I Need Africa...

I'm doing a presentation of donating to Non Profit Organizations and found this.  Themochaclub.org is a really cool organization with really awesome thoughts on Africa....

I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. "I am needed here," I think. "They have so little, and I have so much." It's true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in those same people. It's a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.
The images spilling out of my television showed circumstances that could seemingly only equal misery, and I was fooled. I bought into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. The truth is, in Africa I find hearts full of victory, indomitable spirits. In places where despair should thrive, instead I find adults dancing and singing, and children playing soccer with a ball crafted of tied up trash. Instead of payback, I find grace. Here, weekend getaways are not options to provide relief from the pains of daily life. Relationships and faith provide joy. Love is sovereign.
My new reality… I know now that my joy should have no regard for my circumstances. I'm ashamed by my lack of faith, but at the very same moment I am excited by my new pursuit. I'm forced to redefine the meaning of having much or having little. I'm uneasy with the prospect of change and of letting go, but just the thought of freedom is liberating. I want what I have learned to trickle down from my head into my heart - I no longer want to need the "next thing" to have joy.
I'm not saying that Africa does not need our efforts. It absolutely does need our partnership. But for me, I've come to understand that I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME. Why? Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hands will never be as valuable as peace in my heart. I've learned that I don't need what I have and that I have what I need. These are just a few of this continent's many lessons. I came here to serve and yet I've found that I have so much to learn, and Africa, with all its need, has much to teach me.

"That is why we need to travel. If we don't offer ourselves to the unknown, our senses dull. Our world becomes smaller and we lose our sense of wonder. Our eyes don't lift to the horizon, our ears don't hear the sounds around us. The edge is off our experience, and we pass days in a routine that is both comforting and limiting. We wake up one day and find that we have lost our dreams in order to protect our days. Don't let yourself become one of those people." Kent Pterburn

Stepping Out of the Boat

Most people know the bible story in the Gospels after Jesus fed 5,000.  He calls to Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water.  I've heard it a million times but for some reason can't shake how it illustrates my next journey to Uganda.  To say that last year was a dream vacation and the easiest most incredible 6 weeks of my life is a lie.  It was a hard trip.  I couldn't bring words to my emotions the first week I was there, and its hard to believe but.... I was REALLY quiet. I know what you're thinking... "Lindsay talks all the time, mostly too fast for anyone to even understand her." It's true.  I was REALLY overwhelmed. My little black and white journal is so repetitive the first couple of days.  I was shocked that Uganda was, at the same time, exactly how I pictured it but also extremely different.  I pictured the dirty streets and poor living conditions.  I did not however, picture the sheer joy and happiness that the kids at Musana Children's Home showed me.  They were so welcoming and I never imagined those first couple of days that I would be given the opportunity to go back.  Not only did the kids show joy, I felt more joy and peace from eating posho and beans and having really dirty feet than I had felt in a seriously long time ( and I normally HATE dirty feet).   
For those of you who didn’t even know I went to Uganda last year. I did. It was epic.
I went to Passion 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia last January.  Basically it is a 4 day conference where 20,000 college age people came together to join in a movement of carrying the name of Jesus into a lost and broken world.  The messages, worship, and the strengthening of the Flatirons Merge community that I felt when I was there kind of messed me up… in a good way.  I felt God tugging at my heart to step out of the boat for the first time.  I didn’t want to continue living for myself and with some praying and thinking, the opportunity to go to Musana fell into place. To read the INCREDIBLE story of Musana Children’s Home click HERE. I left July 12. I was pretty scared but also really excited to be following God and chasing after the heart of Jesus.  I kept hearing other volunteers talk about how special Musana kids were, and after being “Auntie Lindsay” for 6 weeks, I knew exactly why.  The kids are hilarious, entertaining and just SO fun to be around.  I also met really incredible friends while I was there.  It is hard for me to continue to sum up my time, but I took A TON of videos and pictures.PROOF:

I came home from Uganda and days later moved into a new apartment and started my senior year at CU.  I won’t go into  sappy sob stories as to why 160 kids from a town in East Africa changed my perspective on life, but it is safe  to say that I can't wait to head back.  My heart and mind have seem to set up camp in Uganda making this busy semester hard to focus on. I’m helping out as a volunteer coordinator this summer and can’t wait to meet other volunteers and hang out with the kids. This summer I'm striving to step out of the boat once more, to trust that God will take care me, financially, emotionally and physically.  That I can lean on Him to take me through this next challenging and exciting adventure.