Africa here I come.
Now if only I can get everything in the allowable luggage limits.
Yikes.
More updates in 10+ days.
Off to DFW in about 30 minutes....after a trip to the bank, lunch, etc.
Grateful for your prayers. Praying that I serve Him well.
Keep an eye on www.watermarkinafrica.blogspot.com for updates on our trip.
Au revoir!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tears...Every Day
The first team of young adults arrived in Burundi on Sunday....news from the daily blog updates at http://www.watermarkinafrica.blogspot.com/ have shared tales of lost luggage, no running water and a few people with a rash (that thankfully isn't hindering their work). It's so crazy to sit here at my desk every day, knowing that they are there...knowing that I will be there so soon. And every day I read, I cry.
It's been a tough and very emotional week for me. There are several reasons for this...not the least of which is just the realization that I'm going back to a place that had such an influence on my heart last year. I'm eager to return. Eager to have a separation from Dallas. Eager to experience what God is going to do in and through our team. That seems really self-focused...but I know the truth. Though we are building a clinic and going to serve a community in need, we will be far more changed than they.
Our team of 14 (minus 2 already in Africa and 1 who was out of town) gathered last Sunday for team-building, most of which was a high ropes course. I usually love this stuff. This time I was terrified. Talk about out of my comfort zone! There's lots that could happen to me in Africa that would be nothing compared to the sheer terror I felt swinging 15 feet above the ground (yes, I was harnessed in...that didn'
t seem to calm my fears) and having no idea how to move forward or backward. These photos make it look easy!
I'm super grateful we had that time together. I'm excited for what lies ahead for us, as a team and individually. I know when we return to Dallas we'll be closer than we could have imagined.
So, just a few minutes ago, and what inspired this post, was an e-mail from Wes, our team leader, asking a much larger audience for donations of tools that the young adults team has suggested we bring along: claw hammers, stone hammers (with hammer on one side and chisel on the other), trowels for brick laying, and levels. Hmm...most of these tools, I've never used in my life...OK, I've never used any of those tools. :) But what accompanied the request was this photo with Deo (head of Alarm Burundi) wearing a Journey t-sh
irt, and alongside the man laying the brick is the Governor of the province. A Watermark team spent time with him on their last trip in March.
Seeing this photo made it so real. It also answered a lot of questions... but more than anything, it's real. That's the clinic. That's a wall. And there's another wall in the background. Those are bricks! Yes, we are building a medical clinic!
And after my last post something else happened that I wanted to share here as well. Our deadline for fundraising was a few weeks ago. They wanted to make sure we had everything covered well before the trip. Any extra that came in after that would actually go to relieve some personal expenses for shots and prescription meds and anything above and beyond that would be put towards the cost of building this clinic ($60,000 American). Out of the blue one day...not long after I'd been praying that God would provide for my own needs in order to pay all my bills before leaving the country...I got a check in the mail. It was from a sweet friend from a bible study group we were in a few years ago. We hardly ever see each other...mostly just in passing, if we're lucky. But the letter enclosed with the check said, "We wanted to support your trip to Africa! (I meant to send this a month ago)...." As I pondered God's provision...and remembered that all my expenses were covered, including my shots and meds...I realized it's not just ME and my team going to Africa to build a clinic. WE are building a medical clinic. All of us. Every person who gave to my trip and to every other team member who is going or who is already there. Hundreds and hundreds of friends, relatives, and neighbors came together, mostly sliently, to support our trips and to help build a medical clinic. If you gave one dollar or prayed one time, just look at those bricks being laid in Burundi. You are building a medical clinic!
Thank you for sending me. Thank for the privilege of going. I know I will never be the same.
It's been a tough and very emotional week for me. There are several reasons for this...not the least of which is just the realization that I'm going back to a place that had such an influence on my heart last year. I'm eager to return. Eager to have a separation from Dallas. Eager to experience what God is going to do in and through our team. That seems really self-focused...but I know the truth. Though we are building a clinic and going to serve a community in need, we will be far more changed than they.
