Day 8 (Happy Thanksgiving ;)

So, it’s day 8 in Africa, and I’m loving it. It just started to sink in last night that I am actually here. I was thinking about my calling and how long I’ve wanted to do this, and I realized that I’m living out my dream. It’s the craziest feeling to know that you’re right in the center of God’s will. It may not always be easy getting there and you may have a lot of doubts along the way as to if you are doing the right thing. I just know that when I start getting a lot of déjà vu moments from dreams I’ve had, I know I’m where I’m supposed to be.

I went to the slums yesterday and was struck by the intense poverty. Their houses reminded me of little forts I used to make as a kid. I always thought it would be so much fun to live in one of my forts… The difference though, is that I could always come back inside my nice, warm, furnished house when I was tired of living in my little fort… These people have no where else to escape to. They have mud floors, no insulation, most don’t have running water, and the houses are all claustrophobically close together. You could see the pure hopelessness on people’s faces. It makes me realize that, for the ones that are saved, God is really all that they have. I know I can't help every one of them.. I barely have enough money to get through school right now haha, but such as I have, I can give to them. That verse is really making sense to me now (Acts 3:6). I can't give them money, but I can give them hope.  

God is so good. I'm glad to be here, and I'm thankful for all of you who have been praying for me :) Everything has worked out beyond my expectations.

Stay blessed!

HUGE AFRICAN YARDSALE!

I know it may be a  little soon for another blog, but I had to tell you all about today.

I was told yesterday that I would be helping out with a sale the Jacaranda Creations ladies were going to. So I got up this morning and went to the school where they would be selling. After we set up I was lead around the biggest African yard sale I've ever seen. I was in my element!
   As most of you know already, I love yardsaling :D It was like a huge community yardsale, only with tons of African dresses, jewelry, and other memorabilia. It was fantastic :) I'm starting to get used to being here, and I really love it.
 
You all may be wondering what exactly I will be doing here. So far I've been trying to help organize the children's ministry for their church. I will probably visit the slums soon (which is where a lot of the kids are from that go to the church). I will also be teaching some music too for the family I'm working with :)

That's all I know so far :)
More updates to come!

p.s. I keep trying to get in the wrong side of the car... It will take a while to get used to that

First Impressions

So, It's my first week here and it's been amazing!

     Flying here was a little crazy. I had 2 layovers: One in New York and the other in Amsterdam for 3 hours each. So, basically I left on the 15th at 12:30 in the afternoon and got here on the 16th at 8:30 p.m. (not including driving time before and after). The good thing is that everything went smoothly and I didn't lose my luggage.

     I almost lost my water bottle at the beginning because I forgot to dump the water out before I went through security, but I walked back a few minutes after they took it from me and they gave it back to me. Praise God! (I had just bought it the day before and wasn't about to waste my $5.00 haha)

     So, Africa... One of the first things I noticed was that everyone drives on the left side of the road. I found this out when I tried to get in the right side of the car only to have the taxi driver direct me to the other side. The next thing I noticed was that everything was in English (which I found out is their main language here). As we were driving down the road towards the house I would be staying at, I saw lots of tall buildings and advertisements. You would almost think (driving there in the night time) that we were in a large city in America. Though, the roads were a little rough at some points and randomly would turn into dirt roads for a few hundred feet.

    I didn't get to see a whole lot of the scenery the first night because it was already dark when I arrived. But the next morning I woke up to see the most beautiful sight. It almost looked like a jungle right outside the window. Everywhere you go there are awesome trees and flowers and vines... The American botanical gardens have nothing on this. In my personal opinion- who wouldn't want to live in Africa? I'm loving it here.
  I was going to take a bunch of pictures but I lost my phone the first full day I was there (pray that I find it). I will hopefully be able to access a camera sometime soon, but for now I will just have to describe everything.

      Oh, good news, I inhaled a bug yesterday. It was fantastic.... I wasn't sure at first if I had actually inhaled it, but a few minutes later, my suspicions were confirmed when I coughed the little critter up... It wasn't the most pleasant experience of my life :P.

       
God has been so good. Almost every prayer I've prayed for this trip has been answered. The flights went smoothly, my luggage didn't get lost, my cold is getting better, and I'm not even experiencing any jet lag. I love the family that I'm working with. All of their daughters are so welcoming and I feel almost part of the family.

If you think about it please pray for:
- My health (my eye has started acting up a little)
- That I'll find my phone
- Grace to be able to accomplish everything that needs to be done while I'm here (I still get nervous talking to new people and I'm definitely out of my comfort zone :P)

Thank you all for reading and for your continued prayer support :)

Stay Blessed!

- Katelynn
Loving it