(Written 12/1/12)
A few days ago I sat down with my team leader, Heather, to evaluate my Immersion experience. Among the list of questions she had for me, she asked me for a word, phrase or sentence to sum up my time during this trip. After a few minutes to think, I chose the sentence, "In the best possible way, I don't recognize the girl who got on the plane in Detroit."
While my face and arms may be a darker shade of color and I might not be in the physical shape that I was in 6 months ago, I wasn't referring to my outward appearance (don't worry mom, I didn't get dreads...). This trip has revealed many elements of who I am as well as transformed more of my heart than I knew existed.
Beginning the day before I was even offered a position on this trip, God began to strip away parts of me that didn't glorify Him. By the time July 7th came around, I didn't recognize the girl who applied for this trip. From day one, every part of me has been challenged. Whether it was in training by theoretical injustice instances, or on the Navajo reservation where alcoholism and legalistic religion runs rampant, or in South Africa where skin color decides what social status or even area of town people are allowed in, or in Mozambique where the people are too poor to buy shoes or salt, or in Lesotho where the people are not able to produce enough food for their families and are reliant on South Africa for countless imports, or living with a group of strangers for 6 months, or traveling and dealing with customs and cultures that are not easy to learn or mesh with. Every minute of this trip has challenged me in ways I probably won't fully know for some time to come. Parts of me I never knew existed were not only challenged, but removed. Parts of me were developed in ways I never thought possible. Parts of me were discovered as I allowed God to chip away at what I thought I needed to be while holding me and loving me in a way only He can. Things that used to matter, don't anymore. Things that used to not be on my radar, are glaring and breaking my heart every day. Who I thought I was has disappeared and the woman He has me to be becomes more and more apparent every day.
Not only did He change my outlook on the world I came from, He has begun to prepare me for the world He wants me to be a part of in the future. I think I was 12 the first time Africa was placed on my heart. As I grew and learned, my passion for Africa grew and developed. My choice to go to nursing school directly affected my knowledge of His call on my life for full time medical missions. I didn't know where in Africa He would call me, but I knew after nursing school, Africa was next. Without this trip, I would have never been prepared for full time missions. Seeing multiple cultures and facets of Africa has not only helped me determine God's call for my life, but has opened my eyes and heart to the differences and diversity of the continent in a way that any other trip couldn't have done. The mere nature of this trip took me way outside of my comfort zone to a place where clinging to Jesus was my best and only option to "make it thru" successfully and learn more about Him and His heart for both me and the people of Africa.
Outside of comfort zones is where Jesus loves to take us in order to show us more of Himself, His heart, and His will for us. When was the last time you allowed yourself to be taken outside of the things you know and to simply be alone with Jesus so that He can speak to your heart? It may take a 6 month trip to Africa, it may only take 30 minutes of pure silence with Him and no distractions. It may be different for every one of His children. My time in Africa is coming to an end and so is 2012. What will 2013 look like for you? Will you allow Him to take you out of your comfort zone in whatever way He calls you? Or will you allow another year to come and go without giving everything you have for His glory? After all, do you want people to recognize you when 2014 rolls around, or do you want to be unrecognizable and giving Him all the glory?
"Remember the wondrous works that He has done, his miracles, and the judgments He uttered." -Psalm 105:5
