Two years ago, I set foot on African soil for the first time. I had never been over seas before and I had never done missions of any kind. I showed up in Swaziland for two months and ended up meeting the Lord in a way that I had never experienced before. Last week, I landed in Uganda and was once again on African soil. My whole squad got on a bus to travel to Rwanda where we will spend this month and as we drove through the Ugandan country side, I felt that same excitement that I had felt in Swaziland 2 years before. There is just something about Africa that is different than anywhere else in the world.
For this month, my team and I will be serving in Kigali, Rwanda with an amazing Pastor and his family! In the mornings, we help teach in a village Kindergarten and in the evenings, we preach and teach in the Pastor’s church. Already, we have felt so welcomed and loved by our host family and the beautiful children, teacher’s, and church members that we work with.
In addition to a new continent, ministry, and culture, I also have a new team for these final three months! Jennie Kate and I will have done all 11 months together, I will be starting my 5 month with Lydia, I’m reunited with my girl Katie from my first team, and I have the awesome opportunity to get to know Marisa and Gracie these last few months!
Our team name is Kwitanga, which is Rwandan for “all in”, something our team is striving for as we end the Race. Our goal is to fully embrace the Lord, each other, and our ministries even though it becomes easier and easier to check out as we near the end of this journey. In about 80 days, I will be back on US soil for the first time in 11 months and while I am so excited and expectant for that day, I know that God is not putting His work in me and through me on hold and that these next 3 months are full of lessons and experiences that I don’t want to miss.
Stay tuned for more pictures and more stories to come!
Thank you all so much for your love and support! It really does mean the world to me!
