August 4
My journaling is getting lazy, and that can only mean one thing- I’m settling in. We’re over a week in and I feel so at home. Given there are still many things different from home that I miss, but Lubumbashi has stolen a piece of my heart.
While here we’ve visited so many places from villages to more city like areas; we’ve spent time everywhere. One village in particular is Pastor Emee’s. I first met Pastor Emee at the airport, and with what little English he knew he told me his name means love in French. While I’m not a French expert, I don’t know how true that was. Nonetheless you can see the love Pastor Emee exerts onto everything he does.
At the village we moved bricks for the new school building. Pastor Celestin told us the story of how the idea came to be. In fact, Pastor Emee was even arrested for trying to build this new church and school building. He spent two days in jail before other church leaders could come and help release him. He fought for what he believed in, and more importantly he fought for the vision Christ gave him.
Being a part of building the new school and seeing the children was heart warming. Not only did we help build the school, but we also got to see the kids who would one day be attending it. Some kids even helped us move bricks. These kids may have been young, but even they realized the school was for them. Watching them play a role in their own future was inspiring.
Day and day again these kids teach me how to be grateful. Their smiles are so large though they may have nothing. They laugh and play and aren’t worried at all. They don’t let the norms of the world define them. They are kids of absolute and genuine happiness. I want to be like these kids. I want to find my worth in nothing but Christ. I don’t want to let others define me. I want to be defined and judged by Christ.
This trip has pulled me away from my comfort zone. I’m using buckets to flush, wearing the same dirty clothes over and over again, and my cell phone is on a whole different continent. Here I’ve been challenged to step out of my life and reevaluate what I find important. I’ve realized that I care too much about materials. I put so much unnecessary value into the things I own rather than putting value into the things that are important to my faith. I want to find value in reading my Bible or praying or spending time in devotion to Christ. Experiencing Africa was something I was completely unprepared for. Being here has thrown me on a rollercoaster only to be tossed and turned, so that I may come off the ride as a changed person