Africa: Part Two

I know I've been dragging my feet on sharing this Africa experience, but the time to process has really allowed me to learn more about what this trip was all about, so here's the next part. This second part of the trip was the hardest for me. We left Yekepa on Saturday morning and headed to Ganta. It was about a two hour drive. Ganta was by far the most lacking in creature comforts. The hotel where we stayed was very hot, dirty, and didn't have running water. It was also the day that the other team and ours split, so the other women who I had been rooming with were now leaving. Saying good-bye to them was the hardest part of the trip for me. I had spent a week getting to know these women and loved every smile-filled, laugh-filled, hug-filled minute. Here's a pic of Dr. Grace, Karen, and me.

I knew that the next week would be lonely, and I was scared. I was told not to go anywhere alone and felt so helpless. I don't like asking for help, and it was hard for me to ask the guys to walk me around like a little kid. But God had many things to teach me in Ganta, and so I'm grateful for the experience of having been there. I learned most of all that God is with me, not just in some mystical sort of way, but fully present. As I was worrying and complaining to myself that I had no one to walk me out to a certain area, I heard God speak to my heart that He would walk with me and at the same time an amazing comfort came over me. Through that experience and others like it on the trip, I experienced the Comforter first-hand.

The name of our band was, "In Between" coming from the idea that ancient monks used to talk about the thin places where Heaven and earth meet. Initially I thought about this idea as something like sitting on a beautiful, peaceful beach - the best parts of earth - and thinking that this must be a bit like heaven. And certainly those wonderful moments in our lives point us to God. But what I learned on this trip is that sometimes the places of hell on earth are so dark that the brightness of God with us can't help but literally shine through in the darkness around us. God has never felt more like my Father than when He walked with me through Ganta.

I also really learned how prayer changes me. I spent much of the afternoon that day in Ganta praying since I was shaken up and the women were gone. And by the time we got ready to do the concert that night, my spirit was stronger. God really taught me that if I give him everything in prayer, then I don't have to do any worrying, and how freeing is that. The concert went really well. The Ganta mass choir sung during the middle of the concert, and I was blown away by the sheer volume and intensity of it. Despite the poor conditions that they live in, they are confident that God is good and that His desire is to bless them. What a lesson for us! At the end of the concert, many people responded to the invitation to receive Christ or recommit their lives to Him.

Sunday morning we divided up into groups and went off to different local churches. I went with Pastor Palmer and his son, Spencer, as well as Kanah and Luke from the band. It was fun to experience how they do church as well as getting to lead/teach them a few songs. Palmer preached on the story of our lives. He asked the people to consider what kind of story they are writing with their lives and challenged them to choose a better story: God's story. Once again, I knew that I didn't just happen to end up at that little church, God sent me there so that I could be challenged to take a good hard look at how I'm living my life and whether I writing God's story for my life or trying to take the pen in my own hand. Still processing that one... More soon!