Our team of 14 (minus 2 already in Africa and 1 who was out of town) gathered last Sunday for team-building, most of which was a high ropes course. I usually love this stuff. This time I was terrified. Talk about out of my comfort zone! There's lots that could happen to me in Africa that would be nothing compared to the sheer terror I felt swinging 15 feet above the ground (yes, I was harnessed in...that didn'
t seem to calm my fears) and having no idea how to move forward or backward. These photos make it look easy!I'm super grateful we had that time together. I'm excited for what lies ahead for us, as a team and individually. I know when we return to Dallas we'll be closer than we could have imagined.
So, just a few minutes ago, and what inspired this post, was an e-mail from Wes, our team leader, asking a much larger audience for donations of tools that the young adults team has suggested we bring along: claw hammers, stone hammers (with hammer on one side and chisel on the other), trowels for brick laying, and levels. Hmm...most of these tools, I've never used in my life...OK, I've never used any of those tools. :) But what accompanied the request was this photo with Deo (head of Alarm Burundi) wearing a Journey t-sh
irt, and alongside the man laying the brick is the Governor of the province. A Watermark team spent time with him on their last trip in March. Seeing this photo made it so real. It also answered a lot of questions... but more than anything, it's real. That's the clinic. That's a wall. And there's another wall in the background. Those are bricks! Yes, we are building a medical clinic!
And after my last post something else happened that I wanted to share here as well. Our deadline for fundraising was a few weeks ago. They wanted to make sure we had everything covered well before the trip. Any extra that came in after that would actually go to relieve some personal expenses for shots and prescription meds and anything above and beyond that would be put towards the cost of building this clinic ($60,000 American). Out of the blue one day...not long after I'd been praying that God would provide for my own needs in order to pay all my bills before leaving the country...I got a check in the mail. It was from a sweet friend from a bible study group we were in a few years ago. We hardly ever see each other...mostly just in passing, if we're lucky. But the letter enclosed with the check said, "We wanted to support your trip to Africa! (I meant to send this a month ago)...." As I pondered God's provision...and remembered that all my expenses were covered, including my shots and meds...I realized it's not just ME and my team going to Africa to build a clinic. WE are building a medical clinic. All of us. Every person who gave to my trip and to every other team member who is going or who is already there. Hundreds and hundreds of friends, relatives, and neighbors came together, mostly sliently, to support our trips and to help build a medical clinic. If you gave one dollar or prayed one time, just look at those bricks being laid in Burundi. You are building a medical clinic!
Thank you for sending me. Thank for the privilege of going. I know I will never be the same.
Monday, July 7, 2008
"We're Building a Medical Clinic"
Something has been bugging me lately. It's the way I describe this trip. "I'm going to Africa in two weeks. We're building a medical clinic." It reminds me of that thing busy Americans do when we run into someone we know, maybe not that well, and we're kind of in a hurry to get somewhere. "Hi. How are you," we say. "Fine, thanks. How are you," is the reply we receive. What we've exchanged really isn't any information at all...not the true interest given or response we desire and expect from our close friends. But sometimes we even do this with them.
I realized, that's how I feel when I give the quick response, "We're building a medical clinic." It's not because what I'm saying is false. We ARE building a medical clinic. It's that it really doesn't capture the full purpose and meaning of the trip. Sure, it's a short description that everyone can understand the value of, but giving the "short explanation" gives the other person permission to nod and say, "Oh, that's great." Then they're off the hook. Just like the daily "how are you?" greeting, my statement never really requires me or the other person to engage, and we both walk away with very little value in the words we've just exchanged.
But there's so much more I could say about this trip. Even with what little I know of the country and the project. Why in the world am I giving the quick answer that gets me out the door without really having to invest (or captivate the other person) in a longer, more detailed conversation about why I'm going and what we're doing there?
