Out of Africa
from We Are That Family
by Kristen

I don’t know who I am.

It’s a startling realization to not recognize yourself: My own voice sounds hollow. My eyes hold a distant stare, remembering all I’ve seen in Africa this past week. My thoughts keep me awake at night.

Just days after I returned, I found my husband carefully watching me. "I don’t feel like I know you," he said softly, beckoning.

"I don’t feel like I know me either," I said.

And I cried.

I feel more than guilt for such an easy life, accessible food, clean water and abundance. I feel aware. The blinders are gone. I can’t pretend I don’t know how the poorest of the poor live. I can’t act like there aren’t children who go to bed hungry. I can’t ignore that 30,000 children die each day from preventable causes.

I can’t stop thinking about Vincent, living as an orphan and father, in squalor. When I close my eyes at night, his face is what I see. I see him in his "home" that’s not fit for an animal.

I see the joy of the Lord in his eyes. Peace. I see Jesus.

I think that is what is so hard. I cannot reconcile his lack of every basic need and such fullness in his heart and life. The two don’t mix.

In America, in my town, in my home and heart, I complain about a dirty house, yard work, needing a "break" from cooking or my children. Every basic need is met, PLUS more luxuries than I can count.

With so much, how can my joy be incomplete?

How is it that I can see true peace in one of the largest slums in the world, where the smell of death is prominent and it’s rare in the most blessed nation?

I’m not sure how to mix these worlds together; how to show my spouse all that I’ve seen and all that my heart holds, or parent my kids without guilt.

I don’t know how to find myself again. I don’t know how to return to my everyday life when children still need to be sponsored. But I’m trying.

I am so thankful for this place, although foreign and uncomfortable, I’m not alone. God is right here with me, leading me into new places.

I may be out of Africa, but it will never be out of me.

Read the entire post, with pictures & comments:

http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2010/03/out-of-africa.html

I just discovered this site & blog about our friends at Virginia Tech who are working with GCLA in Danli, Honduras.

http://www.missionlatinamerica.com
http://blog.missionlatinamerica.com

John
Stevi
Austin
Brian
Caley
Joey
Max
Ben
Adam
Amanda
Elizabeth
Nathan
Matt
Drew
Brooke
Kelly
Robbie
Megan
Liz

Take a Trip, Change Your Life

Short-Term Mission Trips

Due to the change in the website, the place to apply is now http://www.gclamissions.com, click on the "Register" tab.  I apologize that the address I had on the info sheet was incorrect.  The week I had to print the info sheet was the very week their website was in transition, so I had to just go with the info I had at the time, even though I suspected it would be changing. 

If you find that any of my links to GCLA-related sites are not working, please let me know.  It’s hard for me to remember all the places I might have linked to their site, so I might have missed some.

UPDATE:  The link to the Training Manual is not working yet.  I’ve left a message on their site, so hopefully they’ll get that fixed soon.  In the mean time, I have uploaded the pdf to my server.  Here’s the link.

• Step out in faith to trust God to raise support
• See their gifts and talents used
• Experience the spiritual bond with Christians from another culture
• See how God is worshiped in another culture
• See the poverty, and feel the compassion
• See the spiritual darkness, and feel the drive to share the gospel
• See fruit of their labor
• Come to understand the similarities and differences between the U.S.and another culture
• Learn flexibility and the feeling of having your life not in your own control, and trusting God with it.
• Learn humility and submission to authority
• Experience language barriers and how to overcome them
• Experience cultural barriers and adapt to them
• Take the risk and share the gospel with strangers
• Learn to communicate the gospel clearly
• Learn to connect with people of all ages
• Walk among the poor, the sick, the dirty, the outcast
• Learn to love children and make an impact in their lives
• See how big the problems are
• See how much bigger God is
• See the passion and power of a missions-driven church
• Learn how they can be used to meet needs – both abroad and at home
• Learn to hear and obey promptings of the Holy Spirit
• Learn to tune out distractions
• Learn to distinguish Satan’s lies from God’s truth
• Experience spiritual attack and rely on God to overcome it
• Learn to work as a team and rely on others
• Learn to humbly accept the hospitality of the nationals
• Learn to live without the luxuries they take for granted
• Learn to overcome physical adversities
• Experience the liberation of leaving their comfort zone
• Deal with the apprehension and possible persecution and opposition from family and friends
• Come back home with renewed passion for missions
• Bring back and share enthusiasm for reaching out to those in need
• Become a catalyst for change at home
• Build lasting relationships with team members and nationals
• Discover gifts, talents, passions, likes, dislikes, personal deficits, challenges, that they didn’t know they had before.
• Begin to look at American culture in a different way
• Consider what sort of life changes and adjustments may be needed