Servers being served

"I mean that I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you." -Romans 1:12

The first day in Ethiopia was already completely different than the place I had imagined. Once we got to the airport, Mogus, Mule and Deme were there with open arms to welcome 14 strangers... They took our bags and carried them all the way to the vans and then put them on the top for us... And after about a 30 minute drive we got to the YoungLife guest house, where the cook was waiting for us with open arms and an open table. Yalamok (our cook while we were at the YL guest house) had made us snacks! Doughnuts, cookies, eggrolls, and yes... even coffee! And as I was eating these delicious things I was thinking to myself... Wait a second. We're being treated like royalty. Aren't we supposed to be the ones serving them..?
It's true. We were supposed to be serving them, they knew that too. But it's just Ethiopian culture to serve, even when you're supposed to be the one being served. And I find that interesting because in America, if we were supposed to be served we'd let them serve us and do nothing for them in return.

I know for me at least, I was served in many more ways that just delicious snacks. My heart was served, as was my prespective on life. Which yes, sounds cliche but really it's true.

Seeing their faith, inspired me... They didn't have a promise for tomorrow, like most Americans do. They didn't even really have a promise for dinner that night and yet most of the people we met trusted completely in God to provide for them and then some. They have trianed their hearts to just so easily go where Christ is leading them... And to me that's really something.
I'm here, with everything I could really ever want. So just in case if I fell through with Christ I wouldn't loose everything. Like my saftey net I suppose. Not that God's plan would fall through but I'm just using this as a point. Ethiopians have nothing, and so if they follow God and it didn't work out, they could potentially have nothing as to where I'd have stuff. But that is the point. It's just stuff and they don't need that. And really neither do we although we think we do. They have such amazing faith in our God and that is where my heart and prespective were served.

One day we were driving on our way to camp and I was looking out the window and just saw this old man on the side of the road... And he looked so weak and helpless and my heart just hurt for him. And I thought the entire time left in the drive about it. I thought about how that man could have eneded up there, what happened to him? I thought about all the stories that man must have had. Stories that could lead me to do something incredible...

In Ethiopia I learned to look at the people who lived there and know that they all had a story to their life. They all had stuff happen to them, and a reason why they are where they are now. But now I'm learning to look at everyone that way. To not be so quick to judge but to learn where people are and learn why they're there. Even last night at a going away party for one of my friends who's going to college I looked at them all differently. These are all people i've known for quite a few years and I didn't ever once think to know they're story. To look beyond the laughs, to look beyond the jokes. But now my heart is to know, even though it's a little too late with them, but I know now that I can apply that to everyone I meet from now on. And not just know who they put out to be, but to get to know the real them and have a real relationship with them. Just like the Ethiopians wanted to do with us.

God uses the weak to lead the strong.