Last Lessons #17 – TEACHERS

 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1

Because people know that my husband and I were missionaries in Africa, they often ask me, “What is Africa like?” I think they want to know how hot it is, how safe it is, what the living conditions are, and what the people are like. Unless you have actually been there, it’s hard to imagine what Africa is like. I remember one young missionary, after arriving in Africa who said, “I didn’t know that all the people would be black!”

After I tell people what they want to know, then I tell them that for me, Africa was a teacher. God knew I needed to learn many lessons that only Africa could teach. I wanted to teach the Africans about God, but Africa taught me about God. And a lot of other things. For example:

1. I learned that the Lord takes care of his own through his own.

As soon as we arrived in Tanzania Bob and I and Annie (two and a half-years-old) were sent to Tanga on the coast (and on the equator!) to learn Swahili from an old Swedish missionary couple. Five days after arriving in this strange place, I had appendicitis which Bob diagnosed immediately. I was taken to the local hospital (no air conditioning) where I had surgery. The concern was that I was three months pregnant with Kathy, my second child. I won’t go into all the details except to say that it was not a pleasant experience. The British surgeon was not good or kind. BUT God had placed our Bumbuli Hospital nurse trainees at this government hospital in Tanga! They placed a fan over my bed and bathed me twice a day to keep me cool. Although we could not communicate well because of our languages, they were kind, loving, and gentle young women. They were Christians from my new home in Bumbuli! I learned that the Lord sends his angels wherever his people need his care.

2. I learned that my abilities are to be used, not wasted.

In Bumbuli we lived in a mud house (plastered and whitewashed) with a tin roof and no electricity. We had a wood stove and a kerosene refrigerator. I worked as hard as I could, but I needed help! It pained me to have to hire a cook, somebody to chop the wood, somebody to clean and do the laundry, somebody to plant a garden, and somebody to buy chickens and meat from the market. I felt so guilty having all those servants! That is, until one of the old missionary wives said, “If you want to do your own work then you should have stayed home. You are here to do what your servants cannot do.” She sure set me straight! So, I taught English to medical assistant students, taught five men to sew on treadle sewing machines, and acted as secretary for my husband as he planned for a new hospital at Bumbuli and also one in Moshi that he would build during our next term. I learned that God sets us straight on how to use what he has given us even when we don’t have enough sense to ask him.

3. I learned that God is enough.

This is the most important lesson I learned the whole time I was in Africa. When the big box of our things we shipped to Africa arrived, it had been soaked in water. All our clothes and bedding were moldy, all our pictures were ruined, but worst of anything, all our books were soaked. All I had with me was my Bible and one other book. We had no telephone, no email, and letters took two weeks to come. There was one other American family at Bumbuli, but that was all. Bob left for weeks at a time raising funds for a new hospital and I was left alone with my three children (who always seemed to get sick the day he left!). But that’s when I learned that I didn’t need things, books (except for the Bible!), or many friends. God took all those things away from me so that I would know that he is enough. No better lesson to learn than that.

Africa was a great teacher for me. God had plans for me to teach his Word in the future and Africa taught me that I had the essentials – his written Word and himself to be with me. God has plans for each of us and he will teach us what we need to learn wherever we are. The senior living facility where I am today is teaching me plenty! What are you learning where you live today?

One caution: remember that there are false teachers out there. You may not be able to choose where you live, but make sure you choose who teaches you. Go to a good church (even if you have to attend online), read a good Bible (I recommend the ESV) every day, watch good channels on TV (not those run by the liberal media), read good books (I will be suggesting some from time to time), and choose good friends (those who lift you up, not those who drain you).