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!