8:00pm- i can hear the sounds of the waves of the indian ocean crashing on the beach. a warm breeze grazes my skin and is caught up in my nose; i breathe deep the warm saltiness of it...
8:06pm- jolting awake to the pure memory of what sounded like 8 part harmony, i gently fall back asleep to the sweet voices of the people of toangoma praising an amazing God.
11:12pm- like lighting flashing, my mind replays short movies of african children silently waving their hands at my camera while smiling.
11:14pm- i remember being down on my knees, surrounded by laughing faces, and trying to peer through the sea of hands and arms at the overcast sky asking God, ‘help me to never forget this memory’.
11:19pm- flashback. the tarps are crashing above as the sun sheds it’s acclaimed warmth on my wet cheeks. again tonight, i’m sailing on the rich, melodic voices of the body... i sing along this time in my dark room in minneapolis.
11:31pm- cool to the touch, i lay my hands on the sandy blocks of which my teams’ hands laid and am taken aback by the overwhelming feeling of the Holy Spirit moving in this place... the people to the right and left of me are not speaking my same language but i know exactly what’s being said and have never tasted something so sweet. my hands move from block to block praying for a blessing in this place and for these people; simply thanking Jesus for this moment.
11:32pm- again, i ask God that this memory be forever burned on my brain. again, my cheeks are wet.
2:27am- a steadily increasing advancement of rain clouds quenches the thirst of the african plain; the ground drinks heavily as God’s people are in fellowship with one another while stranded in the middle of His magnificent creation.
3:45am- pillow talks with one of God’s faithful daughters. remembering emily, and her words of encouragement and wisdom.
3:56am- my stomach hurts. not just from the different food, but because my team meshes so well and i can't stop laughing throughout the entire trip.
4:19am- babu's smile... his laugh.
4:33am- the crustiness of the salt water on my slightly sun-burned body continues to air dry while i have a wonderful conversation with an old friend at sunset. after the sun goes down i have alone time with the endless ocean until a new friend comes along. the tide is coming in while the moon dances off the waves and we sit and get to know each other under the stars.
5:12am- filling mass amounts of cracks and playing tic-tac-toe in the cement.
5:14am- a little damp, but waking up to the indescribable sounds of a safari morning. elephants trumpeting is my alarm clock.
5:55am- blurred vision i have this early morning while staring at this computer screen desperately trying to feed my soul more of africa. these pictures bring a flood to my eyes and my heart as i can't sleep... dreaming of a land far away.
i’ve been back from the beautiful country of tanzania for a little almost two weeks now and find myself still being asked, “how was your trip?” “what did God show you while you were there?” “has God taught you anything?”.
truth is, i'm still chewing. i'm still digesting it all. i can say however, that we went to bless this community by building a church and bringing them clean water but God blessed us ten fold. from the unity of our team, to the weather we were blessed with while working, to the gorgeous beach we woke up to every morning, to the amazing safari- God revealed Himself through those created and His creation.
i've had a few nights/early mornings like this since i've been back from tanzania. i wouldn't trade the lack of sleep or the tears of missing africa for not having those memories ingrained in my mind. one thing i know the Lord has reminded me of, even days before leaving africa, is that my mission field is everywhere my feet go. not just toangoma or dar but st. paul minnesota where i work, eagan minnesota where my church's community is, back home in madison wisconsin where my friends and family are... where ever i go, whoever i meet- that is my mission field. i think God's given me a new fire in that sense.
i'm excited for what's to come. i am hopeful that this land that i can now dream of is not far away, and that it will be with me as i experience God's creation and those He's created every day. africa will be with me as i continue to serve my Father here, there, everywhere. i'd like to think we got a small taste of what heaven will be like someday... on that sunday when we were worshiping together in the church we built together; here we were, two completely different cultures praising God in one place, not knowing what the other was saying. i'm looking forward to the day when we will sing praises to God again in these different languages and fully understand each other. nope, this land is not far away :)
