Community

As time passes, I am starting to understand more deeply the importance of community.  It is so incredibly vital to have people that are equally yoked with you in your life.  People that are pushing you to run to the Father.  People that are praying with you.  People that want your relationship with the Savior to be prominent in your every day life.  You really can’t do this life thing without others.  There are too many temptations surrounding this world, and too many days when Satan’s voice is coming in louder than God’s. 

I honestly thought that I would move to Africa and grow closer with God.  I thought this was the perfect opportunity to develop that relationship more, which obviously it is (all situations are the right time), but it is much harder than I ever could have thought imaginable.  I see him in all sorts of situations, but if I’m incredibly honest, I am bad at seeking him out as often as I should and would like to.  Yes, I seek him and without him, I would not still be in this country, but I miss him.  On Sundays, I have this longing ache for him and for his family.  This is an ache and pain I’ve probably never known.  It is an ache where I wish I could physically hold on to him and cry on his shoulder, while he tells me that everything will be ok and that I can do this.  That feeling though, that feeling is one of the many reasons I think he sent us his son.  That is why he calls us into community, because although I cannot physically grab a hold of his hand, I can run to another one of his sons or daughters for support. 

Thankfully, my school starts every morning off with a prayer, so although I pray on my way through the village, I get another opportunity to pray once more before I go to class.   Some days it is in Oshiwambo and I silently talk with God on my own, but other days, I get a small taste of that fellowship as a coworker leads the school in prayer. All of this though is to say, I miss community.  I miss living in fellowship with other believers and having people challenge me without trying to change my thoughts and beliefs.