And so we went to Africa

So, we went to Africa. On a mission trip. To an orphanage. 

Yep, while there is much need and poverty on our own soil, we spent thousands of dollars to spend a week taking care of orphans on another continent, taking cute pictures with the filthy African children, talking about instagrammig all of it. 

Are you one of those people who sees friends' pictures on Facebook, holding an African child, blue sky in the background, smiles all around, and you scoff at them? ME TOO! I never had it on my mind to go to Africa. I've always felt more "called" to focus on our own country's needs. But my sister in law convinced us and raised the money for a home to be built in my dad's name, where 12 orphans would sleep in a warm bed for the very first time and take a shower for likely the first time and use a toilet instead of a hole in the ground and eat three meals a day for the FIRST time and go to school for likely the FIRST time. These things we do daily, without even blinking, they had never done before. 

It sounds pretty good, right? An excellent way to grieve for my dad: breathe life into someone else's life. Answer the helpless' cry for help with a smile and a warm bed. 

So we got our vaccinations and we got on a plane and took three flights and we went to Africa. 

I never planned to go. 

I never would have picked this. 

This is our story. This is their story. This is God's story. 

*I'll be posting here for the next few days or weeks. As fast as my fingers will type, I long to tell you what we saw, what we learned, what we cried over, how we sang to God under the trees, how we danced for his glory and how we laughed through our tears. Thank you, as always, for reading. Feel free to pass along.