Such a hard question to answer: How was my trip to Africa?

Johanesburg, Africa airport

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Rough, relaxing, heart wrenching, scary, happy, enlightening, surprising, delightful, intriguing, intense, hysterical, bonding, relationships, fun....


Quick, tip of my tongue, words to describe my 2011 Mission Trip to Mozambique, Africa.
But how, how to describe it for real...the only thing I can think of for a true testimony and just a little bit of true insight would be by sitting down with me for an hour (at least and with coffee), photos and videos in hand and asking you to observe the raw excitement on my face, hear the sound of my voice, and feel the hurriedness of my heartbeat. Then and only then would you get even a small indication  of how I feel, how I felt, how I perceived the innate emotion, from intense-devil-ridden-fear all the way to deep-in explainable- passion and contentment...that only our God could supply. Read on for a few explanations.

Simon Says at Pastor Telmo's church

Every detail does not matter. But from being immediately stereotyped as "a weird artist," by another team member, to NOT having my bi-polar medication, to puncturing my foot with a 1 1/2 inch thorn,(and the list goes on), the trip was nothing short of amazing.

God had a plan for me to grow. And I did. Hindsight is 20/20.

I panicked on the 30 passenger airplane (remember, NO medication, I would NOT like to go into that). I was positive I would die. I heard a random gunshot at 1:38 am one morning, (once again, sure that I would die). I was told that a project that I have been doing with the children for 7 years was something similar to what the witch doctors do (my heart dying just a little bit).

Only the beginning of my growth.

I have never prayed so hard in my life. My folded hands were raw. (OK, no they weren't, but it sounded good at the moment). God became my confidant. I had no choice but to lean on Him. And I did.

I went this year with the nagging question, "Will I go back?" 

More after these photos......

Stopped on side of the road to capture this.

Game drive in Pretoria, SA

Daniel, our surprise team member that we were blessed to have!

ALL bugs are bigger and better!

Keily teaching the children

Jacamal the indescribable cutie

I got to see my Simon!!

Jurg van Dyke

The Mozambicans were calling Jimmy, "Santa, Jesus or Osama bin Laden!"

Back pack project

Chicken, chicken or chicken?

The full time missionary gave us a book to read several months before this years trip, "When Helping Hurts. How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself." by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert.

I almost didn't go.

This book broke me. It confused me. It changed me.

Still, I felt led to go. And I did. But not without a different attitude and heart.

1 John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"

During this trip Jurg (the missionary) brought us through a study on 1 and 2 Thessalonians. WOW! Thank You! Not only did this study fit perfectly with what we were all going through on the base, but as I returned home to Xana being in NYC and having the devil on her back, I was able to guide her through, because of what I just went through and the study. Once again, faith in the Lord, so important.

Another lesson for me.

STOP. All Good stuff. But...I realize I am only mentioning the hard stuff.

Now I will mention the children who asked for me by name. The ones I have worked with year after year. I will let you know about their amazing beauty amidst their running noses and infected feet. Their smiles straight from heaven, messages to me from God and His wonderful creations. The sounds of their singing voices, me, not understanding one ounce of Senna as they sang but I totally felt  their joy for the Lord.

We painted the outside of the Library!
Our team made life long relationships with each other and our brothers and sisters in Africa.
The children were in the background swinging and laughing on the swings that we build last year!
This list is too long!!

Then there are the various birds, the sounds of woman and children waking up in the mornings, preparing their fires, sweeping their yards, getting ready for the day. The beautiful sound of NO airplanes, NO cars, NO boomboxes, NO construction. Sames goes for night time. The pure vastness of the sky, all the constellations, not hindered in any way--NO streetlights, NO air traffic. The witch doctor drums start late at night, they are almost comforting in a rhythmic way, that is until you remember what they stand for.

We call ourselves missionaries. NO, the real missionaries are Nido and Helaine and Keily from Brazil. What a joy! And way too funny!! They've lived in Dondo for two years now. And Jurg, he goes there 5 times a year for weeks at a time. His wife, Minda holding down the fort with 3 kids and yet still dealing with missionaries from different countries--like us! They are immersed in the culture, they suffer a missionaries life. A hard, hard life. When the electricity goes out--we say, "Oh, we'll be home in 5 days, without this kind of thing happening."  When their house gets broken into by 4 men with machetes, we say, "That would never happen at home." The missionaries pray consistently, daily for safety- we just take it for granted, as we do electricity.  The list is too long to write, almost too harsh to tell. But they live this life with joy in their hearts, laughter on their lips, God in their hearts. I want to be like them when I grow up. I ask myself, could I ever do that? I don't think so.

Thank you Nido, for being brutally honest with us. I have grown because of it.
I want to keep growing. I want to be a blessing, not a hindrance. Please continue...and by the way, "Love in on the farm!" and "The book is still on the table."

I will go again. I will go until God directs me someplace else. Until then, I will go.

Simple plan, well rehearsed, violently executed! That was our team motto. That's what you get when you have a cop on your team:) But how true it turned out to be.

Thank you Kristen for being a great room mate and a tough cookie. Thank you Jimmy for your wise stories and your comforting words. Thank you Shawn, for your funny antidotes and your words for me and for just staying alive.  Thank you Daniel for doing dishes and laughing along with us. Thank you Richard for being a great leader and all the other stuff! Thank you Jurg, my words can not express what all for. Thank you Minda for your friendship and hospitality. A big and kind Thank You to my supporters. And many, many more thank you's. But the biggest thank you goes to the Lord, for teaching me, being by my side and for loving me.

Please pray for Jurg, his family, Nido, Helaine and Keily. While we live our lives here, they continue the battle in Mozambique, for God.

http://www.globalmissions-southafrica.com/ 
 

More photos to come on my smugmug