Wild bush. Johannesburg. Giraffes. Afrikaans. Lions. Cape Town. Nelson Mandela. These were just a few things that came to mind whenever I thought of Africa before moving there in January 2011. I did not know what to expect. All I knew was that I was moving there for at least one year and that I must be out of my mind.

Now, other things come to mind: Home. Beloved students. Venda. Amethyst Learning Center. Work parties. Kruger National Park. Unconditional love. Bush camping. Land Rovers. Black Mambas. Magnum ice cream bars. Cold showers. Family. These are a small snippet of the things that come to mind now, two full years after my arrival in South Africa for the first time. They are random but personal, unique to me. South Africa now means so much more to me than just a place with wild animals and grasslands. That country will forever have a special place in my heart.

No matter how people may have tried, no one could have prepared me for those twenty-four months, because how can you prepare someone for a place that will change her very heart and soul? 

South Africa: The story of how I got there

A city girl to the core, I never saw Africa coming. I saw Australia, England, Russia, or somewhere else in Europe, but I never envisioned myself on the African continent. When God first introduced me to the idea of living there, it was the fall semester of my final year as an undergraduate at Liberty University. A man living in Tanzania spoke at an event hosted by an honour society I was involved in, telling us of the schools he and his group had built within the country and how they always needed willing individuals to come out and teach. I perked up simply because I was looking for something to do post-university. I even spoke with him one-on-one later, asking questions. The work would be difficult: living in the bush with little connection to the outside world, snatches of internet connection, and a distinct lack of American comforts.  A few weeks after this meeting, I concluded that I was simply not cut out for that kind of thing and pushed the idea aside. God saw things differently.

Over the next two months, Africa came to mind constantly and suddenly. I paid these random and consistent thoughts little attention until one day, I finally stopped and asked why I could not get Africa out of my mind. I had no answer, until that next Sunday. A friend of mine sat with me in our college class that morning, greeting me with the usual hug and “How are you?” pleasantries, when suddenly she asked, “So have you given any more thought on going to Africa?” I stared at her for a long minute. Where had that come from?  Clearly, God was up to something, and He was using my friend to get His point across.

This friend of mine had no idea what she started that Sunday morning when she asked that question. She would eventually tell me that she had just known I was meant to be in Africa, and that was why she asked me about it (and continued to ask me about it for weeks afterward).  Because of her encouragement, I finally faced the idea of going to Africa. I started asking people at church, in my friend circles, and in my classes to start praying for me as I considered moving to Tanzania for a year. The idea scared me to pieces, but I had such an inner peace about this pursuit that I could not avoid God’s prodding any longer.

In late January, at another event hosted by my English honour’s society, I was speaking about Tanzania with that same friend from church. Another friend of mine overheard and immediately jumped into the conversation. He said, “You know, if you really want to go to Africa, why don’t you go to South Africa instead? My parents run a school there, and they need teachers. You would do well there.”

He and I spoke for a good ten minutes about this school in South Africa. I could feel the excitement building inside me. He promised to send me the website link and additional information later that night. As my church friend and I left the event a few hours later, she said with a wide grin on her face, “You really like the sound of this school, don’t you?” I told her I did, and she laughed. “I can tell,” she replied. “You have no idea the change that came over you. Whenever you talk about Tanzania, you seem uncertain, but when you heard about South Africa, you lit up. Seriously. You need to go to South Africa.”

Hard to believe that one year later, I did exactly that, and I have been forever changed.