Lately I’ve had a lot of moments, experiences and run-ins with mission work pulling at my life. I don’t know what it all adds up too but it’s there. Three big things lately have been the movie, “The Human Experience”, Annie going to Haiti, and this article. I feel often that we think of missions as all about what WE can do for THEM. As in “I am in such a wonderful perfect amazing place and definitely in connection with God, and I should help them who are not.” When often it turns out that they are in a better place than us, heart wise, despite circumstances. All of the experiences I have been having lately make me want to go travel and do mission work not for what I can do for others though, but for what they can do for me. I see and hear all about how these people in other countries, these third-world countries, have joy, true joy. It doesn’t matter that they have 1 set of clothes and live in an orphanage, they love life, and have true faith in God.
It seems that every time I look around me I see that lack of joy in the U.S. of A. We seem to get so caught up in trying to make life perfect for ourselves that we forget to just en-joy what we have and where we are and life. I mean, you don’t need a big house and car and money to have joy. You can have nothing and have joy. Look at the third world countries.
It’s almost like the more we have, the less we have. Ya know? The more stuff I have the less true joy I have. Anyway here is that article I was talking about.
https://www.themochaclub.org/i-need-africa
I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me
When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in those same people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.
The images spilling out of my television showed circumstances that could seemingly only equal misery, and I was fooled. I bought into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. The truth is, in Africa I find hearts full of victory, indomitable spirits. In places where despair should thrive, instead I find adults dancing and singing, and children playing soccer with a ball crafted of tied up trash. Instead of payback, I find grace. Here, weekend getaways are not options to provide relief from the pains of daily life. Relationships and faith provide joy. Love is sovereign.
My new reality… I know now that my joy should have no regard for my circumstances. I’m ashamed by my lack of faith, but at the very same moment I am excited by my new pursuit. I’m forced to redefine the meaning of having much or having little. I’m uneasy with the prospect of change and of letting go, but just the thought of freedom is liberating. I want what I have learned to trickle down from my head into my heart – I no longer want to need the “next thing” to have joy.
I’m not saying that Africa does not need our efforts. It absolutely does need our partnership. But for me, I’ve come to understand that I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME. Why? Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hands will never be as valuable as peace in my heart. I’ve learned that I don’t need what I have and that I have what I need. These are just a few of this continent’s many lessons. I came here to serve and yet I’ve found that I have so much to learn, and Africa, with all its need, has much to teach me.