So, This Is My Blog...

Bonjour!

I've never really had a blog that people actually read, so if I ramble a lot or forget to post frequently...you have been warned.

Ok, so, as anyone who has this link knows, I'm going to Africa!! My name is Sarah, and on February 28th (A month and 12 days...but who's counting?) I'm leaving for a small, French-speaking country called Burkina Faso. Once there, I will promptly be put into a car and driven for eight hours to my destination, a tiiiiiiiiny village in the southeast called Mahadaga. This is what I know so far: "In addition to providing short-term Bible schools in each region, SIM is also committed to the task of translating the Bible into local languages, reaching youth and street children, clean water development, and developing HIV- and AIDS-related ministries." For information about the mission that I will be involved with, click here.

I guess I should probably explain the name/link of my blog. I have been working with SIM to get a placement since the spring of last year. Finally, after all the applications and stuff got finished in August, all the information came to a complete stand-still. We couldn't figure out for certain how long I was going, where I was going for certain, anything. This was the case up until  Friday, Jan. 11. I hadn't had internet access for a few days, so when I was finally able to check my email, I discovered that I was going--and I needed all my funds in 17 days!

Thankfully, one of the ways God delights in revealing Himself to me is by His name Jehovah Jireh: The God who provides. The name Jehovah Jireh is first revealed in Genesis 22:14, after Abraham is given a ram to sacrifice instead of Isaac: "So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'" I had gotten so wrapped up in my work that I forgot about God's miraculous provision. When I realized how little time I had to raise over $4,000, Philippians 4:19 immediately wormed its way into my head: "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ."  By that night, 3 separate people had come to me and offered to help support me. My grandmother was one of them.

"We were given a huge check from a friend for Christmas," she told me. "I don't know what to do with that much money. You take it." Within 24 hours, I had received $1,200. Sunday, I got to speak in front of my church, and God's love just shone through my church family. People were literally lining up to hand me checks. At that point, I needed $49 to cover the initial cost. Monday night, my sister came back from babysitting with a check from a church family, which more than covered the final cost.

I have been overwhelmed by the love and support that I have received, and continue to receive. I still have other costs, like buying culturally appropriate skirts, a possible mosquito net, email costs, phone calls home, certain vaccinations, getting a computer that I can take so I can do schoolwork, etc. But I know that I have the prayers and support of so many people. I am so excited, and I'll continue to post as I learn things! But for now, I'm signing off.

Au Revoir!