So...What Exactly Did I Do?

VVVRREEEUUUM! That was the sound of my month here at Children of Zion zooming past me in the blink of an eye. And in my last full day, as I’m packing, saying goodbye, and preparing my final devotion, I’m also reflecting on the work that God has allowed me to accomplish.

What is the number one thing that I spent my time doing? That would, hands down, have to be spending time with children, staff, and the people of the surrounding area. The bulk of my experience has been with people, encouraging others (and being encouraged), watching after little ones, taking the kids on walks (they spend most of their time inside the Children’s Home, so any chance to get out and explore their surroundings is very appreciated by them), fishing (even though I’m a vegetarian… needless to say we didn’t catch much), teaching new games and songs, helping out with everyday jobs, and most of all just building relationships and solidifying the trust and friendship between the Namibians and Americans who work together, side by side, every day in order to serve God. Much time was also spent worshipping beside my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in devotions, Sunday worship, and the random outbursts of singing that sometimes occur here. J

This time around in Africa, I was able to go out into the surrounding area and town a bit more, and I even got the chance to minister with some South African missionaries who drove up to the Caprivi region to pray, encourage, and distribute gifts.

Another large chunk of my time was spent in the school here at Zion. Here, a larger extent of the community is also felt as more and more “outsiders” (as in non-permanent residents of Children of Zion) are coming in to be schooled. My main jobs included grading tests, monitoring, and especially tutoring kids one on one (mostly in Math and Literature).

I also got the chance to do some financial work for the Children’s Home. I spent a good chunk of my evenings entering receipts and organizing related papers.

In my free time, I re-landscaped the area around the school and did minor maintenance jobs, such as helping the “uncles” to put a new ceiling on the school.

Throughout this whole month, I could feel your prayers at work, and GOD worked at least a hundred wonders a week (I started counting actually, and gave up around day 3 because I was becoming too busy).

Let me just say some of them, though:

-Safety and Health: The opportunities to get hurt, get sick, or get in an accident in everything I was doing were more than plentiful, yet her I am typing away in one piece, with a clean bill of health, and nothing more than a few scratches. J

-Logistics and Timing: Exactly the right amount of support was raised for each trip at exactly the right time I needed to have it. The dates worked and transportation worked out so that I would be volunteering exactly in the time frame when there was a need, I left New York at the exact same time as my friends who were visiting from Spain (so that made transport and accommodation A LOT easier), I will return to New York just in time to see my sister at her White Coat Ceremony, see my family, turn around to leave for Peru, and I will arrive in DC exactly in time to start my classes for school for the fall. God is good when?… All the time!

-Every Day A Blessing: Every struggle, every problem, every worry- God, God, God. He gave me the focus, wisdom, and responsibility to serve Him in ways that I am 100% sure that if I were to take on the tasks alone, I would failed and ended up embarrassed, discouraged, and fallen flat.

Psalm 121:7-8