I hear you say Mzungu ONE more time….

This last week, I was on Rosinga Island with my team. This
Island is very close to Mbita, where we live, however, not many people visit
there because of the corruption. I will tell you more about that later, but the
reason I say this, is because they are not used to seeing white people
(Mzungu).  We set up our tents late at
night on Monday, and went to bed shortly after dinner. When I awoke in the
morning, I unzipped my tent to see two small African children with their faces
pressed against the tent saying “Mzungu! Mattress! Mzungu! Mattress!” I got out
of my tent and they ran away as if I was a monster or something. Next, after
walking out of my tent, I saw a crowd of African kids awaiting my arrival as
they waited for their school activities to start. I said “hi”, a little
annoyed, and they all laughed, as they always do. I then walked over to a large
pump where I would rinse my face, and there was a little girl standing there in
awe, dropped jaw, and wide eyes, staring at me. I never knew how interesting I
was when I wash my face. Haha. You see, in America when people stare at you, if
you look at them, they will look away and pretend like they weren’t staring.
However, in Africa, they stare, and then when you look at them, they stare some
more, and wonder why you are looking at them. This little girl who was staring
at me started calling her friends over to come and see the Mzungu show. After a
little more time, I began brushing my teeth, and I had a few brave kids come up
and shake my hand while I had toothpaste and saliva around my mouth. And even
as I wrote this message in my journal, they are staring at me through a window.
I was talking with my friend Jess a little bit later in the morning, and while
we were discussing, there were several kids daring each other to come and see
us. (Luke 18:16) They ACTUALLY took branches from a nearby tree to hide their
faces as they walked up to us… they say “HA WA YOOO” and when you say “fine”
they hit each other, laugh, and run away in embarrassment. Oh, I’ve never felt
more like a freak show in my life! Jess and I were getting a little agitated,
so we decided to act like we didn’t see them. We continued talking to each
other, and the children got closer and closer. When they finally got close
enough, we ran at them screaming and waving our hands back and forth. They
screamed and were very frightened. Ha. That was fun. Jess and I continued
talking, and Jess realized something really cool that I thought I would share
with you all. If you have ever seen or read the Chronicles of Narnia you will
know what I mean. The main characters (Edmund, Lucy, Susan, and Peter) were
just normal kids in their world. When they were in Narnia, they were kings and
queens! They were so important, and the creatures of their world looked up to them.
We’ve come to Africa, to become the hands and feet of Christ, to bring Christ’s
kingdom, and to show the love that Christ gives. (Ephesians 6:12) Sometimes, we
just simply feel like a Mzungu, we are just normal Mzungus in this world, and
we can’t seem to get the message across that we are princes and princesses in
God’s eyes! We are spirits living in a physical world. We have been given this
power through the Holy Spirit, we have been given power by the King, the Lamb
of God, to wage war against the spiritual powers that entangle this world, but
the children just see a Mzungu that is fun to look at. In Narnia, those Kings
and Queens had power, but when they were in the physical world, no one could
see their potential, their power. But God tells us that our reward is in
heaven, and that we will live with him in Glory, forever and ever. (Colossians
3:4) So I guess I say this because sometimes we just feel like Mzungus. It’s
like we have this Mzungu mask that we have to put on in this world, and people
don’t see who we really are, they can’t see the potential that we have. They can’t
see who we really are, who God has made us to be. We feel like the only people
who understand us are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Or in Narnia’s case,
the other Kings and Queens. I feel this challenge, to awaken our hearts, and to
BE. To know who you are, who Christ has made you, and even though there are
certain people who understand and certain people who don’t, if you be who you
were created to be, people will begin to see the depth you have. They will see
that you aren’t just Mzungu but you are a daughter or a son of the King.
(Romans 16:17). Jesus didn’t go around telling people he was the son of God all
the time, but people began to see because of the light that was shown through
him. We don’t fight against people, we fight against the spirits of the world.
You are royalty, you are loved by the King.