My Experience In Africa :: Jack

Many people have asked, "How was your trip?" One can only expect such an obvious question after being gone for two weeks.  That neat little trap has been laid before me at least 25-30 times since my return, just waiting for me to step in it with one of many overused phrases never designed to suspend the weight of such a fruitful experience. "Awesome, exciting, incredible!" The worthless, non-penetrating bullets rained from my lips. And with the exception of a few, these hollow remarks seem to satisfy their appetites for short and sweet.  What an unfortunate event it would be for these drive-by enthusiasts if they had so carelessly offered such an open-ended question to one of my new African friends living in the timeless nation we call Africa.  It would only take 30 seconds before these daredevil questioneers would realize their fatal mistake.  Because Africans don't use hollow, one-word catch phrases that leave the receiver as numb and clueless as he was before the question was asked.  That African would stop all that he was doing, turn off all other distractions in life, look you in the eyes and offer up a smile so genuine that most onlookers would have to turn away because of its soul piercing strength.  Woe to the releaser of open ended questions who's main battle is against the clock!  An African's response to a question like this would most definitely run the battery on a stopwatch dead.

So you really want to know about Africa?  No problem, just check all your preconceptions about life at the door cus you ain't in Kansas no more!  You value timeliness and sticking to schedules? Well, forget it because most Africans don't even own a watch and I'm not sure the ones that do know how to read them.  You value cleanliness? Sorry, Africa is fresh out of soap at the moment - please check back later. You value safety, security, structure, predictability, instant gratification and comfort?  That kind of currency along with a quarter will buy you nothing in Africa. 

Turned off, yet? Well don't be because I carried pocketfuls of the same worthless crap with me to Africa.  Though completely a foreign experience to me at the beginning, by the end of the trip I was willing to give up my house, my car and maybe even my left arm to gain the richness of life these people experience. I learned to value relationship. Not the high fives in the hall relationships but the in your house to pray for your husband who is dying of AIDS only after just meeting you relationships. Not handshakes with your brother but full embraces with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Not the five minutes of time my schedule can afford you but to give you all the time you need to talk without even giving a thought to my schedule. I say all of this so you can get a feeling for how Africans value their relationship with God, their families, and their friends. Period. They don't value time. They don't value money in the sense that it can buy happiness that might be able to temporarily block our emotional weakness. They live life and live it to the full. They trust God for anything and everything because they do not have the distractions of life lying to us that we don't need God's help.

Everyone talks about fixing Africa. I think Africa might just be able to fix us. Africa does not need more money. We need less of it. Africa doesn't need more food. We need to be truly grateful for what we have taken for granted for so long. Africa doesn't need better roads, cars, and cities. We need to value time and productivity less and start spending time with our families and friends to experience life on a much deeper level. I am reminded of the rich man who asked jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. "You lack one thing: go sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions" (Mark 10:21-22). Now I know Jesus' point was not solely about money, but it was definitely a big part of it.  I can safely say after spending time in Africa that materialism is a burden well worth putting down. Even the poorest families in our nation have abundantly more than those living in Africa.  But that abundance only manifests itself in problems.  "Let the poor say 'I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us!'" Africa just might be the richest of all nations. 

God bless, 

Jack Barrett