A heart felt perspective; a glimpse into Why Africa.

Tonight I want to write about how EXCITED I am to be going to Africa.

I feel that “excited” is the wrong word. Perhaps ready, homesick, longing, hurting, hoping, waiting, wanting.

I watched the sun set tonight. It was about as African as the sunset gets here in Michigan. And I looked at the trails being left in the sky by metal birds flying every which way. As I breathed the fresh spring air, I knew that getting on a plane in 40 something days is exactly what I am suppose to do.

In all the busyness of “preparing”… getting ready… repeating the same words over and over, I sometimes forget. But I am now reminding myself, and telling you, that this time in Africa is what I want, what I believe I need, and what I long for. I am longing to give myself to others, I feel full and I want to pour out. I am finding ways to do this right here in Ann Arbor. But my heart knows that Africa is where I am made for. I am learning to love in a new way, and I want to get a chance to truly love the most beautiful people in the world… the poor, marginalized, the victims of war, the African.

Africa is home. People do not understand this, unless they have experienced it. To feel so strongly about a “place”… be it a VERY large place. A piece of land which draws you in, as you go to see… you suddenly discover you are part of a huge family. I walked into Uganda and felt like I was coming home for the first time. I long for earth that is not brown, but red. My feet have been clean, covered, for too long.

My heart yearns to be among the most beautiful people in the world, people of faith, wisdom, joy, simplicity, and a deep understanding of how the world works. I want to go to Africa. I am ready (or at least getting there) to be in Africa.

My heart has been kidnapped, not by Somali pirates, but by the songs and souls of a continent not my own. It has been taken prisoner by the stories, the lives, the pain, the suffering, and the joy of a continent far away. Yet so my own I claim… my family, my people, my land.

I will never dance like an African, but I will dance with all my heart. I will never speak like an African, but I will share my stories and open my ears to theirs. I will never understand everything… I will never know the answer to why the earth is red. I will just know that it is here, in Africa, that my feet are meant to stand.

I want to go to Africa. I believe I am suppose to go and spend this time in Africa.

We are created for things much greater than we will ever know.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Encourage. Learn.

I have four words I am using to capture the vision of what I’ll be doing in Africa. They are Love, Serve, Encourage and Learn. Today I’d like to share with you how I intend to Encourage and Learn while in Africa.

Encouragement is often needed when we are working at something challenging. Living and work in Africa is challenging. One of my goals is to be able to listen and offer encouragement to those who are doing good work in Africa. I will be with many different groups, serving many different needs. Each group will have different struggles and needs. I know that I cannot meet those needs. My goal and hope is to be able to listen and then speak words of encouragement into people’s lives. I hope that the small amount of time I can also give will serve to help carry the loads these people are under, even for a short time.

I think that we should never stop being students. As soon as we do, we get stagnant. I want to be a student of life, a learner …seeking wisdom from all corners of the world. I know that often it is the homeless, the destitute, those who live in poverty, the child, the quiet woman in the corner, who have the most wisdom and insight on life. I hope to sit at the feet of these people and learn… ask questions… listen and write what they say. I want to learn how they see life. How they deal with issues. How they live day to day with such joy and strength. I want to learn other things too… how to dance, how to say words in Luandan and Juba Arabic and Swahili. I want to learn African names, and be called by mine. I want to learn why they eat green, unripe mangoes, instead of waiting until they are yellow.

My favorite times in Uganda last summer was when I got to sit with my “mothers”… my adopted African mothers… and talk with them. My closest, Clementina, had such wisdom, we laughed and laughed and then spoke seriously too, sitting out under the trees… digging our toes in red earth. And there were others too.

I am going to Africa to Learn. And I am going to Encourage. To give a hug where it is needed, to sit and weep or laugh or be silent or listen … or just be. There will be times of incredible busyness, and times that are empty. I hope to soak everything up, and to give all of myself to Africa.

Thanks for reading!


Noelle Gornik will be serving throughout Eastern Africa for 3.5 months this summer. She will be working in S. Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

Partnership: Strength for the Journey

I have been so encouraged over the last few weeks. I have had countless conversations with people I only just met about what I am going to be doing this summer. I feel like suddenly I am surrounded, supported, uplifted by the hands of those who are directly and indirectly in my life. My heart is filled with gratitude.

The plans are coming slowly. I have a plane ticket and a mosquito net. I am slowly getting things hammered out and solidified on the African end. The lack of infrastructure in many of these locations makes communication very difficult. So I just take it slow. This is an excellent lesson in patience!

