New Friends

Last night was ESL class, and I can't even express how much I look forward to Monday and Tuesday evenings when I get to see all of my friends. And really that's what I look forward to the most, just seeing their sweet faces and talking with them for the few minutes before and after class. I know they come to learn English, and I know that I'm supposed to be teaching them, but more than anything I love to love these people. I'm an awful teacher. I don't know how to effectively teach ESL, but I see the progress everyone is making. So this is totally God working through me, because every week they come back. I know it's partly for the English, but I also know that they keep coming because we've developed genuine relationships with each other. They all greet me with a hug, they ask me questions, they ask how Scott is doing, they invite me over for dinner. I am now part of a community and culture that is so completely different than anything I've known and yet I feel so welcomed and loved. And it blows my mind. These people have been through so much, and have witnessed things that I pray none of you have to endure. They've been hungry, they've been tortured, and they've been forgotten and tossed aside by everyone. But God, He hasn't forgotten them, he's brought them to Indianapolis, Indiana and he has allowed our paths to cross, and He told me not to forget them either. So last night, when my new friend Zenebe who is desperately trying to learn English (he's the one on the right and has only been here for a few weeks) said, "Whitney, please don't forget me, I need you to help me". My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. This is it. This is what God has been whispering to me throughout this entire journey. The word "HELP" has always been in my mind. I want to be in Africa so bad it hurts sometimes. I have no idea what I would do once I got there, no plan at all. I just know that I want to help. Sometimes I feel like that's not enough though, that I need to be doing something more specific. Then I think, it's not about me and what I want. It's about others, and if I see a need, then I need to help. I don't need to be in Africa to do that. I have spent alot of time focusing my efforts on getting to Africa. And right here in front of me is Africa, God has brought Africa to me and he has commanded that I not forget that these people are right here, and they need help too. I can't accurately express how much of an honor it is to serve my new friends. That God has chosen me, that He picked me to carry out this part of His plan for the Kingdom. How awesome!
I'll serve my friends here while I wait to be in Africa, and I will do it joyfully because I love them and I care deeply about them. And I know that if I do make it to Africa someday that God will choose someone else to love my friends just as much. Isn't it exciting to dream about these things? To dream about what God will do in your life 5 or 10 years from now.