I am a woman and I love clothes, shoes and just now started loving makeup- just as much as the next woman, but shopping malls make me uncomfortable. 

Let me explain. 

Growing up I wanted the best. I didn’t always have the name brand best but I wanted it. My family was not poor, but we were not rich either. I always wanted what the popular kids had- a purse made out of recycled Caprisuns, a bottle cap belt, a pair of Lucky jeans.

My mom, being the wonderful woman she is, surprised me with a bottle cap belt one day and took me to The Buckle in the mall and allowed me to buy a pair of discount jeans. I thought I was uptown. LOL 

But when I went to Kenya for the first time at 21, I was changed. I saw people who had absolutely nothing. But yet, had everything.

Our first village we went to we ate in a dirt hut. It was essentially all mud, no floor just dirt, with a tin and stick roof. They didn’t have windows because they couldn’t afford them. (We are talking simple windows.) They had taken everything out of the home and put in tables and plastic chairs and cooked up a meal of chicken and rice. The chicken is boiled in a pot over a fire in a mixture of blood, water and whatever seasonings they happen to have.

As we took our seats in this hut we had to shew the flies away from our plate in order to eat. The village children, barefoot and malnourished stared at us from the outside of the doorframe as we ate. 

I will never forget that.

Although I knew I would offend them by not eating my food- we were not used to the meals- so I became very good at burying my chicken in rice and making it look as though I had eaten. 

This, to them, could have been weeks worth of groceries. Yet here they were graciously providing a meal for the Muzungoos and making sure we had ad  place to sit and rest. The love they had for Jesus was unmistakable. The poorest village was the village that was the most open to us. 

You will never meet anyone like those of Africa. They are beautiful- inside and out.

In 2016, we entered the home of a woman who had around six kids that were all ill. I watched as she got on her knees, tears streaming down her face and prayed for her children’s healing as they stared at us.

I have never felt so hopeless in my entire life. 

Still, in all that devastation and despair there is something that completely captivates me about that wonderful place that I wish was closer. 

It will forever be in my heart. 

 Because of my experience in Kenya I have changed so much. I wouldn’t be the person I was without her. 

Preserving the earth and wildlife has become important to me after seeing the beautiful Msaii Mara and it’s inhabitants. 

Shopping malls make me uncomfortable because of all the stuff. I can’t handle lots and lots of stuff that just sits there unused. 

Now I have my collectables;  I have my books; I have stuff- but I get to a limit and think, “How much is too much?” Or, “Why do I have to buy the 50 top of the line when the 10 dollar version will work?” 

Seeing Americans spend money right and left and not think a thing about it. Our culture is so fast-paced, automatic, frantic and catered. 

We don’t have to walk miles for water or to school. We don’t have to sleep in mud huts and hide out calves in a room where a lion won’t get them. 

We are so blessed. 

Despite Americas problems we are still pretty well off. 

There is nothing wrong with having money. There is nothing wrong with nice stuff. But being blind to a world that has 3 billion living on less than $2.50 a day- there is something wrong to that. 

Shopping malls make me uncomfortable. 

Take me to a thrift store, Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory, The Dollar Tree. Give me deals. Show me a product that also benefits the environment or goes towards a good cause. Give a reason to support your business. Take me to Half-Priced Books or a Goodwill for books! 

I am not cheap on everything- but most things. 

Sometimes you do get what you pay for, but sometimes we can afford to have less and spend less. 

Join me in being conscious of those that do not have nor spend.

We can pray, we can support a child through Compassion International, lend a hand to the less fortunate in your own city or town. Let’s be aware of the need in our world. 

They are valuable. 
They are loved. 
They are useful.