Earlier this year, Mergon’s SSA Regional Manager, De Wet Spies, his wife, Miemie, and their four daughters temporarily relocated to Kenya for three months to gain a closer perspective on the region with the aim of better serving our ministry partners there. It was an adventure that took them across great distances in an overpacked Toyota Fortuner with little leg room for a family of six. Yet, it led them to places that challenged, enriched, and forever changed their understanding of the people and the diverse cultures of this continent. We asked Miemie to share some of her experiences – this is what she had to say, both in words and through her striking photography featured in this article.

As a family, we had the opportunity to spend three months in Kenya, followed by a 22-day journey back to South Africa. The route of this extended trip through East Africa was primarily shaped around connecting with more than 35 ministry organisations, some of which are Mergon partners, making a significant impact in the region.

From the outset, De Wet and I envisioned the trip as a mission for the whole family, not merely a tag-along for the kids and me. We wanted to see God grow our kids in their understanding and love for others and for Christ, and to help them to see the world through His eyes. We were excited for them to learn about cultures and people, and to cultivate curiosity around all that is wonderfully unfamiliar.

Of course, we ourselves wanted to grow in the kind of understanding that happens only when the road is long and the days too numerous to count.

We slept in more than 24 different locations and crossed five international borders, using cars, ferries, airplanes, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, boats, dhows, donkeys, horses, Ubers, and camels. In some places, we saw women in bikinis and men in shorts; in others, women were veiled, with only their eyes visible, and men wore robes. In some cultures, men held hands as friends, while in others, husbands and wives could not touch in public. We spent time with families who visited mosques, temples, churches, and Bible studies, as well as those who avoided all forms of institutionalised religion.

Our travels took us to the desert along the Ethiopian border, where we visited ministries working among unreached tribes. We also met brave missionaries labouring into the southern tip of Lake Malawi, facing persecution. From the encouraging work caring for children in some of Nairobi’s challenging slums to the hugely influential gospel programmes being birthed and broadcast across Tanzania’s airwaves, I grew deeply convinced that we have a message of hope and life to share about what is happening in East Africa.

Here are a few of my reflections on this incredible journey:

1. Spending an extended time on the ground changes your perspective and helps you see our common humanity

God’s church is wonderfully diverse – a truth I’ve come to treasure. Over the last three months, I heard people worship Jesus in languages I’ve never heard before. Sometimes we sang songs under trees with fellow believers; other times we praised God in tents and community halls. In some congregations, women adorned themselves in beautiful linen and beadwork, men in colourful shukas; in other places, believers gathered in t-shirts and chinos, in settings that felt more familiar. There were moments I was far from anything I knew, and other times it felt a bit more like home.

In Bedouin homes and worship halls, around dining room tables and dusty floors of rondavels, we ate, worshipped and shared lives with people from all walks of life. And the more time we spent with those who seemed so different to us, the more our discoveries shifted from obvious differences to less-obvious similarities.

Whether it was the Hindu temple down the road, serving up 4500 meals a week to school children in need, or the warm hospitality of Muslim acquaintances turned friends, we experienced a common longing for love and goodness. A desire to do good and make a difference in this world. A shared humanity in which we all bleed the same red and cry the same salt.

I learned to value the practice of listening, waiting to speak, and observing. Once I had formed an opinion, I would try to watch a little longer, listen a little more attentively, and reflect. When I felt ready to share my thoughts, I tried to frame them as questions, embracing these rhythms as a pathway to growth.

Perspective, I’ve learned, can be subjective; my logic might not be your logic, but in your context, it makes sense. The more we considered this, the more our perceptions were pruned and our empathy deepened – a process that was sometimes painful, but always life-giving.

2. The harvest is vast and wide

Driving from the northern tip of Kenya, through the heart of Nairobi, and then on to the south coast before reaching the Somali border, I was amazed by the diversity of people and their ways of life. The view through the car window told countless stories, from city streets bustling with tuk tuks and boda bodas to rural roads peppered with potholes and pedestrians on foot or bicycle. I saw lone stall owners selling small pyramids of potatoes and piles of vibrant red tomatoes, far from city markets. Along the way, we lost count of how many Christian ministries and churches we saw, equally as many temples and mosques.

All of this reminded me of Jesus’s words: the harvest is plentiful. Just as He asked us to pray for workers to go out into the harvest, it’s clear that, as the body of Christ, we need each other to share this wonderful news of hope and salvation throughout the continent. The Great Commission was never meant for one type of person, church, organisation, or ministry. The beauty of God’s creation, with its rich tapestry of cultures, calls for more workers in the field – people who simply love their neighbours with intention.

While I’ve come to deeply appreciate the work our ministry partners are doing, I’m also deeply aware that it’s Christ alone who brings the change. The seeds of the gospel are what truly transform communities. There are no superhumans in the mission field – just ordinary people responding to God’s call.  We’re called to water, plant and scatter the seeds – but only God can make them grow.

3. Christ alone transforms

Only Christ can penetrate the deepest parts of a person’s heart, even in the most remote areas of Africa where the gospel has yet to reach, and reveal Himself through dreams and visions. Only He can strengthen a believer’s heart, helping them share their faith joyfully, even in the face of fierce persecution. Only God can miraculously heal the sick and save entire families as a result of these miracles. Only He can write a story like that, as seen through the incredible ministries we visited.

And only He can do it in my own children, as we witnessed through their evolving prayers over time and distance.

What started with ‘Let me have a good day and let me enjoy everything’ was gradually replaced with ‘Please give everyone houses who don’t have houses and let the hungry people have enough to eat’.

‘Let Uncle Gibson’s business continue to grow.’

‘Please protect the Christians in that area, may the other people not hurt them.’

‘May they all meet Jesus and believe in him.’

‘Thank you that we can play freely here. Thank you, Jesus, for bread. Thank you for something to eat today. Thank you that we could wake up this morning. Thank you that we are in good health. Thank you for mosquito repellent. Thank you that we slept in a safe place last night.’

Now, back home, I reflect on this journey and ask myself how I can respond best to all that God has done and shown me over these past months? I consider this idea that ‘Christ in me’ is the greatest gift to offer, which allows my focus to shift from ‘What can I give or do for God?’ to ‘How can I just show up – open and authentic, with a simple seed to sow?’

I come away from this time with a deeper appreciation for how small we are as individuals and how incredibly far – indeed, borderless – our reach can be when we see ourselves as part of a greater whole – the body of Christ.