Ever since leaving East Africa for the last time in 2009, I had a strong desire to return. A part of me also knew this would happen...someday, somehow.
I must admit the not knowing of how this would actually happen was nerve-racking for me. In the fall of 2012 I felt this more than ever and began looking for different opportunities abroad. Through a search that turned up little except heightened frustrations... I resigned to trust God and ask Him for what was next. (Wouldn't that have been great if it was my first response instead of a last resort. You may not know this but I have a tendency to be stubborn and this was a great example.)
Anyway, I decided to let Him take over.......
About a month or so after this I was talking with my good friend Jayne whom I had previously traveled with to East Africa in 2009 (pictured below). Jayne told me of a website that had connected her with a church to once again go back to Africa a few years earlier. She told me I should probably check it out and see where the Lord would lead....what a wise lady!
Pictured: Me, Kate, Joe Joe (baby Sawyer), Jayne, and Devon
So....I looked at the website:
http://www.umcmission.org/
On this page there is a portion of the site dedicated to health care volunteers where both potential volunteers and sites with opportunities can post. One of the listings mentioned a trip to Kenya for a few weeks in the summer and said possible extended stays and internships available.
I emailed the address listed inquiring for more information and noting my Masters degree and license as a Professional Counselor.
A few hours later I received a response from the director of an organization called
Kenya Partners stating that the previous day they had a long meeting at the United Methodist Mission School (UMMS) reviewing the main needs of the school. She said that the main theme of what is needed most is help with counseling. She also said that they had made strides in certain areas to prepare for someone to come longer term but were still praying that God would bring someone.
When I read this email....I was floored. And shocked. And stupidly excited!
Amazing that God would allow me the resources to receive a degree in counseling and then also allow me to connect with a school that is in need .... in AFRICA!
Jeremiah 33:3 (NLT) "Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come."
