One Sweet Love

Throughout the years I have been blessed with being surrounded by supportive family and friends who have shown me the love and compassion of Christ through their actions and words. Often times people struggle in the early years of their life searching for that one hobby or interest that really captivates their emotions and uses their strengths in a positive fashion. For some they just know it, but for others including myself we have to dabble in various activities in search of finding that one entity that brings passion to our hearts. For me I first discovered my passion when I first opened my childish eyes to discover the glorious things the Lord can do. My personal relationship with the lord truly took form my junior and senior year of high school when I was blessed with the opportunity to travel abroad to Peru and Mexico to help build churches, homes, and worship with the community. It was on both of these trips that the Lord introduced me to two individuals that will forever impact my life. One, was an elderly woman who had just been diagnosed with diabetes and lacked the medical supplies that were pertinent for her survival. The other was a vibrant high school boy who struggled with the emotional side effects of his diabetes in both his personal life and his families. Being a diabetic, hearing the stories brought a burden to my heart that left me changed at the end of both trips. Since then, with the help of my peers and family, I have started a Christian organization on both Auburn and University of Georgia campuses called International Outreach for Diabetes. Through constant prayer and faith in the Lords will, the organization is continuing to expand into what I hope to someday be a state non-profit organization that will focus on sending supplies and support to other countries through medical missions teams.

I first heard of the trip to Kenya at the end of my freshman year of college. Being at school and away from the mission field for almost a year, I had a yearning to go abroad and serve the Lord. Within the first days of being at home I had complied a packet of Christian organizations to present to my parents in hopes of their immediate approval. In my overly ambitious mind I had formulated the idea that I would simply take a “sabbatical from school” and go abroad. As if it was that easy? My parents of course were not keen on the idea of me simply taking a break from school and after multiple conversations; they felt strongly that I need to go back to school. Though my dreams of spending the fall abroad were shattered, I kept feeling a tug at my heart and voice in my head telling me to keep visiting the thought to serve overseas. Thus, I told my parents that I would not be at home the upcoming summer because I was going on a mission trip. Not sure whether they took me serious or not, I took matters into my own hands and partnered with Gaylyn to discuss the potential opportunity to work with David O’Kongo in a medical clinic in Kenya. When first told of the trip I was cautious simply because I am not specifically in a “medical” major, but because I hope to work with medical non-profits I felt that the Lord brought me this amazing opportunity as not only a way to glorify his name but as a learning experience. After months of back and forth communication via Facebook, email, and phone it was decided that I was going on the trip!

As of now, we have about 34 days until we leave!! So far, I have sent out support letters to family and friends and have received a vast amount of emotional and fiscal support. The gospel says that the Lord will provide and throughout this process I have seen that he surely does! I don’t think I could emphasize how eternally grateful I am for all that people have given.

Overall, excitement is probably the main feeling that overwhelms me day in and out. Anticipation of seeing the beautiful landscape and lush area that we will be staying in, along with the differing culture and people of the community, has made schoolwork extremely arduous and toilsome. Though excitement of the unknown often distracts me from my habitual activities, as I count down the days till we depart I find my nerves slowly being shaken. I feel that my world is about to be completely rocked and as much as I can try to prepare myself for what is to come I have no idea at the audacity of what the Lord has planned. Specifically, the past couple of days I have been praying for the Lord to strengthen me and prepare me and my sisters in Christ for this trip. I pray that God will keep me humble and only glorify him in this whole experience because in the end He is the reason that we exist and are able to go and spread his word. I absolutely cannot wait to spend the summer forming relationships with the other girls and the community that are rooted in Christ!!!