Pre-Africa

A little more than two months away from flying out of DIA to AFRICA!!!

How did I get here? Past the stages of just thinking about going to Africa, to actually booking plane ticket and setting up dates to volunteer with organizations.

It all started back when I was about a sophomore in high school. I was at my grandpa's house in Las Cruces, NM and went out to his front yard late at night to talk on the phone to a good friend (Amanda). It was a lovely night, somewhat overcast but I could still see the stars. When I got off the phone, I layed in the grass for a while and began to pray. Every now and again when I pray, I feel like God throws me some random idea or direction. I can't quite describe it, but this night was basically the first time I knew that Africa was going to be part of my future. As time passed, I became excited about the idea of going to Africa, and as most of you know, working in Africa is definitely something I talk about passionately from time to time. It just feels right.

I've looked up programs within the past six years and had seriously considered going a a few times before. I even had internship approved to go down and work with Light Gives Heat, but I pulled back because something did not feel right about going at that time.

Recently, a friend asked me if I wanted to go to Jordan with a group for a Youth Forum. I seriously considered going, and toyed around with the idea. And to make a long story short, I found that Africa can be an option for right now. I started thinking about it, talking about it, and praying about it. And, as I usually do with options I am considering, I started making steps forward. Now is the perfect time to go. And, I do have experience working with HIV/AIDS after staying in Colorado for my internship working with the Northern Colorado AIDS Project.

I'll be leaving the end of May. I'm flying through Cairo, and since this was the cheapest way to go, I've decided to go ahead and stay in Egypt for a few days with a fun girl I met this summer in Texas. Then, for the entire month of June, I will be doing HIV/AIDS work in Kenya through International Volunteers Headquarters (IVHQ). I guess we figure out what city and what program exactly we want/can do once we get there, so I'm excited to see where I end up.

Then, for all of July, I'll be teaching primary school in a Maasai village. I'm super excited about living with the Maasai people for a while because so far of what I've learned, they are an indigenous African group with a strong cultural and ethnic traditions. (Side note, I've read that the majority of their diets comes from meat, milk, and animal blood.)

August and September I will be in Uganda working with Light Gives Heat, an organization started by Morgan and Dave Hansow from Grand Junction, CO! I'll be doing community development working with the Suubi women and families. I'm also hoping to work with the hospitals or in the community with any other health related issues.

So, I'll try to blog as often as I can, and hopefully with time I'll get better at this! :) Thanks for supporting me with my Africa trip! Let me know if you have any suggestions, or thoughts, or anything...