Throughout the course of this trip, we (my team and I) have found that being a missionary is nothing like we thought it would be. We can all confess that we thought coming to Africa would be this mountain top experience. We would come to Africa, and we would completely change and crazy stuff would happen, and we would CHANGE THE WORLD. Wow. Good thing we didn't have expectations huh! Haha. There were a few things that did change us, sooo many actually, but never in the way we had expected. First, we came to Africa, yes, but life goes on. We have really hard weeks, we have really tiring weeks, and we have weeks were things just didn't go well. It's a part of life. We had to learn that being Radical for Jesus doesn't mean that you are always proclaiming and preaching the word. Love each other, sit with people and live with them and disciple them. We learned that there is just as much greed, pain, hunger, and strive here, as in America, just in different ways. We learned that, even though we were called to mission in Africa for a short period of time, our lives are filled with ministry, each and every day. It was funny to see how we would have ministry days, and we would have "days off", but often times, God changed around our schedule. "God, this is my day off, give me a break" I found myself thinking, until I realized how dumb that sounded. And sometimes, days when I would be ready to go and change the world, God would quiet my soul. He's funny that way. I think the best thing we learned, is that we can't change the world, God can. Most of us came right out of high school, the oldest being 24 years old, we kind of have this idea that "the world NEEDS ME" but in reality, the world needs Jesus. We are just his vessels. Although some of the pictures I have here are from our outreach ministry, many of the pictures are of my teammates. We love goofing around, and sometimes, this was the best ministry. When you live in this sort of community, you see the best of people, and the worst. We get to see each other grow in our relationships with God, and we get to cry on each others shoulders when we just can't take it anymore. We convinced each other not to book a flight home in January, and we......well sometimes we cleaned each others diarrhea pants when Malaria hit...... now that's what I call love. I've been a person afraid of confrontation before this trip....but I'm telling you now, watch out. I've learned that sometimes, trying to just through your problems under the rug can get very dangerous. We've faced the worst types of problems, stuff that our parents would have sent us home for if they knew, but we have grown in maturity and persevered through pain and struggle with strength and wisdom we can only claim from God. We've gained weight, yes, lots of it. If you've been praying for food, please stop. Haha. I can't even express how awesome it has been to be with this group. These people in these pictures are my dear friends. I've only known them for 7 months, but they know me better than a lot of people I've known for years. These people discipled me, loved me, laughed with me, made fun of me, prayed with me, and ministered to me. THIS is MY TEAM....
Jess and I
My team! (As dressed up as we get!)
(Above) KC and I on the African savana... so cool! In a tree-restuarant behind (uganda)
Lake Victoria! Just about to aboard the Ferry!
Kathleen and I, so excited to be off a bus!
Kids at Smile Africa in Uganda
Tororo, Uganda I'll be there this week and the next!
some of the girls out to eat!
Performing the "Everything" skit in Rosinga Island outreach.
(Below)Kathleen and I with our Piki Piki driver Sammi.
Giraffes! Just like me....
Brother Kyle, the lone man of the group.
The team! On Safari
I always knew I was a dancer
Out to eat in Nairobi! (YAY FOR WESTERNIZED FOOD!)
Cookie Sundue! So impressed.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Im sure there will be more to come. I love you all and I miss you more than ever! Only a few weeks now til I get to see your faces! Please pray for endurance and strength as we finish our time here. Pray for a smooth transition into westernized society, and good health as we travel and say goodbye to our friends. Thanks so much for your love and support! Blessings.
Alison