This past weekend I had a table at several church services and a community meeting. It was wonderful to be able to speak with people face to face about what I will be doing. My post cards are flying, which makes me happy! 1,000 refrigerators is the goal!

I’ve never been so encouraged in any of the previous times of service in my life. I feel like people are catching the vision! I am excited by this!!

Maybe you haven’t caught the vision. I hope that I can help you understand. This trip is about loving those who are unloved, those who are often forgotten. This time of service is about, for a short moment in time, lifting the burdens of my African brothers and sisters as I come along side of them. I am going to be partnering with Africans to help them bring about transformation in their nations! This trip is about getting a vision of a broader humanity. Seeing humans, who are worthy of every dignity, and meeting them where they are at. My strongest desire for this time is the LEARN. Sit at the feet of Africans and learn from them… their wisdom, their solutions, their pain… so that I can learn how to carry these burdens with them.

In other news, I’ve made a decision about the end of my time in Africa. My trip will end in Kenya. I am going to be working with the Missionaries of Charity… Mother Theresa’s nuns. They run a home outside of Nairobi very similar to what is run in India. I can’t wait to work with them for a short time, to see how they live out love of the destitute and dying!

The VIDEO!

Watch it. Share it. Watch it again. Tell everyone!

Washing Feet... Considerations through preparation

Life is BUSY. For the months before I decided to go to Africa, I pretty much just worked… and occasionally did things with friends. It was a time of finding my feet again after a challenging senior year of college.

However, ever since I said the final Yes to going to Africa this summer, the rubber has hit to road. Sometimes I feel like a one woman circus, running around doing 100 million different things all at once. It’s feast or famine in terms of work to be done. One day I’ll have 30 emails to send and everything I need to do another pass at stuffing my letters. The next day there will be no pressing emails and nothing else to attend to… those days I feel at a loss, but then remember that it is in those small breaks that I need to rest.

The other day was one of those crazy days. My head hummed for hours, telling me all the people I needed to remember to email about this event, or that contact, or mailing the postcards…ect ect ect. Finally I came to a point of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. And there, I stopped. I had to stop the lists, I needed to clear my head.

So in mid list of people to contact, I forced a question across my mind… and all else ceased.

The questions was simply…

Why are you going to Africa?

I knew the answer right away.

The answer humbled me, and reminded me of who I am and why I am seeking to do this work.

So, why am I going to Africa?

I am going to Africa because I believe in washing feet. I believe that giving your life in service of others, especially the poor, is one of the greatest ways to use the time, talents and treasure we have here on earth.

In preparation for this time, I have been reading various writings by Mother Theresa. She has a lot of quotes that are used often, perhaps over used. But this is the one I’d like to use today…

“Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile”- Mother Theresa

Mother Theresa did more than just serve. She poured out her life on behalf of the poor, the voiceless, the dying, the orphan. That is what, in a very small way, I hope to do this summer. I am partnering with organizations and offering them all that I have… the small offering of short amounts of time, my skills and talents, and resources. That is all I have to give at this time.

I am not Mother Theresa… but I do seek this summer to fully give my life in service of those I meet in Africa. To kneel in the red earth and wash their feet. To embrace the crying child and lift up those who are bowed down. To lavishly give love, time, energy and resources to “wash the feet”… to humbly serve the people of Eastern Africa

This cannot be done alone. I hope that each of you will, in your own way, partner with me to give all that we are to make life better for our brothers and sisters all over the world!

Thanks for reading!

Noelle Gornik is traveling to S. Sudan, Uganda and Kenya this summer. She is seeking to love, serve, encourage and learn while in Eastern Africa. Throughout her time she will be working with churches, communities, orphanages, development organizations, human rights workers, and others. Noelle hopes to be able to help in small ways with the current work being down, and also to discern the type of work she is meant to do long term in Africa.

If you are interested in joining my email list... please write me at noelle.gornik@gmail.com. Emails will be sent every 3 weeks.

Concert and Postcards!

Well, things are coming together to really get the prayer and fund raising efforts off the ground! I ordered 1,000 postcards, two sides in color! If you want some, let me know... I should get them this Friday.

Abigail Stauffer, a dear friend and now well known local musician has said she'd play a concert for me! The Common Cup has graciously said that they will host this event. I hope you'll all consider joining us for a lovely evening!