Getting An Introduction to Africa

The past two days have destroyed my sense of time. Between changing time zones twice, flying through the night, flying for more than 6 hours at a time, having periodic naps, and standing in lines for long stretches, I have stopped keeping a close eye on time. I guess that is a fitting entrance to Africa.

On Tuesday I was counting every minute making sure I worked enough hours for the week and rushing through getting out the door to make our plane on time. This afternoon we didn't have to manage ant firm times for events to happen. Our plan was to fly directly from Brussels to Monrovia, Liberia. God apparently had other plans. After about four hours into our "last flight" to Liberia the pilots decided it was necessary to divert the flight to Senegal, several countries up the west coast of Africa.We would fid out later that some unexpected bad weather had caused a crack in the windshield of the airplane and the Dakar airport was better prepared to make the repairs.

After we touched down in Dakar, the flight attendants informed us that all passengers would be staying the night in a hotel. So we exited the plane down a long flight of stairs to the tarmac, loaded into shuttle buses which took us to the terminal, and made our way to the baggage claim. The whole time my in-laws were making friends with our fellow passengers and Paul repeatedly helped others out with luggage. It took about a half hour of standing around for our first bag of eight to show up on the baggage claim belt that more than one plane full of passengers were huddled around. Thankfully there were carts to help us transport all of our bags and the five plastic crates containing humanitarian supplies because it would have been a nightmare to carry all of those ourselves.

We followed the mass of other displaced travelers out of the airport to where bus after bus came to shuttle people and their luggage to our hotel. But this long wait provided us with an opportunity to connect with the other people on our flight to Monrovia including native Liberians and humanitarian/missions workers. This first look at Africa was a great introduction to the differences in culture that we may have to face. I enjoyed looking at the way people dressed, how they interacted with each other, and how the English speaking Liberians interacted with the primarily French speaking Senegal workers.

When our boxes finally got loaded on a bus and we packed inside, we got a small tour of the city on the way to our hotel. I was reminded of many scenes from Bekah and my trip to Kosovo in eastern Europe last year. Things like the concrete buildings, the mix of businesses, and people standing around. But there were also significant differences. Dakar Senegal had more poverty, more English, and more social/open people than Mitrovica, Kosovo. It was great to explore this new world.

As we arrived at the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised to find our temporary housing was a upscale place. We were able to get an ocean view room and meal all provided by Brussels Airlines. After so much traveling, it was a blessing to be able to relax (and take a shower).

Things are still up in the air for our real final flight to Liberia but for being stick for a while, we are pretty well off. We will also be looking to see how God uses this delay.

Update: Our flight to Monrovia has been set for Sunday meaning we will be in Senegal another day.

The African Resistance Monument was visible from the tarmac

By Sbreitinger (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Waiting outside the airport for a bus to the hotel

Nighttime view from our hotel room overlooking the ocean and pool

Daytime view from hotel

There Is Always Hope (Ebola Included)

Have you ever been so close to something you wanted so badly that could almost taste the sweetness, the reward, the victory?

Maybe it was a test you studied so hard for, went in confident that you had it covered and you knew the material, only to be disheartened when you received your grade.

Maybe it was a job interview for a position you desperately wanted - or needed. You felt confident you rocked the interview. Even more, you knew that you could succeed in the position. And after what seemed like years of waiting, you got a call that you were not offered the job.

Maybe you were trying out for the basketball team. You had practiced with your dad or brothers all summer. You were thrilled with the improvements you had made, knowing you were better now than you had been last year. And then you had to be so excited for all your friends when they made the cut and you didn’t.

Or maybe it was when you walked alongside a family member who was battling with sickness. You had seen the ebb and flow of progress followed by setbacks. You prayed so hard through each diagnosis and update and you knew that God could heal. You had such hope that He would, until you watched your loved one slowly slip away.

There is nothing quite like being in a dark place, seeing a glimmer of hope at the end, and watching it fade away.

