First days in Africa

As the plane landed in Windhoek I could not believe I was finally here. We traveled for 36 hours and we made it! I had almost no emotion, which might had been lack of sleep ;), but I knew I was about to start a great adventure. I know that God had brought us here to do his work and I was excited to see how.

Our first few days have been filled with meeting lots of wonderful people, get adjusted to the time difference and orientation. Our unit leaders Rob and Alisa have been great and very hospitable. They have a large family with 7 children who are all kind and a joy to be around. They are wonderful examples of our life being mission. Melissa, Anna and I have now meet our other two roommates Sarah from Australia and Peggy from Oregon. They are both doctors who have come to serve with us in Rundu.

We met one women that truly inspired me. I will not go into all the details of all her life but it is one of Gods faithfulness to her and her faithfulness to him. She has been through many trials in her life but yet she lives with hope. She is a women to admire and look up to. I thank her for the courage to share her story with us and to continue to follow Gods plan for her life.

We went for a tour of the city and as we drove through the different neighborhoods it was amazing to see the stark difference between the rich and the poor. Namibia has the greatest disparity between the rich and the poor in the world. It is referred to as the gap or the gini co-efficient. This was evident as we drove through the city. The rich are separated from the poor. The rich stick together. There was very little merging of classes.

My prayer is that I am able to not harden my heart towards those things. It is so easy to see those and to forget or even ignore what I had seen. But I need to remember that God loves these people and he created them just like me. I do not know how I can help them in a positive way but I do know I can pray. I can pray that God works in their hearts and they can come to know him. They are free in Christ. He is the ultimate provider. If they accept him it does not meanthat everything will get better. But it does mean they can have communion with their creator each day and have a reason to live!

More pictures to come!!

Melissa and I at Zeka and Anitas home

Corrie and Anika with children in front of their home

Online Support

Friends and Family,

Thank you for all of you who have already sent me checks and supported me. I wanted to let you know that if you do donate online I would love to know. The way the system works is there is no way for me to check my donations online. Therefore, I have no idea who gave the money. So please email, call or text me if you donate online so I thank you personally. :)

I can not believe it is less than 2 months away. I feel ready but in so many other ways I am not ready to leave. There is so much to do! Thank you in advance for your prayers for my sanity during this stressful time. I know I serve a good God who has plans for me. He will not give me more than I can handle. I thank him for that. Much love to you all!

Updates

I thought I would give a little update on my situation on going to Africa. I have an official leave date of April 1st. This date leaves me excited and nervous at the same time. It is now less than 2 months away and I know those will go by quickly.

I found out in the past week I will be living in a furnished house with my two friends from Spokane, who I applied to the program with, and another doctor from Australia. I am excited we will be able to live together and be able to support each other emotionally, physically and spiritually. I know there will be hard times but we can be each others strength in times of struggle. We will be about 20 minutes walking distance from the hospital where we all be working. It is the regional hospital with 350 beds and specializes in Surgery, Medicine, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN. They are fortunate to have a good supply of medical supplies and meds. I have no idea what to expect in the hospital but I know God will work through my weakness and the unknowns.

I hope most of my friends and family have received my letter of support. If you did not receive a letter and would like to, please email me your address. I have until the 1st of March to raise support. Thank you in advance for your support and prayers! God bless you!

First Blog ever!!

So, I am starting this blog because I am about the start a new chapter in my life. I am going to Rundu, Namibia with African Inland Mission. I am very excited and scared to go on this adventure. But I know that with the support of my friends, family and God I will be able to do this! I am going to serve as a nurse for 6 months. I have no idea what to expect, but I think that will be a good thing. :) Please follow along as I begin this journey and updates will be given as I go. Thanks for joining with me!