What an incredible experience this has already been and I haven't even left for Africa yet. God has spoken to me so much, in ways that he never has in just the 24 hours that I have been with AIM. We are just finishing up our training in Georgia. I got to meet the 12 amazing people that I will be traveling to Rwanda with and the other 12 who will be serving in South Africa. During our training we went over the typical procedures and safety issues, while all that is very useful, the most powerful part of training was going over how God still speaks today. We did many activities focused on silent prayer and just simply listening to the Lord. It was such an amazing experience to feel the Lord speak through you and just learning to trust and be 100% confident that it is the Lord's voice. We sat around in a circle and closed our eyes and opened up our hearts and asked God to just speak to us. A member of the group was chosen by our leader and with our eyes still closed we shared what God wanted us to convey to that person. To hear a group of strangers hit dead on the issues so close to my heart was incredible and could truly only be the word of God. My group conveyed to me that God was telling me this trip isn't about proving anything to anyone else or myself, but simply to build my relationship with my father and grow closer to him. This really opened up my eyes and heart and helped me to see why it is I am venturing across the world to Africa. So many people back at home have asked me why in the world am I going to Africa and I was never able to give them a clear answer. I knew that I wanted to challenge myself and step outside my comfort levels and obviously I knew I wanted to just love on others, especially the children of Africa. But after tonight I have realized that all that matters and the true intent of my heart should just be to seek more of him and grow stronger in him. So as I go, my only desire will be to just seek God with all of my heart and continue to listen for his voice. God has bigger plans than I could ever imagine on how he chooses to use me in Africa and in life. And so I go, listening for his voice and desiring to grow closer to him. All of my plans for this trip,expectations,hopes, fears, everything having to do with my voice, the voice of others, and the voice of the enemey, I'm leaving behind! In just 1 more day I will be in Rwanda! I am excited to see what the Lord has in store!
