I’m going to Africa in 80 days..
I’ll say that again. I’M GOING TO AFRICA IN 80 DAYS!!
Maybe you are asking yourself “Mackenzie, how on earth did you come to that decision? Why Africa? Are you freaking out? How excited are you?”
And I am definitely asking myself the same questions, so let’s get down to answering!
How on earth did you come to that decision?
About two years ago, I found out about AIM from my friend who went on a 3 month trip after high school. It really intrigued me and I made a whole plan to take a year off of school and do that. But I felt like God kept nudging me to wait, to be patient. So I kept it in the back of my mind.
Last year, I got the opportunity to help lead a group of youth down to Ecuador and it was one of the greatest and most spiritually challenging things I have done. But it reminded me how much I love to serve and love to experience different cultures. That trip reignited a fire in me for missions and that fire has continued to burn until today.
Fast forward to January 2019. I kept having small reminders of AIM and the trip that I had in mind and I felt like this summer was my time to take the leap. I prayed and asked for confirmation and God continued to reassure me that this is where He wanted me to go. I was at the point where it was make-or-break-I-need-to-apply-now and so for the last time, I asked for God to give me some sort of confirmation during a young adult retreat. Want to guess what our first session was about? Obeying the calling that God gives us. Let’s just say I started the application after that session.
Why Africa?
I don’t know what it is, but I have always wanted to go to Africa and do missions work. Maybe it’s a calling that God has for me or maybe it’s just me wanting to do it, but I have been waiting for the opportunity to go. It’s a completely foreign culture, and that really excites me! I want to go out of my comfort zone and push myself.
This trip also has a focus on children and youth, and if you know me you know that I LOVE kids. They’re so much more fun than adults. So two months in Africa hanging out with a bunch of kids? Sign me up!
Are you freaking out?
Surprisingly no. If anything I can’t believe how quickly it is approaching. Maybe in that sense I’m freaking out because there is so much fundraising and preparation to do. Freaking out from joy maybe, but not fear. I feel absolute peace and I know that that peace is from Jesus
How excited are you?
When I found out about being accepted, I danced and cried with joy. That joy hasn’t disappeared, if anything it has multiplied. I can’t wait to meet my team, to meet the people in Africa, to spread the love of Jesus to everyone I encounter, to try new foods, to have new experiences, to travel to a new continent, to be stretched and strengthened by God, to learn so much more about my God through the people He created.
A few days ago, my beautiful friend Jenaye prayed that I would experience God’s unexplainable joy as I prepare for this trip. And man, God has come through. Nothing but ridiculous amounts of joy.
I can’t wait to keep seeing what God is going to do in me and through me throughout this process!
Mackenzie (Kenz, Kenzie, Mack)
