Journey to Africa

We had our first full day of orientation in Nakuru, Kenya today. It was lovely to have a relaxing long weekend in Nairobi after the hustle and bustle leading up to leaving. Although, we were definitely ready to get started.

The drive to Nakuru wasn’t too bad!! Albeit 3 hours long, it was broken up with some wildlife sightings. Between the drive there and the drive back we saw lots of zebra, some baboons, buffalo, monkeys, and gazelle.

[insert picture(s) of zebras]

For today, we had one thing on our agenda. We were all asked to share our story about how we landed ourselves in Africa. There were 18 adults and 13 children that had all arrived in Africa for the next 2-4 years. We had come from 5 different countries and would be spreading out to 6 different countries all over this amazing continent of Africa. We would be engaging in a variety of jobs and goals that would all lead to one thing: furthering the Kingdom of our Savior.

Sharing our stories was a great way to see how God was orchestrated so many things including jobs, finances, supportive friends and family, previous training, and everything else and so much more too! It was so encouraging seeing how much God has done for so many people that were working toward the same goal.

For myself, it was a great time to have a reminder of all that God has done in my life. If He has done so much up until now, then it will be unbelievable to see what happens in the couple of years.

Mission trips started for me in 2003. I went on my first few trips to small villages in remote Alaska to do Vacation Bible School for the children. I was fortunate and extremely blessed to make a total of 6 trips there over the years.

In 2006, I can remember the concept of Africa starting to toil around in my brain. My brother had suggested I look into it and thought it would be something that I would enjoy. I just tucked it away and visited the options every few months.

With Africa, it all started to get serious in January 2011. You can read about the very first day that I knew God wanted me to go to Africa HERE. I knew that day that Africa would be a part of my life. But I had no idea that it would turn into this commitment.

August 2011: First trip to Africa became a reality. It was glorious and amazing. I was part of a team of 20 people. It was with an amazing organization, called Visiting Orphans. I still highly recommend and believe in what they do. We visited ministries in Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Coming back to America after only two weeks was hard after seeing what I saw and experiencing a glimpse at another world. There was something different about Africa. It just felt right to me and I knew I just had to go back. Then, I saw a similar trip that lined up with my school break. Once I figured out that the only thing preventing me to sign up were the finances, I signed up anyway. God provided once and He would do it again.

December 2011: The second trip to both Rwanda and Ethiopia was even more than the first. The women, children, and staff of the ministries are always so blessed that we would come so far to see them and share God’s love. However, when you do it again, they really start to feel important. Africa started to take up an even bigger part of my heart.

I couldn’t stay away. Africa was becoming my home and I knew God was calling me back. However, first world responsibilities kept me busy for a year as I finished some schooling. Then, I figured I needed to get back one last time before I got caught up in the hustle and bustle of first world living with a  grown up job so I signed up for one last trip that would be right after school.

December 2012: Round three and God continued to blow my mind with how much his hands are all over this. By now I had a home church that was completely behind me and countless other indivduals and families that could see my passion for the people of Africa to experience and come to know Christ’s love. A fellow team member asked me to co-lead a trip in March.

Upon returning, I had so much to do it seemed. Two of the major things were: I needed to find a grown up job now that I finished school and take my national certification exam. Also, if I was going to help with the trip in May, then I needed to go to leading training for Visiting Orphans. Much of this depended on getting a letter in the mail for my national exam. Guess what? That letter came the day after I agreed to co-lead the trip and finalized leader training. It seemed like God just wanted me to make that commitment then everything else would happen. Somehow it grew into a month long adventure in Africa and God provided a job opportunity that would let me start working and still go tow Rwanda for a month. YIKES!!!

March 2013: Traveling to Rwanda on a solo journey didn’t bother me. It might have caused some family members a little less sleep but I was confident in my steps. Although, I had no idea it would change the course of my life. Through a very brief conversation with a girl in the Addis Ababa, Ethiopia airport, I found out about Africa Inland Mission. The month flew by and back to work I went.

I loved leading a team and could clearly see that God had equipped me with certain experiences to be able to help others. I started to look at the calendar and see when I could do it again. July 2014 was put on the calendar, as it was the best fit for the ministries I wanted to visit. However, slowly I started to work through the application process with AIM and….

February 10, 2014: I attended the last stage of the process in Atlanta. It was a full week of learning, interviews, information, and everything in between including a snow storm. At the end of the week, I was not given an assignment but asked to keep working on a few things.

July 2014: This month will stand out in my memory for such a long time. On Thursday the 3^rd, I received the long awaited phone call that I had been appointed to full time ministry. Now, I just had to survive the three day weekend and on Monday I could discuss the assignment options. Through prayer and counsel, I accepted the position that I have today. I would be serving at a school in a Muslim village in rural NE Tanzania.

But first, I was leaving in about an hour to go the airport and serve in Rwanda and Ethiopia with eight other people that only had their hearts in Africa and were about to put their feet there for the first time.

When I returned, I hit the road running with paperwork and other logistics to get things rolling as I was aiming to leave in January 2015.

October 2014: The support of all kinds is overwhelming me in unimaginable ways. God provided over $20,000 in about 5 weeks time and in ways I never saw possible. All the details started to fall into place and soon I was handing over my responsibilities, downsizing my Earthly possessions, and setting travel plans.

Now, on this fine day in January at a hotel in Nakuru, Kenya, just being here is a testament to God’s faithfulness. Who could have known that a conversation in an airport could have changed my life so much? Who could have known that God would call so many people to support me both prayerfully and financially to make this journey a reality? It is mind boggling to me and I even lived every part of it.