Everyone always talks about culture shock. They sit back and tell you that "you're not prepared for what you're about to see." That's what my mom told me before I left... "Annika, I don't think you understand what you're walking in to." She was right; I didn't. I had no idea what was going to happen when I stepped off that plane and onto African soul. I certainly did not expect this.
I figured I would move here for a few months, take care of babies and then head back home. I didn't expect to fall in love... With the babies, the culture, the people. I wasn't ready for these little ones to steal my heart. Before I came here I had never even taken care of babies and I didn't know that they could make your heart double in size just by laughing. I didn't expect to become best friends with my sisters in Christ. I didn't expect to start loving beans and rice. I had absolutely no idea that I would start feeling like these children were my own. I did not expect for this country to stop becoming about statistics and start becoming about the people. In Canada, I would sit in class rooms and listen to all the facts about poverty. I would hear that millions of kids were orphans... But now it's not just "millions of kids", because I know their names. I've heard their stories. I've tucked them in at night. And now that I know them and love them with every ounce of my heart, all of this means so much more to me.
Everyone was right... I wasn't prepared for what I was about to see. But more than that, I wasn't prepared for what I was about to feel. I wasn't ready to feel this much happiness... This much compassion. I didn't know my heart could feel so full so far away from home.
And all of this... All of this joy just makes me realize how good God is. He called me across the world, and at first I was terrified. But He who created me and called me here with a purpose has given me so much hope and peace. And even though everything was so different and scary in the beginning, He did not let it stay that way.
Here, I have grown so much closer to God's heart. I have realized how much He truly loves us. When I play with kids or visit old people in little huts, He whispers to me that He loves these people. That He loves them so, so much. That these little ones may be forgotten by the world but they are not forgotten by Him. And because of that, they will not be forgotten by me, either. As 2 Corinthians says, God is the Father or all compassion, and because of that, because of His heart, He's shaping me into His compassionate daughter more and more every day.
So, no... I was not prepared for this at all. I wasn't prepared to feel like this is exactly where I belong in this moment.