A few people have been asking when I'm going to blog about Africa. The truth is I'm still processing, so you'll have to be patient with me. There were just so many impressions to take in: heat, poverty, work, water, food, dance, drums, dust. There was never lack of a child's hand to hold or a smile to photograph. Here are a few of the church we roofed in the village of Debe and some kids we played with.
One of the impressions I have already worked through a bit was the gratefulness I experienced, not on behalf of the team but on behalf of the Bush villagers. Twice, they randomly pulled out the drums and began singing while the women formed a semi-circle around them to dance. I got to hold babies both times, which made my day each time, but it was fascinating to watch their uninhibited expression of thankfulness as they watched the roof go up. Our team felt so fake in some ways since we got to swoop in with a bunch of corrugated aluminum, swing some hammers, and get all this "credit." And they showered their thanks upon us, not just with the dances and the kisses on cheeks, but as we were getting ready to leave, they even brought out a goat and four chickens! Some of our girls wailed, "They need them more than we do," but leaving them behind would've been incredibly rude. So, we loaded that goat and those chickens up on top of the Jeep (quite the process) and drove with it the 5 1/2 hours all the way back to Ouagadougou, listening to it bleat the entire way. At one point, mid-way through the trip, one of the students turned to the rest of us and said, "Guys. We own a goat!"
It's made me think about my own level of generosity and expression of gratefulness, not just in response to gifts people give me or deeds they do for me, but as a way of life. It's got to be the oldest axiom in the book: that joy is not found in the accumulation of things, and the people of Debe proved that. So, how do I show my thankfulness to God. If I ever owed anyone pure joy, my total heart, it's him. Do I dance and sing for him? Do I bring him gifts gladly? Do I grip his face between my hands, kiss his cheeks, and whisper over and over "Barrika" (Thank you)? 2 days of roofing, and the people of Debe were pouring themselves out. What a challenge to live that way!
4 comments:
Wow. What an incredible experience. Sometimes I think God may move me to Africa someday. And not just because I think it'd be cool to own a goat!
I'm thinking about taking a mission trip somewhere in Africa in the next year. Just to check it out. Who knows what's in store.
Awesome- thanks for sharing your experiences. Love to hear about what God's doing through you and revealing to you through others!
but what did you do with the goat?
We gave the goat to Paul (one of the guys in the picture tying it to the truck) who helps out with the youth at his church. They were going to eat it last Saturday, so I assume by now it's dead.
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