by Cammy Brantzeg
At church in South Africa on November 9th, the title of the sermon was A Beautiful Mess: The Man/Women, The Mess, The Mission. The phrase A Beautiful Mess has stuck with me since that sermon.
We made bracelets at the afterschool program on Friday with the older kids and I was given a visual representation of what A Beautiful Mess looked like.
. After the kids and staff made their bracelets, I spoke to Sazi, the manager of the Mosaic afterschool program. I noticed that he didn't have time to make a bracelet for himself so I asked him what colors he would like and he said rainbow.
My first thought after he said rainbow was all the leftover beads from when the kids made their bracelets. We gathered all the leftover beads when the kids were done and they ended up in the Ziploc bag pictured.
I have so many memories from the past two trips. As I was journaling this morning reflecting on the past month that I lived in South Africa, I thought about all that happened from our Oct trip flight being cancelled, to shifting our plans when what our original plan for the day didn't work out, to the retreat with the Ma's for Wellington staff, to the guesthouse not having water the last two mornings the Nov team was there,...
The past month was hard, big and just a lot. It was also beautiful, big and so much more than I could have ever imagined. I reflected back and I asked myself Would I change anything that happened if I could?
I surprised myself by realizing that I wouldn't change anything. You might think that I would change it so the October mission trips flight wasn't cancelled but I don't think I would. I could see God working through that challenge. It was a massive MESS but, as I reflect on what happened, it ended up being A Beautiful Mess.
You also might think I would change that our November team would have running water in their guesthouse the last two mornings but I don't think I would. I remember people talking about how upset they would be if this happened in the US but our team rolled with the challenge and handled it with a whole lot of grace for the staff where they were staying. I know a big part of this response was due to the team spending the week serving people that may not have running water where they lived. The team realized a morning without water was not as big of a deal as what it might have been before our trip.
It can be hard for some to see what God working in their lives looks like. Another couple at the guesthouse was NOT happy about the lack of water and complained. The way our team handled the water situation is what God's light looks like to others. I am sure the staff at that guesthouse wondered why our group was so understanding and that was God shining his love through us. We didn't respond as the world would respond to that situation. We responded differently. It ended up turning a MESS into something that was beautiful.
I need to say both of these mission trip teams experienced life changing moments that will prepare them for a future that only God knows right now. The trip was uncomfortable for all of us including me. If you want to grow, it will be uncomfortable. I know the team's faith was expanded and stretched by the people the met, the faith examples they experienced and the serving they did with such love and humility. Each and every day was A Beautiful Mess.
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