Africa. To me it seems sort of cliché to say, We’re going on a mission trip to Africa and yet, the call was undeniable. We were going despite the timing and the craziness of our jobs and the fact that I had no vacation time and that I prefer to travel by myself (I know, that last one makes me seem like a terrible, selfish person, which sometimes I am). For months before I was plagued with thoughts of my own inadequacies, that I had nothing to offer compared to the talents of our teammates, that I was forcing my poor coworker to bear the burden of a whole staff to assist on her own during my absence and that there are other people who are better with children or have medical backgrounds or have the ability to captivate crowds with their speaking. Despite all of this, God’s call was clear: GO.

Here is what I learned:
Not surprisingly, children in Africa are like children anywhere.

The girls liked to play with my hair:

During group activities, they encourage and help each other out: 

They LOVE technology:

Most importantly, they love being loved. I could just tell by sitting with the children and how they responded to us, that they were happy just to have us there. They held our hands, they followed Jonathan around like he was a celebrity (probably because he treats like they are the most important person in the room-I know, world’s best husband, more on that later), they began to open up and laughed when we joked with them, taught us Zulu words and phrases, translated things into English for me and told us of their dreams to become scientists, archaeologists, teachers, writers, good wives and great parents and making their community a safe place.

People have been asking what the biggest memory/highlight/experience for me during our time in Durban and there are many memories that will last a lifetime; the way the children loved us, the beauty of South Africa, the faces and people, our amazing host family, Glenridge Church, but my answer is always the same: being there with Jonathan. For two weeks we spent essentially every moment together (except for bathroom breaks) and I never once wished I was experiencing things by myself or needed “Kelly time” during our trip. I am constantly amazed and thankful that Jonathan has chosen me to be his wife. What a blessing to be married to someone who is more concerned about loving people in a Christ-like way than anything else (and to be the recipient of such love daily).

God met me where I was in Durban and used me despite my shyness, my anxiety over being socially awkward and incredible fear of doing things in front of large groups. I sang into a microphone, I spoke in front of a large group, I made balloon animals like it was what I did on the weekends at home. It was in those moments of being out of my comfort zone that I felt the kids drawing closer to us and hopefully, ultimately drawn closer to God. Our theme for the first camp was “You are Valuable” and the second camp was “Overcoming Obstacles” sometimes I think it’s pretty funny that we set out to teach something we need to learn ourselves. This was one of those times. Praise the Lord for thinking those children in Africa are so valuable He called a group of Americans to travel hours and hours to spend time with them and that His idea of my self-worth is radically different from mine on those days when I fail to see His gifts as anything but burdens.

Maybe you’ll never go to Africa, but I’ll bet you’re being called to something. Just listen to that calling and then GO.