Rather than answer the WHY question, I do want to share a few other reasons we're going to Africa.
1. It's not just a building we are constructing. It's going to be the only "modern" medical facility within an hour's walk for about 80,000 people who are refugees returning to their homeland after the brutal genocide that ravaged their lives, their families, and their neighborhoods more than 10 years ago.
2. Our trip is in partnership with ALARM - African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries - an African-founded organization by a dear Rwandan man named Celestin. He was in the States when the genocide began in Rwanda and his heart broke for his people when he learned that somewhere around 80% of pastors were either killed or fled the country. What this meant is that people who survived had no where to turn to deal with the deep pain in their hearts and minds after watching the murder of their friends and family members. God is a god of comfort, and there was no one left to be the hands and feet of Christ, to remind them that God loves them or to give them hope for a better future. Celestin's mission, through ALARM, is to train up a new generation of leaders in the faith who can fulfill this role and bring hope, leadership and reconciliation to their people.
3. The value of a child is very different over there. Families are large and even small children have great responsibility to care for the younger ones. Many don't go to school because their families can't afford it and/or they need to work to help support the family. Most children have zero exposure to biblical teaching...even in countries like Burundi where the majority of the population is Christian. Adults go to church for an entire day on Sunday and the children are sent into the field to play soccer and entertain themselves during that time. Many have never heard even the simplest bible stories and many just don't have adults in their lives who have time to nurture them, play with them or invest time in them. We are going to play with, love on, and teach the children we encounter. We are planning mini-bible lessons for them, complete with sock puppets and stories that will teach them of God's love for them.
4. We're going to learn something too. This trip is somewhat experimental in nature. These two groups of singles (one group in their 20s and one in their 30s) have been selected because of demonstrated leadership within the ministries of the church. One part of our mission is to determine the possibility of making this a repeatable trip in years to come for other groups of singles. We've been reminded over and over (and I remember so clearly from my trip last September) that nothing is set in stone. Just about anything could change once we get over there. And there are a lot of moving parts that our trip leaders are managing (not to mention all the intricacies each person brings to the trip just by being there...did I mention I'm a vegetarian!) :) So, we're going in order to figure out if it's possible for others to go later.
5. Life change. Going to Africa changed me. It didn't take long to settle back into American life, but having been there, having seen what I saw, experienced what I experienced, I don't think I will ever be the same. I'm going again because I truly value the changed perspective I gained last year from stepping outside my comfort zone and witnessing a people who love God in a way that I've only dreamed of. They also don't seems to carry the burden I do related to material possessions. Being around people who have very little--and are SO HAPPY--is a deep lesson for a girl like me. I want to continue to allow God to change me in this area.
6. Caring for the poor. As much as I was raised to help those who are less fortunate, I can honestly say that I've had difficulty most of my life connecting to the plight of the poor and less fortunate. I hate to admit that...especially so publically...it might ruin my image! But in the last year I've seen movement in my heart in this area. Part of that has to do with my last trip to Africa, part of it with reading the book Same Kind of Different As Me, and yet another part is my decision to volunteer serving lunch to the homeless in South Dallas. Before I knew Christ it was easier to turn away, ignore, pretend not to see and act as if it was someone else's job to help the poor. Even in the first few years of walking with Him I continued in this pattern. But lately, it's not as easy to do that. I can't say I have friends who are homeless, but I've actually begun to not resist the idea of such a thing. God has used my experiences to personalize poverty for me. And He's reminded me that I have my own version of poverty. And those things have made all the difference.
There are likely several more reasons to share...but I'll ponder those and write again soon.
Thanks to so many of you who have commented about reading my blog. How fun to know this isn't just sitting somewhere in cyberspace. :)
I realized, that's how I feel when I give the quick response, "We're building a medical clinic." It's not because what I'm saying is false. We ARE building a medical clinic. It's that it really doesn't capture the full purpose and meaning of the trip. Sure, it's a short description that everyone can understand the value of, but giving the "short explanation" gives the other person permission to nod and say, "Oh, that's great." Then they're off the hook. Just like the daily "how are you?" greeting, my statement never really requires me or the other person to engage, and we both walk away with very little value in the words we've just exchanged.
