One Life to Give

Africa. When you hear that word, what do you think of? You may think of a desolate, lonely place. Or you may think of children dressed in colorful fabric, balancing heavy jugs of water on their heads. You may think of dust, heat, and a scorching sun. Or perhaps, you think of shabby mud huts, with no running water or electricity. For me, I think of Africa as my home.

For the most part, I'm a pretty average teenager. States side, I'm from the suburbs of Chicago. I have a wonderful family, and awesome friends. I enjoy music, theater, playing soccer, dancing, and singing. But in a lot of ways, I'm different. I am a TCK and an MK (stands for Third Culture Kid and Missionary Kid) in Cameroon, Central Africa. I go to Rain Forest International School, and have had a lot of "missionary experiences." I am also a follower of Jesus Christ, who saved my soul.

People often say you have one life to live, so do all you can to enjoy it; after all, you only live once. The world tells us to do all you can to get what you want, so that you can be happy. I think the phrase should be one life to give. You have one life to give to bless others; you can change peoples lives for the better; and you can take up your cross and follow Jesus and live radically for Him. Life is full of choices. Do we give our lives to Christ, trusting Him with it... or do we ignore Christ and choose to do what we want? Do we choose to follow Christ... or not?

I am certainly not saying that living in the suburbs or that having possessions is wrong. I am also not saying that you have to give up all you have, move to Africa, and live in a mud hut. But I am saying that we should live radically for Christ and shine our lights brightly wherever he has us. God calls each of us to different places at just the right time. That could be living in a foreign country as a missionary, or living in the suburbs of Chicago. Wherever God wants you, that's where He has planned you to be a light for others to see. Some believers want to hide the light that has been given to them by Christ. This saddens me, because what is your faith then? As believers in Christ, we can choose to give our light out and make a difference for Him...or not.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

God has called me and my family to Africa. It has not always been easy, and I honestly struggle with giving my life to Christ and living radically for Him. I want you to know, fellow readers, that I am not a perfect human, and that I have by no means, always lived my life out for Christ. I have made many mistakes, and need to learn how to trust God more. I hope you realize I am learning right beside you. Giving our all to God is within the choices we make every day. So I challenge us to question if we are giving our all to God. Are we shining for Him and not conforming to what the world wants us to be? Are we giving ourselves to God, to be used to bless others? Are we living radically for Christ through the daily decisions of how we react to things and what we expose ourselves to (ex: music, media, etc.)? Are we giving all we have to Him? These are the questions I want to leave you with for this first blog post.

I chose the title, Songs from the Rain Forest because God has given me a passion for music and theater; and because my family and I are following His call to the rain forests of Cameroon. On this blog, I hope to share what I have been learning in my life and also stories about life here in Africa. So stay tuned! :)

Joyfully His,
Hannah Lynn