Joy

Dictionary.com describes JOY as: the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. The joy in Africa can be surprising. The sad commercials never tend to depict joy. I am here to tell you that people in Africa do have joy and a lot of times I think they have joy to a greater level that we here in the states experience. They find joy in the little things and tend not to dwell on the more difficult things in life or feel sorry for themselves.

While in Malawi we worked with translators who were also the pre-school teachers. One of these teachers, Isaac (remember this means laughter), was extremely joyful. He would sometimes have up to 90 3 or 4 year old children in his small classroom. Kids would be crying, screaming, pooping and peeing.Yet somehow he remained joyful.It was hard for us to understand how he managed to do his job each day. He is basically a volunteer. I dont know of anyone who would volunteer to teach 90 pre-schoolers with few supplies, everyday and not get paid. I remember him saying that even if one kid walked out of his classroom and learned something it would be worth it. After pre-school he would then go out into the villages with us to put on back yard bible clubs. And he continued to be joyful. You could see him become so passionate when he would get to translate the bible story or read the bible story in their language.

We also spent time with kids from an orphanage called Timothy's Home. My heart broke hearing the stories of the homes and situations they came from but yet still the kids were filled with joy.