Luke 12:48 "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

Over the past three months I have been blessed to learn from and to serve alongside various missionaries and residents of rural Africa. Our group visited three countries—Zambia, Kenya, and Uganda—and experienced the diversity of their cultures while observing God’s people in each place. We saw four major missions points—Namwianga, Mumena, the Mariann School in Kenya, and the Source Café in Uganda—as well as several minor ones—ZamBikes, Klaus Muller’s farm, etc.

We lived at Namwianga Mission for about ten weeks and served in the schools, orphanages, and clinic there. All of the above experiences taught me a lot about missions, a lot about myself, and a lot about working with others. The most important thing I learned, however, was not the result of work I did or tasks I performed. It came from the time I spent with the African people.

Because the majority of our time was spent in rural areas, I was blessed to experience untainted, purely authentic Africa. I ate the foods, shopped in the markets, used the latrines, worshipped in the churches, immunized the babies, swam in a country creek, and saw the living conditions in extremely remote villages. Through these experiences, I discovered that a unique spirit occupies the hearts of rural residents. I’ve been told I have a gift for using words to paint visual images in people’s minds. But even the best writer could not capture this spirit; it is impossible to confine to words or pictures.

My best attempt at a description of this spirit includes the words relational, generous, and genuine. The people of Africa have no sense of time, and are therefore extremely altruistic. Their schedules revolve purely around relationships with others, and their motives are based on others’ needs. Because a great amount of significance is associated with relationships, a great deal of care is invested in them. Whatever an African has he shares with his neighbor. Rarely does any amount of greed or selfishness exist in his heart. He is honest about what he has and constantly willing to share what he has with those around him.

The authenticity of these people is absolutely astounding; being able to see, hear, touch, smell, taste, and feel the spirit coming from within them has been incredible. The time I have spent with the Africans has shown me that I often have a distorted view of what is important, and that I must evaluate my tendency to prioritize tasks above relationships. I have also discovered a greater joy in the small things that make life so incredible.

I realize that because I have been given the incredible gift of experiencing Africa, God expects me apply what I have learned. Luke 12:48 says, “Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more.” Obviously only God knows the doors he will open for me in the future. But he has given me great peace regarding His plan for my life and excitement for what is in store. I know that because he has blessed me so incredibly with the spirit of the African people, He will expect much out of me as I live my life in service for Him. I resolve to focus on living authentically. I am going to place greater importance on the relationships in my life and work hard at the tasks that are truly important. I must let go of my selfish ambitions and focus on the opportunities that arise for me to best serve God.

Thank you so much for following my adventures this fall. I hope you learned something along the way. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and for your encouragement as I have journeyed through Africa; it is much appreciated!