AFRICA TRIP, Day 1

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Praise Jesus! I am writing with a thankful heart, and can hardly believe that God is sending me to Tanzania! I couldn’t be any more excited, or feel any more blessed to be with the team I’ve instantly become a part of. Today was a whirlwind, between pulling together last-minute items and packing, packing, packing! Perhaps JAM packing is a better term. Davey and Melissa spent the whole day w/me in the condo; how great it was to be in supportive company! Davey really blessed me today in the way he served me…everything from cracking down to help me buy health insurance, to surprising me with my favorite ice cream, to printing stuff at his house for me, to making me lunch, to driving me to the airport, to buying me coffee and dinner. To top it all of, he wrote me a very meaningful letter, with a Bible verse for every day attached. Wow, I am a blessed woman!

Here’s todays:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." ---Matthew 28:18-20

The Great Commission – a charge Jesus gave to His first disciples on the mountain, and one that still rings true for His disciples today. I am thankful to be a part of that calling, and that God has allowed a dream of mine (that fits with that calling) to become a reality today – the dream to travel to Africa!

Thankfully, I was instantly able to jive with my team – a group of 17 people I had never met before! As soon as we got Shirley through security (she was thoroughly fisked), I feel like the bonding experience just took off! I started meeting people (and learned their names right away) and got to tell my story to them of how God decided to get me to Africa in HIS way and HIS time (which is best), instead of in my own way.

I’m SO excited for the adventure that awaits us!