Africa.
For months we have been talking about it in anticipation…
We’ve been saving items like hand wipes and fabreze.
We cram all of our bags onto trucks, autos, buses, tuk tuk’s and taxis until they are impossibly full and then squeeze in on top determined to master the art of packing a car like we will be expected to do it in Africa.
We practice preaching and writing sermons with the knowledge that in Africa lengthy sermons are required.
We pursue more radical worship trying to get a foretaste of the power, joy and freedom that we hear about in the way believers worship in Africa.
Rumours of spiritual warfare that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before fly about in our heads like mosquitoes; too small, wispy and elusive to fully grasp onto yet impossible to ignore.
We see great wealth, opportunity, greed and selfishness in our own lives all the while waiting, praying and anticipating with held breath…
Just wait until we get to Africa.
In so many ways the aura of Africa steals through our imaginations and beckons for us to come closer and we, as World Racers, soak up the stories of the many encounters with God that happen there with wonder and excitement.
One of the things we talk about a lot on the race is letting go of our expectations but with such a shining reputation in many ways Africa seems exempt from that. Africa is that fairy tale land where the presence of God is powerfully present, miracles abound and a spiritual connection of the most urgent nature is birthed inside of you.
Now here I stand in Africa. Dusty streets full of pot holes and ruts. Palm trees and lizards. Beautiful African faces with serious African eyes. The sweet sounds of African voices and African hands clapping in rythmic harmony. There is no mistaking where I am.
In comparision to the train ride we had in India our travel here is a piece of cake. And we haven’t even come close to needing to fit 8 people plus day packs into a car made to seat 4 people like we did in Nepal. At some point I was seriously expecting heat – our hottest temperature was around 50’C in India and normal for many months was about 35-40 degrees. So far Africa is cold, in fact our bus got delayed in coming to Mozambique because of snow.
And yet not all is quite as I expected. Which isn’t surprising, expectations are often broken. We have so many conversations about letting go of expectation because there is wisdom in simply being content and allowing God to place you exactly where he needs you to be. The thing with God and being in God’s will is that no matter what you thought it was going to be like the way it turns out is always 10 times better than what you planned.
Africa is much better than the fairy tale land of my day dreams.
I am captivated by Mozambique and even more so with Hope House.
The 7 boys we are working with have only been in the program since January. During a Bible study we did with them during the first week that we arrived here all of the boys decided that they wanted to receive Christ. Since then they have been soaking up everything that we have to tell them about the Bible and Christian life. Since the race began each member of our team has been on a quest to know God more, to see him move in different and greater ways, to see his presence released. Now we get to pass on what we’ve learned to these growing men of God.
For months before we arrived in Africa I have been prophesying and praying for the “wild and powerful worshippers” in Africa and the other night our team got to teach the boys about worship. We began with a few songs in english, explained why we personally did certain things like close our eyes or raise our hands and then we set them free and told them it was time to lead each other into worship.
We have been praying and making declarations over these boys since we got here. It was the greatest thrill to see them all enter into worship while we cheered them, running with them right into God’s presence. I was an even greater thrill to see them gain greater strength and go farther into worship than we could have taken them as they claimed it for their own. When the worship finally errupted into a dance party and came to a close each of the boys took the opportunity to thank us. Then we prayed and and prophesied over each of them.
As I watched them take off, picking up speed and enthusiasm as they stepped into their freedom and embraced their King, I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what the alumni and our squad leaders see in new racers at training camp. I have a feeling that is exactly what it’s like – but again with the expectations…
I for one came here expecting that the boys we would be working with would already know everything about worship. I thought they would already be the ‘wild and powerful worshippers’ of my day dream Africa and I would be among them to learn, not teach, about worship.
In many ways that expectation has been dashed. In so many greater ways I have been blessed not only through helping the boys here learn about worship but through all of the practice I got through intentionally entering worship on a regular basis last month in South Africa. God told me ahead of time that worship would play an important role during my time here and in ways so much greater than all of my expectations it has.
PS: Based on the title what exactly did you expect this blog to be about?
