Reflections

            I have one more full day here in Africa. As my time here is drawing to a close, I am mentally preparing myself to return home. I am reflecting on all that I have learned and how much I’ve grown.

            I do know that, in coming here, I have gained a different view of the world and a broader view of what is good in life. Growing up in America is an interesting thing. I believe we have a wonderful country and I value the freedom we still have and the heritage that we represent. I do believe that God has had His faithful hand on us. We do have a downfall in comparing our country to other countries based off of our technological success and relative economic prosperity though. We think we are superior—and having such an expansive nation helps to perpetuate that idea. Having been in Africa for close to 3 ½ months now, I am changing my perspective a bit. I do think that the USA is extremely blessed with technology and material possessions and the utmost of convenience. But, I do not see that as a marker for superiority or entitlement. I have been exposed to quite different situations than those of Americans, and I am convinced that one cannot look down on a culture simply because they have a less wide spread of material and technological possessions. There are things at work that we cannot comprehend and there are needs that supersede the physical and material. Not discounting that we must reach out to those who are less fortunate, but there is a different forms of poverty. As it says in the book When Helping Hurts, America tends to see the lack of physical and material possessions of people, whereas the poor people themselves see the lack of respect, dignity, relationships, and emotional stability. Not everything is about “things.” It is about caring for the person holistically and treating the problem, not the symptom. I digress though because I really want to say that America is not the whole world. There are many other places and we cannot continue to think of ourselves so highly and then only see the bad in other places. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:3-5

            I also know that I have a clearer picture of what worldwide missions is all about. I have a greater respect for missionaries who are called to leave the comforts of their homes and learn to adapt to new cultures and environments to serve and spread God’s kingdom. There is really not much I can say because it is not something that can be easily explained or understood. Missionaries’ lives are hard for us to understand in America, where we enjoy every comfort and pleasure that life can offer. There is much to learn from their willingness to give up momentary comforts in order to work for the Kingdom, for which their rewards and fruits from their labors will last forever. I think we have become complacent and have lost some missions-mindedness in America. Here is a quote from Christianity Rediscovered, by Vincent J. Donovan, that I think illustrates this idea: “Missionaries looking at the church in America would be worried by what they see. Because what they see is a bad missionary situation Not just the sharp decline in active participation in church community and the draining away of the young, but a church life that is not much more relevant to the human life lived in the neighborhoods surrounding it than the mission compound was to the tribal life of the Africans.” I think we are seriously slacking in America. Why do we have so many churches and so little outreach, so little depth to our Christians, so little compassion and understanding for the needs of others?

            Those are just a few of the ideas that have been swimming inside my head. I do not know if I’ll ever be able to completely grasp and articulate everything that has occurred and all God has taught me from this experience—there is much more that I could tell, but it might take years for me to decipher it all. It has been a life-changing experience, with ups and downs, ins and outs. I am so grateful for this opportunity that God has given me. If anything, it has made me desire Him more, made me more aware of His work in my life, His faithfulness to me, and of my unworthiness of Him. It has made me hunger for more of Him and hunger for Him to more completely lead my life. I am but a sapling when it comes to faith and experience though. There is much more ahead!