Africa on the Mind

I have so enjoyed the additional amount of reading time I have had lately.  I have been finishing books just liked I wanted to! Hopefully that will continue throughout the summer (and maybe into the school year!).  One book that I read and wanted to share about was Kisses From Katie.  The book is written by Katie Davis, who is just a few year older than me, and in it she shares her story of how God brought her to Uganda and changed her life there.  She went for what she thought was just going to be a gap year in between high school and college, but she ended up starting a non-profit organization, adopting 14 young girls, and sharing the love of Jesus in so many different ways.  Her book describes all the different ways that God provided for her and how radically he used the country of Uganda to change her.  It was such a blessing to read this and got me thinking a lot.

When I was a young kid, I fell in love with Africa.  I memorized the geography of where each country is (yes, I am a nerd...), and I researched statistic after statistic.  I did projects for school on specific countries, organizations, and problems in Africa.  I really could not wait for the day that I would get to go to Africa, but towards the end of high school I lost some faith in God's plan and stopped thinking that he might one day send me to Africa.  This book reminded me though that God's timing is perfect, and I have started praying fervently again for the people of Africa and that he might one day send me there.

The book also had me thinking about my future, specifically my career future.  Katie never attended college or got married or gave birth to a child.  But God equipped her to be a mother, a nurse, a founder of a non-profit company, and so much more to the people of Uganda.  Katie's book reminded that my job in life is to love wherever God calls me, and there are so many ways to love.  I have absolutely no idea the location or situation he is calling me to, but I do know that right now I do not feel at all called to be a music teacher in a suburban American school.  This freaks my parents (mostly my Dad...) out because they know how much I'm paying to get this college education for a career that I don't know if I want one day.  This is why, I have started praying and looking a lot into student teaching abroad.  There is a program called Educators Abroad that sends student teachers all around the world.  There are a few different African locations and many other countries too.  There are so many details to work out with my school, the program, the finances, etc, which is why I am ask God to make it clear if this is plan for me.  I cannot help but smile when I think about student teaching in Africa somewhere.  Until then, I'll keep loving right here where God has me!