Taking a Trip

I'm leaving in about ten days to go to Africa, more specifically Kenya and Uganda (I told one of my friends recently I was headed to Africa and he said "that's a big country, you know," so now I make sure to clarify. ;->) for a few weeks. I know, I know, I should probably change the title of my blog, but for now, I'll just say that the "everywhere in between" part includes Kenya and Uganda.

So, how does a girl with her sights firmly fixed on Peru who has just recently taken a job with the Chalmers Center (more on that in a later post....I'm way behind on updating people) end up going to Africa for a few weeks?! I'm wondering that a little myself, amidst my incredible excitement to travel and see a new part of the world and how God is at work there! Well, it happened pretty quickly, actually. Not much time to think or plan for it, although all the pieces have come together amazingly.

A few weeks ago, I was talking with my mother's friend Val Vickery, who helped start an organization called Educating Africans for Christ (EAFC) about an upcoming trip they had to Kenya and Uganda. I had just begun working with the Chalmers Center and we were talking about Chalmers' work in transformational development and the training they offer to churches around the world to equip them for holistic ministry to the poor. She was telling me about the leadership training seminars they were going to hold for their alumni in Africa and said "Grace, you need to come to Africa with us to teach the Chalmers' economic development material to the people who are going to attend." I told her I'd love to, but I'd just started this new job, the trip plans were well underway, where would the funding come from, etc. etc. She said, "well, let's pray about you going to Africa." I agreed, although I still thought it wouldn't come together in time (remember, this was a few weeks ago, and we're leaving on May 22), but I have incurable wanderlust, love economic development work, love seeing the worldwide church at work, and have never been to Africa, so I prayed about it too and started to get excited about it, although not too excited, because I really didn't think it would happen.

Well, Val contacted the Chalmers Center on my behalf, made her case as to why I should go to Africa in a few weeks, and they thought it was a good idea! To make a long story short, I will leave May 22 and travel first to Kenya, then to Uganda, and be back home on June 8th. We will be doing leadership training with some alumni of EAFC, and I'll do some teaching on economic development strategies that can be used in their communities. I believe strongly in the Chalmers' method of equipping the church worldwide to minister to the poor, and I'm excited to work alongside these leaders in the African church to see how economic development can help them minister in their communities. Having seen how the Chalmers training helped me in my work in Peru, I can't wait to see how it applies to an African context. There are a myriad of examples of how the Lord is already using it in Africa, and I can't wait to see it myself. Hopefully from this trip we will also be able to connect EAFC alumni and church leaders with the folks that Chalmers has trained over there for more training and follow up with economic development work. Also, I'm excited to visit some of the people that Chalmers has trained and see the work that they're doing.

So, please be in prayer: for the preparations for this trip (not much time left!); for health and safety; for humility and wisdom in interaction once there; for eyes to see and ears to hear how the Lord is at work; for our training to be relevant, helpful, and encouraging; and for Jesus to be glorified as the work of His bride, the church, is advanced.

More updates about the trip to come!