Good Evening!
Okay, so I just received word that I am officially registered to travel to the Sudan in Africa this summer! This journey has been incredible thus far, and it will only get better. My goal in creating this blog is that I can share with you the entire process of finding, planning for, and taking a mission trip to a faraway land…in this case, Southern Sudan. I also wish for this to be an online journal of sorts, so that if you are considering a mission trip of any kind, you will get a glimpse into what it is like.
I will try to briefly summarize how I came to be preparing for such journey…
In December, I read the book What is the What by Dave Eggers. The book is about one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Valentino Achak Deng. The story captivated me from the beginning and I felt a connection to the people and their suffering. I began researching various foundations and their work in Sudan, as well as the plethora of issues and challenges facing the people of Southern Sudan. For those of you who have been closest to me during this process, you know how focused (aka obsessed) I have been on finding out as much information as I could. I have, at this point, read 3 books solely written about the Lost Boys, discovered and read in their entirety no fewer than 10 blogs featuring travels to Sudan, and followed the BBC News daily. To say that I am educated is an understatement!
Anyway, I first applied to volunteer teach in Marial Bai, Sudan (Northern Bahr al-Ghazal state) for 8 weeks this summer with the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation. I had not heard from the VAD Foundation, but I was holding out hope that I would be selected to participate in that program. However, I also applied to take a shorter, 16-day trip with Aid Sudan. This is less about education (although there is an educational aspect to the trip) and more about ministering to the local village of Nimule, Sudan (Eastern Equatorial state). I received a phone call today informing me that I am officially registered for the trip! I am thrilled to be journeying to the other side of the world, following this passion that God has laid on my heart, and serving the people of Sudan whom I have come to love through their personal stories of tragedy and triumph!
I ask all of you now that you provide me with prayer support as I prepare for my journey to Sudan. I have much more information to share with you as I prepare…I will be posting soon!
