this evening we were driving home from "south beach"...i was just taking in the scenery when i got to thinking about my beloved africa. i've had a few people ask me about the theory of 'ham's curse' as a reason for why africa is the way it is. i've had other people ask me how i could live here when it is so poor and dirty. but as i looked out my window today, i saw something entirely different than what people who don't experience this continent see.

africans know how to love. they know how to take their time in life and value what matters the most...relationships. when i go outside of our house here in bugaruni, i see people...kids playing soccer with other kids...people stopping and talking with other people...and i hear laughter. when i go outside my house in the states, i don't see very many people...and if i do, they are usually in a hurry to get somewhere.

since being here, we have had a few conversations about language learning....because that is one of our goals in being here. and we have determined that the way we are learning language (the LAMP method) would never work in the states. here, we learn a couple of phrases, and then just go out into the community and find people to talk to. sarah and i have an established route and now when the ladies and children see us coming...they get enormous smiles on their faces and repeatedly say "karibu sana" (you are very welcome!). and they patiently listen to us, correct us, and try to teach us more. when they see that we are trying to learn their language and are interested in their culture, their faces light up...but in the states, we expect people to learn our language and have little patience with them.

now, this is not a "bash the states" post...bc the states are my home...and i do love them very much. particularly the one in the middle. :) and africa is far from perfect...i'm not blind to things that go on here. but i think this is a call to see things differently. people who ask me what on earth i like about africa usually get the same response...the people. they are beautiful. and i guess part of my curse is that most of those i talk to will never experience this, so they will never know...and i can talk until i'm blue in the face...it will never make sense. but those who have experienced it, they know what i am talking about.

so i guess these were my thoughts this afternoon on the way home from "south beach"...africa is beautiful land...green and lush (at least here in east africa!)...with so much diversity...the people are so colorful...and so beautiful. i guess i am destined to have a heart split between the states and this continent for the rest of my life...regardless of where i actually end up. :) both have a taste of home...yet i guess the only place i will ever truly feel at home is with my Father on that glorious Day. :) but there is much work to be done before then...the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. pray for workers. they are so needed.