This Isn't Courage. This Is God.

They LOVE the camera

True Story:

This was part of a sermon in a church in the bush of Africa. This is a church that has hardly a roof, no door, and no electricity. The congregation was filled with many faces that we often see on those late night commercials for starving children and there just so happened to be American missionaries visiting that Sunday.

“For these Americans to come here took courage. It took faith. Because in America they’re told that, in Africa, there’s nothing but poverty and death. That if they come here, they’ll be eaten by a wild animal. They’ll be bitten by something poisonous, robbed or contract a deadly disease. This is all they knew of Africa and yet they came. So for them, it took courage.”

After the pastor had said those words the congregation filled with laughter because everyone (except the Americans) thought there is no way that people could think such ridiculous things.  But what the pastor said was very true. When I tell people I am going to live in Africa for semester I get some reactions like, “Good for you!” and “You’re such a great person!”  But I get a lot more responses like, “ Aren't you scared?”, “I couldn't do that because something bad could happen.”, or even “You might get AIDS!”

The truth is…I AM scared sometimes. Not really of the things the pastor said but more things like:

Scraping his bowl of porridge clean

I might miss my family too much,

I might not be capable of helping a sick helpless orphan,

I might have to eat meat (I’m a vegetarian),

 or even

I might have to walk away from a child-run home praying that God will give them the food they need to survive.

The fact that God choose ME to go Africa and love His beautiful people is such an honor and I don’t deserve it in the least! I simply look at it as command and something God designed me to do in my life. And the only way I am able to get over these fears is by the power and love of my Savior.

I don’t consider myself courageous for choosing to live in Africa.

I don’t consider myself courageous for choosing to leave everything I know behind.

I don’t consider myself courageous for choosing to sleep in dirt with bugs and rats.

Loving on one of God's beautiful children

I don’t consider myself courageous for choosing to sit and pray with someone who will soon die from AIDS.

So if you see me don’t tell me I am brave, courageous, or any other synonym you can think of. Simply pray for me. Pray that those fears don’t overcome me, pray for my loving and amazing family, pray that the funds will come, and pray for those amazing beautiful people that I am so privileged to serve in Africa.