Fair Fun

I am up in New York at my mom's house for one more week. I have been working for the past five weeks at the race track, saving all my pennies. This Sunday I leave for Union Mills, North Carolina. I will be living there through October 5th, taking cross cultural classes.

My mom and two little brothers took me to the county fair last night. It was so much fun to take a night to just go have fun. I hadn't been to a fair since I was eleven. And most importantly, my mom and I took on the task of tackling a gigantic elephant ear. Didn't even hesistate, we ate it all like champs! We visited the cows, rode all the rides, and played the games. Fabulous!

Fundraising has been going ok. I struggle with my pride. It is hard for me to ask my friends and family for help raising the money. But God has been providing for me. I ask for your prayers, that He would give me a humble heart and a grateful spirit.

Saying Goodbye

First, we started as scared little plebes who knew absolutely nothing. Now we have become close confident friends who still know absolutely nothing. = ) God has blessed me with the most amazing friends from the Naval Academy. And saying goodbye to them was very hard. We had an "outstanding" time going out together for my 21st birthday / leaving get together. I will forever have a mental image of Kes curled up on Chaps side walk. And though the balloon monkey from gramps started out a little obscene...it ended up one of my favorite presents! And Jess in her cute girly dress, that I tried to help pick out but she ended up finding all on her own! What awesome friends. I conveniently left out all mention of how I did on my 21st Birthday get together...simply said, I giggle way too much.

Ending & Beginning

So the decision has been made and I informed my chain of command this week. It was such a scary step for me to do. So final. I am so excited and yet frightened. I long to dive into this journey and just fill my heart and life with everything to do with serving. I know it sounds funny but I have a craving to help.

I can't wait to work with the children of Africa and just love them. I don't expect to be some super hero to them...I just want to offer my love. I pray that God will help me offer something.

It will take me three weeks to sign out of the Academy. Pushing pause on one important and huge part of my life and pressing play to a surprise chapter in my life. I will try to daily update my process.

Background

I first felt God calling me to Africa my freshman year at the United States Naval Academy during a tour of the Holocaust museum in DC. As I read of the genocide taking place through out Africa, my heart was drawn toward the suffering children. I longed to share with them the security, belonging, and love that God gave me when He came into my life at twelve years old, as I was suffering from a torn family. God healed my heart and brought me into the family of Christ. The more I read about the children in Africa, who have been orphaned due to genocide, civil war, and AIDS, the more I crave to share God’s gift with them. He has placed inside me a passion to go and bear His fruit to the children in need of hope and His saving grace. I am finishing my second year at the Naval Academy, and plan on taking a year off starting this fall to go and heed God’s call for me in Africa. I have prayed extensively over this decision and trust that God will help me with the process.