First off, I can’t thank everyone enough who gave to my trip, which allowed me to go.
I’ve been back for about 2 weeks now and I am still dealing with some left over jet lag. I’m sure it’s because my trip was so short, but with finals this week, I’m going to need all the sleep I can get.
Before leaving for Africa, I sent an e-mail to a couple of my close friends and asked them to be praying for me, as I’ve grown a little anxiety for flying and I was about to jump on a plane to Africa and back home. Some people may have thought I was crazy, but I know there were a lot of people praying for me, and I did not get sick at all on any of the flights!
The week was jam packed with 3 sessions of worship per day, 2 sessions of speaking by a Pastor from South Africa, and 1 session a day leading worship for the kids. There was also some free time for soccer or volleyball or a nice nap for those who needed it.
The Pastor spoke on a wide variety of Scriptures, but his overall message was about finding strength in the Lord. Some of the missionaries there were burnt out of constantly giving to others and not taking time to focus on themselves.
One of the biggest realizations about the trip actually hit me before I even left. One day while reading through the Scriptures, it hit me that these Scriptures take on a whole different meaning for these missionaries than they do for me. For instance, the Pastor spoke on Philippians 4:11 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Now for me, circumstances right now mean living in a house with air conditioning, warm water, a nice bed, and an amazing wife. For some of these missionaries it includes over 100 degree days, taking showers in a stream and drinking water that is barely purified, a bed made of leaves and maybe sometimes just sleeping on a thin mat on the floor, and most of the missionaries there were single.
One of the songs we played is called “Mighty To Save.” The lyrics go, “My Savior, He can move the mountains, My God is Mighty to save.” I’ve always read that Scripture in the Gospels about having faith like a mustard seed, and being able to tell the mountain to move and it would move, but I’ve never had an experience like that before. And here I am sitting in front of these missionaries who shared with us testimonies of having malaria, and typhoid, and being put in jail for 2 weeks and doing nothing but singing praises to God with joy.
This trip taught me a lot about what it means to find strength in the Lord and what it means to be content in my circumstances and know that I now have friends who spend each and every day giving their lives for the Gospel to reach the people of Sudan.
On a side note, I ran into two high school teachers from America on the trip. One is a former teacher who is now teaching at a seminary in Africa, and the other is currently a history teacher in California. Both of them had some great advice on preparing myself before I go into teaching. One of them really struggled with getting along with the other teachers, and discipline in the classroom, and students cheating on his tests, and being accused of various things because he wouldn’t let a girl play on the softball team. And the other let me know a little bit about the public school system with it’s flaws and it’s qualities. Both of these gentlemen really helped me to prepare myself a little better for my next profession.
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