The story behind the adventure.

Many of you have received a letter in the mail already about my upcoming trip to Swaziland, but I thought a nice little summary of why I want to go, what the purpose is, and all that jazz would be good for the kick off of this blog.

I can sum up most of my reasoning for going in what I've seen in my family.
I guess you could say that growing up a missionary's daughter instills some sort of desperation to follow in those footsteps, or to jet quickly in the opposite direction.
My parents not only inspired and grew in me a heart for Jesus, but a heart for cultures, world religions and justice. That inspiration only deepened in my experiences at McMaster University this past year, especially with my wonderful little student church (Lift Church), and my activism-related classes in peace, women's and health studies.

My sister, Alisa, went with YWAM to Nicaragua a few years ago on her Discipleship Training School, and the way her heart changed and molded like His heart was gorgeous. She continued and did a Counseling School in Australia, and again - made me want to do the same.

I can say with confidence that God has laid Africa on my heart - and to be honest, I have no idea what that means. I have never been to the continent before, I know little of the culture (learning!), and I know less of what exactly it is He has in store for me there. I'm not sure if the passion to go means just for short-term or eventually long-term - but one thing I do know, is that I'd go to the ends of the earth if He asks me to.
But for years, it's been in the back of my mind, a twisting and torturous whisper to 'go'.
Like mentioned in my letter, I'm at a place of crossroads where I'm not entirely sure what my future holds career-wise or when I'll reach the goals I've had, or where exactly my home is. With my family slowly scattering across Canada and even across the globe, it's not hard to wonder where I fit in all that - especially being alone at this point.

I felt a strange comfort in this timing, and in this location. I'm so thankful this opportunity has come up, and needless to say - terrified! My base leader, Jim Nave, has said that our team is just 5 people at this point, though he's hoping for at least 11. Many are Swazis, with one American and one Kiwi. This means I'll get insanely close with my group! But it also means I'll experience the Swazi culture and people to a greater extent, with hopefully as little distraction as possible! Thank the Lord :)

From what I know at this point, I'm flying out from Toronto on July 13th at 11:10 pm, arriving in England at 10 am the next morning, and flying from England to Manzini, Swaziland that afternoon, arriving in Swaziland at 11:10 am on July 15th. That means I'll be missing orientation and my first day and a half of classes, but I'll get caught up in no time I'm sure!

It's actually really funny that I chose Swaziland, prior to knowing that it was the highest in HIV/AIDS in the world. As people hear that, I get comments like, "Leave it to Angelie to pick the most daring country". When in all honesty, I didn't know! Haha, lucky for me, things like that don't bother me at all. And let's be real, if I were going to the most daring country, I'm pretty sure aids would be the least of my worries!

That being said, with my family all over, my future unsure and my purpose in Swaziland unfolding, your prayers are my backbone. It's hard to always stay faithful in prayer, I'll be broken and admit that.. but Lord knows this is for Him, this is in His hands, and I'm in His hands - so thank you for holding me there even when my knees don't have the strength to stand.