Looking back on this journey, one of the most memorable moments of the trip was the three days of travel before arriving at Sungawomba, Tanzania. Although I thought I would never make it, traveling for sixty two hours on a charter bus, I found that the trek through Tanzania was a lot like my journey here in Africa. Sure, mile after mile of dirt roads and pot holes was rough and exhausting, but it turned out to be the most beautiful ride of my life. Driving through Tanzania I saw things that most people can only dream of. Of course there were wild giraffes, zebras, antelope, baboons and wildebeest, but the beauty of Tanzania only starts there. I got to see the magnificence of an African sunset I thought only existed in movies and magazines. I saw mountain ranges stretching for hundreds of miles, plains that traveled further than my eyes could see, and gushing rivers traveling along the path of our road. And yet, in all of the beauty of the animals, sunsets, and landscape, I'll never be able to explain, whether with words or pictures, how breathtaking these moments were. In the same way, I'll never be able to fully tell you about the things I have seen and experienced in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. I'll never be able to explain the joy of "Super Saturday," a night where we danced and praised Jesus for hours, as the African sun set slowly on our backs. I'll never be able to explain the sorrow of laying hands and praying for a man with full blown AIDS, bleeding from every part of his body and waiting for his last breath. I'll never be able to explain the fear of telling a thirty two year old woman, the size of my twelve year old sister, that my God is a healer and that He can heal her sick body. I'll never be able to explain the anger of walking through alleyways filled with burning trash and broken glass, that the street kids call their home.
Through these experiences, the Lord has revealed emotions in me I didn't know existed. He has shown me His heart for the people He loves, and at the same time, His wrath for the injustice of this world. Along the way, He has taken me through the pot holes, the giant ditches and the seemingly never ending journey, but in the end He has revealed to me the beauty and the hope that follows.
