It's amazing how smooth travel has been for me so far. I'm sitting in the Brussels airport with the first long leg of the trip behind me. I guess my excitement and anticipation this morning exhausted me. I was able to sleep the majority of the flight from Chicago to Brussels. I felt so calm and relaxed, and the flight was not crowded. I had a row of three seats to myself. I couldn't believe my mind wasn't racing.
We have two more hours in Brussels until we board our flight to Freetown. We just found out that the usual stop in Dakar isn't happening, and our flight will be two hours shorter. How exciting! Once we land and make it out of the airport, we're boarding pelican speed boats, in the dark, and crossing the water to Freetown. We'll load into podas (sp?), some kind of vehicle, and go to the orphanage. Once we get there, we'll go to bed. :( It'll be around midnight!
It's weird. All the feelings and emotions that I had leading up to the trip these last couple weeks are so peaceful right now. It's just right! I know this is where I need to be, and this is the group that I'm meant to be with.
I hope to blog again tomorrow, but I'll probably skip it tonight when we arrive at the center. Keep us in your prayers! I can't wait to wrap my arms around Fatmata and Umaru!
Love,
Susan
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
On My Way to Africa!
Wow! I can't believe how things have fallen into place today! This week, our travel team has been faced with many obstacles, all of which seem to have disappeared today! God is amazing! We were expecting snow in four out of five cities today. Somehow, all the flights took off on time, and we're scheduled to leave Chicago in an hour! So excited! Things are falling into place. Keep us in your prayers!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Equipped for His Call-1 Week Until Africa
While reading my study Bible this morning, I came across a short study called, "Equipped for His Call." How fitting! It was just the comfort I needed. We leave for Africa in one week. Because of the snow, I have been home all week, and not working has given me a lot of time to focus on my trip. Good and bad.....this has given me more preparation time and more time with the kids, but it's also given me lots of time to get nervous. There's been nothing to take my mind off of the trip. Here's the study from this morning.
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1: 6
"Has God called you to a task for which you feel completely inadequate? The key to taking on the extraordinary challenge is to worship God, to spend time in his presence meditating on how awesome he is. When we praise God's holiness and majesty, when we focus on his strength and wisdom, then we are assured of the courage and vigor he makes available to us--the power to go one more mile, to love one more hour, to forgive one more time. We can face these hard assignments with the confidence that if God has called us, he will equip us."
I then went on to read Philippians 1: 3-30 and reflected and prayed on the following questions.
Please continue to pray for my travel team and the work ahead of us. We leave on Thursday, January 20, 2011.
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1: 6
"Has God called you to a task for which you feel completely inadequate? The key to taking on the extraordinary challenge is to worship God, to spend time in his presence meditating on how awesome he is. When we praise God's holiness and majesty, when we focus on his strength and wisdom, then we are assured of the courage and vigor he makes available to us--the power to go one more mile, to love one more hour, to forgive one more time. We can face these hard assignments with the confidence that if God has called us, he will equip us."
I then went on to read Philippians 1: 3-30 and reflected and prayed on the following questions.
- In what ways has God sustained you in the past? With this question, I couldn't help but think about Chris' motorcycle wreck. God was such a sustaining comfort to me through that time. Instead of pulling away and questioning why it had happened, I continued to lean on God and pray that Chris and I would be strengthened through the experience. That experience continues to shape my life and define the person I strive to be.
- What difficult task is God calling you to do now? This question addresses multiple aspects of this mission trip. First of all, God is requiring me to go out of my comfort zone with the travel piece. The flight and in-country road trips will be difficult for me, but I know that with Him, I can handle my anxieties. Second, God is calling me to work with the orphans of Sierra Leone. I have no idea how God plans to use this, but I have faith that He will reveal this to me over time. I need to be present with God and patient through this process.
- What help do you need from God? I don't know. I know I need help with my travel anxieties, but other than that, I lift it all up to Him. I want to surrender myself to God and allow him to open my eyes and heart while on this mission. I pray that He'll use me and provide me the strength I need.
Please continue to pray for my travel team and the work ahead of us. We leave on Thursday, January 20, 2011.
Friday, January 07, 2011
12 More Days....
It's hard to believe that after all my preparation and anticipation, my trip to Africa is only 12 days away. I'm filled with so many emotions! I'm so excited I can't stand it, but at the same time, I'm anxious about the unknown.
