Starfish

I read a story a couple of weeks back in the daily bread. It touched me, for reasons I couldn't explain at the time, so I bookmarked it. It was the story of a boy walking on a beach. Encountering hundreds of starfish dying under the heat of the burning sun, he started throwing them back into the sea. A passerby asked, “What are you doing?” “Saving their lives,” the boy replied. “Forget it,” the man said. “You can’t possibly save all these starfish.” “Right,” replied the boy, “but it makes a big difference to each one I do save.”

This past week, I had the opportunity to meet with the son-in-law of the woman who is mentoring me through this experience. He has been on both short and long term missions, and he had some wonderful advice to give me. One question that he asked me was, "What do you think will be the hardest thing for you while you are in South Africa?" Honestly, I hadn't thought about this. Nicole and I have talked endlessly about the amazing things we will experience, the people we will meet, and the wonderful things that God will do in our lives while we are there. But I hadn't really thought about the reality of the trip.

I think the hardest thing for me is going to be seeing the need there in Africa, and not knowing what my role is in meeting that need. There are certain things that I know about myself: I know that I love to serve people, I know that I have a heart for other people, especially children, I know that I have a heart for Africa, and thus I know that my heart is going to break for the African people when I can finally understand what life is like there.

My challenge is going to be answering the questions: How do I love and serve these people, especially these children, knowing that I cannot meet all of these needs? How do I come home and pursue my dream to become an international adoptions coordinator knowing that there are too many children for me to find homes for? How do I not let that discourage me? My answer: the same way that the boy at the beach did. One starfish at a time. Even though I can't save them all, it makes a big difference to the ones I do save.

We are OFFICIALLY going to South Africa!

As you all know from my last post, Nicole and I have been carefully tracking the cost of plane tickets to South Africa over the past couple of months. You also know that the cost of those plane tickets has been steadily increasing, and that Nicole and I were very apprehensive as to how we were going to gather the funds to buy the tickets. Well, once again God has proved His faithfulness! As it turns out, the cost of leaving in August and returning in September is actually about $1000 cheaper than leaving in July and returning in August.

After verifying that these new dates would work for the Brittinghams, Nicole and I were able to buy our plane tickets! Yes, that's right, we bought our plane tickets today! And, somehow, God managed for us to do it for $1566.41 each. Wow. We will now be leaving Friday, August 13th (arriving in Kokstad on Saturday, August 14th) and returning on Sunday, September 19th (leaving Kokstad Saturday, September 18th).

Thank you all so much for continuing to pray for us and for this trip. It is so encouraging to see God's hand in this trip in every single step!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

God answered a huge prayer this morning when Bethany voted to support me and Nicole with Africa this summer. Money has been a huge concern recently, as the price of plane tickets continue to rise. As of yesterday, they had reached $2400 with taxes and fees, which is about $900 more than they were when we began planning for this trip. Needless to say, Nicole and I were praying! And boy did God pull through. We are so thankful that the church decided to support us. God made it possible for the church to support us for about half of our plane tickets, which is more than we even thought was possible!

This has been such a growing experience for me thus far. I have never before had to rely on God to bring in the money, and so far He has been so faithful! I am very excited to see how He brings in the remaining $1625 (assuming the plane tickets don't go up anymore in the near future, which is definitely something you can be praying for).

Nicole and I were also informed today that anyone interested in supporting us individually can make a donation through the church and thus receive a tax deduction. If this is something that interests you, all you need to do is write "Bri for Africa" and/or "Nicole for Africa" (whomever you would like to support) in the memo line of the check and place it in the offering plate on Sundays. You can also write "Bri for Africa" and/or "Nicole for Africa" on the blue offering envelope in which your donation is enclosed and place the envelope in the offering plate.

Thank you all so much for continuing to pray for me, Nicole and for the trip as a whole! I will try my best to update this blog as more updates come.

South Africa, Here I Come!

Hey everyone!
Before I forget, I must publicly admit that I am probably the worst journaler that ever existed. I am, therefore, making no promises concerning the frequency of posts on this blog. I sincerely apologize.
That being said, I have been encouraged to begin a blog to inform everyone about my trip to South Africa this summer. I will be staying in Kokstad, South Africa for 6 weeks, beginning July 16th and ending August 28th. My good friend, Nicole, and I will be working with the Brittingham's (a missionary couple from our church) and the local church in Kokstad to serve the people of South Africa!
Africa is a place that has been on my heart since I was probably 7 years old. I had always planned to go to Africa one day and serve the African people in whatever way God felt best. I am so excited that God has opened up the doors to this amazing opportunity!
Thank you all for coming along side me in this exciting time in my life! I would so appreciate your prayers in these next few months. Please pray specifically that my heart would be in the right place in the coming months and that God would work out the finances of the trip in His will. Thank you so much for your support! I will try my best to keep this blog updated as I find out more details.