Transcription

00:03

Welcome back to the 4:18 podcast. I’m your host, Emily Frenzen, and I am the Creative Director for Possibilities Africa USA. In 2024, I had the privilege of traveling with a team of partners and board members from the United States to go to two countries in Africa where Possibilities Africa exists. During this time, 

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I tried to journal as much as I could from each day, but there was so much packed into every day that I didn’t have time to write in-depth about every moment. But I did take note of key moments from each day. And today I have one journal entry to share with you to give you a picture of what a day in Africa looks like as an American who is there to visit and encourage the people that we meet who are part of Possibilities Africa.

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So this journal entry is from March 4th, 2024, and it reads as follows.

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The first church we went to didn’t have electricity or airflow, but the light of Christ was alive in them. Who needs a light bulb when you are the light of the world, or when the Light of the world lives in you? They were so joyful. Malawi, you blow us away, I wanted to say. I had goosebumps as I walked up the alley of the church, and the people sang and whistled and danced and praised the Lord. My camera in hand, I snapped shots of the joyful noise.

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Thank you, Lord, for the two and eventually total of three sisters who sat next to me on the covered porch as rain fell all around us in a small little village, gently landing in puddles drop by drop. These sweet girls smiled and one giggled when I gave her a sweet hug. Gray and John are so joyful as our hosts. Gray who Martin calls the old broom because he is older and knows every crevice and corner of Malawi called the older woman on the porch his grandmother.

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I don’t think they’re blood because Gray also called me his sister, someone who doesn’t share the same color of skin as him. But yet, in Christ, he is my brother. Eventually, after grinning at the woman everyone would call grandmother, I saw the smallest glimpse of a grin come from the corners of her mouth. If I blinked, I might have missed it. But thank goodness I didn’t. I’m sure her wrinkles have a many stories behind them. She was serious and sober in appearance. Man, these people are resilient.

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Cyclone Freddy was only one year ago, and they are joyful, grateful, and worshipful. I can’t stop thinking about the 24-year-old man who looked like a child. He reminds me of Nehemiah, or maybe David, the shepherd. In 30 days, he volunteered to rebuild the church with some help from the congregation, and he succeeded. We stepped foot in the building and met with a small Shalom group.

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This 24-year-old didn’t look like much by fighting standards, but his face was both humble and strengthened by the joy of the Lord in a sweet way. His smile was joyful and contagious. His steps were light. He carried himself with gladness. A joyful sacrifice that will make his congregation call a beautiful building home, come rain or shine. The sweet potatoes, oh the sweet potato people we saw there! I photographed the husband and wife–

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she in her lime green dress as they stood by their piggery. The impact that is coming from this piggery and from acquiring any assets has monumental change. This piggery is bringing hope not only for tomorrow for their family but hope for the next generation as the income sends their daughter to technical school. She will be the first of their family to go. Thank you, Lord, for guiding me here. I’m so grateful for the goodness of God we’ve seen in this place. I’m grateful

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for a rainy afternoon drive back. The agriculture is beautiful and lush here as we drive by tall sugar cane and massive plots of tea. Today, we drove by rolling hills and saw people outside harvesting by hand. In Kenya, we saw beautiful and bountiful avocado trees, proof that Africa does not lack natural resources. Thank you for a million tiny shacks and sheds we’ve seen along the streets of Malawi and of Kenya.

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God knows there are plenty. God bless these people, rich in heart and soil for God’s work. It’s the warm heart of Africa. It’s the place that these people are being transformed, not by might, not by power, but by God’s Spirit. I crave to feel the ground under bare feet like many we saw today. So many don’t wear shoes, but yet somehow, I look at them and I want what they have, of feet touching red soil, to walk lightly and freely…

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to not be hurried. Through the lush green, we followed a path where women led us to the school where a young woman teaches 12 kids, ages two through five. These 12 lives bring me to tears thinking about what could happen and the power of them getting an education. I’m grateful God sent me here, treasuring this goodness in my heart, yet wrestling with the disparity that exists. I’ve hardly seen anyone with glasses. It certainly cannot be because there are not sight issues.

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But what is beautiful is that there is great spiritual sight in the churches that we’ve encountered. Worship that is full and rich and beautiful, though they have nothing. This is evidence that you can have nothing but still have everything in Christ.

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While the education and the business are powerful to break chains, we know that the spiritual growth is what sustains. Soon we will return and all these faces will only be a memory. Put them on my heart, let me not forget what I’ve learned here. In Jesus’ name, this is my prayer.

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Thanks for being here. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend so we can grow this mission and share this good news. If you’re interested in partnering financially, be sure to head to usa.possibilitiesafrica.org and hit the donate button. God bless you. We’ll see you again soon.