Africa... in HIS time

A big part of the reason I wanted to start this blog was that I am going to Rwanda and Uganda for 2 weeks in August. Here's the story.

I already mentioned that I began reading Katie Davis's blog in late April.

MAY 1: I journaled: "In one entry (of Katie's blog) she's back in the US and struggling with why she's dry spiritually. She talks about how in Uganda, she is so desperate for the Lord in every little thing. Desperate for love for all these orphans, for food, for money to make ends meet. Here in the US, our needs and wants can so easily be satisfied (we can run to the store for food, etc); we forget that our spirit is still hungry...Katie is hungry to do God's will and so humble as she shares about what she's doing- living the way God calls us to-- caring for the poor, the orphans."

I went on to write, "Lord I want you to teach me what this means for me. I want to be desperate for you. Lord, here am I. Where will you send me? or what are you calling me to?" In the next few days, I kept pondering this question of what God was calling me to and asking Him to show me.

MAY 11: I started praying about going on a missions trip. On Katie Davis's website: www.amazima.org, she talks about trips through Visiting Orphans. I prayed about possibly going in the fall on a trip and continued to pray for the next couple weeks.

MAY 23: I journalled Habakkuk 1:3ff, "Why do you make me look at injustice? Whey do you tolerate wrong?...justice never prevails. The Lord replies, 'Look and watch and be UTTERLY AMAZED. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."

Later that day, I talked with our missions pastor about the possibility of going on a Visiting Orphans trip. He connected me with the woman who overseas our Kingdom Justice area (working with widows, orphans, trafficking, etc).

MAY 29:We talked the next week and she has been praying about getting involved with Visiting Orphans for a year and my asking her about it was confirmation that we should step forward into this.
She called and talked with Visiting Orphans (VO) and then called and told me to call them.

MAY 30: I called VO to share my heart for going on a trip. At the time, the only trip to Uganda that had space was in December. The girl at VO said that she felt like the December trip was not the one for me, but when they had dates for 2013 solidified, she could let me know what would be a good one for me. I felt like she really understood my heart and could lead me to the right trip. So I was at peace waiting until next spring.


MAY 31: The girl at VO emailed me and told me that there was a spot on 2 trips for late summer. One was Kenya/Uganda on July 28 and the other was Rwanda/Uganda on Aug 3. She said it's short notice, but I think it would be a great option for you. She went on to say, "We'd need to know by Monday (June 4) and you would need $2200 by next week for either trip so we can book the plane tickets. If this is something you are interested in and feel like is the right timing (please pray about it) then I'll let you know Monday which trip would be the better fit for you." All I can say is WHOA!! This was both really exciting and kind of crazy! That's one weekend to make a decision and a week to raise over half the funding.

JUNE 1-3: So I prayed. Saturday I was able to pray with a mentor of mine who is a prayer warrior for me. She encouraged me that God has a plan. I knew that I was called to go. But I wasn't sure yet whether this was the time that God had me to go and I wanted to be obedient to HIS timing. I got prayer at church on Sunday. Later Sunday, I had two separate people ask me, "Is the only reason you feel like it's not the time the short fundraising time?" The answer was yes. And neither of them said anything about that to advise me, but I could sense the Lord asking me, "Do you trust me?" Was I going to say no to this opportunity because MAYBE I wouldn't be able to raise funds in time?

JUNE 4: Decision day. I was going to say yes. The fact that this was a full trip and a space opened was incredible. My job, work load, life situation, and passion all made it seem like an ideal time to go. I felt called to TRUST God for the funding, even as that scared me. VO told me that Rwanda/Uganda would be the best fit. It's led by one of their staff (cool because I was hoping for Rwanda/Uganda, but also hoping for the trip with the VO staff. I thought they were opposite, but it turned out they were the same trip! Yet another glimpse of God preparing the way). I got it cleared with everyone. My supervisor was great-- she says, "You HAVE to go!" and really encouraged me that the Lord was going to reveal more of himself to me. That He is a provider.


It's now late. This is a big part of the story. I'll share more soon about what's gone on since.
Goodnight friends!