Christina's Guest Post

In a completely selfish way—I really needed this week. I needed the space and time to be around someone who knows me—well. I needed to be around someone who understands me because he knows who/what/and where I have come from. I am SO thankful that Sam came, that he gave me the space to be with him and that he still accepts me—emotions, clumsiness and all. (Thanks friend)

I have already told him that—6 years ago—he would have been the last person I would have expected to visit me in Africa. And now, as he prepares to leave I understand why it was him. God has a funny way of bringing people together—though Sam and I have known each other our entire lives, it is only within the last year that we’ve been reconnected by a common call into missions. Though different in nature, a common love for Jesus and the developing world (and Jesus in the developing world) has allowed our paths to cross very far away from The Cove—and for that I am thankful.

On the other, slightly less narcissistic, hand, the opportunity to share a place I love with a good friend has been…a blessing, I think, for both of us. Not everyone who moves abroad gets to share their life with loved ones. Watching Sam experience Maputo (and talk about other African experiences) was, in a word, cool. To see the growth in the course of a matter of weeks (and to know that this has only ignited a fire that had already begun burning) is a real encouragement as I consider the future of international missions.

It has been exciting to see Maputo (and Moç) through fresh eyes. Especially as I "forced" Sam to go for solo walks :) and play with kids that didn't share his language. It is easy to forget to really "be" here—to be fully invested in the people and the community around (simply because of the ebb and flow of everyday life). And spending the week with Sam has been a refreshing reminder of why I love Southern Africa so much (and I hope that Sam has fallen in love with it too).

So in closing this completely nebulous, emotional and guilty(?) "guest entry" I just want to say:

Thank you, Sam. Your visit has been a blessing to my heart, and exactly what I needed right now. (And thank you in advance for letting me call you when I need to talk about Moç when I come home) I am looking forward to seeing where it is that God will call you and what it is that He will have you do.

See you in Africa soon.

Love,
Christina