But there's so much more I could say about this trip. Even with what little I know of the country and the project. Why in the world am I giving the quick answer that gets me out the door without really having to invest (or captivate the other person) in a longer, more detailed conversation about why I'm going and what we're doing there?
Rather than answer the WHY question, I do want to share a few other reasons we're going to Africa.
1. It's not just a building we are constructing. It's going to be the only "modern" medical facility within an hour's walk for about 80,000 people who are refugees returning to their homeland after the brutal genocide that ravaged their lives, their families, and their neighborhoods more than 10 years ago.
2. Our trip is in partnership with ALARM - African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries - an African-founded organization by a dear Rwandan man named Celestin. He was in the States when the genocide began in Rwanda and his heart broke for his people when he learned that somewhere around 80% of pastors were either killed or fled the country. What this meant is that people who survived had no where to turn to deal with the deep pain in their hearts and minds after watching the murder of their friends and family members. God is a god of comfort, and there was no one left to be the hands and feet of Christ, to remind them that God loves them or to give them hope for a better future. Celestin's mission, through ALARM, is to train up a new generation of leaders in the faith who can fulfill this role and bring hope, leadership and reconciliation to their people.
3. The value of a child is very different over there. Families are large and even small children have great responsibility to care for the younger ones. Many don't go to school because their families can't afford it and/or they need to work to help support the family. Most children have zero exposure to biblical teaching...even in countries like Burundi where the majority of the population is Christian. Adults go to church for an entire day on Sunday and the children are sent into the field to play soccer and entertain themselves during that time. Many have never heard even the simplest bible stories and many just don't have adults in their lives who have time to nurture them, play with them or invest time in them. We are going to play with, love on, and teach the children we encounter. We are planning mini-bible lessons for them, complete with sock puppets and stories that will teach them of God's love for them.
4. We're going to learn something too. This trip is somewhat experimental in nature. These two groups of singles (one group in their 20s and one in their 30s) have been selected because of demonstrated leadership within the ministries of the church. One part of our mission is to determine the possibility of making this a repeatable trip in years to come for other groups of singles. We've been reminded over and over (and I remember so clearly from my trip last September) that nothing is set in stone. Just about anything could change once we get over there. And there are a lot of moving parts that our trip leaders are managing (not to mention all the intricacies each person brings to the trip just by being there...did I mention I'm a vegetarian!) :) So, we're going in order to figure out if it's possible for others to go later.
5. Life change. Going to Africa changed me. It didn't take long to settle back into American life, but having been there, having seen what I saw, experienced what I experienced, I don't think I will ever be the same. I'm going again because I truly value the changed perspective I gained last year from stepping outside my comfort zone and witnessing a people who love God in a way that I've only dreamed of. They also don't seems to carry the burden I do related to material possessions. Being around people who have very little--and are SO HAPPY--is a deep lesson for a girl like me. I want to continue to allow God to change me in this area.
6. Caring for the poor. As much as I was raised to help those who are less fortunate, I can honestly say that I've had difficulty most of my life connecting to the plight of the poor and less fortunate. I hate to admit that...especially so publically...it might ruin my image! But in the last year I've seen movement in my heart in this area. Part of that has to do with my last trip to Africa, part of it with reading the book Same Kind of Different As Me, and yet another part is my decision to volunteer serving lunch to the homeless in South Dallas. Before I knew Christ it was easier to turn away, ignore, pretend not to see and act as if it was someone else's job to help the poor. Even in the first few years of walking with Him I continued in this pattern. But lately, it's not as easy to do that. I can't say I have friends who are homeless, but I've actually begun to not resist the idea of such a thing. God has used my experiences to personalize poverty for me. And He's reminded me that I have my own version of poverty. And those things have made all the difference.
