The Beginning of my Adventures

I cannot believe that I am actually in South Africa. It seems like not that long ago it was all just a thought, a desire of mine to go. I wish that I could tell all of you how the Lord placed this on my heart and the ways He continued to affirm my longing to go and the calling I felt to go THIS summer. Not to go in a few years or maybe not at all, but this summer. It was such a battle for me to really believe that the Lord would call me to go to the nations. That is a big deal to me. This past spring semester was full of doubt and questioning along with learning to really trust that the Lord’s plans are better and if I trust that He is going to do something that it doesn’t matter what others say or other peoples doubts. God is in ultimate control of my life, if I open my heart to Him, surrendering my plans and what I think is best for my life. I would have never dreamed this up for myself or planned it any better the way it all fell into place for me. If you want to know my story, please fill free to ask me sometime, I would love to tell you.

The trip started at 7 am, June 21, waking up to head to the airport with my family. I met up with my friend Connie, who invited me to come on this trip and we headed into security. Easterwood isn’t a tough place to go through, it has two gates, but we had a few issues just trying to get through. Definitely didn’t end the day of craziness. When we got to Houston our next flight to DC was different. So I had to fly on the plane all alone, for the first time! It was a good flight and I made friends with the people sitting next to me! When we finally got back together in DC, Connie and I headed to our next gate. The signs in the DC airport are kind of confusing so what we thought was going to take us to terminal B ended up taking us out into baggage claim!!! We began to panic, but then I remembered, this morning before I left my mom gave me two rules; 1) Don’t go anywhere alone 2) Don’t panic!!! So I remained calm, we got my boarding passes and headed back through security. There is no way this trip can be boring. We headed to our gate and got Chipotle for dinner, delicious! My last meal in the US was wonderful and we made it to our plane on time.

Once on the plane Connie and I began to talk all about the people I was going to meet and other little things, like tattoos! =) Our plane had personal TV screens in front of each seat so I began to explore the menu. This thing was LEGIT. It had great movies, like Sherlock Homes, which my stepdad will never watch but is definitely missing out and I watched Inviticious, loved that movie and great music aka Adele and Justin Bieber. I was super excited and listened to him a lot. Also during the flight I got to read a letter from one of my best friends, Becca. The Lord placed on her heart to write me a couple of letters for me to open when I am feeling certain emotions and just be encouraged by them. I was only allowed to open this one on the plane, and it was perfect and exactly what I needed to read. Becca, you made me cry!! All in all, the flight was crazy long but bearable. I was definitely ready to get off by the end of it. The next flight from JoBurg to Durban was on my own, but it wasn't terrible. We then met up with Johnny and Jasper and were headed to The Good News Center where we will be staying. It is a tad cold at night but it wasn't terrible. The shower consists of a tub with a bucket and cup to use as a shower head. That will be an adventure all by itself. I definitely will appreciate a shower when I get back home, for sure.

Today I woke up at noon and we went and ate near the Indian Ocean! The waves were crazy today. Then we went to the grocery store and got a few things we needed. All in all today has been really chill. These next ten days will be really intense because we have a lot to do so I am not sure how much I will be able to post or email. I'll do my best!!

 I am so excited to see what the Lord has planned for me while I am here. He has already started showing me some things He wants to teach me while I am here and I couldn’t be more excited. I cannot wait to share more stories with yall in the coming weeks.

I miss all of you so much. =) Hope you are having a wonderful day