‘Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God…’
Think back to this time 2 years ago. In January 2012 I had
no idea what I wanted to do after finishing my A-Levels. I started to apply for
university because that is just the next logical step that everyone expects you
to take. However, I always felt that university was not the next step for me.
The problem was, I didn’t know what was!
Fast forward to August of that same year. I went to Momentum
(a Christian camp) still not knowing what I was going to do except have a year
out. During that weekend I felt God speaking to me and had an overwhelming
sense of peace about the coming year. I spoke to a girl who had just come back
from a trip to Tanzania and that got me thinking about volunteering somewhere.
I came home and did a bit of research, still not completely serious about
applying for a gap year trip abroad as anyone who knows me knows I am a home
girl, never travelling far and insisting I would live in Salisbury forever!
Despite this I applied for a Tearfund/Go MAD trip to Tanzania. My application
and interview were successful and the next thing I know, I am at an orientation
meeting my team who I will spend 3 months living and working with. January 2013
soon came around and I was getting on a plane for my first flight ever!
I had an incredible 3 months in Musoma, Tanzania with Go
MAD. We completed various projects ranging from building water tanks and a
church to teaching health and English in schools and taking sick people in to
get medical help. I was having an amazing time out there but there was still a
part of me freaking out at the thought of returning home and still having no
plan for the rest of the year and beyond.
I was told to be excited about the unknown and that God had a plan for
me, I just didn’t know what it was yet. I have learnt since then to ‘never be
afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.’
I returned to England in April after a once in a lifetime 2
week holiday in Zanzibar (putting off coming home and making decisions!) and
went back to my job at Waitrose.. Settling back into life in England was tough
to begin with. I looked around the supermarket and was amazed by the amount of
food and choice of food we had available to us. I also saw how self -absorbed
many people were. The scary thing is just how quickly I began to settle back
into my routine here and fit back into this self-focused society. I found
myself being drawn back to Tanzania and started saving up for this.
So on the 1st October 2013 I returned to Tanzania.
I need to pause here to tell you how crazy this was for me….Me, the girl who
before the summer of 2012 had never even considered going to Africa except when
joking around! On this 2 month trip I had another amazing trip and it was great
to see the familiar faces in the villages and get to know them even better. The
projects were different to my first trip as we started a Chicken project,
developed the market garden, built 3 water tanks and completed many health
runs. I also ensured I got to the orphanage as much as possible! On this trip I
was also able to get involved with Rehema a bit more (for more info on Rehema
see ‘the plan for 2014).
Before I returned in October there was the possibility of me
taking on the role at Rehema and going for a year. This of course needed a lot
of prayer and thought and it was great to have the time out there to really
confirm whether this was the next step for me. I can tell you know it
definitely is! I can see how God’s timing has been so right and how he has been
working to bring me to this point. My
dream was always to have a craft shop by the sea in Cornwall….working with
amazing women in Rehema near Lake Victoria is pretty close to it!
I think back on 2013 and actually struggle to believe how
completely my life has been changed but I have loved every adventure I have had
and so thankful to God for the way he has used me and all he has blessed me with. I
am especially thankful for my amazing family who have given me their love and
complete support along the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment