The Ultimate Trade

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others." Audrey Hepburn

We came to Africa expecting to bless those less fortunate than we were. We came expecting to give love to everyone we met. We came to demonstrate happiness and contentment to a third world country in need of both. And we came believing that we were the blessing.

So we traded our perfume and cologne for some bug spray, our heels and nice shoes for some Chacos, our stylish clothes for some oh-so-classy, shin-hitting skirts and scrubs, our wall decorations for some wall spiders, our extra blankets for some mosquito netting, and our daily vitamins for some anti-malaria medication.

And in the process, we have learned some valuable lessons. Mosquitoes bite. Ants bite harder. Black mambas exist. Cobras are fast. Pepto-Bismol is effective. MiraLAX is powerful. Sunscreen is important. Bug spray might be more. Doxycycline and Mefloquine are our friends, as is Imodium.

When spoken to in Tonga and you don’t know what to say, go with “Kapatu.” When proposed to say, “I have other plans.” When approached by a cobra, run. And when bitten by a mamba, enjoy your last 20 minutes.

But our journey has taught us invaluable lessons that we didn’t expect. In reality we’ve ended up trading our pride for some humility, our luxury for some discomfort, our plans for some uncertainty, and our put-together lives for some broken hearts

We came to be kind only to learn the meaning of true kindness. We came looking for the good only to find the best. We came to share with those in need only to receive, realizing our internal, invisible need. We have all at some point had our hair styled by the skilled hands of these children. We have never had to walk the path to the Haven alone. And in our efforts to restore, renew, revive, reclaim, and redeem, we are the ones who have received the blessing.

Our journey has caused us to question if we truly are the fortunate. We have learned the activity of real love as opposed to the emotion. We have witnessed actual happiness and contentment instead of the façade. And we have learned that we were the ones in need.

Charissa