Welcome to Africa

I'm finally sitting down to type out something to post. I've now been in Africa for a month! I'm really enjoying my time here, but it certainly isn't easy, and there are times that are not quite as enjoyable. For now, I'm going to write about when I first arrived in Chad. I have a lot of other things to write about, but I figured it would be less confusing if I write things chronologically.

August 27, 2008
The plane ride was really, really long. Total travel time to the N'Djamena, Chad (the capital) was 23 hours. We went from Dulles, VA to Rome, Italy, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and finally to N'Djamena, Chad. I was traveling with two other student missionaries: Jacob, a student from Southern, and Jason, a student from Union. When we arrived in Chad, the air was moist and warm, and inside the airport there was a welcoming party for us: a small throng of mosquitoes.
They buzzed around us in a visible cloud that seemed to scream "malaria is coming!"Once through customs, some locals grabbed our baggage and passport, which made me really nervous. We tried to tell them to leave our bags alone so that we wouldn't have to pay them, but they were very insistent. When we got outside to the front of the airport, we realized that we didn't have enough small change to pay all of them. We paid them what we had, but they were not very happy. When James (the doctor from the hospital) came to pick us up, he had to argue with them,telling them that we didn't want their help in the first place. That was fun. Then James drove us to our "hotel" for the night since it was about 12:30 in the morning. After we unloaded our stuff, James explained that we'd be leaving at 6:45 am to get to the immigration office, and then to go to our bus. He had to stay in the capital for a while, so Stefan (another student issionary who was already here) would take us on the public transport and James would bring our large bags in a few days. The guys (James, Stefan, Jacob, and Jason) all had one room, and I was by myself in the other room. As I headed over to my room a random stray dog started following me closely. Then I realized that it had started gnawing on my ankle. Never in my life have I been intentionally mean to any animal. Until that moment. I was tired, homesick, and lonely, and having a dog chew on my ankle was not a happy thing. So I tried to kick it away and closed my door quickly. I sat on the floor and started to pack my small bags with enough stuff to last for 5 days, and I found the poem that my mom had laminated for me. It was at that moment that I broke down and cried. I hadn't cried since I left my family at the airport in Dulles, but that was too much. The poem is about an oak tree that stands firm and strong through rough winds, and at that moment I didn't feel very strong. I wanted to go home. And I felt alone. So I prayed. I prayed for strength, and I prayed that I wouldn't feel alone. I also decided to count my blessings, and that helped a lot. A few minutes later, one of my prayers was answered. Jason had made friends with one of the only white women on the plane (he had been trying to find Jacob and me, and he had no idea what we looked like). She had told whoever was picking her up the wrong date.So she came with us to the hotel to try to call someone on James's phone. She couldn't get in touch with anyone, so she knocked on my door and asked if she could sleep on the other bed in my room. I said she could, and I was actually glad to have someone else with me. Her name was Lacey. After I re-packed my stuff, I laid down to try to sleep, but I was mostly unsuccessful. I think I may have slept for about 30 minutes. But the beds were nice, and there was a shower, toilet, and sink. Unfortunately, it didn't make me feel much better. Mosquitoes, ferocious dogs, and loneliness. Welcome to Africa.

Update from Kristin

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Chad...

Hello from Bere, Chad!

I've now been here for almost 3 weeks, which is hard for me to believe in some ways. Sometimes it seems like it's been much longer because the days go by slowly.

It's been hard to write emails and post, hence why this is 3 weeks late... I have so many stories to write and things to say, but for right now, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm here, and that God has proven himself faithful so many times already.

I've been praying for many of you back home as well as those who have gone out as SMs. So you are all in my thoughts and prayers; I miss you lots, but like I said, God has been faithful. Hopefully I will be able to write more later!

Love,

Kristin

--
"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." ~Hosea 2:14

Chad...

Hello from Bere, Chad!

I've now been here for almost 3 weeks, which is hard for me to believe in some ways. Sometimes it seems like it's been much longer because the days go by slowly.

It's been hard to write emails and post, hence why this is 3 weeks late... I have so many stories to write and things to say, but for right now, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm here, and that God has proven himself faithful so many times already.

I've been praying for many of you back home as well as those who have gone out as SMs. So you are all in my thoughts and prayers; I miss you lots, but like I said, God has been faithful. Hopefully I will be able to write more later!

Brief Update

Here's just a brief update on when I'm leaving and things like that.

I am leaving August 25th from Dulles Airport, and will fly to Rome, Italy where I have a stop over (though I don't know for how long). Then from Italy on to Ethiopia and to Tchad. I think that my flight is scheduled to be in the capital city of Tchad by 12:15 AM on August 27th. So, it's going to be a long flight... Thankfully, there is another student missionary who will be with me on the flight over, so I won't be alone.

I'm beginning to get a little more scared about going because I don't feel that I am very prepared. I know that working at a hospital in Africa will be very different from working on a cancer floor here in the states. Not to mention the language barrier. I took a French class earlier this summer, but that feels so far away from now, and I'm afraid I haven't kept it up as I should have. I reassure myself with the thought that I will pick it up quickly once I'm surrounded by people who speak it.

But despite all my fears, I am still happy to be going. I just need to remind myself that I will not be alone and God will give me strength.

"The Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'" ~Exodus 33:14

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." ~Psalm 18:32

The Beginning

As you probably know if you're looking at this blog, I will soon be headed to Africa for 10 months. I feel that God has called me to serve Him in Chad, and so to Chad I go. I will be keeping this blog updated (with the help of Kelsey) before and during my travels to Africa. I want you all to be able to keep up with what's going on in my life while I'm gone and to see how God is at work.

I chose the title "Desert Journey" mainly because of the verse that is found in Hosea 2:14. It says, "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." I chose this as my theme because, as I said before, I feel that God has called me to service in Africa. While, I'm excited about the experience I will have, I have not been fooled into thinking that it will be all roses and sunshine while I'm there. It's going to be emotionally, spiritually, and physically rough. But I know that God will be with me and will speak His comforting words of peace to my soul. My mission is service, but I also believe that God is going to use this experience to draw me even closer to Him, to help me fall deeper in love with Him.

Here are some of the details of the plan so far:
When: End of August 2008 - End of June 2009
Where: Beré Hospital in Chad, Africa
What: Serve as a nurse

More details will follow as they fall into place... Please pray for me.