I didn’t fully understand what AIM meant by frequent traveling until recently. Joining the expeditions team meant not staying in one place for very long. Basically, once I get comfortable in one location my world is turned upside down and we move to a new ‘home.’ As of last Wednesday, we are living in the pastors home in the bush. That leads me to one more misunderstanding on my end, the bush. To my surprise that meant no running water, no electricity, no toilet and 100’s of children that have never, or rarely, seen a mzungu (white person). That made for an interesting first day. When our van pulled up to the house it was instant insanity. I have never seen so many chaotic children. I’m convinced African kids are fed pure sugar. They have more energy than I have ever experienced. That’s real tough to keep up with. Therefore, I spent a lot of time in the house. That time was spent praying and reflecting on my life. That resulted in a major wake up call from God. A wake up call I wasn’t expecting. I thought I had dealt with all my baggage before leaving for training camp. I was sadly mistaken. With that realization, God allowed me to see that He was opening my eyes for growth. Spiritually, I have never been here before. This is new for me and to be honest, a little scary. Releasing the illusion of control could quite possibly be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.
Moments like this allow me to see that my strength is completely from the All Mighty. Without His love and grace, I would be at a stand still. I’m craving a solid relationship with my Savior and the struggles that I’m facing are opportunities to strengthen that communication between God and I.
Note to self- I need Africa more than Africa needs me. Praise God
