I never expected to feel somewhat spoiled while I’m in Africa but sitting here thinking about it, I am BLESSED. Not just in the sense of living on campus in a house with cement walls, windows, and ceiling fans, but I’m very much blessed in the setting and family God has placed me with in Africa. I feel the need to tell you more about my lovely family here in Ghana. We live with Dr. Joseph Kwasi Nimako-Boateng and his awesome wife Akua. They have a beautiful two year old son named Nana and he could quite possibly be the smartest child I have ever been around (I mean really, what two year old knows how to PROPERLY run a DVD player and TV by himself? The patience may not be there, but the knowledge of “how to” is). This family is amazing and they have made Briana (my roommate from Cincinnati) and me feel welcome here from day one. Kwasi is a dentist and he disciples many of the young men around us. We seem to gain (or just meet) a different brother every night. They have an open house for my brothers in Christ. Not only have they given for Briana and me (and I’m sure sacrificed more than we most likely know), I’ve watched them provide a house for others, a place of discussion for others, and food for these young men, all the while keeping a heart for Christ. And as I sit here thinking, this hasn’t just happened to me here but the giving has also happened in the villages.
These giving hearts surround me, it seems, some through knowing Christ, others without knowing Christ. Example one: the villages. No matter where we went, generally we always had a placed to sit, a warm smile, and a welcoming handshake to greet us. People were willing to share their lives with us so that we would pray with them, but I never heard any of them ask for more than prayer for blessings from God (either they didn’t say it or the translators forgot to translate that part for us). Whether they expected more from us, I don’t know, but they never asked for more than prayer when we were sitting there talking to them. It was humbling….. and still is. It is also difficult to explain or put these feelings and emotions into words.
Example two: this house. I really do feel kind of spoiled which sometimes causes me to feel guilty for feeling this tremendously blessed. This family has catered to my every need, especially the “watching what I eat because I am diabetic” need (Kwasi’s father is also diabetic so that helps. To make the stay more comfortable for the both of us I’ve had to force myself into the habit of testing my blood sugar two times a day… it also helps me talk Kwasi into letting me have ice cream every now and then… lol). They have served us in every way possible: shelter, food, running water, and the love in their hearts for Christ. I feel that I am learning from them, I can only hope they are learning from me as well.
We were discussing school and bills one night with them. I’d have to agree with Kwasi that paying bills while going through school is not fair. It isn’t done here. This shows the difference in this way of life. School is a privilege. Here in Ghana you DO NOT work while you are in school, nor do you pay bills for that matter. When you are finished you do what is called your “National Service” for a year, in which you work for the government. After that year, then you find a job. Cars are luxuries here. Yes the traffic is CRAZY and it would seem that everybody and their dog had a car here, but not everybody does. Some people would KILL to have the luxury of a car. One of my teammates couldn’t believe that we would own more than one car per family (I happened to fail to mention how many car my family owns if you include the vehicles of my siblings and me). Air conditioning is a luxury we take for granted a lot of times. Before I left home, the AC in my house didn’t work. Here, some people can’t even grasp the concept of air conditioning but it isn’t because they are dumb or ignorant; it is just because they have never been privileged enough to have it (kind of like the Americans when we found out that ice cream came in individually wrapped little bags here). Ice cubes… I miss them. Some people don’t know about refrigerators with ice cube makers and dispensers in the door.
Food: I cannot say that I am underfed. In all actuality, I wouldn’t be surprised if I gain a few pounds while I’m here. However, we are spoiled in the U.S. Not just the amount that we are allowed to eat, whenever we want to eat it, but also that we can afford to eat out and have such a variety of foods available to us. Akua and I were discussing food one afternoon. We were discussing how many carbs Ghanaians eat every single meal and how many vegetables they don’t eat. Just another point of me being blessed: she went to the market and bought us green beans, carrots, and corn on the cob so that I could have the vegetables I needed in my diet.
One thing I’ve gotten fairly good at: not complaining about food. I will admit, some things I had to pray my way through (fufu being the main one and the first week here when we ate a lot of fish… at least I can say I’ve deboned a fish now). There are some things I couldn’t eat due to the sugar and carb amounts in the food (not always a bad thing). At first I did complain about a lot of things. I complained until I saw firsthand the starving children in Africa who don’t get at least one home cooked meal a day. I saw them gather by the door and the window and watch my team and me eat things that we complained about eating, didn’t want to eat, or didn’t eat at all; not because we COULDN’T eat them but because we just didn’t want to. I think of when I was little (or I just think of my youngest brother). Mom would have to practically SHOVE some foods down our throats at the end of our meal, threatening that we wouldn’t get dessert and we needed to finish because “there are poor starving children in Africa”. Yes my dear friends, it is true; there are starving children here.
