What we experienced in Africa is what I imagine St. Mark experienced when he first went to Egypt. The African people are so hungry for the word of God. We carried our bibles everywhere we went, sharing The Word with everyone we encountered. We lived a life fully immersed in the spirit and we have never felt so much joy and peace in our lives.  

Our group from Chicago began our trip in Zambia. Some church goers met us at the airport and refused to allow us to carry our luggage from that point forward. The “mamas” prepared a feast for our arrival and we were shown to our rooms for rest. That is the charity that was displayed to us daily; a people who had so little but offered so much. Our days in Zambia consisted of morning quiet time, fellowship with the group and separating into the different churches and compounds (or neighborhoods) to share a sweet word from the Lord with whoever we met.  We were each challenged in different ways, with the grace of the holy spirit truly working inside each of us and guiding our speech.  We spoke in ways and moved the hearts of people like we never imagined possible. We rarely met anyone who refused to listen. Crowds gathered, builders stopped their work, mothers stopped washing clothes and listened as their children climbed into their laps, children came running when they could see a priestly gown from a distance, just to shake his hand. Our evenings ended with a bible study and prayer meeting, always thanking God for the experience of the day.

The orphans of the schools greeted us with English songs and listened intently to every biblical story we shared with them. In general, children came to the church grounds as often as possible, finding the church to be their true mother and safe place. A group of 8 boys showed up to church a day before their baptism because they just couldn’t wait any longer to receive the gift that we were all freely given.

Before leaving for Congo, we were forewarned of the trials and tribulations that may occur along our journey. We held many prayer meetings before and during our travels, asking God to bless the trip and allow us to enter the country. While sitting at the border for over 3 hours, our microbus rocked with praises to God, asking Him to allow us to accept whatever He wills for our group. Finally, we entered Congo late at night and were again, greeted with mamas cooking, babas carrying our luggage and beautiful songs for our welcome. A very special treat for us was the arrival of Bishop Paul, who remained with us during our entire 6 day stay in Lubumbashi. Imagine having a life lesson every morning and bible study every evening with a Bishop so full of the holy spirit, the people flocked to him, begging to be touched and healed of whatever ailed them. Our time in Congo was truly transformative for all of us.

On Pentecost, 16 people were baptized in St. Mark’s church in Northmead and 20 were baptized at St. Mary’s in Kinyama. For those orphans baptized, there were no clean, white clothes for them to wear, there were no parents to take the oath for them, there weren’t even towels to dry them after being dunked in very cold water. The children dried themselves in the sun’s rays and joyfully participated in the holy mysteries. No child complained, no child cried. Instead, they sang praises to God, knowing the liturgy by heart. The volume of the voices in the churches most certainly reached to heaven. That day we held a festival for the families, selling clothes and snacks for a cheap price. The children adored the crayons and pictures they were given to color in class.

Finally, when we thought we had experienced God in all His fullness, we traveled to Victoria Falls and witnessed the Creator’s glorious splendor. The Falls are incredibly expansive and the land around it lush in greenery. We hiked to the bottom of the Falls, meeting families of monkeys along the way, praising the beauty of God’s creation the whole while. We met with lions who rubbed up against us, wanting to be pet and proving that every living thing just wants to be loved.

Now, back in the U.S., with the country in the midst of economic recession and the news full of doom and gloom, the only thing that brings our group members’ peace is remembering the delight experienced in Africa. Our lives may seem easy in the US, we expect to flip a switch and light turns on, we turn the faucet, confident that water will pour out;  but, the spiritual warfare here is very strong. In Africa, all of our time was consumed with focusing on Christ’s love. We were devoted to each other as friendships truly were developed from Agape love. Any troubles we had left behind in the U.S. seemed so trivial. None of us will forget the spiritual high we experienced the night of the revival in Congo, where the church was filled with congregants praising from 9pm to 4:30am. Although we prayed in the dark, (no electricity) our hearts were enflamed like never before.  We pray that the fire kindled within our spirits during this trip does not extinguish though we are away from the country and people who taught us more about God than we could have imagined.