As I attentively watched the news about Ebola in Liberia, that is how I feel. I remember the devastating blow I felt while I watched the outbreak run it’s course. It seemed so impossible to cure. My dad always told me if I could save the world, I would find a way to do so. Lord knows I would have done anything to put out the wildfire that was ebola. I have only spent 8 weeks total in that country (soon to be 10), yet I have family there. I would go further to say that a big chunk of my heart is there. Hours were spent with tears flowing down my face as I read the news of ebola - seeing the death tolls rise each day. It was heart wrenching knowing that even if I bought a ticket and flew there, I couldn’t fix it. I had zero control.

But I know someone who was in complete control, and with but a word, He could have ended it all. Though He didn’t do it at the snap of a finger as I hope, He did chose to end the epidemic in Liberia. May 9th, 2015, after 42 days of no new cases of ebola, Liberia was officially declared “ebola free.”

I can only imagine the relief the people there were feeling. To know that they could walk about freely in the market. They could ride a taxi without worrying about the person next to them. They could shake their neighbors hands knowing their own life was no longer in danger because of it. And though the epidemic was still raging in Sierra Leone and Guinea, precautions were being carried out to protect them from another outbreak.

I bet it felt like sweet victory. There must have been relief, like they could breathe again.

I wonder if this is how David felt when the Lord delivered him from Saul. Because of envy, Saul was determined to take David’s life. The Lord delivered Saul into David’s hands, but rather than taking Saul’s life, David spared him. When Saul learned what David had done, Saul wept, overwhelmed at the grace shown to him. Though he had been hunting an innocent man, David had chosen not to take his pursuer’s life. And they went their separate ways (1 Samuel 24).

David must have felt such relief when they went he was no longer being pursued, much like I can imagine how the people of Liberia felt on May 9th when they were officially rid of the virus.

However, what about the feelings they felt 6 weeks later on June 29th, when it was announced that there was a new case of ebola? I know I had that empty, pitted feeling in my stomach when you feel the blood rushing from your face and it feels like the wind was just knocked out of you.

I wondering if that’s how David felt just a few chapters later in 1 Samuel 26 when Saul decided to pursue David again.

Or think about what the disciples must have felt after Jesus’s death!? They left everything - house, job, family - to follow Jesus. He promised them hardship, but He also promised them reward. And yet He was taken, gruesomely beaten, and crucified on a cross for everyone to see. It was almost as if Satan were spitting in their face, loudly declaring victory and showing it off to everyone around them. And then there was three days of (figurative) darkness. Jesus was dead. What were they to do next? This man that they had put all their trust in was gone!

So what should we do when it feels like our hopes are dashed from us? Because I will be the first to admit that I tend to let discouragement set in - almost like God had allowed Satan to steal hope from between my fingers.

However, God is never a stealer of hope. Even when He lets Satan test us (like He let Satan test Job in Job 1), God is never responsible for our loss of hope. He desires us to remain hopeful because it displays a trust in Him, that no matter the situation He is in complete control. He even desires to give us hope when we feel we don’t have any.

I wonder what the rejoicing  was like when Christ appeared in front of the disciples, three days later, nail holes in His body and all. He had won the ultimate victory - defeating death itself! And in doing so He gave us hope and promised that He would win the ultimate victory! In this act, we are reminded that no matter what happens on this earth - ebola included - Christ has defeated even that. We are promised that no matter what happens in this life, if we choose to follow Him, obey Him, love Him and those around us, that we will defeat death eternally!!

So yes, there is more ebola in Liberia (although there have been no new cases in the past few days - praise God). But you know what? God has already won. He has already defeated even that. And He has never taken His eyes off His people. He has never turned a deaf ear on their cries for help. And I truly believe He has been with each and every person touched by ebola. He has been standing next to their bed, interceding on their behalf, crying with those in pain, comforting the families who have lost, rejoicing with those who made it, and holding the hands of those who did not, even to the very end.

Genesis 50:20 - “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”