I miss God down in Africa

I had to take a play on one of my favorite songs- Africa by Toto. I shared what happened on Mount Kilimanjaro, but I have not had the chance to share how God kept showing his presence over and over again while we were in Africa. He still is sending me affirmations and I am feeling his presence here, but little did I know that a trip to Africa would bring so many affirmations of His presence in our everyday life. Godwinks is an understatement!

I mentioned we had a group of six on that mountain. I don’t recall who started, I think it was “Guten Tag”, but before every meal we started with prayer. We never talked about it, it just kind of happened. We would naturally rotate who would lead us in prayer and our amazing porters and guides would usually be with us. There’s something about pushing yourself to the limits while hiking across multiple terrains that makes it undeniable to see God’s mark on this land and feel His presence. There were days when all many of us could focus on was putting one foot in front of the other and other days when we stood in awe of the things created by God and that we were standing in places where few had stepped foot.

When we got off the mountain, after my minor need for recovery (see I need a minute blog); Rob and I headed to the Northern Serengeti for our planned excursion to witness the wild migration and enjoy our hot air balloon ride. Our guide, Joseph, became a fast friend. When he heard us pray before our first meal, he shared he was a Christian too. On the first day, he heard we had been married for 28 years and wanted to hear how that was possible. He shared he had been married for five years and wanted to know how to strengthen his marriage. We traveled all the way across to Africa to provide marital guidance! He asked us how we did it, we chatted on and off about it for several days, but on our last day, he said I now know, you must put God first and love and respect each other. We weren’t just providing counsel, we were hearing words many of us need to hear in our own marriages. How often do we give great guidance and realize those words are for us as well? Then the Godwink… when we left we exchanged contact info and he shared his name was not really Joseph, but gave me his Swahili name. It’s translation? Godlove.

All these encounters from us holding true to our simple practice of unabashedly praying before our meals. Imagine what encounters you could have if you did the same?

Today, I encourage you to live in the open as you do in your home. If you pray at home before meals, do not hesitate to do so elsewhere. Be like Paul, give thanks in front of them all (Acts 27:35, NIV). If God has moved you, don’t hesitate to share. We don’t bring people to God by force, we are his disciples by how we live.

Alpineflames

Rainforest on the hike up Mt Kilimanjaro

The Great Migration