I didn’t expect to show up in Africa and feel a weight come off my shoulders and peace invade my soul. After traveling from Romania to Sweden to Ethiopia and finally to Malawi, I would have thought that I would be exhausted, worn out, and ready to just be back in America. But I wasn’t, I felt like I was coming home.
My time in Europe was hard. The squad was hit with multiple sicknesses, my depression roared it’s head, and the atmosphere was heavy. I was excited to come to Africa mostly because the weather was warm and I might finally see the sun for the first time in weeks. I was ready to be out of Europe, but not really sure I was ready to be in Africa.
Then the plane landed, I got shuttled into a hot van that I couldn’t sit all the way up in or stretch my legs out in for a 6 hour ride to Mzuzu, the location of ministry for the first team I am with for the month. It was on that van ride, as I peered out the windows, that I felt my heart relax and breathe. I looked at the brown roads, green trees, and smiling faces, and I felt like I could shake off the dark shadow that had followed me through Europe.
Africa is a hard place to come for more than a few weeks. The people are amazing, but the culture is very different from America. You have to walk away from a lot of the comforts we are used to in America: hot showers, flushing toilets, wifi, and so many other things. I didn’t expect that I would have that familiar sense of home wash over me.
For me, traveling is home. Being outside of America, away from family, is normal to me. I haven’t lived in a place for more than 2 years since college. The longest I have lived anywhere since May of 2015 is 6 months. I spent 3 months in Africa on my race, and that is part of the reason it feels like home. Three months is a long time for me to live in any one region during this season of my life. Three months makes a place feel like home.
As I get ready to spend another 3 months here with B squad, I am excited to see more of who God is and how he allows my heart to make its home wherever he has me for the moment. I am ready to continue on my path of making the world my home, and embracing all that God has for me in each place he puts me. I pray that you too learn how to make each and every place the Lord places you home.
