I'm Leaving the Country!

So, I have a big announcement for ya'll.

Yep, I'm going to Africa.
(AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!)

Ok. I'll admit this news isn't exactly new for me. One does not simply walk into Africa without a moment's thought. I've been very busy getting vaccinated, paying for plane tickets, packing, and registering for a passport. (Sheesh, who knew this stuff was soooo expensive?) I could talk for hours about it, but I'll just give you some of the basics about it. 

I'll be leaving in July and I'll be gone for two weeks. (Rest assured, I have some great posts lined up for my absence.) I will be heading for the Pearl of Africa, Uganda, to help finish the construction of a school among other things. This is a big deal for me, as this is the first time for many things. I'll be flying in a plane for the first time, leaving the country for the first time, I'll get to see two new continents, and live without basically everything I normally have, for two weeks. 

I'm traveling with a group of twenty-nine individuals, twelve of whom are from my own family. (Which is simply put, AWESOME!) I'll have my dad, two brothers, four cousins, two aunts, one uncle, and Grandma along with me. Going to Uganda is almost like a family tradition. This trip takes place every other year and started about sixteen years ago (so, just a little older than me!)  It's built schools, dug wells, fed children, and tried to be Christ for all.

(Here's a video from one of the previous trips)

This year is my first time, but hopefully not my last. They say everyone always wants to come back to Uganda for more. I wouldn't know, but I believe them. 

Granted, this is going to be no picnic, so I'm asking humbly for your prayers for me, my family, and all of us going. Despite being excited for this, I know it's going to be hard. I can be a petulant individual, I dislike hard work, and I have a thing about germs and uncleanliness in general, which is why I'm going, I need to stop fearing pain and struggle. I need to take a step away from who I am and become more who I should be. I need to be the person God wants me to become.

I'm not looking for some cool pictures, a good time with my family, or something to brag about. I'm seeking God. I'm looking for Him in the fellow traveler beside me. In the many faces of abject poverty before me. In the sight of a beautiful life being lived, despite the heartbreaking circumstances all around. I need Him. I need Him in me because I can't do this on my own.

When I look at the pictures of previous trips, I'm struck by how happy they are. I'm amazed at the commonality between us, between countries, between continents, between cultures. The joy and light of Christ are common in us all. The more we become like Him, the more human we are. Love, peace, joy, fun, happiness, sorrow, concern, compassion, charity are all things we share. In every person, there is a flicker of the Divine. The more we forget ourselves and turn to the aid of others, the greater that flame grows. I can only hope that fire shines brightly at the hour of my death.

I'll admit, I'm afraid. I'm afraid of leaving everything I know behind. There are people I'd rather not leave home without. Despite Divine assurance and hope of salvation, I don't think I'm ready to lay it all down. Despite every precaution, there's always going to be a chance of danger in everything we do. I can only pray that I will be strong enough to lose everything. To lose it all. After all, in the last and darkest hour of my life, what do I truly have?

I have Christ in my heart.

And that's enough.