visit Africa

This was the situation since I last updated until much more recently:
Me and Smad had decided we would travel out to Kenya in June 2010. We were going to buy tickets at the start of September, because the further in advance you buy them the cheaper they are – but they didn’t go on sale until then.The plan was to stay with a couple who had set up a project called ‘Tent of Refuge’ where they go out to dumpsites where a lot of children go to try and find money etc, and they get them into schools, proper clothes etc. It sounded like an INCREDIBLE project, and just down the road was the orphanage I wrote about before. These were the people in Kenya who I had been given contacts for, but coincidently it was also the same people who had visited our Church that time that inspired Smad to go out there! We had no idea since the woman I got the contacts from had nothing to do with our Church!! It seemed perfect. The plan was to stay with them for a month and a half. We were then going to travel straight over to Uganda to stay with the minister out there who I had been given the contact details before. We were hoping to stay there for another 6 weeks and I was SO excited about all of this! Especially when the minister said she was traveling to the UK in September and asked to meet face to face!!

Things now however have change hugely. :( It started off as an email from the couple in Kenya. They told us that they had a huge waiting list of people to go out there and help, and because some people they knew had to be flown back to the UK they told us they wouldn’t know if we could go out there until January!! This was crazy since we were supposed to be buying the tickets in September!!
Despite this awful news, we still kept trying to be strong, and thought maybe it would just be about 2 months in Uganda in stead. I was looking forward to meeting the minister as we’d been sending many more emails. However, after I told her where abouts in the UK we were I never heard anything more from her! So we had no idea where she was planning to go! A few weeks ago (when she had returned to Uganda) we got yet another disappointment. She emailed us, explaining that she wasn’t sure how well it would work out for us to go out to Kenya, since their society looks down upon any sort of relationship before marriage and she didn’t feel comfortable putting any sort of strain on us. :(

So basically, we have figured now is not the time we’re going. I was so distraught, since I’d been thinking it was my call for 2 or 3 years, cause a passion for Africa has been planted and rooted in my heart. However, I think may be we were trying to take a bit too much control over what is supposed to be God’s plans. Rather than trusting Him, we were worrying and fussing about buying tickets and finalising plans etc. It’s certainly taught me that God is a God full of surprises!! Mike & Sue always said to me, “If you can imagine what God has in store for you, then you are thinking too small”! So we’re hanging on to the fact that just because it’s not our time now doesn’t mean it won’t ever be! God will use us when He needs us, and right now, if they have a waiting list for people to go out then volunteering is certainly not an immediate need for them, despite how much I wanted to do it! We are well aware that their greatest current need is money. To spend a grand on flights out there now I see is so wasteful when we could just send out the money for them to use!

So instead, we will be fundraising throughout the year, for people in Africa as well as other charities, and I am going to change the goal from “Mission trip Africa in my gap year” to “Visit Africa”, which I know will happen in the future. The main thing is, if God’s put it in our hearts then something will come of it. I just know now that TRUSTING Him is vitally important!!

Smad has been inspired!!

I wasn’t at church last Sunday because I was on my Wolverhampton trip, but Peter Kay was talking, talking about Kenya because he does a lot of work out there. :) He said a bunch of things that they’re in need of, one of which was musical equipment. It just made him think about ways in which he could “get out of his little bubble” and do something to benefit others!

He mentioned to me last week about how he kept thinking about how much he’d love to join me on Africa trip, but hadn’t wanted to say anything because it was ‘my thing’!! Ha! Well, I’m so happy about it because he can make such a huge contribution!! He really is talented and that’s clearly such a beautifully altruistic idea. :)

He spoke to Peter, and also told him that I’m going, and Peter loved the idea because they need a role model couple for a loving relationship, simply because there is a huge decline in sexual morality throughout most of the country, and he thinks they’d benefit through us being a role model!! That made us so happy, and I think it will motivate us to be better and better!! :) ♥

xx xx x

Gosh!! I didn’t realise how behind I am in writing up this goal!!! The short and short is that in early 2010 I’m going to Kenya for a while, helping in orphanage and then travelling to Ugnanda. Hopefully I’ll be out for 2 – 4 months. :)

Anyway! Today I met a man called Howard at college. He came over to ask to borrow my sharpener, cause he was drawing. We got chatting about art and I asked to come and see his picture, and he was drawing people of various cultures. It must have been an hour and a half I sat and chatted to him for!!!

Yeah, I told him about my plans to go to Africa, an he was really interested especially when I said I’m planning to fundraise money for it! Basically, as he’s a professional photographer and also at college, he could do loadsa promtional photography for me to help advertise it and all sorts!! It’d benefit me obv and it’d also be a nice project for him!!! :D Yay!!

So we’re going to meet over coffee or something and plan it some time!! :) Excellent!!

xx xx x

Right!!

Back on track!!! :D

I have been e-mailing back and forth a woman from Mattersey College who is responsible for the short term missions there. I told her about how I feel a calling to help in Africa, and she gave me a brief description of what she could set me up with in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.

I really couldn’t work out what I prefered out of Uganda and Kenya, so she gave my contact details to both!! :)

In Kenya I can get involved with work in the schools, but there is also a childrens home where 50% of the children have HIV. It’s ridiculous how much the AIDS epidemic soars out there and I would love to get myself involved in help there.

I have just sent an e-mail to the minister in Uganda about my intentions. All I know is that there I would be helping her, but also involving myself in Social Action.

I’m REALLY excited to find out what’s in store for me!!
It’s going to be such a life changing year.

:) xxx x x xx x x

At the moment I am not really wanting to go to Ethiopia!!

I know this soudns terribly selfish, but the reason I don’t want to is because I don’t think I’ be able to be alone with Dougal for that long!!

He’s a very strong character, at times often very manipulative. But he in the past has been a very good friend to me, so I was still looking forward to it. But the thing is, because he’s friends with my ex he is now being REALLY gay!!
We all went Plan B t’other day and he was being SO imamture, laughing about my shoes and then high5-ing MArc (the ex) , and then he decided it would be funny to pour his beer all over me!!

Really not cool. Besides, Mike & Sue have e-mailed some one from the Bible College relating to me, about the short missionary trips they do!! I would LOVE to go!! I really do want to, I know it’s more scary as I wouldn’t know anybody, but it’s certainly a lot more exciting.

Again, I’m really going to have to wait to see where God needs me to be. Terribly excited though!! Just not too miffed about Ethiopia (although I would still deffo want to go there another time in my life!!)
x xxx x

Well Dougal just got back from Ethiopia.. and he LOVED it!

He returned with sooo many stories it sounds like such a huge experience!!

And guess what? He’s invited me to go with him and Thornton next year!!! He’s going back just after Year 13, and it seems perfect for me as it would mean getting involved in the Social Work there ~ just what I want to do when I’m older! :)

A lot of it sounds difficult, like one day he had to tell this woman that if she refused to take the treatment for HIV any longer (it has terrible side effects) she would die. :(

It means I now can either go twice, or choose who/where to go etc.
I’ll see where my call is as the time grows nearer. :)
x xxxx xx

i was originally planning to travel with RealGap because they help you with everything to do with planning the trip, but it’s extremely expensive.
looking at their brochure gave me a few ideas, but t’other day i spoke to mike & sue from church … they go to africa a lot… and they basically might be able to help me plan a trip on my own, and perhaps stay with people they know! it will be a lot more scary but i think it will be an incredible experience.

:)