My Visa Arrived!!

Hello once again! 


40 days until we leave! Yikes, that's barely over a month away and I'm getting a little bit more nervous every single day. Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic but it is nerve racking to wrap my head around the thought that I am going to be in an entirely different country for 3 weeks. 


Regardless of the nerves... Some excitement happened today: my Visa arrived! While the reality of traveling to Africa has always been at the back of my mind, seeing it printed on my passport made those feelings so much more real and I have been having a hard time concentrating on school today. 40 days... Eek! 


I thought I would also share with you some thoughts I had from our readings for last week's class... (These are excerpts from my journal that I am keeping). Last week we had reading in our book, "I Laugh So I Won't Cry" which is a book that highlights interviews that a young reporter had with women in Kenya. Here is what I wrote:


"I think that this section of the Laugh book has been the most humbling and my favorite thus far. It began with HH (the reporter) asking the women of Kenya what they did for themselves, what we in the US would call our "me" time. Almost all expressed that some form of labor or service to others was their happiness factor. It showed me that as hard as people in the US do work, we are also rather lazy and selfish. We focus so much on material things to spend our leisure time with and not with other people. I also believe that this is why, when someone intentionally and selflessly pours into another person with their time, it is such a welcomed change of pace. This is also why inspirational stories move us so much-- why Christians cling so tightly to Jesus-- we crave meaning in our lives."


I go on about other things... and then this: 
"I am looking forward to living amongst the Kenyan people and learning from them. I want to soak in absolutely all that I am able. Even just this week I found that I relied so much on material things going correctly that I have forgotten to rely on Christ. Learning this, and this experience in Kenya, I hope, will prepare me for the unknown my life holds for me when I return!" 


Have a wonderful week everyone! :)