Live From Africa!

“Buried with Him…that…even so we also should walk in newness of life” Romans 6:4.

I joined the fad this New Years of picking one word to pray for myself throughout the year. That word was confidence. What I am starting to realize is the word I should have had picked is humility. After 20 hours of flying and a 14 hours layover in London, nothing is more humbling than a child sitting in your lap, upon your arrival, and saying “Hi Mamma Jess”. As I watch the children, I am learning that I have little clue to what I am doing, and have to ask several times how. Now that I have gone into the city, into a brand new culture, I realize I don’t know what things weigh in kilograms, cost in ran, or where in the world I am going. The one thing I do know,  is that I am at the center of God’s will for my life. There is a process that comes with change. A sort of dying to one’s old way of life and being completely open and accepting to a completely new outlook and way of life. I am coming to learn that the expectations I have for myself for the next year need to be handed over to the One who really is in control. For it is truly Thy will be done and holding on to my expectations and mindset will only lead to disappointment and hold me back from experiencing God's plan for my life.

When I arrived, I landed in Johanasburg. We stopped at the mall for lunch and went to the market to get beads and some souvenirs. We then set out for Welkom, which was about three hours away. The view on the ride began to look a lot like driving through Kansas, flat farmland. I even saw a couple of cows. But then I noticed the wire fence was about twice as high as one would find in the Midwest. Come to find out it is to keep the ostriches and giraffes off the highway, duh. It is still a little frightening driving on the left side of the road. Laws and regulations are more of a recommendation here, than guidelines for driving.  

On day one, Louie and Amber took me on a tour of Welkom and Tabong. It is astonishing how the United States seems another world away. We stopped by a graveyard and they explained how funerals are only held on Saturday, and because of the high mortality rate due to AIDS/HIV, they begin at four in the morning. We came across a freshly dug grave and a small dog had fallen in, so of course on my first day I jumped into a grave (just the hole, no body or casket Mom) and lifted the dog out. It’s what every missionary does right?

Most of the last couple of days have been spent falling in love with the children God has placed in my life. They are unique and each have a story that I pray God will bring to completion for His glory. My only hope on the journey is to be able to give up my comfort zone to be able to fully experience the new life God has for me and the work that He has for me to do.

"A characteristic of our comfort zones is that they have restraints. We will only go: so far in loving; so far in serving; so far in forgiving; so far in ministering; so far in witnessing; so far in giving; so far in sacrificing; so far in supporting and encouraging each other; so far in submissiveness; so far in our struggles against the spiritual forces of wickedness." ~Mark King