The biggest blessing I find in the work that I do is the ability to interface with many people from all over the world. My eyes and mind have been opened to multiple cultures, ways of thinking, religions, traditions, and personalities. The highlight of my day is getting to know someone around me just a bit more. Perhaps I enjoy this so much because I rely on my network of people like I never thought I would. The most beneficial thing I learned in college was to establish good networks. My connections have saved my life, brought me joy, gotten me jobs, introduced me to new experiences, saved me a few dollars, and gone even further and introduced me to their own circle of valuable people. The people I know are my most valuable possession!
These past few weeks I was on vacation in Kenya and South Africa. Kenya easily claimed a piece of my heart and fills up the most pages of my passport. The customs official at the airport with the finger-print machine said to me, “Kenya knows you very well.” Kenya is the place I have learned to laugh, love, be challenged differently, and establish a family outside of my own nationality and skin color. Kenya is home in Africa.
After one week in Kenya, I had the privilege to explore the most beautiful South Africa. I knew that SA was always a destination I wanted to visit but I never thought it would exceed my expectations. I have never fallen in love with a place as quickly as Cape Town. When I gaze across the landscapes of the Western Cape, I am eager to see heaven, a place we are told is even more beautiful than anywhere on this earth.
The most beautiful part of South Africa was the people I met. I know the loveliest South Africans, even though they pick on my American accent, from my time in Madagascar and they contacted their family living in Cape Town. I was able to spend four very special days with them. They invited me into their homes and lives with open hearts. They took care of me as one of their own. It is a very humbling experience to allow strangers pay for your meals, go out of their way to make you comfortable, introduce you to their friends, take you to the airport at 5 o’clock in the morning, and allow you to be part of a family – something I and my own family have sacrificed in me living and working overseas. Despite the difficulty and frequent guilt, I swallowed my pride and allowed myself to receive.
The popular saying says: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In the past few weeks, I know this was the opposite for me. I had forgotten how to receive. My profession, just like many others, requires you to give of yourself wholly: mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I was harshly reminded there is a huge blessing in receiving which then allows someone else the joy of giving.
Over the course of time these strangers have changed me, perhaps without even realizing it. However, they are no longer strangers but I am blessed to call them friends and family. It is a beautiful process how that transition takes place. It is a transition that isn’t easy requiring both parties to become vulnerable and taking some risks. But the outcome is something so beautiful only God could facilitate its conception. So - ‘thank you!’ to all of the strangers in my life. I am so grateful for you.
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