Good news! Connection confirmation!

Today I received confirmation that I will be spending most of July with the Yesu Ahuriire Community! I also heard from the Emmaus Center, and am working to confirm service dates with them.

Here is a rough idea of what I will be doing!

This trip will take me to 2 - 4 countries on the eastern side of the continent. This is a simple outline of my current service plan:
Southern Sudan: Mid May- Mid June (4 weeks): I will be working with a mission team as we travel across Southern Sudan doing various youth and church retreats, as well as community based outreach events.
Uganda: I will be in Uganda from mid June through July. In Uganda I will be visiting 2 the Emmaus Community where I was last summer and the Yesu Ahuriire Community. I also will be serving with a church contact from Ann Arbor, and visiting a faith based leadership program called Cornerstone. When staying with close friends in Kampala, I will be doing short visits to development organizations to understand how development takes place on the ground level. In each location I will seek to be of service however there is need. Each place has said that there is a variety of activities which I could be involved with. I will be staying 1-3 weeks with each group.
Kenya: I will travel to Kenya in August. My hope in Kenya is to spend several weeks in the slum of Kibera, in Nairobi. I have established several connections within Kibera which will provide me opportunities to work differently with those living in absolute poverty. I also hope to spend time with various development organizations, based in Nairobi. After spending time in Nairobi, I will possibly spend time with friends who live in Southern Kenya.
All of these plans are subject to change, due to the nature of working in an African context! I will be leaving the United States on May 17th, and returning most likely at the end of August.

There is a small chance of a trip to Malawi to serve on a women's conference.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, "Noelle in Africa". This blog is meant for several purposes. I hope that it will be a place of encouragement for you, somewhere that you can read about what is being done... work that you are now a part of! I see those who are around me, encouraging and supporting me, as my partners no matter where I am in the world.

I also want this blog to be somewhere that gives you a clear idea of what I am doing, and where I am. By knowing this I hope that you will know how best to pray for me, and also how any donations made are being used.

And finally, I hope to post thoughts and realities that come my way. I will post before I go and while I am away as inspirations for our journey.

May this space inspire you to live everyday as one dedicated to making the world a better place.

Happy Reading,
Noelle Gornik