A Constant Pivot
Life and Ministry in South Africa: Returning to Cape Town
I left North Africa with my sights on South Africa. A return to Capetown and some familiarity. Although the Muslim faith has seen great increase in recent times, unlike North Africa, it was not illegal to be a Christian. Missionaries are free to share their faith and purpose. Christian churches are readily available.
The Missionary Experience: Challenges and Encouragement
For an American, life in South Africa can seem somewhat similar on the surface. While in Cape Town, I caught up with the family from my first visit and a team from America. This made it much more challenging to simply love on the missionaries and in the future, I knew I would separate the visits and not travel with a team focusing solely on the missionaries.
It was nice, however, to experience faces and places from last year reminding myself of the call. I was also asking God to show me more and he did. More of the beauty. More of the pain. More of the struggle. More of the fear. Those days were busy and flew by quickly.
I don’t know how loved the missionaries felt as they were quite busy ensuring that the visiting Americans were loved and taken care of. I sense they were more exhausted at the end of the visit than refreshed.
A Glimpse of Malawi: Poverty, Beauty, and Faith
An early morning flight out of Cape Town and I arrived in Malawi just a few hours later. An incredibly small country where I experienced much more poverty and third world nation than anything similar to Cape Town or America. Or even North Africa for that matter.
Malawi had pockets of beauty but overall seemed much more rural. This family was expecting their first child in just a few short months and I had the privilege of delivering a “baby shower” from home. One duffle bag filled with all things needed for a baby including reusable diapers, covers, clothing, and blankets. Mom-to-be was overjoyed with the bounty of love as she unpacked each item one by one. I don’t know if anything would have spoken love more in that moment.
My time there included a Sunday which meant church. A large indoor space resembling a warehouse was the church. Doors were opened for air flow and fans were set out as it was a warm morning. There is no heat or air and so you dress accordingly. Even as an outsider, I felt truly welcomed at home amongst my brothers and sisters.
Again, they graciously shared their culture, friends, food, and sites. We sat outside a gas station or up on a hillside drinking coffee and just talking (for hours). We solved many of the world’s problems, shared Biblical revelation and prayed together for the country.
From Malawi to Kenya: Unexpected Foods and Travel Stories
Before we knew it, three days had passed. It was time to pack up and head to Kenya. On the way to the airport, we stopped alongside the road to eat “fast food”. This was actually a cooking station (think lemonade stand) where people could conveniently purchase food. And then I learned what I was actually eating. Goat intestines and fried potatoes.
The goat intestines were very tasty, however, my stomach did not agree. Be it the goat or the grease, I would be spending some time with John if you know what I mean. I was fortunate to arrive in Kenya before it had really kicked in.
As the plane touched down in Kenya and taxied to the gate, the doors were opened and then closed. We were told there would be a ten minute delay. I had no idea what was happening around the world but my spirit knew this was not good and I sent out an SOS to my prayer people. Literally, less than 20 minutes later I was off the plane, cleared customs, collected all my luggage, and was exiting the airport. God got me into Kenya.
God’s Provision During a Global Pandemic
The next morning I received a call from my boss telling me to get home. But I had three more stops, had hired a private plane to take me to the remote villages in South Sudan and had care packages for the pilot and the missionaries. God told me to visit all the missionaries in Africa. How could I come home early?
Little did I know that the world was changing. A pandemic was spreading. And the world didn’t know what to do with it.
But God. He had provided the visa, the funds, the private plane and pilot. He had told me to go visit ALL the missionaries in Africa. As the plane ticket to America was purchased, I felt like I had failed. I walked outside on the balcony and cried. And prayed.
My flight the next day would not be to South Sudan but would be non-stop to Newark, NJ, USA.
I had one day to love this family from Kenya. In retrospect, they loved me. I fed giraffes, watched the monkeys, and played with their four children. Truth be told, I felt I was probably more of an imposition than a blessing. They are wonderful people and we shared meals and conversation. I gleaned a lot of wisdom from this third generation missionary family. We squeezed a lot into one day and made the most of our time together. I will always be grateful for that day.
The next afternoon as I was boarding a plane to America, the care packages were being loaded onto a plane headed to South Sudan. It was the last supply plane that would go into South Sudan for several months. Two amazing things happened that day. The care packages made it to the missionaries supplementing their food supply for the next several months. And I made it home to America and was not stuck in South Sudan for the next six months becoming a burden on the missionaries. I am thankful for arriving back in the states oblivious to what was going on and thankful for the care packages loaded with non-refrigerated meat, chocolate and their favorite treats.
I arrived in New Jersey, spent the night in a hotel at the airport and flew home to Orlando the next morning - one of four people on the plane. I was not sick but did spend the next two weeks alone at home in isolation just to be safe. Friends dropped off groceries. Neighbors talked from the outside. And I enjoyed the time to refresh, journal and rest.
