I have a collection of maybe someday dreams in my head. Substantial, hefty sort of dreams - they’ll
require me to be more than who I am now.
Like, maybe someday I’ll be a children’s book author. Or, maybe someday I’ll climb Mount
Rainier.
This past October, I was really caught up in God answering
my prayer for marriage. In the midst of
those fervent prayers, God plopped a huge YES in my lap. Not to marriage, but to a big maybe someday
dream. I’m going to Africa to train
teachers. Next month.
What?!
It’s true. I feel
like I may as well be going to Mars, this was so off my radar of
expectations. I love teaching and have
never seen myself being based solely in the classroom for my whole career. As the years pass, I’ve thought more about
training teachers, especially women in countries where opportunities are not as
plentiful as they are for men. I’ve been
learning more about leadership and taken on more responsibility at work, but I
still thought training teachers overseas was a long ways off for me. Now, it’s 3 weeks away.
How did it happen?
Last spring, Uganda kept coming up in my life. My Mom gave me Katie Davis’s book, people
sent me articles about the country, and it often came up in conversation. I figured God was trying to tell me
something, so I reached out to some contacts and looked into spending last
summer in Uganda. Nothing panned out.
In October, my friend Tembi and I were praying about our big
visions for God, and I mentioned how Uganda seemed significant somehow. I’ve never been to Africa and I wasn’t sure
geographically where Uganda was located, nor the name of any Ugandan city. But, there was something about Uganda.
We prayed, and Tembi had a realization.
“Hey! My cousin has a
school in Uganda!”
Yes, she does. I met
with Tembi’s cousin and my heart to serve teachers fits what her school needs
right now. Amazing.
Since then, door after door has opened and I am meeting new
people with Uganda connections, one after another. It looks like this
will be more than a one-time visit. I’m
going to Uganda for two and a half weeks in February, with hopes of spending
next summer doing more work there. The
goal of this first trip is to listen, learn, and offer support as God leads me. I have no idea what I’m getting into, but I
am excited to take the next step.
Here’s one simple example of my current ignorance: I asked
about bringing contact lenses – would it be worth it, or is it too dusty in the
village? Tembi’s cousin reassured me, “Oh,
we’ll mark our jerry can of water really well, so we’ll have clean water.” Okay.
Our water comes from a can, after we get it from the well. “And bring something to wear when we walk
down to the shower.” Okay. We walk to the shower, which isn’t a shower
at all, but those same trusty cans and a cup for splashing oneself.
It’s going to be awesome.
Would you come with me?
Would you travel with me through prayers and encouragement?
Please pray into what God is doing and will do through these
steps towards what He’s revealed. Please
pray for Uganda, for the Ebenezer school and its community, pray for our safety
(four ladies traveling together), pray for divine appointments. Pray for my heart to be content in waiting
for the day when I can adopt a precious child of my own (another maybe someday
dream!). Would you send me verses and
encouraging words?
I’ll post stories, most likely when I return in March. Thank you for joining me in the maybe someday
that has become a yes, okay, right now, go for it.
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