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So... A lot of people have asked me when I plan to update my blog (considering it has been a month since I went on my trip) and truth be told, I honestly didn’t have the nerve to begin to try to put into words all the things that I saw and experienced while on my trip. And if I want to continue to be honest, even now I do not feel as though anything I can write can do justice to the amazing (see, that word even seems so weak) people I met along my journey. Even though I realize the inadequacies of my words, I will try to write about my trip in appreciation to those friends who I met while on my trip, and those who were back here thinking and praying for me along the way…

 

“The highest and best use of anyone’s life is to do exactly what God leads them to do in the places where He leads them to do it.”

 

Let’s go back to the train ride in the Atlanta airport…Picture me terrified and white knuckled, hanging on to a pole surrounded by too many people (which if you know me, you know how I feel about random people touching me). The whole time on that ride I was thinking “God, how am I supposed to find my way around a foreign continent if I don’t even know where I am supposed to go after I get off this train?” Nevertheless, the train stopped and I followed the herd of people to my gate. Standing in line, I had my first “God moment” when I saw two people walking towards the end of the line with our team t-shirts on (Amber and Allen, it was all I could do to stop myself from hugging you). Luckily, someone else, Drew, stopped them and said he would be joining them tomorrow. I quickly thanked Jesus and told them I would be too. Immediately a peace swept over me and I thought, “Ok God, I’m ready to roll.” After a 15 hour plane ride (which yes, sucks just as bad as you think it would) we landed in Johannesburg and Drew was nice enough to let me follow him to the shuttle for our hotel.  I slept a good 9 hours that night and felt great the next morning. That morning our team of about 30 met in the airport in Johannesburg and began our extended trip (it’s a good thing to have a bus that can make it up hills without over heating when you are going up in the mountains) to Bulembu.

 

Let me stop here and just tell you how great of a God we serve. It completely blows my mind that before any of us had even heard of Bulembu, He knew exactly who he wanted to go on this trip and what exactly He wanted to teach us along the way. I must admit that upon first meeting our group in the airport I was extremely skeptical about how this group of people, who were all at different stages in our lives, were supposed to come together and live, learn, and work beside one another. This shows precisely how human I am. As the trip progressed each and every one of the people that were on my team became my heroes. The strength that I saw in my teammates made me push harder, the passion that I saw in my teammates made me feel deeper, and the love that I saw in my teammates made me smile wider. We worked, cried, laughed, learned, and grew together. I truly feel honored to have worked beside these men and women, and I feel even more honored to call these people my friends.

 

You know, before I went to Bulembu I tried to prepare myself for the sadness that I would see. I had in my head that I would come into Bulembu and offer strength to the people there. Little did I know that this town would be the most breathtaking place I had ever set foot on. This is where I have trouble finding the right words to describe just how amazing this little town is. Although we did see our share of heartbreaking things, I was quickly overwhelmed with the joy that filled that place. Never in my life have I seen people’s entire faces light up with a smile quite like the way the faces of the people in that town did. It became quickly evident that few people smile there halfway…and the group of people that had the brightest smiles were the children. These smiles are the things that pop up into my head everyday. On our final night in Bulembu our director asked us to share what we would be taking away from the trip. I knew immediately the answer to this question. I was simply amazed that these children, who have been through so much in their lives, could smile the way they do. The only reason I believe these orphaned children could wear these smiles was because they know that, although they may have no earthly father, they have a heavenly father who loves them dearly and holds them in the palm of his had. He cares for them and knows each one of them by name…and if the children of Bulembu know that God cares for them, then I can know that God cares for me too. It is almost funny to think that I thought I was going to be the one giving the orphans strength when really they were the ones who lifted my spirit. Now it is my prayer that one day I will be able to smile the way the people of Bulembu do. When we started off the week we were challenged to take a piece of Bulembu with us when we left, but we were also asked to leave a little piece of ourselves there. At the time we were asked, I wasn’t quite sure what was being asked of me. I mean, sure I was going to help build some playgrounds and play with the kids, but I wasn’t quite sure what they meant when they asked us to leave a piece of ourselves there. I later found out that God was going to take care of that. He took a piece of my heart and gave it to Bulembu…and even if I can’t express to you all I would like to about my trip, I can tell you with certainty that in the short time that I was there, I fell madly in love with that little town in Africa. J