5 Months till Launch and Africa

Y’all! I’m only about 5 more months until launch!!

I am getting so stinking excited and nervous all at the same time. Our first stop will be South Africa, which is going to be over 16 hours of flying time alone-not counting layovers, getting to the airport, a potential bus ride from the airport to our designated ministry area, etc. I think the longest I’ve ever been on a plane was about 5 hours, and bus maybe 10 hours. My anxiety (along with some family and friends) is telling me how crazy I am for doing this…ALL of this.

Can I just take a second and say how that isn’t helpful at all? I love and appreciate all the support I’ve received, I appreciate it more than anyone will ever know, but I have enough of the enemy telling me how stupid I am to do this, and I don’t need people helping him by whispering little insecurities and fears into my ear. I know this is what God has called me to do with this time in my life, and I plan on listening to His call and following wherever he leads me.

With that being said, here is the portion of the blog that I was actually planning on writing:

I want to tell y’all a little bit about the four countries I will be traveling through while I’m in Africa – the first country we’re going to take a look at is South Africa!

Although racism is still a problem, South Africa is working on recovering from their past racial segregation. It is considered a Rainbow Nation, as several different ethnicities call this country their home with about 79% being black, about 9.6% being white, and 8.9% being mixed. South Africa has an HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate of about 18.9%, being one of the highest in the world today. In 2016, experts estimated that about 7.1 million people are living with HIV in South Africa alone. Despite a recent crime drop, South Africa still has one of the highest crime rates in the world today with robbery, rape, and murder being recorded every day. While I’m living in South Africa in August, would you partner with me and pray for them individually and as a whole?

In September, I’ll be living in Zimbabwe! officially, Zimbabwe has one of the highest literacy rates on the continent with a literacy rate of 90.7% for the total population, with the female literacy rate at about 87.2%. Despite their abundance of natural resources and high literacy rate, Zimbabwe remains on of the poorest countries in Africa today. With the unemployment rate hovering around 95%, most Zimbabweans today live below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day. They remain in one of the HIV/AIDS killing zones today with about 83,000 deaths from that alone were recorded in 2009, and their adult prevalence rate hovers around 14.3%. Will you partner with me and pray over Zimbabwe in the following months?

In October, I’ll be living in Zambia. Zambia has a literacy rate of about 80.6% for the entire population; despite that though, about 64% of Zambia still live below the poverty line. This poverty is driving school-aged children out of school and into the streets to live a life of thieving, prostitution, hawking, etc. Both poverty and hunger levels continue to rise on a daily basis in Zambia. They as well have a high HIv/AIDS adult prevalence rate at about 13.5%. Natural disasters such as droughts and storms continue to affect Zambia today. Would you partner with me in October and pray for Zambia? Pray for the children to continue their school and learning in order to break free from poverty.

Our last country and my fourth month on this trip will take us to Malawi. The Republic of Malawi is one of the most culturally diverse countries in Africa with several ethnic and racial groups living together peacefully. Malawi is one of the most Christian-dominant communities in Africa today, totaling around 82.7% of the population being Christians. Malawi has been blessed with many natural resources, but unfortunately remains one of the poorest countries in the world with about 50% of its population living below the poverty line. The total literacy rate hovers around 62.7%, while the female literacy rate is only at 49.8%. HIV/AIDS effects this country as well, with an adult prevalence rate of 11%. Other diseases such as malaria, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, etc. continue to threaten the lives of Malawi today. In November, would you partner with me and pray over Malawi? Pray over their health, safety, poverty, and of course their relationship with Jesus.

So those are the counties I will be visiting while I’m in Africa, and while some places may seem scary, I am not scared. I know the Lord has called me to do this, and I know He ultimately has the best plan as well. It’s always been a dream of mine to love on children in Africa. I want to hold them, to kiss them, and to show them they are so loved and so worthy of that love. While we may not speak the same language or experience the same things, if I can show them a small bit of the love Christ has shown me, then I can only pray that He’ll show them the full amount that He loves them.

I appreciate all of the love and support I’ve continued to receive since making the announcement that I will be leaving everything behind for nearly a year. Y’all are some rockstars, and I couldn’t imagine a better support system!

With that being said, I am still in need of support! I am currently $4,509 away from meeting my 2nd fundraising goal, which is required in order to launch in August. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with me on this journey?