Life’s what you make it.

 This past month and a half has been a whirlwind of crazy events all tied up together like some crazy dream I had.
However, it was real.
My daily life is still sustaining my living, by making multiple trips to the well daily, waiting there sometimes for an hour to pump my water then carry it back to our missions site. I live in my tiny one person tent, and it’s not unusual to wake up with sand all over my body from the windy storms in the night. I eat a lot of nsima and rice, and by now all food tastes exactly the same; I think I forgot what flavor is. I’m constantly dirty and I don’t remember the last time I saw my feet at their original color. We all wear the same two or three outfits, so if I saw any random article of clothing floating around I could tell you exactly who’s it is. I don’t remember what being clean feels like. And, sometimes just the thought of, a fan, a carpet under my toes, or a good cup of coffee makes me want to cry because I miss it so much. This is what is normal to me now, and America and everything we have seems so untouchable and unreal. We have it so good. I can not stress that enough from every single day on this trip. We are so blessed.
So, a turn of events happened in March..
One peculiar day I woke up, completely achy and in a horrible mood…Later that day I’m laying in a hospital with an I.V. in my hand…I got stage 3 Malaria! It was the most awful pain I have ever been in, and it took about two weeks for me to fully recover. I’m healthy now, and I’m so thankful for all the prayers through it all, and my amazing team who took care of me.   I couldn’t shower, go to the bathroom, or even eat by myself! God blessed me with some amazing people on this trip! In the middle of all of that my amazing team mate, who is like my sister, Sarah had to return home to the United States. Her kidneys were failing, and just being in and out of the hospital, trying to figure things out, and saying good bye took a toll on all of us. But, I’m so happy to say she is back in the U.S. now and getting better. We all love and miss her so much, but she is where she needs to be.
All in all, in Africa on my squad there has been malaria, staff infection, amoebas, parasites, immune systems crashing, and boils. However, everyone is healthy now. Thank The Lord!
So, it’s been a bit crazy, however we’re past the hardest part, and I only have about a month until I’m back home! That blows my mind.
In Africa, it’s been hard not having a translator. But, that doesn’t stop us from connecting with Malawians through a language that is not heard, but that is felt. You can overcome a language barrier through the language of love. I love playing with African kids. They are honestly the most adorable kids in the entire world. They get so excited seeing us. Whenever they see us they yell, “Mzungu”(which means white person) Then they run up to us, and hug us about….10 times! I definitely get attacked with hugs in this country. That is one of my highlights being here- the precious Malawians children who have big beautiful smiles, and are so easy to love. I wish I could adopt them all! I love hanging out with the Malawian mommas, laughing, and trying to speak our little known knowledge of their language, Chichewa. I love our night guard, this old man names OOch. Who speaks extremely fast in Chichewa, and we never have any idea what he’s saying. We just always end our “conversations” in laughs and smiles. And,  I’m so happy to say he accepted Christ two weeks ago. YAY!:-)
 
          I love walking 30 minutes to the market to buy “chips.” Which are like French fries. I always look forward to hanging out with my team in the late afternoons to enjoy a cup of instant coffee together. I enjoy waking up every day to the beautiful Malawian sunrises, which look like water color paintings. I love the huge African trees, which are such of an art of their own. I love not caring what I look like, and just waking up in the morning just to put on the same clothes that I wore the last three days in a row. (However, I must say I can not wait to actually look in a mirror, with a clean dirt less body, put on clean clothes and to feel pretty;-) ) Our squad always jokes, saying, “I don’t look like this in “real” life. I actually look decent. Haha. And, sometimes seeing pictures of what we look like back home blows our minds. Not recognizing ourselves in photographs.

                   Culturally, it’s so different here. I live in one of the most undeveloped countries, and man have our standards decreased….Actually there are none anymore. But I’ve really learned that life is what you make it. It could be terrible here, if I focused on all the negatives. Which at moments, it is inevitable. However, your attitude changes EVERYTHING. Instead, you gotta make the best of it! Instead of thinking, “Oh there’s nothing to do here. I want to be back home, where we have everything.” Think- I’m so grateful to be here, and love on Malwians! Take pleasure in the small things. I mean, making a piece of toast at night over our little fire, is actually quite exciting, because it’s not nsima that we’re eating. Sometimes, you got to just randomly dance and sing with the villagers, and act completely crazy. We’re immersed in the culture, and we live like they do! So we make it fun.
That is a huge lesson I’m carrying with me throughout my entire life, and what I truly want people to know.
Anything can be terrible and negative, if you think it to be. However, switch your mindset. Let God transform your heart, and your mind. (“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”…Romans 12)
And, let your life be changed by love through The God who created us.