May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. –Romans 15:13
We were scoping out Kasama, Zambia, our new home for the next few weeks, when our host brought us to his school. They are working on constructing a new building in order to expand and reach more kids. When I saw how much work they still had to do, something inside of me said, “Ask.” I’ve never built anything before. To be completely honest, I can’t even build a ginger bread house. But I could feel God pushing me. So I looked at Lawrence, our contact, and I said, “Can we help them build?”
He laughed. Not the reaction I was looking for, but at the same time, it probably wasn’t the question he was expecting from a blue eyed, blonde haired white girl. I shrugged it off as we went our separate ways, but something was still itching at me. Later that day, Lawrence and I were chatting and in between subjects I looked him straight in the eyes and told him I was completely serious about helping the construction workers build. He didn’t laugh this time, he just stared. When he realized I wasn’t backing down, he finally concurred and said okay. Now in Africa, they say okay a lot whether they mean it or not, so I wasn’t quite sure what to take of this, but I decided to just accept current victory and approach it again at a later time.
The next day, we went back to the school and we had the opportunity to teach. The school currently only has two classrooms, so they teach first and third grade, then three hours later they teach second and fourth. We were discussing who would work in which class and Lawrence said to me, “You wanted to help with construction, right?”
Have you ever felt that butterfly feeling in your stomach before you give a speech? Or maybe you feel like your stomach is turning upside down before you shoot a free throw, take a penalty kick, or swing at a ball on your last strike? Have you ever jumped off the high board of a swimming pool and lost your breath as you finally hit the surface of the water? That’s how I felt, but the difference was I had absolutely no idea why.
I have no idea why I asked if we could help. I have no idea why I asked a second time after being laughed at. And I have no idea why I said yes when he told me to go outside and help the construction workers.
Then I met Richard.
Drew, Logan, and I walked outside to the construction site. We did a lot of standing and watching for the first few minutes because we really had no clue what to do or how to help. Lawrence told us that we could help bring some blocks of cement over to the men, so we got right on that. Then we stood some more. Finally, I looked at Logan and Drew, pointed at the man who was filling in the gaps between the blocks with mortar, and I said to them, “I want to do that.” Logan just looked at me and said, “Ask.”
So I did. The construction worker didn’t even bat an eye. He just handed me the shovel and let me get to work. Keep in mind, women have to wear ankle length skirts here, so as I’m attempting to fill these gaps with this mortar stuff I’d never seen or used before, I’m also doing this in a skirt I wore to church four days later with my hair hanging in my face. Professional, I know.
So who is Richard, you ask? Richard is the guy in charge. The head construction worker. The big man on campus. Richard is my friend. We work at the school Tuesday-Thursday and every day we go, I go straight to the construction site to see my friend Richard. Every time we leave, he always asks Lawrence, “Where is my friend?”
I’m not sure why I wanted to help with construction, but I did. I’m not sure why I asked multiple times even after being laughed at, but I did. I’m not even sure why Richard and I get along so well, but we do. I guess the point I’m trying to make is..sometimes God calls you to do weird things. Sometimes God pushes you to step outside your comfort zone. Sometimes God puts people in your life that you wouldn’t normally pick out of a crowd.
We aren’t called to be comfortable. We aren’t called to be picky. We aren’t Christians because it’s easy. We do what we do not because we love everything about it, but because we love who we do it for. I know there have been times when God told me to step out and I didn’t and I know there have been times when God told me to step BACK and I didn’t. But I’m learning. Every single day I’m learning.
I hear God clearer and clearer each day not because he didn’t speak to me before, but because I’m finally learning how to listen.
He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” –Luke 11:28
