There they sat on the shelf of my local international food store: Nutro wafer cookies. My lungs stopped working for a moment, and it felt like one of those movie montages where the actor is suddenly flooded with a million memories.
Lest you think these cookies are something amazing, they’re not. Imported from the United Arab Emirates and dirt cheap, they taste right around the decent level. But since most store-bought cookies in Tanzania were absurdly expensive or styrofoam-tasting, Nutros were often the best option. They showed up at every birthday party, every school Christmas feast, and in many a school lunch.
I brought home the package of cookies, set it on the table, and watched my kids’ responses. The sharp inhale, the sudden memories of a long-ago life – they felt it too.
Leaving Tanzania brought us many losses, and we have not missed these cookies. But what is missing are the reminders of their childhoods. Like Nutro wafers.
I recently chanced upon a digital photo album that instantly made me homesick. The pictures were nothing fancy, everything ordinary: Grace, Josiah, and Lily in Tanzania, playing soccer in our yard with Gil – a weekly, sometimes daily occurrence. The kids would pull on shin guards and cleats and run outside to our mostly un-landscaped, gigantic yard. Gil would set up goals under the eucalyptus tree, and the four of them would hoot and holler (and let’s be real, sometimes scream and cry) while the sky turned their profiles golden. A kingfisher, stray chicken, or a hedgehog might interrupt and necessitate investigation. They would play until I called them in for dinner or until the mosquitoes started biting, a little dirtier, a lot sweatier.
Perhaps everyone is nostalgic for childhood – their own or their children’s. But what makes me most sad is that my children now have no reminders of it.
When I published my article yesterday (Luxury Cars and Walking Dusty Roads), I shared it with my friend Emmanuel, on whom that post was based (and the others on his ministry team).
This was his response (with minor grammatical edits):
Thank you for sharing this with me, sister. It’s really encouraging to hear this. When I was thinking about what you wrote, I realized that it’s easy to forget the purpose of the Gospel when we’re trying to live an amazing life in the fallen world (which it seems impossible to live an amazing life in this broken world).
One of my favorite Bible verses is Philippians 4:12. The Apostle Paul says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Too much stuff and all kinds of luxuries in life oftentimes leads to more discontent rather than contentment and when this happens is when we forget the purpose of the Gospel.”
I read this and sat speechless for several moments, tears in my eyes. How do I, as a privileged American, comprehend such humble faith, such focused vision? Gil may have been his teacher at the Bible school for a few years, but now, Emmanuel is truly our teacher.
I was so moved by his response that I asked Emmanuel’s permission to share both his name and what he wrote, and he agreed.
Join me in praying for Emmanuel’s ministry (called Stawi Ministries), and if you would like to make a financial gift towards his team’s ministry to Tanzanian public schools and prisons, please write to me at contactamy@amy-medina.com, and I’ll let you know donor options. The team could use funds for transportation, but also the gospel literature that they distribute.
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them….the world was not worthy of them.” (Hebrews 11)
photos from Reach Tanzania Bible School, circa 2018
He doesn’t have money for bus fare, so he walks miles every week to Tanzanian public schools to share the Story of God with teenagers.
This man is my friend. He went through our Bible School program. He is a wonderful husband and father, a faithful Christian committed to Scripture. He is an English speaker and savvy businessman with many skills, but finding regular sources of income in Tanzania can be challenging.
Yet his heart is for ministry. In Tanzania, public schools welcome outside teachers to cover religion classes. There is no pay involved, just a strategic opportunity for God’s servants to teach hundreds of kids about the Word of God.
This friend built a team to take the gospel to these schools. But he doesn’t own a vehicle and has no money for bus fare (about 25 cents a day) because any money he earns from side businesses goes towards feeding his family and sending his kids to school (which is never free). So he walks. Every week. He walks miles and miles to get to these schools.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, I watch a commercial for a luxury vehicle: A perfect man with a perfect suit drives on a perfectly smooth road in his perfect car, and the voice-over lauds the heated seats, 14-inch media screen, aromatherapy, and champagne holder.
Two men, living under the same sun. One with very little in his life to make him comfortable, yet prizing the kingdom of God. The other – epitomizing comfort.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Below are some articles and books I’ve recently collected. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on them.
Articles:
Blessed Are the Thrifty? by Susan Mettes As a very thrifty person, this one was so thought-provoking for me. I read it a month ago and keep thinking about it.
“As Christians around the world live through a period of discomfort—or worse—in their household budgets, even thrift can bring them dangerously close to the errors often attributed to greed. Any perspective that filters reality through money distorts our ideas of worth. And isn’t seeing worth as God sees it an enormous part of discipleship?”
There’s another Christian movement that’s changing our politics. It has nothing to do with whiteness or nationalism By John Blake “The victory not only reinvigorated an emboldenedlabor movement in the US, it also marked the revival of another movement in America: the Social Gospel. Fain’s sermonette was remarkable because labor leaders don’t typically cite the Bible in such detail to justify a strike. But they once did. Fain’s decision to blend scripture with a strike is straight out of the Social Gospel playbook.”
Why I Am Now a Christian by Ayaan Hirsi Ali “Unlike Islam, Christianity outgrew its dogmatic stage. It became increasingly clear that Christ’s teaching implied not only a circumscribed role for religion as something separate from politics. It also implied compassion for the sinner and humility for the believer.
