Sarah was from Africa – Zimbabwe, to be specific. Her accent was thick and her smile was huge! She was so loving and such a great friend to my family. Her husband, JJ, was by far the coolest guy I ever met. He is American, but awesome, nonetheless. The more Sarah and JJ spent time with my family, the more and more I was excited about the day I would get to go to Africa. She still tells me that she remembers when I would say, “Sarah! I’m going to babwe!” When she asked how I would get there, with childlike faith I’d say, “The angels will take me!”
The truth is, I was too young to know how far away Africa was, but I had all the time in the world to think about it! But, just like everyone else, I got older. My family eventually moved into a house and I started the first grade. Life, from that point, began to get consumed with plans – homework, chores, nasty yucky girl cooties, church, etc. It didn’t take long for my childish dreams to take a backburner to the life of a growing child. I didn’t forget about it, I just didn’t think of it often.
Fast-forward through the embarrassing stories of my life as a middle schooler and we’ll pick up in my high school years, which are still embarrassing, especially if you ever come across pictures of me between 1998 and 2002. Anyways, God in his sovereignty started to grow my faith in Him. One Sunday, our pastor shared an opportunity for the youth to go on a mission trip. In a matter of minutes, I went from encouraged to discouraged after hearing the price tag for the trip: $500. That was more money than I ever hard…ever! After a talk with my parents, they urged me to trust that God would provide. (Some of you reading this may remember getting my very first support letter.) I can’t imagine what I even said or how I convinced anyone to support me, but thankfully God used my friends and family for His glory. It was that very experience that taught me to faithfully rely on Him to fulfill his good and perfect will. Since then, I’ve had many opportunities to see him provide for my life, and in other’s as well.
Fast-forward about ten or eleven years later, and we’ll pick it up in March 2011. I was just getting started at my second year as the “Young & Free Coordinator” at South Carolina Federal Credit Union. My co-worker, Darryl, and I launched a fundraiser for a locally based, globally serving organization called Water Missions International*. They are a non-profit group of people that work endlessly to help solve the clean drinking water epidemic that’s taking place all over the world. By now, I hope you can see where this is all going. Through our efforts to raise $25,000 dollars to install a water purification system in Uganda, and the partnership with a few other organizations, we exceeded our goal with a total of $36,000 raised! As you could imagine, everyone at Water Missions and SC Federal were excited with the outcome. Darryl and I, were even more excited.
After multiple phone calls, emails, meetings and conference calls, Darryl and I got permission to go to Uganda to see the effects of clean drinking water in action! The name of the village we’re going to is Musubi, a fishing village near Lake Victoria. Nearly 3,000 people live there, and almost half of their population is children. The Musubi people have been drinking clean water for almost two months, now. While Darryl and I are there, we will be taking photos and shooting video to document the effects that clean water has in the lives of the people of Musubi.
The trip in its entirety will cost between $3,000-3,500. I am very grateful for how God has provided for this trip, up to this point, as I have already raised $2,000. A trip like this requires a lot of little expenses, from shots (ranging between $75-$125 a piece), to a travel visa, prescription medications and more! Darryl and I leave on December 2nd, 2011 and we’ll be gone until December 15th. To this day, God is still teaching me to trust in his provision. This is why I am writing this letter to you. I am asking that you partner with me in praying for God’s provision for this trip, and that His plan will be accomplished in and through me.
My specific prayer requests are as follows:
· Safe travels to and from Uganda, Lord willing
· That God will use this time to help me broaden my worldview
· Opportunities to proclaim the Gospel to the people of Musubi
· That we will be a blessing to the people of Musubi
As my excitement grows, I still have no clue what this experience will be like. Darryl and I will be posting pictures and videos to the Young & Free site (www.youngfreesc.com), as often as possible. My Facebook and twitter (@k_why) will also be updated while I’m gone. Please follow us as we make this trip. I’m excited to see what other dreams God gives me, after being in Africa!
