Missing Africa and The Holy Spirit Giving Me A Lesson

It’s been exactly a month and two days since my return home. My heart still misses Africa with a great passion! I miss the people, the culture, the love, the faith….I miss everything! I’ve told many people here already that I liked it better over there than I do living here and that couldn’t be more true. The way they live in Burundi, though very difficult at times, was more pleasing to me. I love being close to my family and friends, but I also miss the amazing families I was with and their passion for their work! God has blessed us so much with many things we have here in the U.S. We can drink water without fear, we have the tools to save lives, we can eat whatever we want and so much more. To be rather honest, and not everyone will admit it, we take everything we have for granted. Not just every once in a while but every single day. Look at this post. What are you viewing it on? A computer? A smartphone? An iPad? How many times have you stopped to thank God for that simple electronic in your hand? Just think, what can you do with that thing? Communicate with the ones you love, keep track of the weather, stay caught up on the latest news, see what your friends are up to on Facebook and/or Twitter, email people far away, play games, write stories, watch videos…the list goes on. What about where you’re at? Home, the store, sitting in your car, at a restaurant, the bathroom, the office, at a friend’s house, laying in the sun…and once again the list goes on. I just named two very simple things that have to do with everyday life but to name another, water. It’s that simple, we drink water everyday, we need it to survive. We use it to shower, to brush our teeth, to cook, to clean things and to wash our dishes that we eat off of. Your sink produces clean water, while half way across the world they are trying to find ways to purify their water so they don’t die. Yes you read that right…so they don’t DIE. Think of all these things, we use them every day and think nothing of it. Well what if you woke up one day in Africa and realized all of this was gone? Would you cry? Would you be confused? Or would you take the time to thank God through the trial and learn how people live like that every day in Burundi. This is what I missed the most, the challenge. The simplicity of waking up every day and being thankful no matter what that day brings. They almost NEVER take things for granted. Mostly because they don’t have enough things to be that way, but also because they are so thankful that even though they are poor and go through many heartaches God still provides! Oh, how I miss the rejoicing in church as they sang their hearts out to Christ! Not in anger, or sadness, or turmoil, but in hope and joy. How many times can we honestly say that we have rejoiced during our challenges? Even small ones! I miss the way the people have joy no matter what. I truly hope that someday America can be like that, maybe even someday soon. Where we can all just stand together as the body of Christ and rejoice in the Lord through everything! I guess I got a little off track, but when the Holy Spirit nudges at you to share something it’s best that you listen. I hope sometime in the near future that I can return to Kibuye and once again be united with this amazing faith centered village. Urakotze(thank you) Kibuye for your amazing lessons! I miss you more than words can describe! ((I got an update on the mother and her twins. Below is a picture of our beloved mama and both of the babies. I last heard that the babies were gaining weight and were to go home soon! Thank you so much for your prayers! Please continue to pray for the premies born at Kibuye Hospital and for their mothers. They recently received their first incubator there and are able to help with the smallest of the babies. They will hopefully get another one soon! Praise God!))

Crooked Cornerstone

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. (Isaiah 28:16 NIV)

 

Today in Sunday School we talked about the cornerstone. Above is a verse that we went through together. Throughout the entire lesson I couldn't help but think of the cornerstone I had seen in Africa just last Sunday. (From my understanding the church in Kibuye is growing and so they are building another church building right next door!) After our Easter service we all went outside to go look at the cornerstone, only to find that it was pretty much crooked but that they still trusted it enough to continue building. 

      Throughout the Sunday school lesson today we pointed out the fact that in this imagery Christ is our cornerstone. Something to hold us up and to keep us grounded. As we discussed this we talked about how we were the church and how we needed that perfect cornerstone so we could be stacked upon each other like bricks. Well if you know me, you know that the wheels start turning in my head sometimes and I think a little outside the box. So I sat there and thought in depth about what they had said. Jesus is our perfect cornerstone but as bricks we will never be perfect. We will all be crooked, we may shift throughout the years, we will become cracked and start to decay. We should never think that without perfect bricks we can not be a perfect church. What makes us perfect is our cornerstone, Jesus. That is why no matter what shape we are in we will stack ourselves no matter what. We will have faith and know that though we may falter many times, our church will never fall because our cornerstone is the greatest thing to be built off of! Crooked bricks or not we must look to the cornerstone for support and He will provide it! Amen for that! 

Africa...**Sigh**

It has been two days since I arrived home, the memories of Africa are still fresh in my mind. I love being home, seeing my family every day, talking with friends, driving around places, but oh how I miss Africa...I truly fell in love with it while I was there. I constantly catch myself thinking about how different things would be if I were still there. I compare things daily, and though there are things here that I'm glad to come back to I miss the simplicity of living in Africa. No pressure to constantly have your phone, no buildings blocking gorgeous views, no cold weather, no selfishness, no distance from people. I find myself wanting to go back to habits I made while there. I want to walk up to everyone and shake their hand and say Amahoro, I want to eat some rice and beans, I want to go hang out with all the kids and put on a VBS with them, I want to hold Shiloh, I want to cut open a passion fruit, I want to walk around a village, I want to go visit the momma and her twins, I want to wake up to the sun shining and the birds singing. I think of things I want to do here but can't because the culture is just so different. I love the people here but have found that I love Africa more than America. My heart is longing to return already and I hope to someday! Until then I will continue to shine my light here and spend time with those who I love! It's been amazing being home and talking with my mom again as well as cuddling with my overjoyed sisters! I've entered back into my comfort zone and feel at peace! Thank you all for traveling prayers, everything went great! Thanks for listening to the yearning of a 17 year old girl who misses Africa! Goodnight all!