Work To Do

When I started this journey of planning my trip to Africa, I thought this was going to be just the first trip of many. This was going to be a preview of what my life would be like, living day to day in an African nation among the African people living the African lifestyle. I would leave my family and the life I knew here in America and spend who knows how long living my African dream as a missionary with my husband.

But as soon as I arrived, immediately, I knew this was not to be the case. I can't tell you how or if that even makes sense, but I just knew. And so I continued for a few days, my mind confused and unclear. And I felt that God had become silent. The training wheels had come off and He was letting me figure this one out on my own.

For a while, I became unhappy. I became selfish. I missed my spoiled American life of showers, western toilets, variety of food to choose from, paved roads, blah blah blah. I became homesick and miserable, and it didn't help that God was still silent.

But the very last week, God finally spoke again, probably because I was too caught up in myself to see what He was trying to show me. While in Uganda, we got to see Show Mercy International's facilities.  Show Mercy  is a local organization from Oregon that has a children's homes, church, medical center, etc. located in Uganda. They also have a place where teams from America can come for a couple weeks and work with the children and people of Uganda. It inspired me!

You see, part of why I was so miserable for a few days is because I missed America. Part of it was the stupid material side. But part of it was that I missed the people. I missed my youth kids. I missed my church. I knew in that moment that I could never leave America to work in Africa because there was work to do here. And I knew I couldn't abandon Africa for America because there was work to do there. So I was stuck.

Long story short, after seeing the Show Mercy facilities, I knew that my new goal was to bridge the 2 countries. How cool would it be to have an organization where I could help not only the children of Uganda, the sick of Uganda, the believers in Uganda, but also the young people of America. Because I know that trips like this change people's lives. What is better than giving Americans the opportunity to see the world outside of themselves and help those less fortunate?

So now I know I will not be long term in Africa, and although my plans are still unclear, I feel that this trip really clarified a lot for me. And for that I am grateful. More to come.