My Nashville travel team met this week to discuss and finalize our details. Our team is responsible for throwing a costume party for the kids and having a penny carnival for them. We have been collecting donations for both, and we're almost ready to pack. Erica talked to us about our feeding program in Kroo Bay and the children's hospital. I think these two experiences will be amazing an heart-wrenching, at the same time. On our first day, we will be providing food to 5000 orphans in Kroo Bay. Kroo Bay is a slum in Freetown where malnutrition and sanitation are affecting the lives of thousands. We will cook and serve hot meals for the first 250 kids, and then we will bag meals for the remaining 4750. I can't even begin to comprehend what this will look like, but I know that God has provided this opportunity for us, and I'm ready to tackle it. Later in the week, we will be visiting a local children's hospital. Although the center is called a nutritional facility, it cannot afford to provide meals to the patients or mothers. The children are dying of malnutrition and simple infections. Hundreds go through the hospital, but only about two a month leave alive. We will be delivering food to these mothers and their children, and we will be providing the funds needed for formula.
Although Kroo Bay and the hospital will challenge me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, I think the trip will be balanced with the joy of seeing the kids in the orphanage. I can't wait to meet Fatmata and Umura! I can't wait to spend the week with them worshiping, singing, and playing. These kids have there basic needs met but are in desperate need of love, affection, and attention. A huge part of this mission is to just be present with the kids, to be there rock to lean on for a few days and to strengthen my relationship with my sponsored kids.
I talk as if I have everything figured out! :) I honestly feel that am as ready as I can be for this trip, but there's no way possible to know what to expect on a journey like this! What a challenge for me! My life is so planned and organized, and I'm so ready to just throw it all to God and see how he wants to use me!
This song has been very important to me while preparing for this trip. I hope the lyrics will touch you, too.
"An image flashed across my TV screen
Another broken heart comes in to view
I saw the pain and I turned my back
Why can't I do the things I want to?
I'm willing yet I'm so afraid
You give me strength
When I say
I want to be your hands
I want to be your feet
I'll go where you send me
I'II go where you send me
And I try, yeah I try
To touch the world like
You touched my life
And I find my way
To be your hands
I've abandoned every selfish thought
I've surrendered every thing I've got
You can have everything I am
And perfect everything
I'm not I'm willing,
I'm not afraid
You give me strength When I say
This is the lifetime I turned my back on you
From now on, I'll go so
Send me where You want me to
I finally have a mission
I promise I'll complete
I don't need excuses
When I am your hands and feet"
-Audio Adrenaline
My Nashville travel team met this week to discuss and finalize our details. Our team is responsible for throwing a costume party for the kids and having a penny carnival for them. We have been collecting donations for both, and we're almost ready to pack. Erica talked to us about our feeding program in Kroo Bay and the children's hospital. I think these two experiences will be amazing an heart-wrenching, at the same time. On our first day, we will be providing food to 5000 orphans in Kroo Bay. Kroo Bay is a slum in Freetown where malnutrition and sanitation are affecting the lives of thousands. We will cook and serve hot meals for the first 250 kids, and then we will bag meals for the remaining 4750. I can't even begin to comprehend what this will look like, but I know that God has provided this opportunity for us, and I'm ready to tackle it. Later in the week, we will be visiting a local children's hospital. Although the center is called a nutritional facility, it cannot afford to provide meals to the patients or mothers. The children are dying of malnutrition and simple infections. Hundreds go through the hospital, but only about two a month leave alive. We will be delivering food to these mothers and their children, and we will be providing the funds needed for formula.
Although Kroo Bay and the hospital will challenge me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, I think the trip will be balanced with the joy of seeing the kids in the orphanage. I can't wait to meet Fatmata and Umura! I can't wait to spend the week with them worshiping, singing, and playing. These kids have there basic needs met but are in desperate need of love, affection, and attention. A huge part of this mission is to just be present with the kids, to be there rock to lean on for a few days and to strengthen my relationship with my sponsored kids.
I talk as if I have everything figured out! :) I honestly feel that am as ready as I can be for this trip, but there's no way possible to know what to expect on a journey like this! What a challenge for me! My life is so planned and organized, and I'm so ready to just throw it all to God and see how he wants to use me!
This song has been very important to me while preparing for this trip. I hope the lyrics will touch you, too.
"An image flashed across my TV screen
Another broken heart comes in to view
I saw the pain and I turned my back
Why can't I do the things I want to?
I'm willing yet I'm so afraid
You give me strength
When I say
I want to be your hands
I want to be your feet
I'll go where you send me
I'II go where you send me
And I try, yeah I try
To touch the world like
You touched my life
And I find my way
To be your hands
I've abandoned every selfish thought
I've surrendered every thing I've got
You can have everything I am
And perfect everything
I'm not I'm willing,
I'm not afraid
You give me strength When I say
This is the lifetime I turned my back on you
From now on, I'll go so
Send me where You want me to
I finally have a mission
I promise I'll complete
I don't need excuses
When I am your hands and feet"
-Audio Adrenaline
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