It has been almost 8 weeks since I left Uganda and I have to admit that my heart has been a little lost. A lot lost, actually. Before I left Canada people warned me about culture shock. You know, the whole thing where you have a hard time adjusting to a new culture. You might even be horrified by how "little" people have in Africa. Culture shock wasn't hard for me. I was welcomed into a new part of the world by some of the kindest people I know. I was loved by people who became my friends instantly. Four months in Africa taught me how to live differently... It taught me to be grateful for everything, to love deeper and live louder. It made my life so much simpler. Once I seen people using only what they need to survive, I learned how unnecessary material possessions are. Everyone in the western part of the world has become consumed by a desperate, self-centered desire to constantly have more. To wear the coolest, sexiest clothes and have the latest iPhone. However, while they all sit by sipping lattés and doing their hair, they have failed to notice that their material possessions have begun to posses them. Instead of owning the best clothes and having control over their body, it has all started to control them.
Depression, you see, has begun to run rampant. Girls have been told how to look, how to talk, what to eat and who to hang out with. Guys have been told how many times they need to hook up and which protein shakes to drink. And if a guy or girl fails to meet these unreachable standards, they start questioning themselves: Why aren't I popular? Why won't she sleep with me? Why can't I just be skinny? What's wrong with me? Am I stupid? Am I worthless?... And the more questions that come, the less they value themselves. Sadness starts sneaking in, tugging people down. Satan whispers dark words into vulnerable ears and people begin to think that their worth completely depend on what other people think.
I guess that's why, to me, reverse culture shock was one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with. So much worse that "culture shock". After learning how to live life so simply, it was frustrating to see how complicated everything is in the western world. It was heartbreaking to realize how sad so many people are. We westerners tend to view Africa as a sad place... Orphans and widows and AIDS. Sad, hungry kids with flies buzzing around their heads... Do you know what I saw in Africa? I saw hope. I saw kids laughing. I saw girls dancing and singing with smiles on their faces because iPhones and Hollister hadn't invaded their lives. I saw mothers giving when they didn't have because the plague of self-centeredness hadn't touched their hearts. I saw people worship God with all they had because they didn't care what other people thought. I saw absolute, pure joy.
There is so much that the western part if the world has to learn from places like Africa. We have to learn that there is extravagantly more important things than TV and high heels and protein shakes. We have to learn that life doesn't have to be so complicated, because when we learn that, I believe we won't be so dang sad anymore. We have to learn that we are incredibly beautiful- not because of the clothes we wear or the number on the scale, but because God says we are.
It's as simple as that.
The pictures below are of a few girls I had the chance to meet. Girls who are so happy and beautiful with almost no material possessions. And I envy that, because I dream of a world that isn't controlled by money.
One more thing you should know- this happiness and joy and peace, it comes from one place and one place only: Jesus. I saw Him so much more in Uganda than I did at home. We might have fancy care, classy schools and clean, running water, but if the western world doesn't start going after Jesus, none of these things will ever matter.
It's time we start living our lives in a different way. It's time we push ourselves out of the center and push Jesus into the center. When we do that, we will be so much happier. Try it and see.