Reflecting on this past month brings me so much joy. It would be impossible to summarize or give justice to the life that I lived for those 31 days with the Maasai people, because those 31 days have impacted me in such incredible ways. The lifestyle that we lived in Kenya was beautiful and fulfilling in every way. Challenging yet refreshing; exhausting yet so restful. Nothing short of wonderful.
From hut-to-hut ministry, to preaching in churches, to just merely giving a big smile and a “sopa!” to natives who we passed by, I know that God used my team and myself this month to impact the Maasai tribe in great ways. Likewise, He used the Maasai people to impact us.
I loved living in Maasai land. I loved feeling humbled every day. I loved hearing the stories and about the testimonies and the ways God was faithful to the people I met. I loved the sense of peace that came with constantly being in the middle of God’s untouched creation. I loved the serenity and the quietness and the stillness of standing outside the brambles and just taking in the pure beauty. I loved looking up at a sky that was literally endless. I loved walking and singing and talking to God in a place where I could see Him everywhere I looked.
I miss the day-to-day life that we lived in the bush. I miss my filthy feet, our routine tea times, our nights around the fire. I miss my healthy fear of being eaten by dangerous wild animals, and the intolerable temperature my tent reached forcing me out of bed in the mornings. I miss the way the kids there pronounce “Rachel”. I miss hearing those same kiddos’ sweet singing voices every day. I miss waking up to mountains upon mountains upon wild elephants right outside our homestead. I miss living in the purest simplicity (with a stashed away chocolate bar every now and then), and being so disconnected, and wearing dirty clothes, and spitting my toothpaste on the ground. I miss the smell of B.O. mixed with fire smoke mixed with dirt, and shaking a hundred- thousand Maasai hands every single day. I miss the way the people would swing back and forth when they dance. I miss swinging back and forth when I dance. Maybe I even miss that awful, awful African radio and the obnoxious goats that would wake us up every day starting at 4:30am, every 10 minutes steady till breakfast (maybe not).
These are a few things I love, and these are a few things I miss. These are people I miss! I am grateful for these things and for these people. So incredibly thankful for all of them. These things are things that God has put in my life to teach me, to humble me, to bless me. From embracing my greasy hair, to learning how to love with a language barrier, to stepping into the things God is calling me to- this month has been a beautiful challenge with a beautiful sense of fulfillment. Nothing short of wonderful!
