Dance together.
Struggle together.
Work together.
Laugh together.
Love together.
So the experiences and time spent in Africa so far have been awesome, trying, scary, fun, crazy, and memorable! I believe Africa and its people have taught me more than I ever could teach them. If there is one thing America lacks that Africa has for sure it is true community. Team X was three weeks ago complete strangers to one another but the community within our own group is one I have never experienced. We all met with the intentions to minister to Africans when this whole time we have been the ones being ministered too. The lifestyles here are so different than ours back home. They reflect Christ intentions for real community. Not just a group of people with a commonality bringing them together or happening to live in the same area. Instead it is one of selfless love and unity. Since we got here everyone has opened there homes, fed us well, came over to just talk for hours, helped us learn to wash clothes and then washed half them for us, did our hair, hung our clothes up for us, swept our floor, gave us free rides to town, and many other things we dont have time for or think about usually. This is not just to us because we are visitors and American but they show these acts to one another daily also. Our group is much like this too. Its amazing to experience what God truly intended for people. Not to just live with one another but for one another. Acts 2: 44-47 talks about believers living in community. Uniting to love and live in righteousness is beautiful! America is dead in this area because time, wrong intentions, independence, pride, work, materialism, and many other factors rob us from this pure relationship with one another. God only commands us to love Him and then love our neighbors. Not just next door, not just those with same economic status, not the convenient ones, not just our best friends, not just our family but EVERYONE! How can we be one unit ( Body of Christ) when we let all those things listed above separate us from some many people out there and so many real relationships in community. Charity is great, Giving is good but without the right intentions its just something we do to ease our conscious about those out there that are struggling to find food, water, shelter, warmth, friendship, hope , love and Jesus. But just what if real Christians lived in community like Jesus would have us to and open up our lives, homes, food, personal space, and hearts to our neighbors near and far when they need us everyday. We would reap the blessings of God’s love and true community. We would have 100 times more than we do now hoarding and storing material things and letting the world of being busy and independent ruin us. Christ wants us to be dependent on one another and live in community like He did on this earth. I am experiencing a glimpse of what it SHOULD look like back home and everywhere with this team and with the Africans. It is probably one of the things my heart most longs for now is to be what God calls us to be: a COMMUNITY! LOVE GOD; LOVE PEOPLE- not conveniently or half way but fully.
