The Spring

It is hard to believe that two months of orientation have come and gone. Being at training has changed me in a way that is very difficult to explain, and it is sometimes hard to remember what life was like before I went. All I know is that every morning as I woke up to a breathtaking Virginia sunrise, I thanked the Father over and over for allowing me to be there. That place was a little bit of heaven on earth. Isn't that what the body of Christ is supposed to be like? My friends challenged me to memorize more Scripture, to pray more, to speak uplifting words, to be a servant, to share boldly, to love deeply.

As thankful as I am for that season, the reason it was so precious is largely because it was only temporary. Because each person that I grew to love like family has been charged with the same task: to take the love of Christ to the ends of the earth. The unique way in which each individual or family has been equipped and called to do that is beautiful. One of my friends helped me to recognize that while it is hard to leave this kind of community, we have the awesome privilege of modeling that to brand new believers in every part of the world.

But what am I going to do when I leave here and don't have all these wonderful people pouring into me? my selfish side protests. During orientation I was constantly encouraged and challenged by everyone I met-- from the company President to the volunteers to my five-year-old quad neighbor. Can I keep growing and learning and stretching without these people?

The key is drinking from the spring. A well can provide water for a time, but eventually it can dry up. That's what happens if I depend solely on my friends for spiritual sustenance. But the LORD is the Spring of Living Water  (Jeremiah 2:13), and I will never go thirsty when he is the one who fills me. He is my source of wisdom, of strength, of LIFE.

And that is good news for me. I am going to some spiritual deserts, and what a joy it is to pour into others what the Father pours into me. But I cannot be their source, because I fall short, and I am weak, and I am only there for a short time. What a privilege to point them to the true source, the Giver of all good things.

Warm Culture

The past eight weeks have in NO way made me an expert on African culture, but I have really enjoyed gaining insights from those who have spent much of their lives in Africa. Africa is a warm culture, which shakes up my Midwestern box a bit. Warm culture countries place a high priority on inclusion, community, and preservation of relationships as opposed to individuality, schedules, and confrontation. What does that mean?
A few lessons I have learned so far:

• A person is welcome, even expected, to show up to any social gathering in the community, even without an explicit invitation. 
• Extended family such as aunts or cousins are referred to and treated as immediate family; they are "mothers" or "sisters."
• When asking a local for directions, they would rather make up directions than tell you they don't know the place you are looking for and be seen as unhelpful.
• No business can be conducted before inquiring about a person's wife, children, parents, crops, cattle, health (and a variety of other topics).

These are just generalizations and I'm sure I will discover many others over the next two years, but I am enamored with warm culture. I have been pretty blessed to learn alongside my Sub-Saharan "family" the past couple months as we have gotten a small taste of this culture. 

Traditional meal time…

Rice, beans, ugali, and smoked chicken :)

Refining the art of eating without utensils

Outdoor cooking

Many snake stories being shared around the fire

An evening without electricity

Beauty.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat." Psalm 19:1-6

No Fear in Death

No guilt in life, no fear in death: this is the power of Christ in me.

This past week was one of the heavier weeks of orientation, intensified by all the (mostly exaggerated) horror stories circulated by former Journeymen. While there are real dangers where I am going, my heart has peace knowing the that I rest in the hands of the Most High God. As I took in all the information and wisdom and experience shared this week, my mind kept going back to the words of David: 

"The Lord is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? 

The Lord is the strength of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 27:1

Sometimes I think that I am bringing Christ to the people of Zimbabwe; this week he reminded me that that is simply not true. He is already there. He has gone before me and is already working in people's hearts. He will still be there when I leave and He is faithful to complete his good work. There is nothing to fear.