Be the Same No Matter Where...

If there is one (or should I say another) thing I am learning I think it would be this... Africa is really not as different from America as it seems. I know that is a bold statement, but let me try to bring some clarity to it. Of course, Africa is different in culture, people, ways of business, life, and pretty much everything. For some reason, I actually think we as Americans or westerners put Africa onto this pedestal where we think it is this magical, rustic place. Of course yes it is different in many physical senses, but what I mean by my statement is that the way in which we go about living, working, and praying should be no different then in America. Again, let me explain. I guess, I get frustrated when I hear some people set off on these big adventures to Africa. It is as if we are going to, like I said, some special, magical land. When we go all of a sudden we start asking for prayer requests, setting up blogs, inviting people into our lives and adventures. I guess my frustration is that what is so different about our adventure to Africa then our everyday adventures in America? Isn't it just as adventurous to reach out to and love your friend then it is to extend a hug to a African? Isn't there poverty and similar problems in America as there are in Africa? What changes? Or is it just our way of thinking? Is our calling, our walk, our relationship with Jesus, the way in which we relate and pray so different here in Africa then it is in America? Personally I think we are being fooled. My point is, I don't think the ways in which we pray, relate, invite people into our adventures should be any different whether we are in Africa, America, Saudi Arabia, China, Australia, etc. Like I said, what makes Africa so attractive when so many other countries are dealing with the same issues, struggles, problems? I think we have been fooled by who ever, maybe it is actually marketing and media, into thinking that when we take off for an adventure to Africa all of a sudden we are going to embark on this new enlightenment. I know that sounds cynical and harsh, forgive me, but I think my challenge and what my heart is crying out for us as Christians is for us to see our daily mundane lives as just as important and a holy calling as an adventure to Africa. The ways in which we pray and ask people to pray should be no different whether we are reaching out to colleagues at our workplace or loving on kids in an orphanage. I guess what I also want to say is that Africa is not all made up of orphanages and the impoverished. Frankly, I am sad that most of the western world thinks that or has that stereotype. If anything, the people of Africa that I have experienced are far different then the stereotype. They are hard working people, people who believe and live simply, they know how to love and relax, they are often committed even if that some times means they are late to a meeting. Personally, Africans, more specifically Rwandan people are just beautiful and I have so much to learn from them. I am not here to just teach, coach, and organize. I am not the boss. I am just an ambassador. I some times need to remember to step down and just listen and learn from the people that surround me. Also, when and if I come back to America it is my hope that my mentality does not change. I so deeply desire to be a woman who pursues my passions just as hard and prayerful;y no matter where I am. I desire to be a woman who loves people and encourages their value and worth just the same, no matter where I am on this planet. God's purposes, truths, communities, and desires simply do not change for me, for you, for us no matter where we are. May we pursue people, the Lord, prayer, mass emails, and blogs as strongly in America as we do in Africa. We need to remember to keep asking for prayer no matter where we are and we need to not stop sending those mass e-mails out to friends and family asking for prayer and updating them on our lives, again, no matter where we are...