I am currently in month ten of the world race. I honestly cannot believe how fast the time has gone. Five weeks from today, I will be getting on a plane to go back to America.
The closer I get to home, the more my mind has run wild with trying to make my own plans. This has mostly consisted of me researching apartments, frantically searching for a roommate who loves Jesus, and wondering if I will ever find community like I have gotten here on the race at home. What would that even look like? Does it exist outside of this bubble?
Well tonight we went to a bonfire with Harvest Church, one of the churches we found during our “Unsung Heroes” month here in Gaborone. I had already fallen in love with this church but tonight set it as a seal upon my heart. We arrived to a large bonfire with plastic chairs set up in a circle all around it. As the music started, you could feel the love of the father as people all around the circle poured out their hearts in worship. We sang, some songs in English and most in Siswana. Then the pastor asked me to share my testimony. After all of this had finished, people hung around for fellowship. While at a normal church this looks like donuts and coffee, it looked so different here. We sang and danced around the campfire, worshipping in intermingled languages laughing and having an amazing time. The men and women had worship battles as they stood on opposite ends of the fire. This spontaneous worship lasted for at least forty five minutes, and it was glorious. There is really no way to describe to you what tonight was like. As I stood looking on, and as I joined in on the fun, my heart was overcome by the greatest sense of abundance. This wasn’t just church, and it wasn’t just community. These people were family. The love that flowed from each person to the other is the type of love that we, as Christians, are supposed to be known for. And it was real. My heart was in complete overflow mode as I watched this church, because I knew that this was truth. I saw the truth of rich and vibrant community that molds into family.
I hope, upon my arrival home, that I can find a place that does church like that. I don’t just want to find a church. I want to find a family because sometimes all you need is to let your heart explode in song to God, laughing and dancing with your best friends around a campfire.
So thank you Jesus for, once again, reminding me that you are good and you’ve got this covered. He knows our hearts, and he has good things in store for us, even when we let our minds take over. Praise Jesus for bonfires and african music. 🙂
