Thrive

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a Thrive conference (www.thriveministry.org) right here in Dar es Salaam.

Thrive's mission statement reads:  "Our mission is to encourage and empower Global Women to thrive and to be their advocate."  They further explain:  "There is tremendous energy and momentum to get workers on the field but a lack of intentional effort to provide spiritual, physical and emotional support once serving overseas."  

For 4 days and 3 nights, myself and about 50 missionary women from all over East Africa were pampered with an air-conditioned hotel, pedicures, haircuts, and special treats from the U.S.  There was also an amazing speaker, fabulous worship time, and lots of time to reconnect with God.  It was incredible to meet people for the first time, but already "know" them through many of our shared experiences in living in Africa (the culture shock, the language barriers, the problems with electricity/water/police stops/roads/health issues).

The theme song of this ministry, which we sang several times over the length of the conference, was by Casting Crowns.  The lyrics go:  "It's time for us to more than just survive.  We were made to thrive."

Despite this amazing conference, I realized that a lot of the time, I'm not thriving.  I'm just surviving.

This has been a really hard week for me.  We've had significant power outages every day this week, our refrigerator is still not working fully (even when the electricity is operational), Josh injured himself twice (once requiring a visit to a clinic for X-rays).  It's getting hot.  Really hot.  The A/C in our car doesn't work.  We had a flat tire.  Despite my best efforts, it feels like we've got 10,000 mosquitoes in our house.  I'm sick and tired of "African time."  We have had no city water for over 2 days now (thankfully we have a large backup tank).

There's the usual stress of trying to learn Swahili, do my part-time job and parent 3 kids in sports with late games and the need for homework help every night.  And then there is the added stress of hosting a Halloween party for 40+ people and preparing costumes for next week's Pamoja week (like Spirit Week) - both of which are challenging in the U.S., but here require Herculean efforts.  Everything - even making a "simple" meal - takes time, patience and an extraordinary amount of energy.  Some days it is just too much.

Can I thrive here?  Can I do more than just survive?

It certainly seems like many people here are thriving. I'm definitely thriving more than last year, as there's certainly a learning curve to living here.  But there were people at the conference who have faced so many more obstacles than I on the mission field (armed home robberies, significant bouts with malaria/dengue, carjackings) and yet are staying, happily.  They are thriving.  It's very humbling to hear their stories.  In many ways, I felt like a fraud at this conference...I'm still a "short-termer" and I don't live in a village.  I've been blessed with good health, good financial support, an amazing house, a great school for my kids, a community of English-speaking Christians, and good security.  And despite all this, it's still really hard for me to thrive here.

To thrive certainly doesn't mean a lack of hardships, but rather how one responds to them.  I think it's expressed in the other lyrics of the song Thrive:  "Joy unspeakable.  Faith unsinkable.  Love unstoppable, Anything is possible!" Anything...even my thriving in Africa.