I was terrified of going to Africa. The closer it got to our departure date the more apprehensive I became. It didn’t help that the week before we left my team leader prayed for us to face challenges that would grow us and for living situations that would stretch us out of our comfort zone. I had heard all the “horror stories of Africa” from previous racers, and the thought of me having to experience any of those things just made me extremely nervous. I feared getting sick. I feared living in the bushes with no electricity and having to bathe in a river. I feared having my stuff get stolen.
I struggled a little with giving my fear over to God but I knew I needed to trust Him. If past racers survived Africa, then so would I. By setting the example, my team leader reminded me of what I needed to be focusing on… I didn’t come on the World Race to be comfortable and continue living a mediocre life. I came on the race to be challenged, to grow closer to God, and to be radically changed.
The minute our plane landed in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania at 2:30 A.M., a sense of excitement began to overwhelm me. I was in Africa! This mysterious land I was so curious yet fearful of would now be my home for the next three months. After a “two hour” bus ride that somehow turned into close to four hours, we finally arrived in Morogoro.
The next day, after settling in, a few of us went on a little adventure to take pictures of this beautiful country. As we walked along a set of train tracks a child emerged out of the tall grass, smiled shyly and said hi to us. Soon another emerged, and then another, and another… Before we knew it we had a crowd of African children smiling at us and laughing and following us. Everyone that we had encountered since day one had been so nice and friendly to us. Complete strangers would stop us on the streets to ask us where we were from and to welcome us to Tanzania. All of my fears and worries of Africa had dissipated. Instead, I was falling in love with this place. I began to wonder if this was it… was this the country for me, God?
The next day, however, a moment of testing would come. After going into some of the nearby villages to visit with people and invite them to church, I came back to find that my wallet and IPOD had both been stolen right from my room. For the rest of the day I allowed the enemy to use this small situation to steal my joy about being in Africa. It was through this situation, however, that God gave me a powerful revelation; God allowed my material possessions to be stolen in order to reveal how I've allowed the enemy to steal my spiritual possessions.
God lead me to read Psalm 18 and through that I felt Him telling me that He is going to arm me with strength and train me to fight the lies and the ways the enemy has been stealing from me my whole life.
The ropes of death entangled me;
the grave wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I prayed to my God for help and my cry to him reached his ears.
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who were too strong for me.
They attacked me at a moment of when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me.
In Your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.
God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect.
He trains my hands for battle, he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.
I chased my enemies and caught them; I did not stop until they were conquered.
You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued my enemies under my feet.
You gave me victory over my accusers. – Psalm 18
I thank God that my stuff was stolen. If it hadn’t I may never have received this revelation from God. I am learning to trust Him more and more that no matter what happens, no matter what circumstance, He has a purpose in it and is going to use it for my good. I also learned through this how much of a victim I have acted like, when it came to spiritual attack and depression. But I am not a victim of satan or anyone else. I am more than a conqueror in Christ. I am a victor. I am choosing to fight for myself and the sooner I walk in that, the sooner I will be able to fight for others.
So my things got stolen this past week, but since the moment I stepped on African soil and shared smiles with the locals, this place has stolen my heart. I am absolutely in love with the culture and the people. The Africans set such an amazing example of how to have joy in the midst of struggle. I have a feeling I’ll be back someday after my race is over.
Tanzania… you had me at Mambo. Na kupenda!
Fundraising Update: $3,180 needed by July 1st!!! Click here to Support me!
