The Unfamiliar

God has a plan for me. A purpose.

I'm not sure what that is yet, but I won't be distracted into not finding out.

This is new to me. Complete trust in God in whatever He could possibly think up for me. But I'm willing to take the chance because I know that whatever it is, it's for the best. Because His plans are for the best. He created us so He could love us.

I don't want to sound all “church-y” and now that I'm in Africa, I'm all spiritual and talk about God all the time. God's slowly been showing Himself to me and making Himself obvious in my life, so I want to talk about what He's done. Like Blair has said, it's not Africa that changes people, it's simply the venue in which He makes the change.

It's the people He surrounds you with and the trials He makes you face while you're here. It has nothing to do with the geographical location.

If I could express in words the way I’ve felt since being here, that would be amazing. But there's no way to describe what's happening on the inside. I can safely say I love it here and this place is slowly stealing little pieces of my heart.

One struggle I faced before going on this trip was that I never felt called to come to Africa. That was always someone else's trip. I would hear of people dreaming to travel here since age 8 or being told by God in a dream to come here, but my journey didn't start that way. It was a gradual process that started last summer when my life was shook upside down and seemed to fall apart. All that was familiar, I considered safe and comfortable. I wouldn't wander far out of that comfort. Since last summer, I felt compelled to take a risk.

The idea to travel with Hannah to Africa came at the exact time I felt I needed to do something unfamiliar. If I had grown up wanting to come here, I would have never made that choice because it would have been something expected. I craved the unexpected. The not so safe.

I’ve realized since being here that I was called the entire time. But as it always works out in God's timing, it wasn't made obvious until much later. That's why I know in my heart that something great is going to happen while I'm here. While Hannah, Rose, and I are here. I'm psyched beyond belief to find out what that is.

So in the meantime, I'm trying not to let myself feel homesick. There are bigger and better things happening here that the enemy wants me to miss by having my mind elsewhere. That's why I won't give him the satisfaction. I'm fully engrossed here, waiting for whatever change and growth God has for me here. 

I won't be the same person when I go back to the US, I know that for a fact. I’ve changed already in just one week, so seven weeks will bring even more! I'm ready to not be the same person who arrived here eight days ago. I'm ready to take a risk. I've never felt more alive.

I'm welcoming the change, the vulnerability, the relationships, the memories and traditions I'll bring back home.

Please keep praying :]

Love you all!
-Sarah-