My Letter to Future Goers
Dear Future Goer, You might be feeling a bit overwhelmed, apprehensive, fearful, excited. I remember those emotions well. I remember feeling the small nudging and confirmations that God was pointing me to a life overseas. I remember the immense fear and anxiety that threatened to overtake me and stop me from listening to those whispers. But I also remember the peace I felt in making my decision to serve in Zambia for two years, following that still small voice of God. A mentor once advised me to ask myself this question when faced with a big decision: what would your decision be if it was… Read more >>
When Missionary Life Just Becomes Life
I’ve been in Zambia for over a year and a half now. I have reached this weird moment where life is no longer constantly about new and exciting things. Life has just turned into the mundane “this is just life” phase. When I first moved here, everything was new and exciting. Some things were challenging, but for the most part there was a lot of joy in discovering things. Now, there are fewer and fewer big, new cultural things. I learn something new all the time, but I have found a rhythm to life here. I’m in this in-between of life in Zambia being so different from my life in the States, but at… Read more >>
(Not) Saving Africa
I am not a savior. There is only one, and his name is Jesus. I struggle a lot with control and the need for it. Ask my family or my closest friends, and they will tell you. I like to be in control. I like to think that if I have a certain amount of power and control, that I can dictate outcomes. How silly of me, really. Historically, missions in Africa from people in the West (wealthy, white, typically male but with a fair share of women), have gone horribly wrong. I think a part of this failure has to do with power and control. White missionaries come in thinking they have all the… Read more >>
What is Home?
Jesus Christ Be My Home What does home mean? Is it a place? Is it people? Is it a feeling? Is it all of these things? This concept and idea of home has been one that I have been wrestling with since being abroad. I am not the first, nor will I be the last overseas worker to question what it means to be “home”. That is simultaneously encouraging, and frustrating because there is no one answer. Jesus Christ Be My Home A few months ago, I did a virtual prayer retreat. The theme and main idea of the retreat was “The Temple: My Heart, God’s Home”. It was such a filling… Read more >>