T-minus 11 days until we leave for Africa. I think I may vomit. Seriously. My stomach flip-flopped a little bit when I realized how close we are to take off. That being said, I'm also EXTREMELY excited!
The Lord has blessed us so greatly in preparation for this trip. As only He can do, our trip is paid for with a little extra left over. We couldn't use this extra for other expenses as it went to help our team members pay for travel; however, because of our savings, we were able to pay for our immunizations and other medications (a whopping $500!). We've also been able to budget for extra items, such as, travel clothes, snacks, and a watch for Chandler. Let me tell you about this watch... Africans tend to live on their own time and there's no such thing as being "on time". On a previous Africa trip, Chandler waited a few hours for a wedding to begin because, as was custom with this particular people group, the bride's family and friends had "kidnapped" her. So they're all having a great time, while the wedding guests are just waiting around at the site. In America, if the wedding doesn't start at the time specified on the invitation, people are checking their watches and getting restless.
This lack of concern for time and punctuality is very common in the African culture, so Chandler, in his Type A ways, has to have a watch. In fact, he wanted this watch weeks ago, so he could get used to wearing it. I have neglected to get a watch up to this point because, quite honestly, he's not a watch person and he's just going to get a cheap one. Look, I don't want him to look like a goofball. So, we'll get a cheap watch this week and I can deal with him wearing it for one week before we leave. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate his desire to stay in control. I'm so thankful that he's done this Africa stuff before because there is only one other person out of this team of 13 with this type of experience. I will not hesitate to throw my vote Chandler's way on anything regarding Africa and traveling there. I'm just keeping it real.
Aside from the financial aspect of our trip, we have been blessed with a forward-thinking, motivated team. As I said above, there are 13 people on our team: Larry & Jane (married), Ruth, BJ, Susan, Kent, Jessica, LD, Gail, Pastor Henard, Todd, Chandler, and myself. Four of us are younger than 30, the other nine are over 50. Quite a group, huh? I'll be honest, I was expecting the younger people to far out weigh the older in numbers. It's good, though. I'm excited about our team. We all bring different gifts to the table. For example, we meed every Sunday afternoon for about an hour and half to talk plans, prayer, and devotion; what I didn't realize is that the older women have been meeting together during the week to do some planning and preparation. Waaaay more than I've put in myself. It's been great because an hour and a half a week would not get us ready to go in the time we've had.
That's not to say our Sunday meetings haven't been productive. They have! It gives us a chance to collaborate our ideas and do some supplies packing. Every week we draw the name of someone on the team to pray for that week. I know Chandler received a very sweet and encouraging letter from his "prayer partner" one week. Our Sunday meetings have also helped us build some "team unity". I knew three other people, besides my hubs of course, before this was set into motion. Now I'm getting to know so many more wonderful people that I've gone to church with for years!
Now for some shocking news... Chandler and I are "responsible" for the high school MKs while in Africa. I'm not much of a high schooler person, despite the fact that I have two siblings in high school. I guess I just figured I'd be with the elementary age students, considering I have an elem. ed. degree. Trust me, I'm not upset about my assignment at all, it was just peculiar to me. But God has a purpose for this. Chandler and I have talked about it. A possible reason could be that the high schoolers have a little more flexibility over the week; they can stay with the kids or go with their parents. This freedom, per say, will allow Chandler and I opportunities to meet the parents of these kids. Knowing other missionaries could help us in our process because they may request us to come to their country. See?
I'm encouraged and excited and overwhelmed. While a lot of work has been done, we still have a lot left to do. Continue to pray for us as we leave our daughter for a country thousands of miles away. Pray for our team: pray for our hearts and preparation. Also, pray for those we will be ministering to. It appears as though the missionaries are very discouraged right now, so pray that we can be an encouragement to them.
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