I Need Africa.

I am sharing something today which is a real passion of mine.

The Mocha Club is an organisation which I talked about previously in my Purpose Project when I raised money for their orphan Projects. 

(The Idea behind the Mocha Club is that it is a community of people who are giving up the cost of a few mochas a month to support development projects in Africa and help care for the those less fortunate)

I also found out about an organisation called FashionABLE at the Influence Conference last year.

So I came across a partnership between both FashionABLE and the Mocha Club to bring the I Need Africa Campaign. Here is what Barrett, the founder of the Mocha Club & FashionABLE wrote while living in Ethiopia in 2008. 

'When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in those same people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.

The images spilling out of my television showed circumstances that could seemingly only equal misery, and I was fooled. I bought into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. The truth is, in Africa I find hearts full of victory, indomitable spirits. In places where despair should thrive, instead I find adults dancing and singing, and children playing soccer with a ball crafted of tied up trash. Instead of payback, I find grace. Here, weekend getaways are not options to provide relief from the pains of daily life. Relationships and faith provide joy. Love is sovereign.

My new reality… I know now that my joy should have no regard for my circumstances. I’m ashamed by my lack of faith, but at the very same moment I am excited by my new pursuit. I’m forced to redefine the meaning of having much or having little. I’m uneasy with the prospect of change and of letting go, but just the thought of freedom is liberating. I want what I have learned to trickle down from my head into my heart – I no longer want to need the “next thing” to have joy.

I’m not saying that Africa does not need our efforts. It absolutely does need our partnership. But for me, I’ve come to understand that I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME. Why? Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hands will never be as valuable as peace in my heart. I’ve learned that I don’t need what I have and that I have what I need. These are just a few of this continent’s many lessons. I came here to serve and yet I’ve found that I have so much to learn, and Africa, with all its need, has much to teach me.'

 (Taken from Mocha Club Website) 

So of course I jumped right in and now am a proud owner of an 'I Need Africa' 2.0 t-shirt. (Click the banner at the top to find out how you can get one of their two products free!)

I hope to share soon about how my own experience of being in Africa helped me see that Africa changed me more than I did those I met there.

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm so thankful for sweet Katie over at Hope Engaged, especially since she started this monthly photo shoot link-up which obviously is like my love language. (And I wanted to also combine another passion with talking about the Mocha Club today)

I love spending time with my hubby obviously, which can actually be hard to do in the day to day grind of our weekly life.

So taking time out to do a little photoshoot can be a ton of fun for us.