Things I've Learned

We leave Africa tomorrow morning, Thursday. I won't arrive home for some 40+ hours; the Leveretts not until Saturday since they're flying to Dallas before driving back to Amarillo.

So, on this eve before our departure, I'm reflecting back on the many things I've learned in the past few weeks. Here are a few:

1. Yahweh Sabboath--The Lord goes before us
2. There are no heaters or air conditioners in most Zimbabwean and South African homes
3. The people of Zimbabwe are beautiful
4. I can actually go to sleep in a spider-infested bed . . . but not until I'm past exhausted
5. The laugh of a starving orphan is one of the sweetest sounds in the world
6. Orange Fanta is my friend in a dry and weary land, but incomparably so compared to Jesus
7. Lynn Leverett thinks God has made only one mistake: warthogs
8. I had many friends in this part of the world that I simply hadn't met yet
9. The seeds from Zimbabwe's indigenous popping masasa trees sting like the dickens when they hit you
10. I cannot pronounce Mhlanga (Washington & Alice's surname) correctly, no matter how hard I try
11. I can use a pit toilet proficiently
12. I don't like pit toilets
13. You can get more people in a truck than you think
14. There are perfect songs, and then there are PERFECT songs (thanks, Saint Doyle) :)
15. I love Indian cuisine, but will always pass up the squid when they're pointing at me
16. There's a calm little outdoor cafe on the mountainside overlooking the ocean, Cape Town, and the mountains beyond
17. Missionary grandmothers are some of the bravest and most sacrificial women in the world
18. Hope is an anchor for the soul and prayer is the chain that keeps it connected
19. When they talk about taxi wars in Cape Town--that is, between competing taxi companies--they mean the actual shooting kind
20. I've been in Africa long enough that when I read a headline that says "10 Nasty Money Habits," I think it says "10 Nasty Monkey Habits"
21. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world

Can't wait to get home, see my family and other loved ones, and process all of the wonderful, heartbreaking, soul reviving experiences God's given me.

Love, Caron