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So it has been about a month since I have left the beautiful continent of Africa and made it back to America.  Good news! I am healed completely from Malaria (that I know of) and got news that I will be fighting West Nile when I get back to school in North Texas area, people I know have been in the hospital for West Nile already and many have already died. Crazy to think that these mosquito causing deadly diseases were only in Africa.  Training for work in Resident life might have been harder that being in Africa with no training. It insures me though that there are going to be challenges and that God is going to help me through and that there is a purpose for me living on campus and being over 50 student residents. This now is my ministry. For one of my programs I will talk a…

Dear Family and Friends,                It has been a two weeks since I have been home from my trip to South Africa.  I thought the words would come to me to help explain to you exactly what I took away from my time away, but the words have not come.  It has taken me two weeks to realize the words will never come, because the way God uses us and changes us are indescribable.  I did not come back drastically changed as if God showed me my future, but I took away much more; I took home clarity.  Growing up in the church I have seen God and have heard truth, but after this trip I have come to realize that I must put forth everything God has spoken to me and I must fully live for Him.  No longer sho…

Made it home safely. Thank you for all your prayers. Pictures will be up on Facebook soon. 

The following blog was inspired by a journal entry that I wrote on July 15th…    In opening my final blog post of the 2012 South Africa trip I want to let you know that I’m safely back home in the States and beginning the adjustment back to American culture while thinking through all the things I’ve experienced in this short month across the globe. When on the trip I didn’t have much time to actually stop and process what was going on around me and it’s taken me leaving the mission field and coming back to my home to actually see some of the changes that have taken place in me spiritually.    If I could summarize the trip experience down to two main themes that God permanently pressed into my soul it would be the following two…

I look down at my feet for a dry piece of land to step on. I put my foot down and it sinks into the wet mud. Whoops! Every morning, a teammate and I work at a creche (daycare) on a farm neighboring the school the rest of our team is serving at. The school specializes in special needs kids, mostly ones with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (alcoholism is a major problem on the farms). This particular day, it's pouring down rain and the tractor tracks have created massive puddles through the farms. The thought of the students walking through the mud interrupts my own complaints as I realize I have a dry set of clothes and a shower awaiting me. They barely have enough shelter to keep them from the downpour, let alone the resources to stay warm. The kids at the creche wer…

Here's a video I made from our month in Tanzania!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy0SYLT3xtY

The whole entire time that I have been here in Rwanda has been a wonderful time in being able to help out with the community, experience a new culture, and meet fantastic people. With this being a mission trip, God has been working in my life (of course) and has been showing me things that I would not have ever noticed back in the States. The first thing that happened was back in Atlanta where we had the listening circle and someone said that I am the person that God created me to be in terms of the qualities that I have. That was something that I have struggled with over the past few years in thinking that I need to be someone with more qualities that would 'glorify God,' but He has created me to be exactly who I am supposed to be. My team has been very blessed with a friend her…

-the locals are shocked to find out that you have hair on your legs and arms -kids try to flick off your freckles -your hair becomes a playground -the locals tell you to be ready to leave by 8 and you don’t leave until 10:30 -you become a life size Barbie doll for entertainment – you hear people yelling “muzungu” everywhere you go – the locals let you preach just because you are a visitor – a crowd of kids constantly follows you and hold your hands – you sleep under a mosquito net that makes you feel like a princess because it resembles a castle – you ride a bota bota to town – the locals have never heard of The Lion King – you take bucket showers – you use a hole out back for “long calls” – soccer, Chris Brown, the news, and an Islam program come on the sam…

I preached again last night. Here is the run down of what I spoke: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Using the Holy Spirit to Expand the Kingdom What are the churches intentions? To grow in size? To get better things or equipment? To simply get rewards for you only? Is your relationship with God all about coming to church and receiving from Him? He sent His Holy Spirit because He loves us and we need to use what He has given us to reach the lost, and reach the people who don’t know Him or who need his love. Where are your ministries? Churches ALL OVER should be Bars Streets Schools Marketplaces…

This blog is to introduce you to my team that I am spending the whole month with!    This is Sharel. She is a powerful woman of God from Texas. She is on the World Race Exposure trip with me, so we are here for only a month. She is an RA at her university, and she has been to Africa before. One thing that amazes me about Sharel is her generous spirit. She gave me a pair of shorts just because I needed some for that day. She randomly says she loves everybody, and she is full of powerful and insightful words for any conversation. I love her dearly, and I am learning so much from her on this trip. Love you Sharel!   I think I’ll talk about our leader Bethany next. She is the leader of Team Arise, which is the team of 5 girls Sharel and I are working with. Bethany is a…