Africa: A Reflection on Christianity and Missions

Recently, someone asked me about my trip to Africa. 

I couldn't believe how long it had been since I had sat and really remembered my time there. 

Below was my response to her...

So... you wanted to know about my missions trip. Let me just tell you it was the single most life changing experience of my life. And I wouldn't say it was the trip itself that changed me, but the power of God. You see, I am a Christian. I have had my ups and downs and times of rebellion but the Lord has always guided my back to Himself. And He showed me things about Himself on this trip that have forever changed me from the inside out. He is so faithful. Now before I go on with my story about Africa, I want to clarify. When I say I am a Christian, I don't want you to have a preconceived idea about what that means. I am not judgmental, I do not "push God onto people" and I do not think I am "holier than thou" because of my beliefs and my relationship with God. But I am also not a person who uses the label "Christian" but does not truly walk with God. I have been forgiven, and transformed. I used to live a life where I was the "captain of my own ship" and now I realize that I cannot make it in this life without the Lord directing me. For me Christianity is not about going to church or being perfect. Although I do go to church, that is not where my salvation lies. I am saved by His grace alone. And my goal in this life is to read and obey His Word and live to bring God glory. So with that said... I went on this missions trip with a Christian organization called Adventures in Missions. I went with a team of 11 people, whom I had never met before, and we were there for 3 months. The country was Swaziland, a small country down by South Africa. We lived on a homestead (which is basically a plot of land with a few huts on it) with a local family. Each week we had a schedule. Every day of the week we would go out and do a different ministry. Some days we visited a hospital and prayed with the sick. Other days we spent the whole day in orphanages loving on and playing with the kids. And on other days we spent the day in the "slums" and did vacation bible school with the children and fed them a decent meal. We would also sometimes get to meet the families of the kids in the slums and talk with them about the Lord. It was an amazing time. The three months I was there, I saw miracle after miracle where the Lord would restore a family, or heal a sick person. One day I was able to share my full testimony with little girls in the slums who had been forced to prostitute themselves for money or even just for a loaf of bread. They would go down by the treeline (which was a spot that happened to have a few tall trees in a row) and then the men would take their pick and take them home for the night. These girls were as young as 5 and no older than 14. It broke my heart. I was able to share with them my testimony of also being raped and needing the Lord to heal my heart and make me feel clean again. I watched the girls tear up as they realized they were not alone in their pain. We made bracelets together and I told them about the love of Christ. I can never be sure how their lives changed from that time on, all I know is I saw them smile more and finally be silly and fun and free after we prayed together. My time in Africa is something that I will never forget and my heart longs to be there again. I hope that the Lord will bring me there again 
one day. There is nothing like it

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27