So Long Zambia

It’s hard to believe that our time in Zambia has finally come to a close.  The last three months have gone by in a blink, and in many ways I’m not ready to go back to the US. There is still so much that I wanted to accomplish in Mpulungu.  As the bus rolled out of town it felt like a dream.  I kept thinking I’d wake up under my mosquito netting and get up to teach another day in the school.  How did the time go by that quickly?

Visiting a few of our students and their families

During our 18-hour bus ride to Lusaka I had plenty of time to reflect on this latest chapter of my life.  You know it’s funny, my whole life I’d been afraid that God would call me to missions in Africa.  Africa always seemed so foreign to me, and for a long time foreign things or places scared me.  I like the familiarity of home, the comfort in knowing the language and culture of my own country.  So the awesome thing is that while we’ve lived in Zambia, God has shown me how easily foreign places can become familiar, and how quickly the unknown can become home.  I have a sense that He’s doing this to help me make the transition to full-time missions in a few years when we (yet again) pack up and leave behind all that is familiar and comfortable.  It’s becoming crystal clear that God does indeed prepare our hearts for the things He calls us to do.  He doesn’t just hand us an assignment and leave us to flounder on our own.  Instead, he works in and through us to teach us the things we need to know, or show us what he wants us to understand about himself.  I’m always floored by just how faithful God is.

Pumping water...in some villages this is the only source of water available.

After spending so many months this year in other countries, I’m starting to think that life in America will seem boring.  Patrick and I have become slightly obsessed with seeing what God is doing around the world, and I think that’s why we seem to have a hard time keeping our feet on US soil.  We’ve been so blessed to be able to travel this much and experience so many different cultures and people groups.  It’s through all these experiences that God is growing our hearts for the nations and to see the Truth of Christ known around the world.  Our latest challenge will be in finding new ways to serve Jesus within our own culture!

Spending the day with part of the team at Isanga Bay.