Where God Leads...Follow

Tomorrow morning I leave with a group from my church for a two week mission trip to South Africa! We'll begin and end the trip in Soweto, a township on the outskirts of Johannesburg. While in Soweto, we'll visit Orlando High School and deliver several (heavy) suitcases of books for their library. We'll also learn more about the AIDS crisis and talk to some home health care workers. We'll be spending a large portion of our time farther south in Botshebelo, near the city of Bloemfontein, working at a daycare center. Imagine: 120 children ranging in age from 3 months to 6 years with 7-8 caregivers! I'm sure we'll spend lots of time holding and playing with the kids - I can't wait! We have several projects waiting for us at the daycare center, and I also hope to visit a nearby elementary school.

I previously traveled to South Africa during the summer of 2005 and hoped to return someday, but I never dreamt that it would be now. In fact, when I renewed my passport this past February, I wondered aloud where God was planning for me to go next - never expecting this. However, as I served on a committee at church during this past summer, the idea was planted as I talked with the leader of the project and caught his enthusiasm. The idea was nudged along as I felt God telling me to pursue it with my principal and school superintendent. They agreed to the trip as part of my yearly professional goal; I'll be developing a unit of study dealing with the South African culture to share with my second graders this spring. Everything about this trip worked out so well that I can definitely see it was God's plan. I definitely want to follow His leading...even to Africa!

Now, as I think about what the next two weeks will hold, I'm both excited with anticipation and a little apprehensive about the "stretching" part. I will be in a completely different area of the country than I was in before and I'm sure there will be some surprises. I generally like to know "the plan" and be prepared for everything, but things might not all go the way I expect. I'm praying that I will be both teachable and usable for God's purposes. I know that God has things that He wants me to learn on this trip, and I also want to be His hands and feet to the people I interact with.

I'm praying for good health, safe travels, (an aisle seat on the long flight, no big and scary crawly things, seeing a lion on the safari at the end of the trip), positive relationships, tasks at the daycare to all be completed, encouragement to the African people, and a deeper relationship with Christ. I look forward to sharing the many "God stories" that I'm sure we'll experience!