The other night I was talking to a friend of mine and during the course of our conversation I said, “This might sound a little cliché, but I actually feel closer to God over here in Africa compared to America. He's really working in my life.” And his response was, “When we get into a routine and become complacent, we limit the amount of space we let God move in our lives. When things are crazy, hectic, new, and put us out of our comfort zone...all we've got left is God.”
I do, in fact, feel much closer to God “over here”. He is teaching me all about patience, perseverance, and reliance… honestly, I am learning a multitude of things, and I’m also learning certain things that I don’t even realize I’m learning. Only after this chapter in my life ends, will I be able to look back and discover other things that the Lord has taught me. I do believe that part of the reason why my relationship with the Lord is growing is because I have moved away from the “normal” life that I was over-comfortable with and He is all that I have left. Up until four months ago, I’d never left the United States before. I had family and friends surrounding me and my life was just honky-dory. Why would I need to talk to God when I had friends to talk to? That was my biggest problem: I had my order of priorities reversed. Sure, I loved God, and I had a relationship with him, but I kept “my life” separated from my relationship with Him. Who am I supposed to talk to after a hard day at school? Oh yeah, God. Who am I supposed to talk to when I have fantastic news to share? Oh yeah, God. He has become an essential in my life. If I don’t spend time in the Word or time talking to Him each day, I end up feeling out of place. I am so thankful for the work He is doing in my life.
I’m still attempting to “be joyful always, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances”. (referring to my last blog) When God first gave me that command, I thought to myself, “Ah, piece of cake! I’m a happy person. I talk to God. I’m thankful.” And God said, “Nice try, Grace.” I had an extremely rough week at school about two weeks ago where I felt as if I didn’t have any friends or anyone to talk to. I was feeling alone, miserable, and upset, but then the Lord reminded me of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and immediately I felt ashamed. God was testing me and I wasn’t passing the test…at all. I prayed and apologized to the Lord and asked Him to guide me and help me. The next morning I woke up feeling refreshed and full of joy…a joy that could only come from the Lord. Since then, things have been looking up. I’m striving to be joyful, to pray, and to give thanks no matter what may come my way.
I’m still praying for His will, and I am still open to whatever He has in store for me. My latest “key verse” has been Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Remember a couple blogs back when I talked about praying for God’s will and wondering why He wasn’t telling me anything? That’s because I was not ready to hear what He had to say. He’s been changing my heart so that when He reveals His ultimate plan to me, I will be accepting of it. As recent as this week, God has placed something on my heart. I’m still trying to determine if this is coming from the Lord or if this is just some idea that I thought up, and I’m also trying to understand if this is a plan for the near future or maybe it’s not supposed to happen for another seven and a half years. What I do know is that I haven’t been able to stop thinking or praying about it all week long. For those of you who do not know, the 10-40 Window is located in between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. It is most of northern Africa and southern Asia. It consists of two-thirds of the world’s population and the primary religions are Islam Hindu, Buddhism, etc. The main point is that Christianity is practically non-existent. It’s not the safest place in the world, and it would require creative access, but those people need to hear about Jesus. I want to go to any or all of the countries located in the 10-40 Window and let those people now how much God loves them. I realize that there is a risk in speaking so assuredly about something like this, and the reason why I’m publically sharing this news is so that you can be in prayer with me as I determine if this is a part of the Lord’s plan for me.
Life in Kigali: I will never get tired of this place! There is always something going on…whether it’s interpreting what a neighbor is trying to communicate to me ( in Kinyarwanda, of course) , or staying on top of school work, or even something as simple as looking up at the sky and soaking in the beauty. Rwanda is an amazing place.
After four months of visiting churches, I think we’ve finally settled on one particular church. It took me a while to feel comfortable attending this church. I had a few issues with the service in general and I kept comparing it to my home church in North Carolina. But, a couple Sundays ago, the songs and the sermon directly applied to my life and what God has been teaching me, and I’ve felt much more open to the church ever since. In sixth grade I had a realization that I was not going to be going to the same church for the rest of my life, and in that same moment I pictured myself going to a church that was somewhat non-denominational, predominantly black people, and had plenty of lively music with lots of freedom to move and sing for the Lord. And what do you know…five years later, and that is exactly the type of church I’m attending. Just because we have started regularly attending this church doesn’t mean that we won’t occasionally visit other churches from time to time. I’m grateful to be consistently attending one church though, that way I can get plugged in and feel more connected.
Yesterday we went to a waterfall about an hour outside of the city with some friends. You really can’t leave the city and not feel like a celebrity. If you drive by a couple of kids on the side of the road they shout out “Mzungus, mzungus!!” They love it when we wave to them or shake their hands. The twelve of us “mzungus” attracted a crowd of maybe thirty to forty Rwandans. They were content to sit and watch us play in the water and attempt zip-lining. (I’ll explain in a moment) I actually pulled a muscle in my right thigh last Tuesday in P.E. and so I wasn’t able to play in the water or really do anything. I did strike up a conversation with a few of the onlookers though. They speak about as much English as I speak Kinyarwanda, so we had a fun time trying to understand what the other was saying. I was speaking to one guy in particular, Peter, and I was able to understand that he wanted water, he wanted a picture with our car, and he wanted us to give him a ride to Kigali. Another boy, Patrick, came up to me while I was doing some homework and I showed him a picture of Africa and he was fascinated. Then I showed him a picture of America and I told him that I spoke English because I was from America and he burst out laughing. (Back to the zip-lining) We tied one end of a rope to one of the cars and we strung it across the five foot wide river and attached the other end to the rocks to form a make-shift zip-line. The five kids (Adam, Miles, and the three other girls we were with) all took a turn at zip-lining. Miles, of course, had everyone is stitches just by making funny faces as he was flying through the air. Even the Rwandans were laughing at him! It was a really great afternoon. I never regret leaving the city for a couple hours. It’s always a great experience, and after today, I have an even bigger desire to learn Kinyarwanda so that I can have a decent conversation with the nationals.
I hope you all are enjoying the start to your holiday season. We had a rather American Thanksgiving with an African touch on Thursday and we decorated our humble, four foot Christmas tree on Friday night. We sent several of our personal Christmas decorations on the container that left North Carolina last April. It’s nice to have a few decorations to remind us of home and help us get in the Christmas mood, especially since the sunny and 70 degree weather isn’t helping.
Life continues to be great. It’s not always easy, but God is always faithful. “[He] works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This road that I’m on right now is wonderful. I’m learning and experiencing so much. I had no idea that God had this much in store for me, and the exciting thing is, He’s not finished yet.
