Africa details

So now I will share with you the “nitty gritty” about the long awaited facts of our African Mission trip. We depart on the morning of July 7th to begin the single most-life altering adventure of our existence; which I hope to be just the tip of the iceberg of our new life following God and embracing the call of missionaries of His heart! Reading the Book “Red Letters” by Tom Davis inspired me on a level that demands ACTION; the encouragement in the last chapter flung my exhausted butt outta bed at 10:30pm on a Monday with a burst of energy so STIMULATING and INVIGORATING I had to rush to the computer to start this blog and start releasing the pressure of this emotional charge inside of me before I literally exploded, let alone even THINK about sleeping! Another light to this fire in my heart was embracing all the challenges in the book, Tom does a magnificent job of sharing his passion for the poor and deeply moving his readers to “do something” and he gives ample resources that fit for EVERYONE!! No matter where you are in your journey there’s a way you can make a difference in the life of a child who needs you and it doesn’t all revolve around asking for money (so get that image of Maria mimicking Sally Struthers out of your HEAD!)! There are SOOOO many ways to impact your world! One campaign that struck me with a dream to make this mission trip a part of my lifestyle and not a “one time deal” was the challenges that the Five for 50 campaign proposes:

1. Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
2. Give 5 hours a week to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
3. Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes.
4. Give 5 days a year to travel overseas and help alleviate poverty and suffering.
5. Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey.

As I read each one of these challenges/statements conviction burned deep inside my heart to the point of physical aching. I realized I’ve wasted 28yrs of my life considering no other person’s needs as worthy as my own; totally removed, floating around oblivious on a superficial level from the sufferings of innocent people; desensitized by the media’s influence on my life it was easy for me to dismiss those uncomfortable “save the children” info-mercials or occasional documentaries as “not TRULY real” or at the very least “not MY problem” because I wasn’t filthy rich with extra money oozing out of my piggy bank. REALITY CHECK!!!!!!!!!!! It is MY problem and it’s YOURS too, if you choose to follow God, you choose to make this YOUR PROBLEM!!! (go check my link on the right side if you wanna know more!) Reality check for sure...YUCK, it was as if I was finally shedding this slimy, consumed by selfishness layer of dirty film like a snake ridding himself of old, dead, useless skin and emerging with this brilliant fresh, clean, brand new feeling that only love for God and HIS people can offer. So with reading all these challenges I eagerly shook my head YES, YES, YES, YES, YES…I can DO ALL THESE THINGS AND MORE…in an instant, what a snap, oh how easy, now Maria IS making a difference!! Why I’m rambling about all this is because of statement #4….When I read that statement it finally dawned on me this trip to Africa doesn’t have to be my “one and only” good deed, I don’t have to fall prey to the “one shot wonder” stigma of missionary flames that fizzle out. I would gladly give 5 days a year to travel and offer whatever it is I have to give to those who are suffering, that is the LEAST I could do! Donny’s always wanted to make it a “tradition” that we “take a trip” somewhere each year, I’m not sure if this is what he technically had in mind…but I finally share that same desire!!

Okay, back to the “nitty gritty” I was promising!! SORRY! Most trip details were shared through our leader Amanda’s fundraising letter, so I’m going to cut and copy a portion of her letter so you can see what we know about our purpose in Ethiopia & Rwanda (for those who didn’t know, we are spending time in both countries). A huge portion of this trip is to go wherever we are being led (by God’s spirit) to help whoever needs us the most…so it is rather hard to share an iron clad itinerary with you. But I do know some of the fundamentals that we’ll be partaking in.

Here it is most eloquently in Amanda’s own words:

This year we will be spending a couple of days in an HIV orphanage with children who have been diagnosed with HIV and have no hope of ever being adopted or having a family and leaving the four walls of their existence. We will also be spending time at America World’s transitional home with the older children, taking them to the zoo or to swim. Things they’ve never done before. We will be painting a mural on another orphanage’s nursery or schoolroom and playing soccer with the street kids who have been abandoned who live under tunnels or in the sewage system. We will also visit a Mother Theresa home in Rwanda where hundreds of orphans and widows live. Another orphanage we will visit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is one from a ministry called Kingdom Kids. It’s the older kids we will serve the most as they are the least likely to find homes. Babies are almost always wanted, but not the older children who are left as whole and intact sibling groups when their parents die of disease and poverty. We will help one day with the care and feeding of the babies in two or more orphanages. We will be more than busy for sure!!! There’s much work and love to give out to even make a small dent in this orphan population.

I can not describe to you how those words are like music to my ears and how my excitement grows by the day!! During one of our conference calls there was mention of some sort of “donkey races” and how our team might participate in a competition to make complete “assess” out of ourselves for the entertainment of all! ha! I can see you all laughing right now as you envision both Donny and I on the back of a donkey (whereas Donny’s competitive spirit will unleash) trying to race one another…you better believe I will laugh till I nearly wet myself if this truly is a part of our adventure! On a more serious note, I did also recently learn of more opportunities that are adding to our agenda. The chance to visit a leper hospital and visit the fistula hospital are going to be very important parts of our trip. One of the most famous stories of Saint Francis is one that involves him embracing and showering loving care over a leper…so it’s nearly surreal for me to envision I will have the opportunity to humbly walk that same path. I also just learned today that we’ll be visiting a place called the Black Lion Hospital and the story that was shared with us broke my heart into a million pieces. The conditions of this hospital are rancid and unfathomable to anyone of the western hemisphere to say the least. I have no idea how the Lord will use me in this situation but I pray that in some way he sends me immense strength to embrace whole heartedly “the least of these” who are suffering immeasurably and abolish my humanly weakness of fainting at the sight of blood, open wounds, ect. I refuse to accept any personal discomfort weakness that will be a hinder to sharing the love and hope I was sent to bring to those who need it MOST!

We will be spending 10 days in Africa and our last 2 nights will be spent in Rome. We will be traveling home July 19th. This is where I’ll be sharing the harsh reality of stories so huge they make you physically ill and the meat of this blog will be to give justice and hope to those who have NONE. Until then may we journey together on this spiritual preparation of great measures so little ole Maria & Donny can rise to the occasion of biblical proportion! I feel that the spiritual portion of this trip is the most sensitive for many of you to understand or comprehend but the absolute most important fundamental foundation of the entire purpose of this mission! So please continue to follow along, I will gladly hold your hand as we embrace faith together in a 3-D experience where no funky red & green glasses are needed!