There are likely several more reasons to share...but I'll ponder those and write again soon.
Thanks to so many of you who have commented about reading my blog. How fun to know this isn't just sitting somewhere in cyberspace. :)
Friday, July 4, 2008
Two Weeks 'Til Departure
Two weeks and counting until the departure of our second team going to Burundi (the first team leaves on the 11th).
It's Independence Day, and I'm grateful for the many freedoms God has given me. And I'm considering just the concept of these words...independence...freedom...and what a dear friend asked of me yesterday: What do you want independence from?
And for those in Burundi...I'm thinking about how they probably know a different kind of independence than I do. They have independence from living in a culture that is drowning in materialism. They have independence from a desire to fit in (both are things I continue to confess and pray that God will help me let go of). They even have independence from busy-ness...or at least in the way I know it.
In Burundi, it's about daily survival. For them their quest for independence/freedom is probably more about freedom from fear, coming to terms with the devastation that happened in their country, during their life time. And it's about a hope that it will never happen again.
The Africans I met in September 2007, were an amazing people. We encountered men and women who, given the opportunity to receive a micro-loan, were praising God and investing that money to start businesses that would provide for their needs. I remember a man talking about how he started out with only a few chickens and now he has hundreds of chickens. And he was so grateful. It's amazing what a few hundred dollars can do. And it's amazing to me that the widows we met in the IDP camps in Northern Uganda sat us down, fed us, danced for us, and brought us their financial books to show how they've spent and begun to pay back the funds provided to them through micro-loans by ALARM. Wow! They bought an ox and are growing their own food. What a completely different world than the one I live in.
With two weeks to go, there's much to pray for. Click here for a prayer calender with requests of what you can pray each day during the month of July.
It's Independence Day, and I'm grateful for the many freedoms God has given me. And I'm considering just the concept of these words...independence...freedom...and what a dear friend asked of me yesterday: What do you want independence from?
And for those in Burundi...I'm thinking about how they probably know a different kind of independence than I do. They have independence from living in a culture that is drowning in materialism. They have independence from a desire to fit in (both are things I continue to confess and pray that God will help me let go of). They even have independence from busy-ness...or at least in the way I know it.
In Burundi, it's about daily survival. For them their quest for independence/freedom is probably more about freedom from fear, coming to terms with the devastation that happened in their country, during their life time. And it's about a hope that it will never happen again.
The Africans I met in September 2007, were an amazing people. We encountered men and women who, given the opportunity to receive a micro-loan, were praising God and investing that money to start businesses that would provide for their needs. I remember a man talking about how he started out with only a few chickens and now he has hundreds of chickens. And he was so grateful. It's amazing what a few hundred dollars can do. And it's amazing to me that the widows we met in the IDP camps in Northern Uganda sat us down, fed us, danced for us, and brought us their financial books to show how they've spent and begun to pay back the funds provided to them through micro-loans by ALARM. Wow! They bought an ox and are growing their own food. What a completely different world than the one I live in.
With two weeks to go, there's much to pray for. Click here for a prayer calender with requests of what you can pray each day during the month of July.
Other things you can pray for specifically for me would be about my work. Being self-employed it's tough to take 8 days off without pay. You can pray that I'd be diligent to get projects done before I go and diligent to assign projects to my assistant and my other writers this month so that what needs to be done in my absence doesn't just sit at a stand still until August. Along those lines, you can also pray for my heart upon "re-entry" to the States. After the last trip it was very difficult to come home, re-adjust to my life here and find the energy and will to sit down at a desk again 8 hours a day.
I am grateful for your prayers. Thank you!
These next few weeks I will pack, prepare, ponder what's to come and anxiously await the day I get on a plane to Africa. I'm grateful that you and many others have helped send me. I could never have done this on my own. Your generous gifts and prayers have truly blessed me.
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