This past week was our mid-debrief, which means that we traveled to Jinja to take a short break from ministry. It was an awesome time. We traveled by matatu (a "14 passenger" taxi van) and bus, camped by the Nile, rafted the Nile, bungee jumped over the Nile, talked about some of what God has done the last couple months, and came home in the similar traveling fashion. This past week was a time of reflection on what God has done, and a time for me to personally realize what has actually happened in my heart.
Over the last 2 months living in Africa has slowly become actual life for me. At first there was the culture shock of "Oh my gosh! People REALLY live this way." I knew before hand that this is the way it is, but without actually seeing it in person my mind told me no it's not really this way. Then there was stage of "Okay, this is what works for Africa." After that the thought became "This is African life." or "This is Africa." and most anything that I would see or hear wouldn't really shock me. Then the final stage came, "This is my life."
Yep, you read that right. I said, "This is my life." I had the same reaction this past week. I couldn't believe that is what I was thinking and believing. I even have a long journal entry talking to God about it asking "God, when did this happen to me!?!?"
Being in Africa and living in Africa, has completely changed my life. I see so much, and I feel God's heart for these people. All I really want to do is just stay here and live life with these people, and I want to be African so I can take these children and hold them and love them and tell them that their Abba Daddy loves them SO much.
This past weekend God helped me realize all this. He showed me through the matatu ride to Jinja when 23 of us were squished together, through the shopping experiences in Jinja when I realized that thinking in USD is weird, through all the faces I saw along the road or anywhere, and through the bus ride home when I had to squeeze into Zack to keep an African dude from sitting on my shoulder. All this is normal. . . normal for my life at least.
