{ out of africa }

from the gwembe valley, zambia

Well, I am officially back. We got back late late Wednesday night after nearly five days of travelling from Zambia back to Canada. We were jetlagged and exhausted to say the least (we took a total of twelve planes on this one month journey!). I have many stories, photos, and memories to share with all of you and with myself, too. I found that when I was there, everything went by in such a whirlwind fashion. I kept a daily journal, but it was more a log of what happened, who we met, and what I saw. I included some emotional response, but not as much as I would like. I thought about sharing those journal entries with you (and I still may share some of them), but I think it would be more profitable for both of us if I took the time to relive some of my experiences in this new, retrospective light. So both you and I will have that to look forward to in the days to come.

Overall, I have to say the experience was wonderful. I grew so much within myself--I feel as if I conquered so many of my deepest fears, and I hope to eliminate fear altogether from my life (or at least eliminate it from its status of being a main motivator in my life and my decisions). I came to learn so much about myself--I learned that I am stronger than I think (Derek was surprised by this as well), I learned that my little body can handle a lot of newness when my mind allows it to, and I rekindled spiritual roots that have been untouched for several years now. I also learned about a part of Derek that was never before accessible to me.

I learned about false perspectives and stereotypes that we have of Africa (that it is primarily poor, needy, and sad--those are, in fact, none of its main traits), and about how we are meant to deal with blessing in our life without being overwhelmed with guilt. I saw exciting growth and discovery in other members of our team, which was a huge source of joy for me as well.

And I saw rhinos! lions! and giraffes! (among other things)

I touched a crocodile, turned a skipping rope for girls with the most precious braids you've ever seen, and ate nshima and kapenta more than I perhaps wanted to.

I will tell you more about these things in the days ahead.

Tomorrow morning, however, Derek and I will drive Patrick (our brother) back to British Columbia and spend a few days there visiting family. So we are still lucky in that we are not quite back to reality yet. These days off have been a dream--our first time off together since our honeymoon. I'm revelling in them and am not in a rush to get back to work, housekeeping, or even this blog.

So I shall see you again in a week's time! Stay tuned!