Yet I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realisation that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable — indeed very nearly self-destructive. Atheism failed to answer a simple question: what is the meaning and purpose of life?”
The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes by Nancy Pearcey Nancy Pearcey has yet to disappoint me with anything she writes. In the past several years, I’ve read a number of books on Christian gender roles, trying to wrap my head around the current debate in light of Scripture. This one made a lot of things so much clearer for me. Pearcey does a dive into American history and shows convincingly how the Church has been influenced by culture — and not in positive ways.
Here’s a taste: “Compared to secular men, devout Christian family men who attend church regularly are more loving husbands and more engaged fathers. They have the lowest rates of divorce. And astonishingly, they have the lowest rate of domestic violence of any major group in America… [In contrast], The numbers are staggering: They tell us that men who claim the Christian label often exhibit worse behavior than men who are outright secular. Nominal men skew the statistics, creating the false impression that evangelical men as a group are abusive and domineering.”
The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield The Butterfields do hospitality so well that it was hard not to be totally overwhelmed by what I’m not doing. But as I read on, I was encouraged. Rosaria is quick to show her family’s own mistakes and failures and how they grew into an ability to love their neighbors well. I finished the book feeling inspired.
Video: Christmas is over but it’s not too late to listen to this wonderful rendition of Joy to the World from Uganda!
Medina Family Life:
Gil and Grace at a Switchfoot concertsoccer season has started againGil’s extended family plays Wiffle Ball every time we are together!
Below is an adaption of the Christmas letter I sent out to my ministry email list. If you’re interested in news about my family, read on!
If you’ve prayed for us in 2023, I am so grateful. God is good; all the time. Every year we’ve been back in the States has gotten a little better, a little easier. Raising three teenagers (and one almost-teenager) who are working through a variety of layers of loss and identity keeps Gil and I on our knees, but we are thankful for so much in 2023: Grace’s baptism, academic improvement in a couple of kids, lots of reunions with friends from Tanzania this year, and a number of wonderful adults who are pouring into our kids’ lives.
Here’s some updates and pictures about all of us:
Grace had an amazing year! She went to Panama on a short-term service trip, starred as Ursula in “The Little Mermaid,” made it onto “All-League First Team” in varsity basketball, helped to choreograph the church musical, works a part-time job in child care, and is taking several AP classes. She brightens everyone’s day with her sunny personality. Grace is now a senior and would love to go to Biola next year but she’s thinking she will likely go to our local community college first to save money. She wants to be a middle school English/History teacher, and of course, we think that’s a great idea!
Josiah (now a sophomore) continues to excel in soccer, making “All-League First Team” on the Varsity team as a freshman — which is quite an accomplishment. He just turned 16 so his aspirations are now to learn to drive and get a job (so that we let him drive!). Josiah likes to pretend he’s tough but he still hugs his mom (and still greatly enjoys jumping out and scaring the living daylights out of her).
Lily graduated from 8th grade in May which means we have three high schoolers this year! She’s decided she is done with sports and is sticking with creating things. She took a sewing class and bought her own sewing machine this year. She also happily takes over the kitchen whenever I travel to Minnesota for work.
Johnny is now in 6th grade and is nurturing a love for music — he plays clarinet in the school band, but he also started piano lessons and is taking off. (His teacher says he is a natural at playing by ear!) He also joined the cross-country team and is pushing himself hard. He is especially proud of the fact that he broke his older brother’s 6th grade 1 mile time (under 6 minutes). This boy can run for days! He recently hit a growth spurt and is rapidly catching up to his siblings.
Gil continues to teach high school Bible full-time and was requested by the Class of 2023 to be their commencement speaker — a testimony to his impact and influence on his students. Gil’s favorite class to teach is “Worldviews,” where he challenges students to think deeply about what they believe.
And of course, we must acknowledge the happy presence of Mzungu the dog in our family, who can make even the grumpiest teenager smile.
As a family, we continue to deepen our relationships at our church and in our community. The home group we host is thriving and has expanded this year. I joined the committee at church that plans short-term missions trips, and, in fact….we plan to lead one next year: Our family will be returning to Tanzania in June for three weeks (with a team from our church)!
I’m now in my fourth year serving with ReachGlobal (the organization that sent us to Tanzania). I am on the Engage Team, which means I help to interview, onboard, and train new cross-cultural workers. I was promoted to Associate Director this year and have enjoyed the challenge of new and different responsibilities. I work remotely most of the time but travel to Minnesota several times a year for interviewing and training events.
I also have had several additional speaking events this year–to help train short-term teams in cross-cultural sensitivity, to train church missions leaders in creating a missions culture, and even to teach a weekend retreat on anxiety for teen girls.
My job is a support-raising position, meaning I have to raise all the funds needed for my salary, benefits, and travel expenses. I haven’t yet met my fundraising goals for 2023, so if you would be interested in becoming a monthly partner or making an end-of-year gift, please click here to make a donation. It’s always tax deductible.
If you are interested in joining my ministry email list, please let me know at contactamy@amy-medina.com. (This is different from subscribing to this blog by email.)
Thank you for reading this post, and so many others! Your comments and emails in response to my articles are what keep me writing. I am so grateful to each of you!
