Back to Africa

For those of you that dont know this, im heading with a group of 6 or 7 college students to Africa in about 3 weeks. Its been about 2 years since I was last there, and I must be honest, it has been too long.

You find this out about places like Africa, they get inside you, they change you. You can never go home and forget about the people, the place, the experience. It gets inside you, Africa gets inside you, and it never goes away. It only grows, your longing to go back grows. Quite honestly, its like magic. Its just one of those places were the people are so genuine and so affectionate, passionate, so honest, its hard to ever be the same after encountering them.

Being in Africa is like being in the presence of God. Rarely in my life have ever felt so alive, so close to home, than in Africa. The first day that I awoke in Africa, I walked out the door to my room, out into the open air. I turned to my right to try and find my leaders, and before me, about 20 yards ahead, was a white monkey. It watched me as I approached. It sat there studying me, then wandered off into the greenery. As little of a thing as that was, that was when it really hit me. This was Africa, I was in Africa.

But I can attest I was not fully awake to Africa yet. That experience happened the day we rode into the Kisanga Valley, after 2 days of flying and 2 days of driving, culminating in a welcoming party the likes that royalty never get. I saw the peolpe standing and chanting outside out coaster(mini bus) and I heard their welcoming cries. I couldnt understand the language, but ive never felt so welcome in my entire life, anywhere. The day I stepped into the Kisanga valley was the day another part of me came alive, and I have never been the same.

I think God awoke in me a part of me that had been asleep. He had pushed me to action, to act out my faith, and to see what I was missing. For, the African people have something us Americans almost never have. True joy. No matter what the circumstances, no matter what the situation, they appreciate what they have, and live like their life is worth living, like it has a purpose.

Many of us Americans never understand that, and even many that say they do understand it cant truly. The only way a persons life will ever matter ultimately, is if they truly find the purpose for which they were created. And the most ultimate reason any of us were created was because God made us to love each other, to love Him, and to share our love with those who dont know it. If we arent doing that, if we arent truly living out Gods plan for us, we will never be affective change-makers in the world. We all must find the niche God has made us for. If we dont, we negate the chance to change the world.

Africans know that there is something more to this world than just us. More than "...a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."

They know that there is something more, they just need someone to show them enough love to tell them about it.

And now my rambling is done. If your not a Christian and reading my blog, you probably think this blog was really boring, and I applaud you for even finishing it. Maybe it peaked your interest? I doubt my ramblings have that affect, but hey, you never know can you?

Peace and Love

Back to Africa 6/8/10

Life, the Ultimate Journey

Lately ive been on a journey. Not only one in my mind, but, unusually, one in my life as well. For those that dont know, ive lived in the same place my entire life. Theres always been that inclination to leave, to adventure, to see the world, and it may finally be coming to fruition.

About 2 or 3 months ago, I felt a calling on my heart from God to go to NYC for school and to serve. Now, I have debated for hours on end whether that was just my wish, to go to NY, or if it was literally a calling from God. Ill have you know that NYC has been the place ive wanted to go to my entire adolescent life. Its where I see our culture shift fastest. Its where the worlds businesses are run. Its where terrorists target to get the most effect. And i imagine myself being in a place like that with a savior like Christ. The only savior who has the ability to save a lost and hurting world. If he is needed anywhere, he is needed in the big cities of our world. He is needed where change can be affected quickest.

Not to say that He is not needed anywhere else, to steal a phrase from Timothy Keller, "Churches(God, Christians, etc.) are needed wherever there are people."

So I find myself on the edge, waiting for the opportunities to align themselves, and to see where this journey called life takes me. To go off on a different path, I do find it striking that non-believers call life a journey too, for you can only be on a "journey" if your going somewhere, ultimately. And if we are both journeying somewhere, I have a feeling the Christian's journey ends better. So, even those who do not believe they are ultimately going somewhere still call it a journey (ie. the stereotypical adolescent teenager, of which I am part). Yet, I call this life a wonderful journey because my final destination is set. And because I know my final destination that leads me to believe that each day I live is a chance to change the world for the better. Each day brings a plethora of opportunities with it. Each day is a gift from God. I call life a journey because in the end, I know that wherever I wind up, whether my circumstances be good or bad, that God is leading me home, one step at a time. So, no matter what happens to me in this life, the only way it can go is up. And that, to me, is as uplifting a thought as you will find.

So to address my earlier statement, I still struggle with whether it was God or me that wanted to go to NYC. Timothy Keller has really helped me in this regard. In an online youtube post, he stated a process by which you can know you are called. Its called AAO. Affinity, Ability, and Opportunity. If you have the Affinity - the desire, if you have the Ability - permission, health, etc, and if you have the Opportunity, then you can pretty much chalk it down as a calling from God. And I wish to touch on point one just a bit before I move on. In my opinion, sometimes our own desires, our own affinities, are a glimpse of something He put inside of us. So don't write your desires off as selfish or un-important if they are just that, your desires. Its my belief that God put them there for a reason.

Having established all this to say that, 1. life is a journey, 2. life is better when God is involved, 3. my life is changing, I still hope, not disregarding what I have said above, that God is completely involved in the transition. I will be going to a place in NYC where I know no one. No friends, no family, if anything, it will be the toughest challenge of my life. And I will literally have to hold the hand that feeds to give me strength. Yet, it could be good in this regard. Literally forcing me to rely solely on God for strength and power and sustenance.

So as I wander into unknown territory, I hope that you can take heart in the fact that God is always there for you. And if me and you never get our hearts desires to adventure, and to live an exciting and full life, may our prayer be that of Paris Reidhead,

"Lord Jesus, I'm gonna obey You and love You and serve You and do what You want me to do, as long as I live even if I go to hell at the end of the road, simply because You are worthy to be loved, obeyed and served. And I'm not trying to make a deal with You."
-Paris Reidhead

Peace and Love