Rob and I head out today!! There are so many different emotions flowing through me right now! I'm stressed out packing and figuring out last minute details, so ecstatic to be reunited with old friends, nervous about being the only girl on the team, and ready to see what God has in store for our time at the Family Centre. With all these different emotions all at once, the one thing I am sure of is that I am willing to go and do whatever God has for me and the team. This doesn't mean that I am or will be prepared for whatever is in store, its just that I am simply willing. I am trying to prepare myself, but how do you when you don't really know what is waiting around the corner? So I am focusing on preparing myself to have an open mind and heart and allowing myself to be uncomfortable. I need to be uncomfortable. I have been comfortable for too long and I need to feel whats its like to be out of my element and uncomfortable again.
I have been having ongoing conversations with Claire (a dear friend and wonderful British young woman who has committed three years to serving at the Family Centre) about what I can help her with during my time, and the boys have also been in conversation as Eli mentioned. Claire and I came up with a few things such as helping do more educational things with the children and helping her plan and run a Holiday Club (or VBS). My main passion for wanting to go back to South Africa in the first place is simply to encourage my friends in their ministry and aid them in whatever way they see fit to improve their ministry. The Mpophomeni Family Centre does so many wonderful things for their community, I want to remind my friends that what they are doing is incredible and needed. I want to remind them that all their hard work blesses many lives around them, including mine. I guess I want to give them a bit of a break and hold the crying baby or wash the dishes so they have a chance to sit and relax for a moment. My desire is to come alongside my friends and share some of their burden and share Christ's love with them as they share it with their community.
READY and WILLING,
Alyssa
