I don’t really know what I was
thinking when people told me this trip would be hard. I certainly never took
them seriously. I guess I just assumed they were talking about how difficult it
would be to adjust to life without the luxuries we’re used to in the States.
However, that seems to be the easiest thing to adjust to. You’d be surprised
how easily you can adapt to seemingly disgusting conditions. I could tell
endless stories of nasty things I’ve done simply because it’s become normal,
but those are stories for another day, another blog. What’s actually been
legitimately challenging, among numerous other things, is living with four
other people. For the past month or so we’ve been struggling here. Without
going into the excruciating detail it would take to explain, just know that we
have come up against some situations and issues within our team that at times
seemed impossible to get through. Loving people for real is not easy. “Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It
is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hosts, always hopes, always
perseveres.”(1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Every time I read that I cringe. If you
actually take that seriously, literally, you will be devastated by the
cheapness of what we call love. Usually what we consider love is just being
nice to people. Always liking them. Always being in a good mood with each
other. Always agreeing with each other. This however, is not God’s definition
of love, and for good reason. That kind of love is artificial and shallow and
produces no good fruit. Being with the same four people every single day forces
you to realize that you cannot really love someone without effort. We drive
each other crazy. We argue. We’re proud and selfish with one another. We fail
to love each other constantly. Yet somehow through grace God has enabled us to
love each other regardless. So, in honor of God given love for my teammates, I
have decided to write about some of the many things I love about each of them.
Katie
Where do I
even begin with my Katie Koo? She’s 24, just graduated from UT with a degree in
Nutrition, and team mom. We like to consider our team as a family, and in our
family Katie is definitely the mom. She’s so knowledgeable, I swear she knows
everything. She’s also a very thorough thinker. Whenever we decide to do
something Katie is always the only one who thinks all the way through what
we’re deciding to do to the implications and consequences, and therefore has
saved us from many a dumb decision. She is so generous. Every week she buys all
these little goodies from the Spar and will randomly give you a chocolate bar,
or a mango, or some chips. She is also surprisingly good with a hammer, and a
saw, and all construction tasks for that matter. Kate is really good about
keeping in touch with people. She’s always emailing all of her friends from
home, getting updates from them and letting them know how she’s doing. I’m not
scared at all that we’ll lose touch over the years. I guess this kind of goes
along with that, but she’s also an awesome friend. She wants to know all about
you, and she really listens. She’ll bring up random things I said weeks ago
that I never thought anyone would find important enough to remember. She’s so
sympathetic too. If I’m ever having a bad day, or just need time alone, she
totally understands and will do whatever I need to feel better.
Bryan
Oh, Byron. In our family he’s the creepy uncle. Not
because he’s actually creepy, but simply because he’s weird and likes gross
things, and when you have a weird uncle who likes gross things you
automatically think he’s creepy. Bryan is 19 and from Northern Kentucky. Don’t
forget the northern. Apparently it’s not like the rest of Kentucky. He has some
of the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen. We, as in Kate, Jess, and I, are all
jealous of it. Sadly he’s going to dread it though. His favorite subject, word,
and food is poop. I seriously don’t think a day has gone by since we’ve been
together that he hasn’t mentioned it at least four or five times. I guess, in
some sick way I enjoy that. He’s good at accents too. We talk in British accents
most, but he has a decent country accent, and one “special” one that Katie
thought was French. He also has this awesome cousin named Chester who comes
around sometimes. I would be friends with Bryan just so I could meet Chester.
Bryan would do anything. In Mexico he hurdled a cow. Once he stuck his hand in
fire ants to make kids laugh. He ate a fried cricket the other day. He’s just
fun. Fun to be around, fun to laugh at, fun to laugh with. I think my favorite
thing about Bry is his passion. I have met very, very few people with such deep
and real passion. He just wants to be like Jesus, and actually takes the New
Testament seriously. It’s a scary thing to do, but he “goes hard”, in the words
of Blair Bear Nightstalker.
Jessica
Jess is 20
and from Northern Idaho. Don’t forget that Northern either, because where she’s
from is not like the Idaho you see in Napoleon Dynamite, she says. In our
family Jess is the drunk aunt, because she’s habitually drunk on what we like
to call “Godka”. Not that she’s a frail churchy girl, she’s just a freak, and
by worldly standards she acts like she’s had a few too many drinks sometimes. I
have never in my life met a person who I could even begin to compare her
to. When you first meet her she’s so
kind and friendly you’re not sure what to think. I couldn’t tell whether she
was being real or not at first because I didn’t think anyone could actually be
that nice, but the more I got to know her I realized how genuine she really is.
She absolutely means every kind word she says to you. She just has this natural
affinity for people that goes over and beyond what is normal. She would sit and
talk with you all day and enjoy every minute of it. She thrives here in Nsoko
because most of our ministry is purely relational. She’s such a deep thinker
too. I would love to hear what goes on in her head. She’s utterly brilliant,
which translates to her being a complete dork. The other day she looked over
and said in reference to the word ‘thwarted’ in one of my blogs, “I just saw
four consonants in a row and was intrigued!” In addition to being a normal
genius, she’s a musical genius as well. She knows music theory and is a beast
on the flute, which I didn’t know was possible until I met her. By the way, did
you know that someone who plays the flute is technically called a floutist? I
have made full use of this incredible word, saying “flout” whenever possible.
She and I can laugh and laugh and laugh. And we do, to the annoyance of the
rest of our team. We just dearly love to laugh and I am so thankful that she’s
here with me so I have someone to do it with. Her facial expressions make my
life worth living, I don’t know what I’m going to do without them. To try and
describe with words what she can do with her face would do it an injustice, so
just suffice it to know that her beautiful face is routinely the subject of
many laughs. Jessica loves God. So much. I am constantly inspired and
encouraged by her and how firmly she holds to her faith. In all honesty, I
swear I’m not just saying this, I really hope that some day I can love God as
much as Jess does.
Jon
Jon has many names. He has the usual nicknames- Jon
Jon, Johnny, Jon Boy, Jon Melo. Then he has the names that we’ve accidentally
called him- Bob, Ron, Rejohn, German. German is our favorite. He’s the dad in
our family. He’s lived in a lot of different places, which has resulted in a
strange blending of accents. Sometimes he sounds like he’s lived his whole life
in North Carolina, but then he says ‘both’ and you’re convinced he never moved
away from Wisconsin. Jon might be the single most mature male my age that I’ve
ever met. You certainly would never believe he’s only 19. He is a natural
leader, and those are rare. He earnestly seeks after God and has a huge desire
and passion for Truth. He’s not necessarily funny, but Jess and I always find
ways to laugh at him. He secretly loves it. He’s good at things. I know that
sounds bland, but it’s true, he’s just good at almost everything. Even things
you wouldn’t think he’d be good at, like Scrabble. Honestly, it’s hard to find
words to describe my love for Jon. He’s such a deep thinker, and so thoughtful,
and so multidimensional that I feel like I’m doing him an injustice by
attempting to describe him. Maybe the best thing to say is simply that I
respect him a lot. I really do.
