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None of these categories stand by themselves because they are all dependent on one another in my head, but it is the easiest way to make sense of what my expectations are. Here they are in no particular order:

Growth with the Lord

                I do expect to go with and through the Lord. I know that there are many things I have yet to experience that will shape this time with Him. Lately a thought that has been running through my head is “Break my heart for what breaks yours” – yes it’s a line from Hosanna (written by Brooke Fraser and performed by Hillsong United) but at the time that it began to be a constant thought and prayer, I didn’t realize that. I think it’s the best description of how the Lord is going to move in my life over the next year. Not only has this become my cry for the FYM trip it has also become my prayer for the mission trip that I’m going on over Spring Break called Beach Reach.

Serving others

            Like I said in a previous blog, from a young age I’ve loved to help others. I’ve known since I was little that anything I did in life for an extended period of time would have to involve this. So I expect to serve others. South Africans, Swazis, Mozambicans, Batswana, my team mates alike. I don’t know what it will look like but as long as I am helping people and being God’s hands and feet, its fine by me.

HIV/AIDS

            I’ve been warned HIV/AIDS probably isn’t as big of our ministry as I would like it be, but I also would like it to be all that we do besides spending time with the Lord. I don’t remember the first time I heard about AIDS, maybe it was when Ryan White died, or when I first saw Philadelphia, or when I saw something on the news and asked my parents what it was. My generation really hasn’t known a world in which the disease didn’t exist; I mean Rock Hudson died a few weeks after I was born (for my mom she said that his death was the first time it became real to her). Slowly over the years I have gained knowledge about the disease and empathy for those suffering with its horrible effects. All I can really offer is prayer, my limited knowledge, awareness through this blog, and another pair of hands to help hold and show love to others.

Friendships

            I expect to make some life-long friendships with not only my fellow team members but with South Africans and the people of Swaziland or Mozambique as well. I’m excited to get to know the rest of my team members and discover my role in our lives together.  I’ve seen the way that God brings together people when they are serving him even for a short amount of time. I can only imagine what will happen when serving together for nine months. Also I’m a realist; I realize that living in such close proximity to other people for a long amount of time can sometimes bring out the worst in people. But at the same time I believe that if the Lord is in a community as strongly as I pray He will be in ours then there is nothing we can’t get through.

Vision for the future (after Africa)

            For a long time I’ve been saying I really don’t know what I’m going to do when I get back. And I really mean it. There are many options running through my head at the moment but I know I won’t be happy unless I am doing what He wants me to do, trust me I’ve tried it the other way and it’s not worth it. I honestly expect the Lord to show me what he wants from me for my life while I’m on this trip…or at least the next step. I will have a college degree before I leave but for me to really do anything with it (besides missions for life) I need further schooling, like an internship to become a registered dietitian. Or to go back to school to get another degree…please don’t cringe too much at that Mom and Dad.
 
  Joe
            I’ve been dating this man for over a year now. Less than halfway through my being gone we will hit the two year mark. Now it might seem weird that Joe is part of my expectations for a trip that he will not be on. The thought that keeps coming with him is, if we can make it through Africa and possibly nine months away from each other, then we can make through just about anything. I do plan to go “see the world” and fully expect that it will change me, how could it not? But I’m praying that the ways in which it changes me only bring us closer together not further apart.
 
Oh and more thing –  I’ve heard a lot about them and I expect to see some amazing sunsets/rises! The one below is a sunrise from Enchanted Rock State Park near Austin, TX.