I was asked how I could eat some of the things we have eaten and I say that I pray my way through it. I’m not ashamed to say it. I pray and God puts a picture of those children in my head and then I forget about complaining and I eat because I’m thankful I’m being fed. I think of when I first got here how I’d actually pick certain things out of my food and not eat them just because I didn’t want to eat them. Now I think about how that not only might look to the person who cooked the meal, but also about how selfish I’m being… and then the children. After one of the meals in the village I was standing outside when we handed over the plates that weren’t emptied to the children. It was like a mob and it was gut wrenching. After another meal, a little girl and her friend were standing by the door (the little girl many of you have seen in my profile picture on facebook……. The really ridiculously cute one that I love even more after this instance and this is where she really melted my very heart and soul). Auntie invited her onto the “porch” so that other children wouldn’t mob her when we gave her food and steal it from her. Then Auntie gave her the plate. The thing that happened next breaks my heart in a magnificent way. The little girl would NOT eat the food until she found her younger friend with whom she would share the meal with. This little girl waited until we let her friend in by her to sit and share in this meal that was leftover from one of us who complained about it and didn’t eat want to eat it (I know this because it was my meal).
That picture hits me every time I sit to eat and it is something that I may not want to have. A selfless little child sharing her food with her friend, which is all it takes. How selfish are we? How much influence does our wealth and privilege have on us and our selfishness? I am convicted of my selfishness as I sit here and write this. We have had so many conversations of the first place I’m going to eat when I get back (Jimmy Johns) or the first meal I want mom to make when I return home (roast beef, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob with chocolate angel food and chocolate pudding for dessert). Another question: how WASTEFUL are we? Not just in our food and our meals, but what about waste in money and time?
Money and clothes have been yet another conviction of mine. I feel guilty for the fact that I bought a ton of clothes before coming here, specifically for this trip mind you. I went home to clean out my closet so I could bring clothes to give away. I brought only four shirts of my own… only four shirts I originally intended to give away. Money went towards clothes that I didn’t need. I don’t tithe (I very well might start after this). Right now, if I knew a way to get the money (from the tithe I MIGHT start doing) to the poor starving children without it falling into the hands of somebody who would misuse it and not get it to the poor starving children, I would do it. But right now, what is my main focus? Me!! My thought process is focused on the fact that I can’t afford to pay rent or bills next month without closing my savings account and then I would still be overdrawn. Then I am convicted, not just because I am looking at people who can’t afford to HAVE bills to be paid and who have no money and rely on us to do spring cleaning in our closets so that they MIGHT get a new used shirt and pair of shorts, but because I’m rich compared to them, wasting my money on unnecessaries. The biggest thing though, I’m worrying and not trusting God, nor am I giving back to him what is rightfully his.
I just finished reading the book “Blue like Jazz” and there is a small section in the book where Miller discusses tithing. It hit me and has been nagging at my heart since I’ve read it. God is the one who blesses us with means to live and with wealth and privilege. Shouldn’t we give to him what is rightfully his? Shouldn’t we learn how to BE rich instead of how to GET rich? To these people, we are already rich whether we believe it or not and are struggling with bills and paying rent. I have a college education, a car, the ability to pay rent and a phone bill even if it doesn’t always seem possible. God always provides. I also get to pick and choose what I want to make to eat everyday and if I’m too lazy I can pay to have somebody else make it for me. There is this awesome series called “How to Be Rich” that is done by Craig Groeschel, pastor of Lifechurch.tv. He does a great job of explaining how to BE rich, not how to get rich. I think I might just watch that as soon as I get home and hopefully this time I’ll have a different perspective other than “I don’t have money so God can’t expect me to tithe”. I have a paycheck which is more than want a lot of people here have.
Sorry for this long note of what most of you may consider nonsense. I just felt the need to share my rambling wandering thoughts with you!! If you read this far, please pray for these things, not just in my own life but in yours as well. Thanks friends and I love you and miss you!!!
In Christ,
Sharina Marie Schaller
FYI I'm not saying you have to tithe so please do NOT think of the last part of this that way. I just wanted to share my thoughts on tithing and how I feel about it now that my perspective has changed a bit. That is all. Please forgive me if you think it was inappropriate to put it in the note. <3 .
Philippians 2:13-14 "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing."
My adopted family...... and interaction
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