It’s weird to think that 3 months have already passed and in just a few days we will boarding a plane to India. I feel like we just flew into Nairobi and were getting situated with the differences here in Africa. A lot of things were night and day with the way they worked in Asia (i.e. concept of time, efficiency as a whole, etc), but some things stayed the same (i.e. face culture). I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Eastern Africa too. I feel that 3 months was just enough time as well because I am ready to move on and am excited that India is the next (and sadly the last) country.
Africa has definitely been a mixed bag of ministries that have almost consistently stayed the same the whole time. Everything from door-to-door evangelism to manual labor of some kind (building a mud house and a latrine) to preaching at every church, school, and public place to singing and dancing in front of the church. I think everyone has an idea of what they think a place is going to look like before they get there, but I think Africa really surprised me more than I thought. It was the biggest wild card in all the areas I would be traveling to this year because I knew the least about how it really was.
I’m glad I also got the opportunity to experience all the other little things too like traveling to the bush to minister to the Masai people or minister in the biggest slum in Africa. There have definitely been some things I will never forget and am so thankful I got to experience…truly thankful. As I sit here contemplating on what I have learned these last 3 months, a few words come to mind: patience, persistence, and intentionality. A lot of these lessons were learned through interactions with my team and the rest were honestly learned in awkward situations with Africans (absolutely crammed in public transport, sharing the Gospel with mothers that are breastfeeding at the time, and the list goes on). I am thankful for every experience though…I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I also wanted to say asante sana (thank you very much in Swahili) to everyone that continues to follow my blog and encourage me on this trip. It has meant the world to me to get an encouraging email or comment on my blog and to feel love from people back home. I can’t wait to share everything that is happening in this next month in India. Pray for me and my squad as we travel to India this Sunday!
