12/28/12
6:45 pm EST
Well, we're on the way! I have been saying for weeks that it hasn't really "hit me" that I'm going to Africa, but I think it finally has. When we landed in Atlanta, we got to our departing gate (E11) and the minute I saw our gate number, I jumped up and down like a little kid. I finally got to hug sweet Carol, and I kept saying to Katie and Sara, "that's Merrill! She's right there! She's real!" It is such a cool feeling to finally meet and laugh with all the people we have been getting to know over facebook and the phone for the last NINE months. It seems like a million years ago that we signed up for the trip, and yet I still can't believe it's finally here. I spent hours last night writing notes to the kids on the back of photos I printed to give to them. The notes were mostly scripture, and some little notes of encouragement. I was truly amazed at how easily I found over 70 different verses that I felt called to share with these orphans in Africa. While I'm so excited to share these pictures with the kids, writing them was such a huge blessing to me and a great practice of my faith. I feel so blessed that a book filled with so much encouragement and wise words is accessible to so many. I also realized last night that I know more scripture than I thought I did. I spouted off "I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10), "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28) and "cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you," easily! (Okay, I totally just peeked in Sara's bible and asked Carol for help with Matthew 11:28, and I still didn't get it! Dangit! I always skip the middle.) Anyway, I am loving this group already. My heart is so full and I CAN'T WAIT for Africa. 7 hours to Amsterdam... AK
12/29/12
2:35 pm (Uganda)
We're flying over the Mediterranean Sea right now- how cool is that?! We still have a little under five hours to go, but the flight time really isn't bothering me. The part I hate most about flying is taking off, so at least that part is over with! My seat on the plane is next to Tiffany, who is part of the Love Nations ministry group from California. She's 22, a nanny, and even has a nose ring! :) Soulmates! We were chatting about our stories and what brought us here, and our pasts are pretty similar. She referred to herself as a "former wild child," and I couldn't help but laugh as she was talking about her partying days. She met her boyfriend Tighe (also on the trip) last October at a Halloween party where they were both drunk and high. After getting to know one another, they realized that they used to go to the same church and decided to start going back. They gave their lives to God and have been following Him ever since. I was so happy to hear her story and her struggles. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with that past. I look forward to hearing other's stories and getting to know everyone else, too. This trip has already been such a blessing to me. I was listening to some podcasts by Rob Bell on the earlier flight, and he kept saying how the cross represents that love always wins. He said that when we study Jesus' life and all of the abuse, accusations, and wrongdoings He was subjected to, we need to look at his reactions. He was denied by many of His disciples, and yet after the resurrection, He came back to them and offered them fish on the beach. After the Son of Man was beaten, humiliated, and hung naked to die next to two criminals, when one of them asked Jesus to remember him, he said "today you will join me in paradise." It is so easy to fall into bitterness and anger when friends betray you. It would have been easy for Him to tell the criminal beside Him that he deserved his fate, but He didn't. Love won. Love should always win. Even to our ex-boyfriends. Even to the jerk that cuts us off in traffic. Even to the gate agent that talks to you like you're an idiot. EVEN to the Westboro Baptist people (ugh). When I wear that cross around my neck, I represent Jesus, for whom love will always win.
I've also already realized how much I complain and take things for granted. I think negativity, sarcasm, and complaining are part of our "comfort zone." I constantly say that I have a headache, or my food is a little too cold, or that I have to be on a plane that smells pretty strongly of body odor. For someone who tries very hard to be globally aware and unselfish, I sure do complain about a lot of "first world problems." In about four hours, I will be in a place where there are entire families who don't know where their next meal will come from. A place where orphans are not a minority, and disease runs rampant. A place where everyone smells like this plane does, because so few have access to running water. I can't even imagine the rude awakening I am in for. I am so grateful to God for this opportunity to open my eyes and make "the least of these" be a permanent reminder in my heart, and not just an abstract idea in my mind. I can't believe it's finally here. Wow... AK
PS- just watched Perks of Being a Wallflower. MUST OWN!
Sitting with Tiffany from Amsterdam to Entebbe.
12/30/12
1:00 am Uganda
The good news is I'm in a bed (a mattress on the floor), and CLEAN after a hot shower in Entebbe! We made it! The bad news is... I'm luggage-less! God certainly has a sense of humor. As I stood for what seemed like days staring at a luggage carousel of bags I'd already seen, my temptation was to cry or cuss someone out. Thankfully, I did neither! Merrill's husband Michael waited with me while I filled out the lost luggage paperwork. Finally the woman told me... It's still in Atlanta! Hahahaha! I truly do think it's funny now, and I realized that if God is testing me, I passed! I have all of my medicine and underwear in my backpack, and I'll just borrow clothes from Katie and Sara until my bag gets to Kampala in a few days. We are about to see and meet people who struggle to meet their basic needs, and children without parents. If a few days of borrowing clothes is my biggest issue, I'm VERY blessed. God is teaching me patience, strength, gratitude, and dependence on Him! We traveled for over 24 hours to get here, and I am feeling so blessed and joyful just to be here. I want to SERVE in everything I do here. Not just the kids, but to my teammates and strangers too. I let a girl on the plane use the bathroom before me, even though I had been waiting longer. I volunteered to sleep on the floor so Katie and Sara would have beds. On paper, these seem like small deeds, but doing small things like that every day make ME fulfilled and glorify the Lord. That's what it's all about. Having a servant's heart and being obedient in the small things will take me far and strengthen my walk with Christ.
I don't know what I was expecting, but the culture has already really surprised me. I think I'm getting used to the B.O. smell, because it is VERY prevalent. Running water is a commodity here. Our hotel is very nice, and we don't have glass windows. It's funny that what I would/could consider "rustic" in America is top dollar here. It really is quite humbling. I knew it was different here, but I expected to just feel sad for the kids, not to be smacked in the face with reality our first night here. Should be an interesting two weeks...AK
PS I saw the sun rise in Amsterdam yesterday and the sun set in Africa last night. Blessed.
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