I fully expect it to... but not in the way you might think.
When I asked to go on the trip, I actually asked to go to Asia. I was being my ueber-practical self and had analyzed the content we had in house -- photos, videos, stories, etc. -- and felt that Asia both had the strongest connection to the ministry yet the weakest consistency of content. So I wrote up a basic presentation, went to my boss, and straight-up asked.
And instead of Asia, my boss offered up Kenya.
That wasn't an option I had anticipated.
Having seen others go on the trip, it also wasn't something I wanted to turn down.
A quick history of the trip: it's called Women's Circle of Caring because two women were blown away by the beauty of the Maasai people as well as their needs. Because the Maasai are pastoralists (animal herders) the men take their livestock further and further out in search of good grassland and water, something increasingly difficult in this time of extended drought in the Horn of Africa. This means the women and children are fending for themselves and doing an admirable job. We have much to learn from them.
Yet we (Mission of Mercy) were also able to meet some of their needs for a clean water well and even (through a very generous donor who happens to be going on my trip) a simple building to be used as the community center, project building, and church.
This is third year for Women's Circle of Caring to go to the Emarti Maasai region. I am most eager to see how they respond when they see many of the women from previous trips have returned -- last year, when they recognized some of the women, the Maasai villagers burst into tears. They were convinced that we wouldn't come back. I think they may better understand our commitment now, and I am eager to see what God does with it.
But because I had mentally prepared for an Asia trip, I had to evaluate my goals. Were they the same? Quite simply, I wanted to meet the women and the children, to witness how their lives have changed because of the project, to see the pure joy in their faith.
In terms of Kenya, I really wanted to focus on this rather than the fact that I was the youngest person on this trip. (And by youngest, I mean by more than 20 years.)
I couldn't quite get over that bit. I tried to have a sense of humor about it, but the truth is I was nervous. It went beyond how I would deal with a dozen post-menopausal women in tank tops and capris when even in the heat of central Africa I'd be in a scarf and probably a fleece. How would we relate? Most of them had been to Africa before, even to this very project in Kenya, and I -- the Mission of Mercy employee -- was a newbie.
I didn't like that idea.
But I realized that I had a chose to make here. I could continue to dwell on the age differences, or I could look at it as an opportunity. You see, I've always been the oldest. Oldest child, oldest in my group of friends. I was an RA in college, choosing to take on a level of responsibility while others had the typical college experience. I've always been the mother hen.
So while I fully expect to have my mind blown by Kenya and the women and children of the Maasai, the first paradigm to fall will be of my own making. I can anticipate the awkwardness, or I can relish the opportunity to be the baby for once in my life. I'm starting to learn more about the women on my trip -- as scary as it is for me to be the inexperienced one, these women are risking things in a whole new way. They could stay content in their current situations, but instead they are choosing to venture out and learn and serve.
I hope to learn a lot from the Maasai women, but I think I have a lot to learn from my fellow trippers, too.
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