Two Minutes of Numbers, Shapes and God

In two minutes it will be August 1, 2012. In two minutes it will be fifteen days until I move in my dorm at Martin. In two minutes it will be twenty-seven days until classes start. And in two minutes it will be thirty-eight days since I landed in Tennessee from two and a half weeks in Africa. Where has the time gone? Maybe it’s hiding in the dark corners of my room or behind the packing boxes or maybe it’s simply gone.

Nevertheless, since I have returned, thirty-seven days ago, I have shared my experiences in Africa with probably hundreds of people. I haven’t been keeping count as I will have to borrow a lot of fingers and toes to count higher than twenty. But what I rarely share is about the African-shaped gap that is in my heart. If you have not noticed before, Africa is the shape of half a heart. It’s unique and it always makes a unique stamp on the map of the world. But after returning to this parallelogram-shaped state I call home, I have realized that no matter how bad I want to go back to Africa, no matter how loud I beg and plead, the Lord determines my destination.

When I first returned from Africa I was down and missed everything, even the toilets that flushed the opposite way (if it flushed at all). I expressed this emotion with my friend who is at a camp in North Carolina and I have not seen since May, she told me this: “If God wanted you to still be in Africa, He would not have brought you home. But now you are here so make the best of it and do what God brought you back for.” It was a little harsh at first because I wanted her to sympathize with me and let me cry and whine and whimper about my sorrows but I quickly realized she was right.

So when I miss the kids at Amani, especially Sweet Alima and Mischievous Innocent, I think about the people who have seen their pictures and have prayed for them. I remember the looks on the faces of my church family when they saw Innocent’s smile and Alima on my back (her favorite place). I remember that those kids are in the best place for them and I am currently, in the best place for me. Right where God wants me to be.

Right here.

Right now.

Telling YOU about my mission trip to Africa.