SOUTH AFRICA AND CONTENTMENT
I just got back from South Africa where I lived with my PackYourBags team for 6 weeks. 6 whole weeks of my life were spent in another country! How crazy. It seems like a dream and settling back in to regular life has been strange, especially because I am woken up every morning at 6:30, wide awake, and I have been falling asleep between 7-9 almost every night, because my body is still in South Africa and I am exhausted.
I have been asked by multiple people what the biggest thing I learned in South Africa was, and although I do have an answer, that is such a loaded question. My life picked up and landed in South Africa for a month and a half, changed dramatically by the grace of God, then plopped back down in rural North Dakota for me to reel in the aftershock.
God did so many amazing things while we were in South Africa and lots of those things were works in the people on our team. We all have grown so much and God did incredible healing in our team. We got to speak, spend time with, and pray for wonderful people while we were there, and many people really spoke into our lives every single day. We worked with lots of ministries and took part in powerful services, feeding programs, and work projects.
But the biggest thing I took away was that I do not have to worry about anything.
God taught me through my time in South Africa that worrying is a true waste of time because He is the ultimate authority in every situation. (my new life motto- God is the ultimate authority in every situation). God put me in certain situations for a reason and although I must strive to be a good follower of Him, He provides and cares for me, so I do not have to worry or stress about anything in this short life.
Every single day I was reminded of God's authority and provision and He has not stopped showing me that since I have come back. Life is exciting and wonderful and a crazy adventure, but in South Africa I learned that contentment is a choice. I have to make a choice every day to follow God with a good attitude and a thankfulness for life that rises above any possible worry I might have.
God healed lots of people on our team from deep hurts and He repaired their very beings, which is such a huge thing! Maybe my lesson was not as "mighty" or "exciting" as any of that, but God changed my everyday life in such a practical way and I am so thankful. Being in South Africa changed me, not because of the country, but because of the God who rules wherever I go.
We went to Battery Creek Waterfall. (Left to right); Abreena, Maddie, Beccca, me, and Ashley.
I have been asked by multiple people what the biggest thing I learned in South Africa was, and although I do have an answer, that is such a loaded question. My life picked up and landed in South Africa for a month and a half, changed dramatically by the grace of God, then plopped back down in rural North Dakota for me to reel in the aftershock.
God did so many amazing things while we were in South Africa and lots of those things were works in the people on our team. We all have grown so much and God did incredible healing in our team. We got to speak, spend time with, and pray for wonderful people while we were there, and many people really spoke into our lives every single day. We worked with lots of ministries and took part in powerful services, feeding programs, and work projects.
But the biggest thing I took away was that I do not have to worry about anything.
God taught me through my time in South Africa that worrying is a true waste of time because He is the ultimate authority in every situation. (my new life motto- God is the ultimate authority in every situation). God put me in certain situations for a reason and although I must strive to be a good follower of Him, He provides and cares for me, so I do not have to worry or stress about anything in this short life.
Every single day I was reminded of God's authority and provision and He has not stopped showing me that since I have come back. Life is exciting and wonderful and a crazy adventure, but in South Africa I learned that contentment is a choice. I have to make a choice every day to follow God with a good attitude and a thankfulness for life that rises above any possible worry I might have.
God healed lots of people on our team from deep hurts and He repaired their very beings, which is such a huge thing! Maybe my lesson was not as "mighty" or "exciting" as any of that, but God changed my everyday life in such a practical way and I am so thankful. Being in South Africa changed me, not because of the country, but because of the God who rules wherever I go.
A Few South African Moments
I got to pray for this sweet girl at a church service who needed healing in her ears.
My roommate for South Africa, Selah, and I sitting on a rock at the "End of the World."
We went to Battery Creek Waterfall. (Left to right); Abreena, Maddie, Beccca, me, and Ashley.
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