A Change of Plans

Every day I left the house with five of my teammates in Jeffreys Bay and we would walk 2.2 kilometers to Ithemba, the after school program where I worked.  There they were waiting for us with their little arms poking through the bars of the gate.  Many eager arms reached out to be picked up or just hugged. The children longed for the love and attention they knew we would give them.  I eagerly expected Mbulelo to run to me when we arrived. Without fail he would be wearing his faded blue corduroys that always seemed ready for a flood.  His head would be a little sweaty because his sweater brought extra heat during the eighty-degree weather.  He would wrap his little arms around me, and hold tight until I had to pry his fingers off of me.  Queen, Lusanada, and Nomsa would already be buttering the bread for lunch, while laughing and speaking in Xhosa.  These ladies are the heart of the Ithemba After-School Care, and they became my friends.
This year has changed my life forever.  I almost learned more from these women and children than I did in my four years of college.  Each day their knowledge expands because they live by necessity. All they can hope for is enough food for the next day.  I went to help the kids and encourage the ladies, but in the end I think they taught me more than I taught them.
As the year ended and it was time to leave, my heart was broken.  How could I say goodbye to these people that have become like my family?  Most didn’t understand that I would not be coming back soon, and that financially it is not very easy to fly to Africa for a visit.  I cried after each goodbye, so thankful for the lessons they taught me, and the ways they loved me.  It was time for me to return home and find a teaching job.  I had already decided that I would go back to Africa one day, but only when I thought it would be “realistic”.
    Life back in America was still going the same pace as when I left.  I felt like I had jumped onto a merry-go-round that was already moving.  But as I tried to readjust to life, there was this little tug on my heart, telling me to go back to Africa.  I pushed the thought away and continued on, until it came again and again.  God decided that my time in Jeffreys Bay was not finished.  He placed it in my heart to contact Adventures in Missions and see if I could go back. 
    So here I am, heading back to Jeffreys Bay, South Africa in September as a leader to the First Year Missionary Program, in which I was a participant past year.  This time I will have the opportunity to lead and encourage students in the same work I did, while still pursuing my relationships with my friends in Jeffreys Bay.  My hope is to take the visions I had for Ithemba last year, and have the first year missionaries execute those visions.  Going back is something that I cannot do on my own.  Many of you helped to send me the first time, and I can’t thank you enough for that.  I am writing because I need your support. 
    As a full time missionary I have to raise about $10,000 for my living expenses, food, bills, insurance, and shots. You can make donations through my blog page by going to the words that say support me!
       I ask that you prayerfully consider supporting me this year.  Missionaries are only able to do what they do through the people that support them. This support makes you a part of the work that I do. Ghandi said “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  You and I have the opportunity to be that change. Thank you for your prayers and thoughtful consideration.