We have been in the Philippines for the last two weeks, and I am absolutely in love with everything about this country.
The people are beautiful and kind, the food is delicious, the beaches are sheer perfection, and my team gets to help women escape and avoid the sex trade.
But I thought that in order to properly process and say goodbye to my time in Africa, I would write a brief summary of things that I learned there.
Some are expected…some might not be.
But they all made the last three months a time of my life I will never forget.
11 Life Lessons That Can Only be Learned in Africa:
1. Make a joyful noise as often as possible.
The people we lived with for three months all knew how to celebrate.
And not just birthdays.
They celebrated life.
They never missed an opportunity to dance or sing or share the joy they found in the Lord and in each other.
2. Be flexible.
There are no planners in Africa.
We had to learn to go with the flow, take things as they came, and be ready for anything.
There was always an adventure waiting, but we had to get used to never knowing what was going to happen that day.
3. Be prepared to push the car.
Sometimes taxis run out of gas.
Or cars simply don’t work until you push it.
Find the joy in those moments, which isn’t hard to do when you’re pushing (running) past a herd of zebras.
4. Smile. Say hello.
People like to be seen.
We were always noticed, especially in Malawi where we were greeted with a children’s chorus of “Azungu bo!” (“Hi white person!”) every time we left the house.
People always wanted to stop and chat, and I think that’s a practice that’s missing at home.
We were never on time because if our hosts saw someone they knew on the way to an appointment, they stopped and had a conversation before moving on.
5. I am bigger than the bugs.
It was true at training camp (ENTER BLOG LINK HERE) and it was true in Africa.
Though I was definitely outnumbered.
6. Say the hard stuff.
Be brave.
It’s the only way to grow.
Fighting for love and community is always worth it.
7. A little bit of chocolate goes a long way.
Sometimes, we miss the normalcies of home.
Finding a delicious piece of chocolate, or even one that just tastes okay but contains enough cocoa and sugar, can give that extra push you need to finish out a long week.
More than that, friendships are easily formed and repaired over a Dairy Milk chocolate bar.
8. America is easy.
Have you ever had to light a plastic bag on fire to ignite the charcoal (literally charred wood…not the stuff from the bag at the store) placed in a mini grill (without the grill) to cook your eggs in the morning?
Ever had to mow your lawn with a machete? How about a soccer field?
Ever wrung out a mop with your hands?
Taken a shower from a bucket in the dark?
Ever spent 10 minutes getting your mosquito net tucked in perfectly around your bed so there are no openings and it didn’t touch your arms, duct taped all the new holes, and then realized you left the light on?
Have you ever pushed your own taxi?
Ever lived on less than $1 a day after 12 hours of work?
9. “Why did the chicken cross the road?” is a perfectly valid question.
Really.
10. God wants to be first.
He wants me to trust him with everything.
There are things (people) I’ve put in my life and chosen before I’ve chosen God.
And whether I wanted to admit it or not, I would still choose them first when faced with the decision.
So God is breaking me…making me revisit those places and those people and showing me where he was in the moments of my life that I left him out.
He wants me to see how much better it would have been if I’d invited him into my deepest thoughts, desires, and memories.
In Malawi, He brought me to a place where I could admit it and say out loud that I had put my value and my trust in the wrong things.
It’s hard and it hurts, but it’s beautiful to see what happens when I let him love me.
11. Love is always worth the risk.
Be intentional with people.
Love them when it’s hard.
Love them when it’s work.
Love them when you don’t like them.
Love them in ways they need to be loved.
Because in the end, you’ll just love them.
Don’t give up.
Don’t check out.
Don’t fall into easy patterns of apathy and distraction.
Fight for it, and in return, love will fight for you.
Okay Friends.
I still need $2490 to finish out this Race.
That means, if 25 people donate $100, or if 100 people donate $25, then I’ll be FULLY FUNDED!!
Easy peasy, no?
If you or someone you know can help and wants to be a part of teaching English, building play parks, running youth camp, and helping women escape the sex trade, click “Support Me” on top!
Thank you!!
